阅读说明：本技术 在采用未许可频谱的lte/lte-a中的csi请求过程 (CSI request procedure in LTE/LTE-A with unlicensed spectrum ) 是由 S·马利克 骆涛 于 2015-08-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了用于在采用未许可频谱的长期演进(LTE)/改进的LTE(LTE-A)中使用的信道状态信息(CSI)请求过程。代替依赖于由于失败的空闲信道评估(CCA)操作而可能不被发送的周期性参考信号,定义了非周期性参考信号,其为用户设备(UE)提供按需参考信号和CSI请求。服务基站在相同子帧或未来子帧中发送用于以信号通知将发送非周期性参考信号的标识符,并且随后在指定子帧中发送非周期性参考信号。由基站服务的UE将接收标识符,通过从基站接收的标识符信号来隐式地或通过特定于UE的CSI请求来显式地识别CSI请求,并且随后基于非周期性参考信号生成CSI报告以传输回服务基站。(A Channel State Information (CSI) request procedure for use in Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-advanced (LTE-a) employing unlicensed spectrum is disclosed. Instead of relying on periodic reference signals that may not be transmitted due to failed Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) operations, aperiodic reference signals are defined that provide on-demand reference signals and CSI requests for User Equipments (UEs). The serving base station transmits an identifier for signaling that an aperiodic reference signal is to be transmitted in the same subframe or a future subframe, and then transmits the aperiodic reference signal in a designated subframe. A UE served by a base station will receive an identifier, implicitly through the identifier signal received from the base station or explicitly through the UE-specific CSI request, and then generate a CSI report based on the aperiodic reference signal for transmission back to the serving base station.)

1. An apparatus of wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor,

wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal, the identifier being transmitted on a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH;

transmitting, by the base station, the aperiodic reference signal and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) rate-matched around the aperiodic reference signal; and

receiving, by the base station, a channel state information, CSI, report from one or more user equipments, UEs, wherein the CSI report is based on the aperiodic reference signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

transmitting, by the base station, a UE-specific CSI request to each of the one or more UEs.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the UE-specific CSI request includes an identification of a type of CSI report requested.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identifier is transmitted in a common search space of a control channel.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the aperiodic reference signal comprises: a pattern of reference signal resources transmitted over a single subframe.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

semi-statically configuring, by the base station, a pattern of reference signal resources from a plurality of patterns of reference signal resources, wherein the identifier further identifies the configured pattern of reference signal resources.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the aperiodic reference signal is associated with at least one of:

a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS);

interference measurement resource, IMR; or

Common reference signals CRS.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identifier and the aperiodic reference signal are transmitted in a same subframe; or

Wherein the identifier is transmitted in a first subframe and the aperiodic reference signal is transmitted on a different subframe after the first subframe.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer instructions for wireless communication, the computer instructions when executed by a processor perform the following:

transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal, the identifier being transmitted on a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH;

transmitting, by the base station, the aperiodic reference signal and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) rate-matched around the aperiodic reference signal; and

receiving, by the base station, a channel state information, CSI, report from one or more user equipments, UEs, wherein the CSI report is based on the aperiodic reference signal.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, the computer instructions when executed by the processor further to:

transmitting, by the base station, a UE-specific CSI request to each of the one or more UEs.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the UE-specific CSI request includes an identification of a type of CSI report requested.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the identifier is transmitted in a common search space of a control channel.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the aperiodic reference signal comprises: a pattern of reference signal resources transmitted over a single subframe.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, the computer instructions when executed by the processor further to:

semi-statically configuring, by the base station, a pattern of reference signal resources from a plurality of patterns of reference signal resources, wherein the identifier further identifies the configured pattern of reference signal resources.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the aperiodic reference signal is associated with at least one of:

a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS);

interference measurement resource, IMR; or

Common reference signals CRS.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the identifier and the aperiodic reference signal are transmitted in the same subframe; or

Wherein the identifier is transmitted in a first subframe and the aperiodic reference signal is transmitted on a different subframe after the first subframe.

17. An apparatus of wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal, the identifier being transmitted on a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH;

means for transmitting, by the base station, the aperiodic reference signal and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) rate-matched around the aperiodic reference signal; and

means for receiving, by the base station, a channel state information, CSI, report from one or more user equipments, UEs, wherein the CSI report is based on the aperiodic reference signal.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for transmitting, by the base station, a UE-specific CSI request to each of the one or more UEs.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the UE-specific CSI request includes an identification of a type of CSI report requested.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the identifier is transmitted in a common search space of a control channel.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the aperiodic reference signal comprises: a pattern of reference signal resources transmitted over a single subframe.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for semi-statically configuring, by the base station, a pattern of reference signal resources from a pattern of multiple reference signal resources, wherein the identifier further identifies the configured pattern of reference signal resources.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the aperiodic reference signal is associated with at least one of:

a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS);

interference measurement resource, IMR; or

Common reference signals CRS.

24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the identifier and the aperiodic reference signal are transmitted in a same subframe; or

Wherein the identifier is transmitted in a first subframe and the aperiodic reference signal is transmitted on a different subframe after the first subframe.

Technical Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to multi-wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a Channel State Information (CSI) request procedure in Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-advanced (LTE-a) with unlicensed spectrum.

Background

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Such networks, which are typically multiple-access networks, support communication for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. An example of such a network is the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). UTRAN is a Radio Access Network (RAN) defined as part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), which is a third generation (3G) mobile telephony technology supported by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). Examples of multiple-access network formats include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (ofdma) networks, and single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.

A wireless communication network may include a plurality of base stations or node bs capable of supporting communication for a plurality of User Equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the UEs, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UEs to the base stations.

A base station may transmit data and control information to a UE on the downlink and/or may receive data and control information from a UE on the uplink. On the downlink, transmissions from a base station may encounter interference due to transmissions from neighboring base stations or from other wireless Radio Frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink, transmissions from a UE may encounter uplink transmissions from other UEs communicating with neighboring base stations or interference from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference may degrade performance on both the downlink and uplink.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, the likelihood of interference and congested networks increases as more UEs access long-range wireless communication networks and more short-range wireless systems are deployed in the community. Research and development continues to advance UMTS technology not only to meet the ever-increasing demand for mobile broadband access, but also to advance and enhance the user experience of mobile communications.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes: transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal; transmitting, by the base station, the aperiodic reference signal; and receiving, by the base station, a Channel State Information (CSI) report from one or more User Equipments (UEs), wherein the CSI report is based on the aperiodic reference signal.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes: detecting, by the UE, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal in a subframe; identifying, by the UE, a CSI request from a base station; generating, by the UE, a CSI report based on the non-periodic reference signal in response to the CSI request; and sending, by the UE, the CSI report to the base station.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured for wireless communication comprises: means for transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal; means for transmitting, by the base station, the aperiodic reference signal; and means for receiving, by the base station, CSI reports from one or more UEs, wherein the CSI reports are based on the aperiodic reference signal.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured for wireless communication comprises: means for detecting, by the UE, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal in a subframe; means for identifying, by the UE, a CSI request from a base station; means for generating, by the UE, a CSI report based on the aperiodic reference signal in response to the CSI request; and means for transmitting, by the UE, the CSI report to the base station.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable medium has program code recorded thereon. The program code includes: code for transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal; code for transmitting, by the base station, the non-periodic reference signal; and code for receiving, by the base station, CSI reports from one or more UEs, wherein the CSI reports are based on the aperiodic reference signal.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable medium has program code recorded thereon. The program code includes: code for detecting, by the UE, an identifier for signaling presence of an aperiodic reference signal in a subframe; code for identifying, by the UE, a CSI request from a base station; code for generating, by the UE, a CSI report based on the aperiodic reference signal in response to the CSI request; and code for transmitting, by the UE, the CSI report to the base station.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus includes at least one processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: transmitting, by a base station, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal; transmitting, by the base station, the aperiodic reference signal; and receiving, by the base station, CSI reports from one or more UEs, wherein the CSI reports are based on the aperiodic reference signal.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus includes at least one processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to: detecting, by the UE, an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal in a subframe; identifying, by the UE, a CSI request from a base station; generating, by the UE, a CSI report based on the aperiodic reference signal in response to the CSI request; and sending, by the UE, the CSI report to the base station.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a diagram depicting an example of a wireless communication system, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 2A illustrates a diagram depicting an example of a deployment scenario for using LTE in unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 2B illustrates a diagram depicting another example of a deployment scenario for using LTE in unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates a diagram depicting an example of carrier aggregation when LTE is used simultaneously in licensed and unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a design conceptually depicting a base station/eNB and UE configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 and 6 are functional block diagrams depicting example blocks executed to implement an aspect of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram depicting a base station and UE configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case, and that in some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate presentation of the description.

To date, operators have seen WiFi as the primary mechanism for using unlicensed spectrum to alleviate the growing levels of congestion in cellular networks. However, New Carrier Type (NCT) based on LTE/LTE-a including unlicensed spectrum may be compatible with carrier-grade (carrier-grade) WiFi, making LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum an alternative to WiFi. LTE/LTE-a employing unlicensed spectrum may utilize the (legacy) LTE concept and may introduce some modifications to the physical layer (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) aspects of the network device or network to provide efficient operation in unlicensed spectrum and meet regulatory requirements. The unlicensed spectrum may be in a range of, for example, 600 megahertz (MHz) to 6 gigahertz (GHz). In some scenarios, LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum performs significantly better than WiFi. For example, LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum may perform significantly better than WiFi compared to full LTE/LTE-a deployments with unlicensed spectrum (for single or multiple operators) with full WiFi deployments, or when there are dense small cell deployments. In other scenarios, LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum may perform better than WiFi, such as when LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum is mixed with WiFi (for single or multiple operators).

For a single Service Provider (SP), an LTE/LTE-a network employing unlicensed spectrum may be configured to synchronize with an LTE network over licensed spectrum. However, LTE/LTE-a networks employing unlicensed spectrum deployed by multiple SPs on a given channel may be configured to be synchronized across multiple SPs. One approach incorporating both of the above features may involve: a constant timing offset is used for a given SP between LTE/LTE-a networks that do not employ unlicensed spectrum and LTE/LTE-a networks that employ unlicensed spectrum. LTE/LTE-a networks employing unlicensed spectrum may provide unicast and/or multicast services as needed by SPs. Further, LTE/LTE-a networks employing unlicensed spectrum may operate in a bootstrap mode (bootstrapped mode) in which LTE cells act as anchors and provide relevant cell information (e.g., radio frame timing, common channel configuration, system frame number or SFN, etc.) for LTE/LTE-a cells employing unlicensed spectrum. In this mode, there may be tight interworking between LTE/LTE-a that employs unlicensed spectrum and LTE/LTE-a that does not employ unlicensed spectrum. For example, the bootstrap mode may support the supplemental downlink mode and the carrier aggregation mode described above. The PHY-MAC layer of an LTE/LTE-a network that employs unlicensed spectrum may operate in a standalone mode in which the LTE/LTE-a network that employs unlicensed spectrum operates independently of an LTE network that does not employ unlicensed spectrum. In this case, there may be loose interworking between LTE that does not employ unlicensed spectrum and LTE/LTE-a that employs unlicensed spectrum, for example, based on RLC level aggregation with co-located LTE/LTE-a cells that do/do not employ unlicensed spectrum or multi-streaming across multiple cells and/or base stations.

The techniques described herein are not limited to LTE and may also be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Release 0 and Release A are commonly referred to as CDMA 20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA2000lx EV-D0, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (wcdma) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-advanced (LTE-A) are new versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3 rd Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3 rd generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as other systems and radio technologies. However, the following description describes an LTE system for purposes of example, and LTE terminology is used in much of the following description, although the techniques may also be applicable to applications other than LTE applications.

Accordingly, the following description provides examples, and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration set forth in the claims. Modifications may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements discussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various embodiments may omit, replace, or add various procedures or components, as appropriate. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Furthermore, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined into other embodiments.

Referring initially to fig. 1, an example of a wireless communication system or network 100 is depicted. System 100 includes base stations (or cells) 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. The base stations 105 may communicate with the UEs 115 under the control of a base station controller (not shown), which may be part of the core network 130 or the base stations 105 in various embodiments. The base stations 105 may communicate control information and/or user data with the core network 130 over backhaul links 132. In embodiments, the base stations 105 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly over backhaul links 134, where the backhaul links 134 may be wired or wireless communication links. The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multicarrier transmitters may transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. For example, each communication link 125 may be a multi-carrier signal modulated according to the respective wireless technology described above. Each modulated signal may be transmitted on a different carrier and may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, data, and so on.

The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. Each base station 105 site may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic area 110. In some embodiments, the base station 105 may be referred to as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a node B, eNodeB (eNB), a home nodeb, a home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The coverage area 110 of a base station may be divided into sectors (not shown) that form only a portion of the coverage area. The system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro, micro, and/or pico base stations). There may be overlapping coverage areas for different technologies.

In some embodiments, system 100 is an LTE/LTE-a network that supports one or more unlicensed spectrum operating modes or deployment scenarios. In other embodiments, system 100 may support wireless communications using unlicensed spectrum and an access technology different from LTE/LTE-a that employs unlicensed spectrum, or licensed spectrum and an access technology different from LTE/LTE-a. The terms evolved node b (enb) and User Equipment (UE) may be used generally to describe a base station 105 and a UE115, respectively. System 100 may be a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-a network with or without unlicensed spectrum, with different types of enbs providing coverage for various geographic regions. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macrocell, picocell, femtocell, and/or other type of cell. Small cells (such as pico cells, femto cells, and/or other types of cells) may include low power nodes or LPNs. A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., on a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A pico cell will typically cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also typically cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may provide restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for in-home users, etc.). The eNB for the macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico eNB. Also, an eNB for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto eNB or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells.

The core network 130 may communicate with the base stations 105 via backhaul links 132 (e.g., S1, etc.). The base stations 105 may also communicate with each other, directly or indirectly, e.g., via backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2, etc.) and/or via backhaul links 132 (e.g., through the core network 130). The system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, enbs may have similar frame and/or gating timing, and transmissions from different enbs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the enbs may have different frame and/or gating timings, and transmissions from different enbs may be misaligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous operations or asynchronous operations.

UEs 115 are dispersed throughout system 100, and each UE may be fixed or mobile. UE115 may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. The UE115 may be a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless telephone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, or the like. The UE can communicate with macro enbs, pico enbs, femto enbs, relays, and the like.

The communication links 125 shown in the system 100 may include Uplink (UL) transmissions from the UEs 115 to the base stations 105 and/or Downlink (DL) transmissions from the base stations 105 to the UEs 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions. Downlink transmissions may be made using licensed spectrum (e.g., LTE), unlicensed spectrum (e.g., LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum), or both (LTE/LTE-a with/without unlicensed spectrum). Similarly, uplink transmissions may be made using licensed spectrum (e.g., LTE), unlicensed spectrum (e.g., LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum), or both (LTE/LTE-a with/without unlicensed spectrum).

In some embodiments of system 100, various deployment scenarios may be supported for LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum, including a Supplemental Downlink (SDL) mode in which LTE downlink capacity in licensed spectrum may be offloaded to unlicensed spectrum, a carrier aggregation mode, and an independent mode; in carrier aggregation mode, both LTE downlink and uplink capacity may be offloaded from licensed spectrum to unlicensed spectrum; while in standalone mode, LTE downlink and uplink communications between a base station (e.g., eNB) and a UE may occur in unlicensed spectrum. The base stations 105 and UEs 115 may support one or more of these or similar modes of operation. OFDMA communication signals may be used in the communication link 125 for LTE downlink transmissions in the unlicensed spectrum, while SC-FDMA communication signals may be used in the communication link 125 for LTE uplink transmissions in the unlicensed spectrum. Additional details regarding implementing an LTE/LTE-a deployment scenario or mode of operation employing unlicensed spectrum in a system, such as system 100, are provided below with reference to fig. 2A-7, as well as other features and functions related to operation of LTE/LTE-a employing unlicensed spectrum.

Turning next to fig. 2A, diagram 200 illustrates an example of a supplemental downlink mode and a carrier aggregation mode for an LTE network that supports LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum. Diagram 200 may be an example of a portion of system 100 of fig. 1. Further, base station 105-a may be an example of base station 105 of FIG. 1, and UE115-a may be an example of UE115 of FIG. 1.

In the example of the supplemental downlink mode in diagram 200, base station 105-a may transmit an OFDMA communication signal to UE115-a using downlink 205. The downlink 205 is associated with a frequency Fl in the unlicensed spectrum. The base station 105-a may transmit OFDMA communication signals to the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 210 and may receive SC-FDMA communication signals from the UE115-a using the bidirectional link 210. The bidirectional link 210 is associated with a frequency F4 in the licensed spectrum. The downlink 205 in the unlicensed spectrum and the bidirectional link 210 in the licensed spectrum may operate simultaneously. The downlink 205 may provide downlink capacity offload for the base station 105-a. In some embodiments, the downlink 205 may be used for unicast services (e.g., addressed to one UE) or multicast services (e.g., addressed to several UEs). This scenario may occur with any service provider (e.g., a traditional mobile network operator or MNO) that uses licensed spectrum and needs to alleviate some traffic and/or signaling congestion.

In one example of a carrier aggregation mode in diagram 200, a base station 105-a may transmit OFDMA communication signals to a UE115-a using a bidirectional link 215 and may receive SC-FDMA communication signals from the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 215. The bidirectional link 215 is associated with a frequency Fl in the unlicensed spectrum. The base station 105-a may also transmit OFDMA communication signals to the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 220 and may receive SC-FDMA communication signals from the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 220. The bidirectional link 220 is associated with a frequency F2 in the licensed spectrum. The bi-directional link 215 may provide downlink and uplink capacity offload for the base station 105-a. Similar to the supplemental downlink described above, this scenario may occur for any service provider (e.g., MNO) that uses licensed spectrum and needs to alleviate some traffic and/or signaling congestion.

In another example of a carrier aggregation mode in diagram 200, a base station 105-a may transmit OFDMA communication signals to a UE115-a using a bidirectional link 225 and may receive SC-FDMA communication signals from the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 225. The bidirectional link 225 is associated with a frequency F3 in the unlicensed spectrum. The base station 105-a may also transmit OFDMA communication signals to the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 220 and receive SC-FDMA communication signals from the same UE115-a using the bidirectional link 230. The bidirectional link 230 is associated with a frequency F2 in the licensed spectrum. The bi-directional link 225 may provide downlink and uplink capacity offload for the base station 105-a. This example and those provided above are given for illustrative purposes, and other similar operating modes or deployment scenarios may exist in connection with LTE/LTE-a with or without unlicensed spectrum for capacity offloading.

As described above, a typical service provider that can benefit from capacity offloading provided by using LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum is a legacy MNO with LTE spectrum. For these service providers, the operational configuration may include a bootstrapping mode (e.g., supplemental downlink, carrier aggregation) that uses an LTE Primary Component Carrier (PCC) over the licensed spectrum and an LTE Secondary Component Carrier (SCC) over the unlicensed spectrum.

In the supplemental downlink mode, control for LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum may be transmitted over the LTE uplink (e.g., the uplink portion of the bidirectional link 210). One of the reasons for providing downlink capacity offload is because data demand is driven primarily by downlink consumption. Also, in this mode, there is no supervision impact since the UE is not transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. There is no need to implement Listen Before Talk (LBT) or Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) requirements on the UE. However, LBT may be implemented on a base station (e.g., eNB), for example, by using periodic (e.g., every 10 milliseconds) Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) and/or preemption and relinquishing mechanisms aligned with radio frame boundaries.

In carrier aggregation mode, data and control may be transmitted in LTE (e.g., bidirectional links 210, 220, and 230), while data may be transmitted in LTE/LTE-a (e.g., bidirectional links 215 and 225) employing unlicensed spectrum. The carrier aggregation mechanisms supported when using LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum may be categorized into hybrid frequency division duplex-time division duplex (FDD-TDD) carrier aggregation or TDD-TDD carrier aggregation with different symmetries across component carriers.

Fig. 2B shows a diagram 200-a depicting an example of standalone mode for LTE/LTE-a with unlicensed spectrum. The diagram 200-a may be an example of a portion of the system 100 of fig. 1. Further, base station 105-b may be an example of base station 105 of FIG. 1 and base station 105-a of FIG. 2A, while UE 115-b may be an example of UE115 of FIG. 1 and UE115-a of FIG. 2A.

In the standalone mode example in diagram 200-a, base station 105-b may transmit OFDMA communication signals to UE 115-b using bidirectional link 240 and may receive SC-FDMA communication signals from UE 115-b using bidirectional link 240. Bidirectional link 240 is associated with frequency F3 in the unlicensed spectrum described above with reference to fig. 2A. The standalone mode may be used in non-legacy wireless access scenarios, such as intra-stadium access (e.g., unicast, multicast). Typical service providers for this mode of operation may be stadium owners, cable companies, event sponsors, hotels, businesses, and large corporations that do not have licensed spectrum. For these service providers, the operating configuration for standalone mode may use PCC on the unlicensed spectrum. Furthermore, LBT may be implemented on both the base station and the UE.

Turning next to fig. 3, diagram 300 depicts an example of carrier aggregation when LTE is used simultaneously in licensed and unlicensed spectrum, in accordance with various embodiments. The carrier aggregation scheme in diagram 300 may correspond to the hybrid FDD-TDD carrier aggregation described above with reference to fig. 2A. This type of carrier aggregation may be used in at least part of the system 100 of fig. 1. Further, this type of carrier aggregation may be used in the base station 105 and base station 105-a of fig. 1 and 2A, respectively, and/or in the UE115 and UE115-a of fig. 1 and 2A, respectively.

In this example, FDD (FDD-LTE) may be performed in the downlink in conjunction with LTE, a first TDD (tddl) may be performed in conjunction with LTE/LTE-a employing unlicensed spectrum, a second TDD (TDD2) may be performed in conjunction with LTE employing licensed spectrum, and another FDD (FDD-LTE) may be performed in the uplink with licensed spectrum in conjunction with LTE. TDDl gives a DL to UL ratio of 6:4, while the TDD2 ratio is 7: 3. On a time scale, the different effective DL: UL ratios are 3:1, 1:3, 2:2, 3:1, 2:2, and 3: 1. This example is given for illustrative purposes, and there may be other carrier aggregation schemes that incorporate operation of LTE/LTE-a with or without unlicensed spectrum.

Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of a design of a base station/eNB 105 and a UE115, which may be one of the base stations/enbs and one of the UEs in fig. 1. The base station 105 may be equipped with antennas 434a through 434t, while the UE115 may be equipped with antennas 452a through 452 r. At the base station 105, a transmit processor 420 may receive data from a data source 412 and control information from a controller/processor 440. The control information may be for a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel (PHICH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), etc. The data may be for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), etc. Transmit processor 420 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmit processor 420 may also generate reference symbols (e.g., for a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and a cell-specific reference signal). A Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to Modulators (MODs) 432a through 432 t. Each modulator 432 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 432 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 432a through 432t may be transmitted via 434a through 434t, respectively.

At the UE115, antennas 452a through 452r may receive downlink signals from the base station 105 and provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 454a through 454r, respectively. Each demodulator 454 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 454 may also process input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MMO detector 456 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators 454a through 454r, perform MMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 458 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE115 to a data sink 460, and provide decoded control information to a controller/processor 480.

On the uplink, at UE115-a, a transmit processor 464 may receive and process data from a data source 462 (e.g., for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)), and control information from a controller/processor 480 (e.g., for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 464 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 464 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 466 if applicable, further processed by the demodulators 454a through 454r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 105. At the base station 105, the uplink signals from the UE115 may be received by the antennas 434, processed by the demodulators 432, detected by the MMO detector 436 (if applicable), and further processed by a receive processor 438 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 115. Processor 438 may provide decoded data to a data sink 439 and decoded control information to controller/processor 440.

Controllers/processors 440 and 480 may direct the operation at base station 105 and UE115, respectively. The controller/processor 440 and/or other processors and modules at the base station 105 may perform or direct the performance of various processes for the techniques described herein. The controller/processor 480 and/or other processors and modules at the UE115 may also perform or direct the execution of the functional blocks depicted in fig. 5 and 6 and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. Memories 442 and 482 may store data and program codes for base station 105 and UE115, respectively. A scheduler 444 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.

In LBT compliant communication systems, such as LTE/LTE-a networks employing unlicensed spectrum, reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS, enhanced common reference signals (e-CRS), etc.) used to determine Channel State Information (CSI) are typically transmitted depending on CCA clearance (clear). When CCA operation does not frequently clean up CSI-RS subframes, the resulting CSI report may be stale and inaccurate. One solution to prevent stale CSI reporting would be to increase the periodicity of CSI-RS transmissions. However, this would potentially incur increased overhead and additional interference to other UEs in the deployment.

Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to transmitting aperiodic reference signals that include sufficient reference signals for CSI processing. For example, in select aspects, such aperiodic reference signals can include CSI-RSs and interference measurement resources (IMS) transmitted in various patterns across a single subframe. The CSI-RS may be used by the UE to perform channel estimation, while the IMR may be used to estimate channel interference. In further aspects, the aperiodic reference signal can include a Common Reference Signal (CRS). When CRS is used for aperiodic reference signals, both channel and interference estimation may be performed by the UE using CRS. Since the reference signal frame is transmitted in an aperiodic manner, the transmitting base station can use a downlink control signal (such as through the PDCCH) to provide notification of the presence of such aperiodic reference signals. For example, such notification of the presence of aperiodic reference signals can be located in the common search space of the PDCCH so that UEs within the coverage area of the transmitting base station can detect the presence indicator. The notification may be sent in the same subframe as the aperiodic reference signal or may be sent in a previous subframe (e.g., 1 or more subframes before aperiodic reference signal transmission).

It should be noted that in various aspects of the disclosure, multiple configurations of aperiodic reference signals can be selected by a base station. These configurations define various patterns of reference signals found in a subframe and, therefore, may provide mapping of particular reference signals to tone locations within a subframe. For example, the configuration may map which tones of the subframe carry CSI-RS and which tones carry IMR, and may include an identification of CSI-RS and IMR configurations currently defined in terms of supporting LTE/LTE-a standards. The base station may semi-statically select one or more aperiodic reference signal configurations for transmission. The particular configuration selected from the semi-statically selected set of configurations may then be indicated by the base station in a grant or presence indicator of PDCCH transmissions. Any UE in the communication area of the transmitting base station will monitor this PDCCH information.

It should also be noted that to avoid the UE from confusing the aperiodic reference signal with data transmission, the PDSCH will be rate matched around the aperiodic reference signal.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram depicting example blocks executed to implement an aspect of the present disclosure. At block 500, a base station transmits an identifier for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal. As mentioned, such an identifier may be transmitted in a common search space of a control channel (e.g., PDCCH). At block 501, a base station transmits an aperiodic reference signal. In an example aspect, the aperiodic reference signal comprises a configuration of CSI-RS and IMR signals spanning one subframe. The base station may select a particular configuration from a plurality of configurations of aperiodic reference signals and indicate the current configuration in an identifier signal. At block 502, the base station will then receive CSI reports from any of the UEs served by the base station. The CSI reporting will be based on aperiodic reference signals such as CSI-RS based channel estimation and IMR based interference measurements.

From the UE perspective, in case of aperiodic reference signals, the UE should detect aperiodic CSI requests in order to perform CSI operations on the aperiodic reference signals. Aspects of the disclosure may provide explicit or implicit CSI requests. For example, the aperiodic CSI report may be requested separately for each UE through an additional request signal transmitted from the base station to a specific UE. Such UE-specific CSI requests may be included in a UE-specific search space of a control channel (e.g., PDCCH). The UE-specific CSI request may also include an identification of the type of report requested. For example, the UE-specific request may be a wideband or narrowband report with or without a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI).

Alternatively, the aperiodic CSI request may be implicit and common to all UEs or to a group of UEs served by the transmitting base station. In one example of an implicit aperiodic CSI request, a presence indicator in the common search space of the control channel may implicitly trigger each UE to report CSI based on an aperiodic reference signal. Thus, when a UE detects a presence indicator in the common search space of a control channel (e.g., PDCCH), it will automatically start CSI reporting operations when aperiodic reference signals are detected.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram depicting example blocks executed to implement an aspect of the present disclosure. At block 600, a UE detects an identifier in a subframe for signaling the presence of an aperiodic reference signal. The identifier may indicate that the aperiodic reference signal is in the same subframe as the indicator, or it may alternatively indicate that the aperiodic reference signal will be located in a particular later subframe. At block 601, the UE identifies a CSI request from a base station. The CSI request may be identified implicitly, e.g. by detection of an identifier signal, or it may be identified explicitly by detection of a UE-specific request from a base station. At block 602, in response to the identified request, the UE generates a CSI report based on operations performed on the aperiodic reference signal. For example, the UE may determine channel estimates using CSI-RSs contained within aperiodic reference signals and may determine channel interference using IMRs also contained within non-periodic reference signals. At block 603, the UE sends a CSI report to the base station.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting a base station 700 and a UE703 and 704 configured according to one aspect of the disclosure. The base station 700 and the UE703 and 704 include similar components and functionality as the base station 105 and the UE115, respectively, as described and depicted in fig. 1. In one aspect of the disclosure, the base station 105 transmits the PDCCH on a transmission stream 701. The transmission stream 701 includes a plurality of Control Channel Elements (CCEs) 702, which may include PDCCH transmissions. The CCEs 702 depicted in fig. 7 represent only a portion of the total CCEs transmitted by the base station 700 at any given point. The PDCCH includes both a common search space and a UE-specific search space. Thus, each CCE 702 may be a common search space CCE, a UE-specific search space, or another type of transmitted signal. UE703 and UE 704 are served by base station 700 and receive transport stream 701. Each of the UE703 and the UE 704 knows to access a common search space CCE 705 to receive system information common to all UEs served by the base station 700. Further, the UE703 knows to access the UE703 search space CCE 706 to receive system information from the base station 700 specifically directed to the UE 703. Similarly, the UE 704 knows to access the UE 704 search space CCE 707 to receive system information from the base station 700 specifically directed to the UE 704.

In one aspect of the disclosure, the base station 700 transmits an identifier indicating the presence of an aperiodic reference signal within a common search space CCE 705. The identifier may indicate that the aperiodic reference signal exists in the same subframe, or it may identify which subsequent subframe the aperiodic reference signal will be located in. In a first aspect of the disclosure, the UE703 and the UE 704 will implicitly use the detected identifier within the common search space 705 as an aperiodic CSI request. Thus, both UE703 and UE 704 will generate CSI reports based on the aperiodic reference signal when received.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the base station 700 sends the identifier within the common search space CCE 705 and also sends an aperiodic CSI request to the UE703 located in the UE703 search space CCE 706 and an aperiodic CSI request to the UE 704 located in the UE 704 search space CCE 707. The UE-specific aperiodic CSI request may also include the type of CSI report requested from the UE703 and the UE 704. For example, an aperiodic CSI request to UE703 may request a narrowband report with PMI, while an aperiodic CSI request to UE 704 may request a wideband report without PMI. Thus, the UE703 and the UE 704 know when and where the aperiodic reference signal will be transmitted based on the identifier in the common search space CCE 705, and will also know to generate a specific type of CSI report by receiving UE-specific CSI requests from the base station 700 in their respective UE-specific search spaces.

It should be noted that in further aspects of the disclosure, the base station 700 may semi-statically select a configuration for aperiodic reference signals. This selected configuration can then be transmitted to the UE703 and the UE 704 by the identifier sent in the common search space CCE 705.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The functional blocks and modules in fig. 5 and 6 may comprise processors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronics components, logic circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes, etc., or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will also readily recognize that the order or combination of components, methods, or interactions described herein is merely an example, and that the components, methods, and interactions of the various aspects of the present disclosure may be combined or performed in a manner different than those depicted and described herein.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Computer readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, a connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or DSL are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein (including in the claims), when the term "and/or" is used in a list having two or more items, it means that any one of the listed items may be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items may be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing component A, B or C, the composition may contain: only A; only B; only C; a combination of A and B; a combination of A and C; a combination of B and C; or a combination of A, B and C. Further, as used herein (including in the claims), "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, the list "A, B or at least one of C" means a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C) or any combination thereof.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The content of the claims is referred to.