Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DESIGN FOR SMALL CELL DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNAL
AND INITIAL SYNCHRONIZATION
BACKGROUND
[0001]
As used herein, the term "user equipment" (alternatively "UE") might in some
cases refer to mobile devices such as mobile telephones, personal digital
assistants,
handheld or laptop computers, and similar devices that have telecommunications
capabilities. Such a UE might include a device and its associated removable
memory
module, such as but not limited to a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC)
that
includes a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) application, a Universal
Subscriber Identity
Module (USIM) application, or a Removable User Identity Module (R-UIM)
application.
Alternatively, such a UE might include the device itself without such a
module. In other
cases, the term "UE" might refer to devices that have similar capabilities but
that are not
transportable, such as desktop computers, set-top boxes, or network
appliances. The
term "UE" can also refer to any component that can terminate a communication
session
for a user. Also, the terms "user equipment," "UE," "user agent," "UA," "user
device," and
"mobile device" might be used synonymously herein.
[0002] As telecommunications technology has evolved, more advanced network
access equipment has been introduced that can provide services that were not
possible
previously. This network access equipment might include systems and devices
that are
improvements of the equivalent equipment in a traditional wireless
telecommunications
system. Such advanced or next generation equipment may be included in evolving
wireless communications standards, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-
Advanced (LTE-A). For example, an LTE or LTE-A system might be an Evolved
Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) and include an E-UTRAN
node B
(or eNB), a wireless access point, or a similar component rather than a
traditional base
station. As used herein, the term "access node" refers to any component of the
wireless
network, such as a traditional base station, a wireless access point, or an
LTE or LTE-A
node B or eNB, that creates a geographical area of reception and transmission
coverage
allowing a UE or a relay node to access other components in a
telecommunications
system. In this document, the terms "access node" and "network element" may be
used
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interchangeably, but it is understood that an access node may comprise a
plurality of
hardware and software.
[0003] The geographical area of reception and transmission coverage
provided by an
access node may be referred to herein as a cell. Some cells may have
significantly larger
coverage area than others and may be referred to herein as macro-cells. Some
cells
may have significantly smaller coverage area than the macro-cells and may be
referred to
herein as small cells. Small cells may also include micro-cells, pico-cells,
and femto-cells.
In some embodiments, small cells may operate within the area covered by a
macro-cell.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is
now made
to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings
and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like
parts.
[0005] Figure 1 is a diagram of a portion of a wireless network.
[0006] Figure 2 is diagram of a physical resource block (PRB) pair
containing a
transmission mode (TM) 9 demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern.
[0007] Figure 3 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 1.
[0008] Figure 4 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 2.
[0009] Figure 5 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 3.
[0010] Figure 6 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 4.
[0011] Figure 7 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 5-1.
[0012] Figure 8 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 5-2.
[0013] Figure 9 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 5-3.
[0014] Figure 10 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 6.
[0015] Figure 11 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 7.
[0016] Figure 12 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 8.
[0017] Figure 13 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 9.
[0018] Figure 14 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 10.
[0019] Figure 15 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 11.
[0020] Figure 16 is a diagram of a PRB pair used by a first small cell in a
cluster.
[0021] Figure 17 is a diagram of a PRB pair used by a second small cell in
a cluster.
[0022] Figure 18 is a diagram of a PRB pair used by a third small cell in a
cluster.
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[0023] Figure 19 is a diagram of PRB bundling using three PRB pairs.
[0024] Figure 20 is a diagram of PRB bundling using two PRB pairs.
[0025] Figure 21 is a diagram of DMRS pattern association with PRB
bundling.
[0026] Figure 22 is a diagram of a macro-cell cell-specific reference
signals (CRS)
pattern.
[0027] Figure 23 is a diagram of a small cell CRS pattern.
[0028] Figure 24 is a diagram of a simplified network element.
[0029] Figure 25 is a diagram of a user equipment.
[0030] Figure 26 is a diagram of a processing component.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] It should be understood at the outset that Although illustrative
implementations
of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below, the
disclosed
systems and/or methods may be implemented using any number of techniques,
whether
currently known or in existence. The disclosure should in no way be limited to
the
illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below,
including the
exemplary designs and implementations illustrated and described herein, but
may be
modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope
of
equivalents. Embodiments are described herein in the context of an LTE
wireless
network or system, but can be adapted for other wireless networks or systems.
[0032] A small cell may exist within the area of coverage provided by a
macro-cell.
The small cell may transmit to user equipment at a different frequency than
the macro-
cell. Because small cells typically have low transmit power and thus small
coverage area,
and serve user equipment with low mobility, the radio channels change slowly
in both
time and frequency. Therefore, less overhead may be required for transmitting
demodulation reference signal (DMRS) which are the reference signals (RS) for
data
demodulation. DMRS density may be reduced in the frequency or time domain, or
both.
[0033] In cases where the small cell transmits at the same frequency as the
macro-
cell, it is important to ensure synchronization between the small cell and the
macro-cell in
order to enable coordinated multipoint transmission (COMP) and inter-cell
interference
coordination (ICIC). The small cell may be configured to listen to a sync
channel from a
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macro-cell or another small cell. The small cell may also configure special
sub-frames in
the downlink channel.
[0034] Figure 1 is a diagram of a portion of a wireless network 100. The
portion of the
wireless network 100 contains a macro-cell 110 and a plurality of small cells
120. While
only one macro-cell 110 is depicted the wireless network may comprise many
macro-cells
110 and many small cells 120. The small cells 120 may exist within the
coverage area of
the macro-cell 110, or the small cells 120 may be deployed outside of the
macro-cell 110
coverage area. The small cells 120 may be deployed in both indoor and outdoor
scenarios as hot spots or to fill coverage holes of the macro-cell 110. Some
of the small
cells 120 may overlap in coverage areas. Each small cell 120 and macro-cell
110 may
support one or more user equipment (not pictured). Each small cell 120 and
macro-cell
110 may be in wireless communication with the user equipment in their
respective
coverage area. The small cells 120 may be deployed to facilitate offloading of
UE traffic
from the macro-cell 110. The small cells 120 may also allow for increased data
throughput to UEs, and an increased per area throughput.
[0035] In some embodiments, the small cells 120 may operate at a different
frequency
than the macro-cell 110. For example, the small cells 120 may operate at the
3.5 GHz
frequency band, while the macro-cell may operate at the 700 MHz frequency
band. User
Equipment in this embodiment may be configured to communicate using both 700
MHz
frequency band and the 3.5 GHz frequency band. The UEs may be served by both
the
small cells 120 and the macro-cell 110. In some embodiments, the UEs may
receive
control plane information from the macro-cell 110 and user data plane
communications
from the small cells 120, or vice-versa.
[0036] In some embodiments, the macro-cell 110 and small cells 120 may
communicate with supported UEs using the same frequency band. This may be
known
as co-channel communication. Co-channel communication may be useful when an
operator does not have the additional spectrum available to support the small
cells on a
different frequency band as that for the macro-cell.
[0037] In some embodiments, UEs with low mobility may be serviced by small
cells,
while UEs with a high mobility may be serviced by macro-cells. In certain
embodiments
where the small cell is servicing lower mobility UEs, the root mean square
(RMS) channel
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delay spread and Doppler spread may both be relatively smaller than UEs
serviced in a
macro-cell with high mobility, this may result in a relatively flat channel in
the frequency
domain and less fluctuated channel along the time domain. With a relatively
flat channel
in the frequency domain and less fluctuated channel along the time domain, it
may be
possible to reduce the density of reference signals (i.e. DMRS) transmitted by
the small
cells without causing a significant impact on communication performance of the
small cell.
[0038]
In certain embodiments, DMRS may be configured differently for a small cell in
comparison with a macro-cell. For example, DMRS overhead may be reduced by
reducing DMRS density along either the time or frequency domain, or both. As
another
example, orthogonal DMRS assignments may be used for small cells deployed in a
cluster. As used herein, orthogonal DMRS may include DMRS that are orthogonal
in at
least one of the frequency domain, the time domain, the spatial domain, or the
code
domain. Orthogonal DMRS assignments may require coordination between small
cells
and may result in reduced interference as well as provide convenience for
interference
estimation and cancellation for the UEs with an advanced receiver. The DMRS
configuration may be signaled explicitly to the UE through dynamic signaling
or semi-
static signaling or determined implicitly. The eNB may adaptively change the
DMRS
configuration and configure different DMRS patterns for different UEs serviced
by the
eNB. In some embodiments, physical resource block (PRB) bundling may be used
by the
small cell. With PRB bundling, different DMRS patterns may be spread across
several
PRB pairs.
As another example, overlapping small cells may use shifted or
complemented DMRS patterns to reduce interference between the small cells.
[0039]
In certain embodiments, the frequency band used by the small cell may be the
same as the frequency band used by the macro-cell, in this case, it may be
necessary to
synchronize the small cell with the macro-cell. The small cell may listen to a
sync-
channel from the macro-cell, or another small cell using the same frequency.
The small
cell may configure a special sub-frame, for example a multimedia broadcast
multicast
single frequency network (MBSFN) sub-frame or almost blank sub-frame (ABS),
and
monitor the CRS transmitted in the macro-cell or another small cell which it
is
synchronized with.
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[0040]
In 3GPP Re1-10, UE-specific DMRS was introduced for physical downlink
shared channel (PDSCH) demodulation in transmission mode (TM) 9. 8 DMRS ports
are
defined for TM 9 where a DMRS port may be an antenna port that carries a DMRS.
The
DMRS for DMRS ports {7,8,11,13} are code division multiplexed on a set of time
frequency resources in a PRB, while DMRS for DMRS ports {9,10,12,14} are code
division multiplexed on a different set of time frequency resources in the
same PRB. The
length four orthogonal covering code (OCC), as defined in Table 1 below, is
used on four
resource elements (REs) along time domain of the PRB pair to multiplex four
DMRS for
DMRS ports ({7,8,11,13), or {9,10,12,14}).
Each OCC code (i.e.
[Tp (0) Tp (1) Tp (2) Tp (3)1 ) may spread on four resource elements in the
PRB where
index {0,1,2,3} indicates the REs that it is going to spread onto. The OCC
codes for
DMRS at DMRS ports {7,8,11,13} may be spread on one set of four REs, while OCC
codes for DMRS at DMRS ports {9,10,12,14} may be spread on another set of four
REs.
Antenna port p [17p (0) Tp (1) Tp (2) Tp (A
7 ki +1 +1 +1]
8 [+i -1 +1 -1]
9 ki +1 +1 +1]
[+i -1 +1 -1]
11 [+i +1 -1 -1]
12 Pi -1 +1 +1]
13 [+i -1 -1 +1]
14 Pi +1 +1 -1]
Table 1: OCC code used for multiplexing DMRS for DMRS ports
[0041]
As used herein. a PRB pair may comprise one-hundred-sixty-eight resource
elements (REs). The PRB pair may comprise two PRBs, each PRB comprising eighty-
four REs. A RE comprises one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
symbol in time and one subcarrier in frequency. A subframe may comprise two
slots with
seven OFDM symbols in each slot. A PRB may comprise REs over one slot in time
and
12 subcarriers in frequency. The terms "PRB pair" and "subframe" may be used
interchangeably throughout.
[0042]
Figure 2 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing a TM 9 DMRS pattern 200. The
x-axis may represent the time domain with each column representing a OFDM
symbol.
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The y-axis may represent the frequency domain, with each row representing a
sub-
carrier. In TM9, each DMRS port set, DMRS ports {7,8,11,13} 210 or DMRS ports
{9,10,12,14} 215, may require twelve REs 205 in each PRB pair 200 to transmit
DMRS
signals. Thus, in TM9, each PRB pair 200 may use twenty-four REs 205 for DMRS
transmission. Typically, in TM9, a single DMRS port may use 12 REs for each
DMRS
symbol, and up to 4 DMRS ports may be multiplexed across the 12 REs used for
DMRS
transmission. In addition, CRS port {0} 220 and CRS port {1} 225, as well as
CSI-RS
ports {15-22} 230 are also transmitted in the TM 9 PRB pair 200.
[0043] Figure 3 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 1
300. To
reduce the DMRS overhead, the DMRS of TM 9 DMRS pattern 200 transmitted in the
second PRB of the PRB pair may be eliminated. In this Alternative, only the
first PRB of
the DMRS pattern Alt 1 carries REs 205 for DMRS transmission. DMRS pattern Alt
1
may keep the same DMRS density along the frequency domain as defined in TM9,
but
with reduced DMRS density in time domain. DMRS pattern Alt 1 may support four
DMRS
ports, i.e. DMRS ports {7,8} 305 and DMRS ports {9,10} 310, which means four
layer
MIMO transmission may be supported.
[0044] Figure 4 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 2
400. The
REs 205 that carry DMRS may be split between the first PRB and the second PRB.
DMRS pattern Alt 2 may use two pairs of REs 205 in the first PRB, one on each
side of
the PRB boundary and the middle pair of REs 205 in the second PRB to carry
DMRS
signals. DMRS pattern Alt 2 may maintain good balance on DMRS transmission
along
both time and frequency domains. DMRS pattern Alt 2, may support four DMRS
ports,
i.e. DMRS ports {7,8} 305 and DMRS ports {9,10} 310, which means four layer
MIMO
transmission may be supported using DMRS pattern Alt 2.
[0045] Figure 5 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 3
500. DMRS
pattern Alt 3 may use the middle pair of REs 205 in the first PRB and two
pairs of REs
205, one on each side of the PRB boundary in the second PRB to carry DMRS
signals.
DMRS pattern Alt 3 may maintain good balance on DMRS transmission along both
time
and frequency domains. DMRS pattern Alt 3, may support four DMRS ports, i.e.
DMRS
ports {7,8} 305 and DMRS ports {9,10} 310, which means four layer MIMO
transmission
may be supported using DMRS pattern Alt 3.
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[0046] Figure 6 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 4
600. DMRS
pattern Alt 4 may reduce the number of REs used for DMRS along the frequency
domain,
but maintain the number of REs used for DMRS along the time domain. Thus, the
pairs
of REs that carry DMRS along frequency direction are reduced from 3 to 2. DMRS
pattern Alt 4, may support eight DMRS ports, i.e. DMRS ports {7,8, 11, 13} 210
and
DMRS ports {9,10, 12, 14} 215, which means eight layer MIMO transmission may
be
supported using DMRS pattern Alt 4, using sixteen REs 205.
[0047] Figure 7 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 5-1
700.
Figure 8 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 5-2 800.
Figure 9 is a
diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 5-3 900. Each of DMRS
pattern Alt
5-1, DMRS pattern Alt 5-2, and DMRS pattern Alt 5-3 may use one pair of REs
along the
frequency domain to carry DMRS signals. DMRS pattern Alt 5-1, DMRS pattern Alt
5-2,
and DMRS pattern Alt 5-3 may each support eight DMRS ports, i.e. DMRS ports
{7,8, 11,
13} 210 and DMRS ports {9,10, 12, 14} 215, which means eight layer MIMO
transmission
may be supported using DMRS pattern Alt 5-1, DMRS pattern Alt 5-2, and 5-3,
each
using eight REs 205.
[0048] Figure 10 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 6
1000.
Figure 11 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 7 1100.
Figure 12 is a
diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 8 1200. Figure 13 is a
diagram of a
PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 9 1300. Each of DMRS pattern Alt 6, DMRS
pattern Alt 7, DMRS pattern Alt 8, and DMRS pattern Alt 9 may support four
DMRS ports,
i.e. DMRS ports {7,8} 305 and DMRS ports {9,10} 310, which means four layer
MIMO
transmission may be supported using DMRS pattern Alt 6, DMRS pattern Alt 7,
DMRS
pattern Alt 8, and DMRS pattern Alt 9, each using eight REs 205.
[0049] Table 2 below summarizes the DMRS overhead in the PRB pair
arrangements
described above. DMRS overhead reduction may reduce the DMRS overhead from 14%
in TM 9 to between 4.76% and 9.5% using the embodiments described above.
TM 9 Alt 1 Alt 2 Alt 3 Alt 4 Alt 5-9
% DMRS 14% 7% 7% 7% 9.5% 4.76%
per PRB
pair
Table 2: DMRS overhead comparison
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[0050] As described above, in Rel-10 TM9, length four OCC is applied along
the time
domain to multiplex four DMRS ports transmitted in each PRB pair. Thus, four
REs are
required in the same subcarrier to support four DMRS ports. Some of the
embodiments
described above only have 1 pair of REs along the time domain and thus only
support 2
DMRS ports per subcarrier. As such, some of the proposed DMRS patterns may
support
up to 4 DMRS ports, for example, DMRS pattern Alt 1, DMRS pattern Alt 2, and
DMRS
pattern Alt 3, while others may support up to 8 DMRS ports, for example, DMRS
pattern
Alt 4, DMRS pattern Alt 5-1, DMRS pattern Alt 5-2, and DMRS pattern Alt 5-3.
[0051] Figure 14 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 10
1400. If
the OCC is applied differently than it is applied in Re1-10 TM9 (i.e. only
along the time
domain), different DMRS patterns may be generated. DMRS ports {7,8,11,13} 210
may
use OCC code along both time and frequency domain, similarly DMRS ports
{9,10,12,14}
215 may use OCC code along both time and frequency domain. REs labelled with a
0
may contain the OCC code with index 0, Tp ( 0 ) , for the DMRS of each DMRS
port as
defined in Table 1. REs labelled with a 1 may contain the OCC code with index
1, Tp ( 1) 3
for the DMRS of each DMRS port as defined in Table 1. REs labelled with a 2
may
contain the OCC code with index 2, Tp (2) , for the DMRS of each DMRS port as
defined
in Table 1. REs labelled with a 3 may contain the OCC code with index 3, Tp
(3) , for the
DMRS of each DMRS port as defined in Table 1. As the channel does not change
much
in both time and frequency domain within such a small square, orthogonality
among
different DMRS ports transmitted on the same sets of REs may be maintained.
[0052] Figure 15 is a diagram of a PRB pair containing DMRS pattern Alt 11
1500.
DMRS ports {7,8,11,13} 210 may be transmitted in two sets of REs, with each
set
confined within a small square, in separate PRBs. Likewise DMRS ports
{9,10,12,14}
215 may be transmitted in two sets of REs, with each set confined within a
small square,
in separate PRBs. REs labelled with a 0 may contain the OCC code with index 0
for the
DMRS of a DMRS port as defined in Table 1. REs labelled with a 1 may contain
the OCC
code with index 1 for the DMRS of a DMRS port as defined in Table 1. REs
labelled with
a 2 may contain the OCC code with index 2 for the DMRS of a DMRS port as
defined in
Table 1. REs labelled with a 3 may contain the OCC code with index 3 of a DMRS
port
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as defined in Table 1. DMRS pattern Alt 11 occupies the same REs and has the
same
overhead as DMRS pattern Alt 4. However, PRB pair with DMRS pattern Alt 11 may
have a more balanced DMRS density along both time and frequency domains and
may
be less impacted by channel variations along both time and frequency, and
therefore,
may lead to better channel estimation performance.
[0053] The DMRS patterns described herein may use a subset of REs that are
used
by the DMRS pattern typically used by TM9 for DMRS transmission. As used
herein,
subset may mean fewer REs are used to transmit DMRS. Subset may also include
shifting the location of the DMRS REs in a PRB pair along either time or
frequency, or in
some cases both time and frequency. Subset may also include stretching or
rotating a
TM9 DMRS pattern in a PRB pair along either time or frequency, or in some
cases both
time and frequency. As used herein, subset may include DMRS patterns whose
DMRS
overhead is less than a typical TM9 DMRS pattern DMRS overhead.
[0054] In some embodiments, small cells may be deployed in a cluster each
covering
a small area and supporting relatively few users. Small cell eNB may be more
cost-
effective with reduced functionalities and hardware than a macro-cell eNB. One
way to
save costs may be to support fewer transmit antennas, for example, support 2
or 4
transmit antennas instead of 8. Small cell deployment may require less
planning efforts
than macro-cell deployments (i.e. no towers etc.). Small cell clustering may
lead to large
overlaps in coverage and strong inter-cell interference among small cells in a
cluster. In
some embodiments, the 8 DMRS ports may be allocated to different small cells
in a
cluster in order to reduce interference.
[0055] Figure 16 is a diagram of a PRB pair 1600 used by a first small cell
in a cluster.
Figure 17 is a diagram of a PRB pair 1700 used by a second small cell in a
cluster.
Figure 18 is a diagram of a PRB pair 1800 used by a third small cell in a
cluster. DMRS
ports {7,8} 305 may be allocated to the first small cell, DMRS ports {9,10}
310 may be
allocated to the second small cell, and DMRS ports {11,12} 1805 may be
allocated to the
third small cell. This type of allocation causes the DMRS ports in each cell
to be
orthogonal to each other, and thus may reduce the inter-cell interference on
DMRS.
Such orthogonal DMRS port assignment among small cells may also facilitate
inter-cell
interference estimation and cancellation.
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[0056] Transmitting several consecutive PRB pairs with the same precoding
to the
same UE may be referred to herein as PRB bundling. PRB bundling may be
introduced
to improve channel estimation performance. PRB bundling may include the eNB
using
the same precoding vector across the PRB pairs that are bundled together. This
may
allow the UE to perform channel interpolation over DMRS across bundled PRBs
pairs. If
such function is combined with the DMRS design described herein, it may allow
joint
DMRS design to maintain effective channel estimation performance with reduced
DMRS
overhead.
[0057] As discussed above, for small cells the RMS delay spread may be
small, which
leads to a relatively flat channel along frequency domain. Therefore, coarse
feedback
granularity and resource assignment granularity would be suitable for use in
small cells.
Coarse granularity as used herein means that a larger sub-band size may be
used for
both channel feedback in the uplink and resource assignment in the downlink.
For small
cells, normally fewer UEs would be supported than macro-cells, but each UE
will typically
transmit and/or receive a larger payload. Increasing sub-band size may enable
channel
estimation to be conducted across multiple PRB pairs jointly. For example, if
three
consecutive PRB pairs are assigned to a UE, channel interpolation may be used
on
reference signaling across the consecutively assigned PRB pairs to improve the
performance of channel estimation. Thus, the design of DMRS for small cell may
be
selected based on the use of PRB bundling and may result in further DMRS
overhead
reduction.
[0058] In an embodiment, PRB bundling may be used, and three consecutive
PRB
pairs may be assigned to a UE. Figure 19 is a diagram of PRB bundling using
three PRB
pairs 1900. As shown in figure 19, the first consecutive PRB pair may be
configured
using DMRS pattern Alt 5-1, the second consecutive PRB pair may be configured
using
DMRS pattern Alt 5-2, and the third consecutive PRB pair may be configured
using
DMRS pattern Alt 5-3. The channel interpolation and extrapolation may then be
used
over DMRS in each of the three PRB pairs to get the channel estimation
performance
across all three PRB pairs. Further, the location of the DMRS ports changes
along the
frequency domain from one PRB pair to the next, thus compensating for any
interference
resulting along the frequency domain.
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[0059] In another embodiment, PRB bundling may be used, and two consecutive
PRB
pairs may be assigned to a UE. Figure 20 is a diagram of PRB bundling using
two PRB
pairs 2000. As shown in figure 20, DMRS pattern Alt 2 and DMRS pattern Alt 3
may be
assigned to consecutive PRB pairs scheduled to the same UE. This may result in
balanced DMRS distribution across the PRB pairs and thus improve the overall
channel
estimation performance relative to the case when a single DMRS pattern (i.e.
only DMRS
pattern Alt 2) is repeated across PRB pairs.
[0060] An eNB may bundle PRBs based on their index in system bandwidth,
where
the bundling size may be based on system bandwidth. A similar mechanism may be
used in PRB bundling for a small cell and its association with DMRS patterns.
For
example, the PRB pairs in the system bandwidth may be indexed from lowest
frequency
to highest frequency over the whole system bandwidth. Within the bundled PRB,
the
same precoding shall be used by eNB. DMRS design as described herein may be
incorporated by a one-to-one mapping relation between one DMRS pattern and one
PRB
pair. As an example, DMRS pattern Alt 5-1 may be associated with a first PRB
pair
corresponding to the lowest frequency, DMRS pattern Alt 5-2 may be associated
with a
second PRB pair, and DMRS pattern Alt 5-3 may be associated with a third PRB
pair, this
association format may be repeated for the remaining PRB pairs from lowest
frequency to
highest frequency. With such one-to-one mapping between DMRS pattern and PRB
pair
for a new UE (e.g. Rel-12 UE and beyond) assigned with a number of consecutive
PRB
pairs by an eNB, the UE may automatically determine the DMRS patterns for each
PRB
pairs it is assigned based on the PRB pair index. For example, the UE may
determine
that DMRS pattern Alt 5-2, Alt 5-1 and Alt 5-3, may be transmitted in each of
the three
consecutive PRB pairs respectively, or they may follow any other predetermined
order.
Both eNB and UE may follow an implicit rule to determine the DMRS pattern used
for a
particular PRB pair. It should be noted that such implicit association may
apply when the
PRB pair is assigned to a new UE, which supports such new DMRS patterns. For
those
PRB pairs assigned to legacy UE, which does not support such new DMRS
patterns, the
DMRS patterns specified in TM9 shall still be used. While DMRS patterns Alt 5-
1, 5-2,
and 5-3 are used in the example above, it should be understood that any of the
DMRS
patterns described herein may be used.
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[0061] Figure 21 is a diagram of DMRS pattern association with PRB bundling
2100.
PRB pair #0 2105 may use DMRS pattern Alt 5-1, PRB pair #1 2110 may use DMRS
pattern Alt 5-2, and PRB pair #2 2115 may use DMRS pattern Alt 5-3. As
described
above, this association may be repeated for subsequent PRB pairs. If a new UE
is
scheduled using PRB pair #n+1 2120, PRB pair #n+2 2125, and PRB pair #n+3
2130, the
PRB pairs may use DMRS pattern Alt 5-2, DMRS pattern Alt 5-3, and DMRS pattern
Alt
5-1, respectively. The UE may assume the DMRS patterns to use implicitly based
on the
PRB index or the DMRS patterns may be explicitly provided to the UE.
[0062] The above described DMRS patterns associated with a UE may be either
fixed
or configurable. For example, the DMRS pattern configuration may be dynamic,
e.g.,
signaled to the UE as part of the DL grant or the DMRS pattern configuration
may be
signaled to the UE semi-statically through broadcasting or higher layer
signals like RRC.
If the DMRS pattern configuration is RRC signaled, it may be UE-specific or
cell-specific.
[0063] The DMRS configuration may be selected based on various factors. For
example, if a UE is stationary, or with very low mobility, it may be
configured with a DMRS
pattern with low density in the time domain, e.g. DMRS pattern Alt 1. As
another
example, if the UE has medium mobility, it may be configured with DMRS pattern
with low
density in frequency domain but relatively higher density in time domain, e.g.
DMRS
pattern Alt 4 and DMRS pattern Alt 5. As some DMRS patterns may only support a
limited number of DMRS ports such as DMRS pattern Alt 1, DMRS pattern Alt 2,
and
DMRS pattern Alt 3, the configuration of DMRS patterns may also depend on the
number
of layers that an eNB may schedule to the UE, or the number of layers that a
UE is
capable to support.
[0064] In some embodiments, if the UE is semi-statically configured, new
transmission
modes which may be associated with new DMRS patterns described herein may not
be
required. For example, if the UE is a legacy UE, it will continue to use the
TM 9 DMRS
pattern. If the UE is a new UE and configured with one or more of the DMRS
patterns
described herein, it will automatically assume those DMRS patterns during
scheduled
PDSCH transmissions.
[0065] As described above, small cells may be deployed for hot spots and
indoor
environments. As the coverage of small cell is quite small physically, a
cluster of small
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cells may be deployed together to cover a larger area. In addition, it may be
preferred that
minimum planning effort be required for small cell deployment. Clustered
deployment of
small cells may lead to coverage overlaps among small cells and thus
potentially cause
strong interference among small cells. DMRS defined in TM9 may be transmitted
in the
same REs in a PRB pair from all the cells, thereby colliding with each other.
The
collisions may degrade the channel estimation performance and thereafter the
system
throughput. To avoid such degradation, it may be beneficial to use orthogonal
REs for
DMRS transmission among small cells. For example, DMRS patterns Alt 2 and Alt
3 may
be used in overlapping small cells, in this case the different DMRS patterns
may avoid
DMRS collision with each other and therefore lead to improved channel
estimation
performance. This embodiment may be described as DMRS flipping, which may be
considered as a special case of shifting. Alternatively, DMRS transmission
from three
small cells may use DMRS patterns Alt 5-1, Alt 5-2, and Alt 5-3 respectively;
in this case,
the DMRS from these cells won't collide with each other and thus maintain
channel
estimation performance from degradation. Furthermore, DMRS collision with
PDSCH
may be avoided by muting REs in a PRB pair from the serving cells that used to
transmit
DMRS patterns in neighboring cells. Such RE configuration may be signaled to
the UE
for it to use in rate matching.
[0066] In some embodiments, DMRS pattern shifting may be supported by small
cells
coordinating with each other, the DMRS pattern may be explicitly signaled
among the
small cells. For each small cell, its assigned DMRS pattern may be signaled to
the UE,
e.g., through RRC or broadcasting of system information. Alternatively, each
DMRS
pattern may be assigned to a cell implicitly. For example, each DMRS pattern
may be
given an index from the set of (0,1,2,..), then the cell ID of a small cell
may be used to
select the DMRS pattern used for the small cell, for example according to the
following:
DMRS pattern index = mod(cell ID, N); Where N is the number of DMRS
patterns available.
At the UE side, the UE will determine the DMRS pattern implicitly based on the
cell ID as
described herein.
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[0067] While one simple formula is provided for implicitly determining a
DMRS pattern,
any number of methods and formulas may be used to implicitly determine a DMRS
pattern.
[0068] In another embodiment, available DMRS patterns may be generated by
shifting
the existing DMRS pattern on the frequency domain. For example, the DMRS
pattern Alt
2 may be used to generate at least 3 different DRMS patterns by shifting along
the
frequency domain. When PRB bundling is applied, the available DMRS patterns
may be
determined by the minimum bundling size as well. It is possible some patterns
may have
partial overlap, but the neighboring small cells may be configured to prevent
significant
DMRS overlapping among neighboring small cells.
[0069] In some embodiments, in small cells, DMRS may be used for PDSCH
demodulation, instead of using CRS as described in LTE re1-8. In these cases
CRS
overhead may be reduced. However, minimal CRS may be maintained in order to
support UEs for decoding of legacy PDCCH and for channel measurement like RRM.
To
reduce overhead and further improve system throughput, the number of CRS ports
may
be limited, for example, to only support 1 or 2 CRS ports in a small cell. In
this case, CRS
overhead would be limited to less than 9%. Considering that the coverage of
small cell is
not large, 1 or 2 CRS ports may be enough to support PDSCH for legacy UEs and
legacy
PDCCH. Further, the mobility measurements (RRM) are mostly handled by the
macro-
cell, thus the accuracy for the RRM within small cells, where UE mobility is
minimal, may
not be necessary to be as accurate as in macro-cells. Thus, CRS ports may be
reduced
to save overhead. However, for legacy carriers that need to support legacy UEs
on the
small cells, minimal CRS may be supported. In certain embodiments, UEs may
monitor
the CRS of a macro-cell for the initial RRM, before attaching to a small cell.
A flag may
be used within the small cell to indicate either "reduced" or "original" CRS
usage. The
flag may be part of the small cell configuration sent from a macro-cell.
[0070] In another embodiment, the CRS may be transmitted only on a subset
of
symbols/subframes and/or a subset of PRBs. For example, certain subframes may
be
configured for CRS transmission. Such configuration may be signaled through
higher
layer signals like RRC. Alternatively, along the frequency domain, some PRB
pairs may
be configured for CRS transmission, for example, some consecutive PRB pairs
and
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distributed PRB pairs may be configured for CRS transmission. Such
configuration may
also be signaled to the UE semi-statically using higher layer signals like
RRC. Such
configuration may be signaled in SIB.
[0071] In some embodiments, DMRS patterns with a reduced number of REs per
PRB
pair may be transmitted for PDSCH demodulation in a small cell. To support
this, a new
transmit mode, e.g., TM 11, may be introduced to support PDSCH transmission in
small
cells. A new transmission mode may also come with a new DCI format (i.e., DCI
format
2E), which may allow more changes to satisfy the needs and characteristics of
transmission for small cells. The new TM may also be configured to limit the
change of
DMRS patterns, and therefore make the introduction of such new features
backward
compatible to legacy UEs. Because TM 9 or TM 10 may still be used for legacy
UEs, an
existing DMRS pattern for TM9 would still be transmitted in PRBs scheduled for
the
legacy UE.
[0072] In some embodiments, small cells may be deployed in a cluster with a
self-
organizing capability, which means after the small cell is powered up, the
small cell may
be able to recognize the presence of an overlaid macro-cell and other
neighboring small
cells and synchronize with them in time and/or frequency. The small cell may
then start
to serve the UEs under its coverage. Synchronization among the small cells and
the
macro-cell may improve interference coordination, network coordination, dual
connections, etc. Synchronization may occur between the macro-cell and small
cell, and
between small cells. The macro-cell and small cells may be synchronized at
both radio
frame and the OFDM symbol levels.
[0073] Several methods may be used for synchronization, for example, the
cells may
use an air-interface to enable the small cell to synchronize with a macro-cell
or
neighbouring small cells. After a small cell is deployed (supplied with power
and
connected with backhaul), in one alternative, it may start to listen to the
macro-cell by
detecting its primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS and SSS)
similar to the
way a UE listens to synchronization signals. When the macro-cell and small
cell operate
at different frequency bands, like one in 700 MHz, and another in 3.5 GHz, the
small cell
may need a separate RF chain to listen to the macro-cell downlink. After the
small cell
detects the PSS/SSS from macro-cell, it may build up subframe synchronization
with the
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macro-cell. The small cell may acquire and decode the physical broadcast
channel
(PBCH) of the macro-cell for radio frame level synchronization. Further, time
and
frequency synchronization may be achieved through detecting the cell specific
reference
signals (CRS) or CSI-RS. The small cell may then transmit its own PSS/SSS if
needed.
[0074] After sync with the macro-cell, the small cell may still need to
perform sync
tracking to maintain sync with the macro-cell. In order to maintain sync, the
small cell
may listen to the downlink from macro-cell or a neighbouring small cell for
CRS or CSI-
RS. There are several cases that apply to the small cell listening to the
downlink from the
macro-cell or a neighbouring small cell, six cases are discussed below.
[0075] First, the macro-cell and small cell may operate on different
frequency bands.
In this case, the small cell may need a separate RF chain to receive downlink
information
from the macro-cell. The small cell may then use the CRS or CSI-RS transmitted
in the
macro-cell downlink to do sync tracking, i.e. to maintain synchronization over
time. In this
case, some coordination between the macro-cell and small cell is needed. For
example, if
the macro-cell operates on a legacy carrier, the small cell could obtain the
MBSFN
configuration from macro-cell, and try to avoid doing sync tracking in such
subframes due
to the lack of CRS. if the macro-cell operates on a NCT, the macro-cell should
inform the
small cell of the subframe locations carrying the RS such as CRS, TRS or CSI-
RS
[0076] Second, the macro-cell and small cell may operate on the same
frequency (co-
channel case). In this case, even if the small cell has a separate RF chain
for listening to
downlink from macro-cell, there can be an interference issue in some scenarios
if the
small cell also transmits in its own downlink frequency band at the same time.
This is
because if not filtered properly, the strong transmitted signal may leakage to
the receiver
listening to the macro-cell downlink and cause interference as result of third
order inter-
modulation product (IMP) due to any non-linearity in the receiver. One
solution is that the
macro-cell could periodically transmit the sync information via a wire-line
backhaul. The
periodicity depends on the accuracy required for the sync tracking. The other
one
solution is that the small cell does not transmit when it is listening to the
macro-cell.
Figure 22 is a diagram of a macro-cell CRS pattern 2200. The macro-cell may
transmit
across all OFDM symbols in the PRB pair. Figure 23 is a diagram of a small
cell CRS
pattern 2300 where the CRS is only transmitted in the first OFDM symbol in a
subframe.
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The small cell may be configured to only transmit in the first several OFDM
symbols of a
subframe and listen to the macro-cell during the remaining OFDM symbols in the
subframe. This may be achieved by configuring an MBSFN subframe in the small
cell.
In this case, after transmitting the first one or two OFDM symbols (i.e. a non-
MBSFN
region used to carry physical control channels such as PCFICH, PHICH, PDCCH),
the
small cell may then switch to listen to the downlink from macro-cell, as
depicted in figure
23, and switch back before the start of the next subframe. This is possible
because in a
MBSFN subframe, the small cell does not transmit CRS signals in the MBSFN
region (i.e.
the OFDM symbols other than the first one or two OFDM symbols in a subframe)
and
may not schedule any PDSCH in the subframe. This method of listening to the
macro-
eNB may be implemented under the existing 3GPP LTE spec and may be transparent
to
UE. To achieve this, some coordination is needed between small cell and macro-
cell and
between small cells in a cluster. For example, the macro-cell should transmit
normal
subframes or ABS which contains CRS when a small cell is configured with MBSFN
subframes for synchronization tracking.
[0077] For a small cell cluster where a number of small cells are close to
each other,
coordination is needed in the cluster so that all small cells should be
configured with the
same set of subframes as MBSFN. That would allow all small cells listen to
macro-cell for
synchronization tracking, and at the same time do not introduce interference
to each other
in such subframes. Alternatively, an anchor small cell in a cluster could be
configured
with MBSFN subframes for synchronization tracking with the macro-cell while
the rest of
small cells are also configured with MBSFN subframes or subframes that they do
not
transmit anything (on a new carrier), so that they do not cause interference
to the anchor
small cell during its synchronization tracking. These small cells in a cluster
could conduct
synchronization and its tracking with the anchor small cell. For example they
(the rest of
the small cells except the anchor small cell in a cluster) could be configured
with another
set of subframes which are different from those configured by the anchor small
cell for its
sync tracking with the macro-cell, and conduct sync tracking with the anchor
small cell on
these subframes at which the anchor small cell are supposed to transmit normal
subframes or ABS which contains CRS. In the case that small cell uses new
carrier type
(NCT) which may not transmit CRS, the CSI-RS could be used for sync tracking.
In this
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case, a small cell in a cluster, which is not an anchor small cell, could be
configured with
MBSFN subframes or other new type of subframes that it does not need to
transmit.
Such subframes correspond to the subframes that the anchor small cell
transmits CSI-
RS. The small cell could then use CSI-RS for sync tracking. Alternatively, the
zero power
(ZP) CSI-RS could be configured in small cells in a cluster other than the
anchor small
cell, and REs of such ZP CSI-RS corresponds to REs that non zero power (NZP)
CSI-RS
are transmitted in the anchor small cell. That would allow the other small
cells listen to
anchor small cell on CSI-RS and use them for sync tracking. For this case, the
small cell
would need a transceiver would could transmit and receive at the same time.
[0078] Third, the macro-cell and small cell may operate on the same
frequency (co-
channel case) in TDD. In this case, the small cell may not need a separate RF
chain for
listening to downlink from the macro-cell as both downlink and uplink are
transmitted on
the same frequency. In this case the small cell and macro-cell may have the
same DL/UL
configuration so that when the subframe is configured for downlink
transmission in the
small cell, the small cell may transmit PDCCH in the first several symbols and
then listen
to the downlink from the macro-cell in the rest of the symbols. The listening
operation by
the small cell may be transparent to the UE served in small cell, by
configuring an
MBSFN subframe in the small cell for this purpose. The small cell may transmit
PDCCH
in the first one or two symbols and then listen to downlink from macro-cell.
To reduce
interference from other neighbouring small cells that may transmit while the
small cell is
listening to the macro-cell, some coordination may be need among small cells
such that
they may listen to the macro-cell at the same subframes. To facilitate the
sync tracking
for small cell, the macro-cell may transmit a normal subframe (or ABS) with
CRS and to
achieve this, some coordination may be needed among small cell and macro-cell
. If the
Macro-cell and the small cell use different TDD DL/UL configuration, the small
cell may
listen to the Macro-cell for sync tracking in the subframes which are DL
subframes for
both Macro and small cells.
[0079] Fourth, a small cell cluster may not see a macro-cell, for example,
in
standalone small cell deployment. In this case, one of the small cells may be
configured
as the timing reference and its sync rank status may be broadcast to other
neighbouring
small cells. For example, the small cell that equipped with a GPS could claim
itself as a
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timing reference. The sync rank may be used to indicate a cell's timing
accuracy, for
example, rank=1 may indicate the most accurate timing in a cell cluster and
rank=2 may
indicate a timing accuracy less than that of rank=1. The neighbouring small
cells may
listen and try to synchronize with the small cell with the highest timing
accuracy (i.e.
lowest rank value) and in turn, may also broadcast their sync rank status with
an
increased rank value. This sync rank information may be indicated in the PBCH
and a
small cell may need to decode PBCH of the cell which it is listening to.
Alternatively, RRC
or SIB could be used to convey such information. For Sync tracking purpose,
some
coordination may be needed to make sure that the all small cells are not
listening at the
same time because otherwise there is no small cell transmitting at the time
and nothing to
listen to. For example, the small cell with highest timing accuracy can be
configured to
transmit while other small cells could be configured to listen.
[0080] Fifth, some small cells in a cluster may observe the macro-cell,
while others
may not. In this case, the small cells which can observe the Macro-cell may
first
synchronize to the Macro-cell, and then, the synchronized small cells may
broadcast their
synchronization rank status. Then the other small cells may synchronize to the
synchronized small cells and track the sync.
[0081] Sixth, if X2 interfaces exist, the small cell may use the proper
framing alignment
on the backhaul and exchange the timing offset for the radio frames to achieve
synchronization.
[0082] Certain embodiments above may be implemented by a network element. A
simplified network element is shown with regard to Figure 24. In Figure 24,
network
element 3110 includes a processor 3120 and a communications subsystem 3130,
where
the processor 3120 and communications subsystem 3130 cooperate to perform the
methods described above.
[0083] Further, certain embodiments may be implemented by a UE. One
exemplary
device is described below with regard to Figure 25. UE 3200 is typically a two-
way
wireless communication device having voice and data communication
capabilities. UE
3200 generally has the capability to communicate with other computer systems
on the
Internet. Depending on the exact functionality provided, the UE may be
referred to as a
data messaging device, a two-way pager, a wireless e-mail device, a cellular
telephone
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with data messaging capabilities, a wireless Internet appliance, a wireless
device, a
mobile device, or a data communication device, as examples.
[0084] Where UE 3200 is enabled for two-way communication, it may
incorporate a
communication subsystem 3211, including a receiver 3212 and a transmitter
3214, as
well as associated components such as one or more antenna elements 3216 and
3218,
local oscillators (L0s) 3213, and a processing module such as a digital signal
processor
(DSP) 3220. As will be apparent to those skilled in the field of
communications, the
particular design of the communication subsystem 3211 will be dependent upon
the
communication network in which the device is intended to operate.
[0085] Network access requirements will also vary depending upon the type
of
network 3219. In some networks network access is associated with a subscriber
or user
of UE 3200. A UE may require a removable user identity module (RUIM) or a
subscriber
identity module (SIM) card in order to operate on a network. The SIM/RUIM
interface
3244 is normally similar to a card-slot into which a SIM/RUIM card can be
inserted and
ejected. The SIM/RUIM card can have memory and hold many key configurations
3251,
and other information 3253 such as identification, and subscriber related
information.
[0086] When required network registration or activation procedures have
been
completed, UE 3200 may send and receive communication signals over the network
3219.
[0087] Signals received by antenna 3216 through communication network 3219
are
input to receiver 3212, which may perform such common receiver functions as
signal
amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection and the
like. Analog
to digital (A/D) conversion of a received signal allows more complex
communication
functions such as demodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP 3220.
In a
similar manner, signals to be transmitted are processed, including modulation
and
encoding for example, by DSP 3220 and input to transmitter 3214 for digital to
analog
(D/A) conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and
transmission over
the communication network 3219 via antenna 3218. DSP 3220 not only processes
communication signals, but also provides for receiver and transmitter control.
For
example, the gains applied to communication signals in receiver 3212 and
transmitter
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3214 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithms
implemented in DSP 3220.
[0088]
UE 3200 generally includes a processor 3238 which controls the overall
operation of the device.
Communication functions, including data and voice
communications, are performed through communication subsystem 3211. Processor
3238 also interacts with further device subsystems such as the display 3222,
flash
memory 3224, random access memory (RAM) 3226, auxiliary input/output (I/0)
subsystems 3228, serial port 3230, one or more keyboards or keypads 3232,
speaker
3234, microphone 3236, other communication subsystem 3240 such as a short-
range
communications subsystem and any other device subsystems generally designated
as
3242. Serial port 3230 can include a USB port or other port known to those in
the art.
[0089]
Some of the subsystems shown in Figure 25 perform communication-related
functions, whereas other subsystems may provide "resident" or on-device
functions.
Notably, some subsystems, such as keyboard 3232 and display 3222, for example,
may
be used for both communication-related functions, such as entering a text
message for
transmission over a communication network, and device-resident functions such
as a
calculator or task list.
[0090]
Operating system software used by the processor 3238 may be stored in a
persistent store such as flash memory 3224, which may instead be a read-only
memory
(ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that
the operating system, specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be
temporarily
loaded into a volatile memory such as RAM 3226. Received communication signals
may
also be stored in RAM 3226.
[0091]
As shown, flash memory 3224 can be segregated into different areas for both
computer programs 3258 and program data storage 3250, 3252, 3254 and 3256.
These
different storage types indicate that each program can allocate a portion of
flash memory
3224 for their own data storage requirements. Processor 3238, in addition to
its operating
system functions, may enable execution of software applications on the UE. A
predetermined set of applications that control basic operations, including at
least data and
voice communication applications for example, will normally be installed on UE
3200
during manufacturing. Other applications may be installed subsequently or
dynamically.
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[0092]
Applications and software may be stored on any computer readable storage
medium. The computer readable storage medium may be a tangible or in
transitory/non-
transitory medium such as optical (e.g., CD, DVD, etc.), magnetic (e.g., tape)
or other
memory known in the art.
[0093]
One software application may be a personal information manager (PIM)
application having the ability to organize and manage data items relating to
the user of
the UE such as, but not limited to, e-mail, calendar events, voice mails,
appointments,
and task items. Naturally, one or more memory stores may be available on the
UE to
facilitate storage of PIM data items. Such PIM application may have the
ability to send
and receive data items, via the wireless network 3219. Further applications
may also be
loaded onto the UE 3200 through the network 3219, an auxiliary I/0 subsystem
3228,
serial port 3230, short-range communications subsystem 3240 or any other
suitable
subsystem 3242, and installed by a user in the RAM 3226 or a non-volatile
store (not
shown) for execution by the processor 3238. Such flexibility in application
installation
increases the functionality of the device and may provide enhanced on-device
functions,
communication-related functions, or both.
For example, secure communication
applications may enable electronic commerce functions and other such financial
transactions to be performed using the UE 3200.
[0094]
In a data communication mode, a received signal such as a text message or
web page download will be processed by the communication subsystem 3211 and
input
to the processor 3238, which may further process the received signal for
output to the
display 3222, or Alternatively to an auxiliary I/0 device 3228.
[0095]
A user of UE 3200 may also compose data items such as email messages for
example, using the keyboard 3232, which may be a complete alphanumeric
keyboard or
telephone-type keypad, among others, in conjunction with the display 3222 and
possibly
an auxiliary I/0 device 3228. Such composed items may then be transmitted over
a
communication network through the communication subsystem 3211.
[0096]
For voice communications, overall operation of UE 3200 is similar, except that
received signals may typically be output to a speaker 3234 and signals for
transmission
may be generated by a microphone 3236. Alternative voice or audio I/0
subsystems,
such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also be implemented on UE
3200.
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Although voice or audio signal output is preferably accomplished primarily
through the
speaker 3234, display 3222 may also be used to provide an indication of the
identity of a
calling party, the duration of a voice call, or other voice call related
information for
example.
[0097] Serial port 3230 in Figure 25 may normally be implemented in a
personal digital
assistant (PDA)-type UE for which synchronization with a user's desktop
computer (not
shown) may be desirable, but is an optional device component. Such a port 3230
may
enable a user to set preferences through an external device or software
application and
may extend the capabilities of UE 3200 by providing for information or
software
downloads to UE 3200 other than through a wireless communication network. The
Alternate download path may for example be used to load an encryption key onto
the
device through a direct and thus reliable and trusted connection to thereby
enable secure
device communication. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,
serial port 3230
can further be used to connect the UE to a computer to act as a modem.
[0098] Other communications subsystems 3240, such as a short-range
communications subsystem, is a further optional component which may provide
for
communication between UE 3200 and different systems or devices, which need not
necessarily be similar devices. For example, the subsystem 3240 may include an
infrared device and associated circuits and components or a BluetoothTM
communication
module to provide for communication with similarly enabled systems and
devices.
Subsystem 3240 may further include non-cellular communications such as WiFi or
WiMAX.
[0099] The UE and other components described above might include a
processing
component that is capable of executing instructions related to the actions
described
above. As used herein, the term instructions may include reserved words which
cause
one or more processors to take certain computational, memory-related or
control actions
or to send computational, memory-related or control signals. As used herein,
the term
program may include a collection of computer instructions. Figure 26
illustrates an
example of a system 3300 that includes a processing component 3310 suitable
for
implementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The processing
component
24
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WO 2014/126572 PCT/US2013/026195
3310 may be substantially similar to the processor 3120 of Figure 24 and/or
the
processor 3238 of Figure 25.
[00100] In addition to the processor 3310 (which may be referred to as a
central
processor unit or CPU), the system 3300 might include network connectivity
devices
3320, random access memory (RAM) 3330, read only memory (ROM) 3340, secondary
storage 3350, and input/output (I/0) devices 3360. These components might
communicate with one another via a bus 3370. In some cases, some of these
components may not be present or may be combined in various combinations with
one
another or with other components not shown. These components might be located
in a
single physical entity or in more than one physical entity. Any actions
described herein as
being taken by the processor 3310 might be taken by the processor 3310 alone
or by the
processor 3310 in conjunction with one or more components shown or not shown
in the
drawing, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 3380. Although the DSP 3380
is
shown as a separate component, the DSP 3380 might be incorporated into the
processor
3310.
[00101] The processor 3310 executes instructions, codes, computer programs, or
scripts that it might access from the network connectivity devices 3320, RAM
3330, ROM
3340, or secondary storage 3350 (which might include various disk-based
systems such
as hard disk, floppy disk, or optical disk). While only one CPU 3310 is shown,
multiple
processors may be present. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as being
executed by a processor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously,
serially, or
otherwise by one or multiple processors. The processor 3310 may be implemented
as
one or more CPU chips and may be a hardware device capable of executing
computer
instructions.
[00102] The network connectivity devices 3320 may take the form of modems,
modem
banks, Ethernet devices, universal serial bus (USB) interface devices, serial
interfaces,
token ring devices, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) devices, wireless
local area
network (WLAN) devices, radio transceiver devices such as code division
multiple access
(CDMA) devices, global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio
transceiver
devices, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) radio transceiver
devices,
long term evolution (LTE) radio transceiver devices, worldwide
interoperability for
CA 02900451 2015-08-06
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microwave access (WiMAX) devices, and/or other well-known devices for
connecting to
networks. These network connectivity devices 3320 may enable the processor
3310 to
communicate with the Internet or one or more telecommunications networks or
other
networks from which the processor 3310 might receive information or to which
the
processor 3310 might output information. The network connectivity devices 3320
might
also include one or more transceiver components 3325 capable of transmitting
and/or
receiving data wirelessly.
[00103] The RAM 3330 might be used to store volatile data and perhaps to store
instructions that are executed by the processor 3310. The ROM 3340 is a non-
volatile
memory device that typically has a smaller memory capacity than the memory
capacity of
the secondary storage 3350. ROM 3340 might be used to store instructions and
perhaps
data that are read during execution of the instructions. Access to both RAM
3330 and
ROM 3340 is typically faster than to secondary storage 3350. The secondary
storage
3350 is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and
might be used
for non-volatile storage of data or as an over-flow data storage device if RAM
3330 is not
large enough to hold all working data. Secondary storage 3350 may be used to
store
programs that are loaded into RAM 3330 when such programs are selected for
execution.
[00104] The I/0 devices 3360 may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touch
screen
displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice
recognizers, card
readers, paper tape readers, printers, video monitors, or other well-known
input/output
devices. Also, the transceiver 3325 might be considered to be a component of
the I/0
devices 3360 instead of or in addition to being a component of the network
connectivity
devices 3320.
[00105] The embodiments described herein are examples of structures, systems
or
methods having elements corresponding to elements of the techniques of this
application.
This written description may enable those skilled in the art to make and use
embodiments
having alternative elements that likewise correspond to the elements of the
techniques of
this application. The intended scope of the techniques of this application
thus includes
other structures, systems or methods that do not differ from the techniques of
this
application as described herein, and further includes other structures,
systems or
26
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methods with insubstantial differences from the techniques of this application
as
described herein.
[00106] While several embodiments have been provided in the present
disclosure, it
should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in
many
other specific forms without departing from the scope of the present
disclosure. The
present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and
the intention
is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the various
elements or
components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features
may be
omitted, or not implemented.
[00107] Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described and
illustrated
in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or
integrated with
other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the
scope of the
present disclosure. Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly
coupled or
communicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicating
through
some interface, device, or intermediate component, whether electrically,
mechanically, or
otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and Alterations are
ascertainable
by one skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit
and scope
disclosed herein.
27
