JP2013543334A - Communication between user equipment (UE) and independent serving sector in a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

  A wireless communication system transmits in high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) by having a radio network controller (RNC) allocate portions of data to a first serving cell and a second serving cell for transmission to a user equipment. . The first serving cell transmits data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier. The second serving cell is independent of the first serving cell and transmits data to the user equipment on the second downlink carrier. In any aspect, the RNC receives the measurement report from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

Description

Claiming priority under 35 USC 119

  [0001] This patent application is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Claims priority of provisional application 61 / 392,915 entitled “OF INDEPENDENT SERVING SECTORS IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM”.

  The present application relates to communication between user equipment (UE) and multiple independent serving sectors in a wireless communication system.

  [0003] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephone, video, data, messaging, broadcast and the like. Such a network is typically a multiple access network and supports communication for multiple users by sharing available network resources. An example of such a network is the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). UTRAN is a part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A radio access network (RAN) defined as a part. UMTS is the successor to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (registered trademark) technology for mobile communications, and currently includes wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) (registered trademark), time division code. It supports various air interface standards such as division multiple access (TD-CDMA) and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA). UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communication protocols such as High Speed Packet Access (HSDPA), which provides higher data rates and capacities for associated UMTS networks.

  [0004] In such a communication system design, if there are available resources, it is desirable to maximize capacity or maximize the number of users that the system can reliably support.

  [0005] The following presents a simplified summary of such aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects and does not identify key or critical elements of all aspects or delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

  [0006] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for receiving data in high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) from two independent cells or sectors. . User equipment (UE) receives data on a first downlink carrier from a first serving cell. The UE receives data on a second downlink carrier from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In an exemplary aspect, the UE transmits channel feedback on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0007] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides at least one processor for receiving data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The first module receives data on the first downlink carrier from the first serving cell. The second module receives data on a second downlink carrier from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In an exemplary aspect, the third module transmits channel feedback on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0008] In an additional aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product that receives data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores a plurality of code sets. The first code set causes a computer to receive data on a first downlink carrier from a first serving cell at a user equipment. The second code set causes a computer to receive data on a second downlink carrier at a user equipment from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In an exemplary aspect, the third code set causes a computer to transmit channel feedback by the user equipment on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0009] In a further aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for receiving data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The apparatus comprises means for receiving data on a first downlink carrier from a first serving cell at a user equipment. The apparatus comprises means for receiving data on a second downlink carrier at a user equipment from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In an exemplary aspect, an apparatus comprises means for transmitting channel feedback by a user equipment on a first uplink carrier to at least one of a first serving cell and a second serving cell.

  [0010] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for receiving data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The first receiver receives data on the first downlink carrier from the first serving cell at the user equipment. The second receiver receives data on a second downlink carrier at a user equipment from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In an exemplary aspect, the first transmitter transmits channel feedback by the user equipment on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0011] In yet a further aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for transmitting data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. A radio access network (RAN) allocates a portion of data to a first serving cell and a second serving cell for transmission to user equipment by a radio network controller (RNC). This RAN transmits data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier by the first serving cell. The RAN transmits data to the user equipment on a second downlink carrier by a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In any aspect, the RAN receives channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via the RNC via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0012] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides at least one processor for transmitting data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The first module allocates portions of data by the RNC to the first serving cell and the second serving cell for transmission to the user equipment. The second module transmits data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier by the first serving cell. The third module transmits data to the user equipment on the second downlink carrier by a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In any aspect, the fourth module receives channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0013] In an additional aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program product that transmits data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores a plurality of code sets. The first code set causes the computer to allocate a portion of data to the first serving cell and the second serving cell for transmission to the user equipment by the RNC. The second code set causes the computer to transmit data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier by the first serving cell. The third code set causes the computer to transmit data to the user equipment on the second downlink carrier by a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In some cases, the fourth code set causes the computer to receive channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0014] In a further aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for transmitting data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The apparatus comprises means for assigning, by the RNC, a portion of data to a first serving cell and a second serving cell for transmission to a user equipment. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting data to user equipment on a first downlink carrier by a first serving cell. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting data on a second downlink carrier to user equipment by a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In any aspect, the apparatus comprises means for receiving channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0015] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for transmitting data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The RNC allocates a portion of data to the first serving cell and the second serving cell for transmission to the user equipment. The first serving cell transmits data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier. The second serving cell is independent of the first serving cell and transmits data to the user equipment on the second downlink carrier. In any aspect, the RNC receives channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell.

  [0016] To the accomplishment of the above and related ends, one or more aspects comprise the features described in detail below, particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. However, these features are just a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects can be employed, and this description includes all such aspects and their equivalents. Shall be.

  [0017] The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram of an aspect of a user device and a network device in a wireless communication system. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an aspect of a method for communication using received data from an independent serving cell performed by a user equipment. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an aspect of a method for communication using transmission data from an independent serving cell performed by a network device. The block diagram which shows notionally an example of the one aspect | mode of a telecommunications system. The conceptual diagram which shows an example of the one aspect | mode of an access network. FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of one aspect of a Node B communicating with a UE in a telecommunications system. The figure which shows an example of 1 aspect of the hardware mounting form for the apparatus which employ | adopts a processing system. FIG. 9 illustrates an aspect of a method for transmitting data to legacy UEs on multiple carriers within a single sector. FIG. 8 illustrates one aspect of a connection established between a given user equipment (UE) and a serving sector during the method of FIG. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for transmitting data to a UE via multiple serving sectors according to an aspect of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for transmitting data to a UE via multiple serving sectors according to another aspect of the invention. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an aspect of a connection established between a given UE and multiple serving sectors according to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an aspect of a system of logical groupings of electrical components for communication using dual uplink transmission time intervals performed by a user equipment. 1 is a lock diagram of an aspect of a system of logical groupings of electrical components for communication using a dual uplink transmission time interval performed by a network device. FIG.

Detailed description

  [0032] A user equipment (UE) establishes a first serving sector and a second serving sector at the same time. The first serving sector is configured to transmit to the UE on at least one downlink carrier from the first set of carriers, and the second serving sector is at least one of the second set of carriers. It is configured to transmit to the UE on the downlink carrier. The UE is assigned one uplink carrier by which the UE can send feedback to the first and second serving sectors, and the uplink carrier is in the first and second set of carriers. included. The UE receives data transmissions from their first and second serving sectors on their respective downlink carriers. The UE measures the local sector pilot signal and provides channel feedback on the uplink carrier. The access network maintains an active set for the UE based on the measurement report.

  [0033] 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 represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be implemented. This detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

  [0034] Referring to FIG. 1, in a wireless communication system 100, a network device, shown as a radio access network (RAN) 102, transmits to a user device, shown as user equipment (UE) 114, on multiple carriers. An independent serving cell transmission controller 101 that manages a plurality of independent serving cells. In one aspect, the RAN 102 is shown as two independent cells, shown as a first serving cell 106 provided by a first base node 108 and as a second serving cell 110 provided by a second base node 112. To UE 114 in high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA). In one aspect, a scheduler, shown as a radio network controller (RNC) 116 of the RAN 102, executes the independent serving cell transmission controller 101 and, as a result, a portion of the data 104 for transmission to the UE 114 in the first serving cell 106 and Assign to the second serving cell 110. Specifically, the first serving cell 106 transmits data 104 to the UE 114 on the first downlink carrier 118. The second serving cell 110 is independent of the first serving cell 106 and transmits data 104 to the UE 114 on the second downlink carrier 120. The RNC 116 and / or the independent serving cell transmission controller 101 receives channel feedback 122 from the UE 114 on the first uplink carrier 124 via at least one of the first serving cell 106 and the second serving cell 110. The first and second base nodes may each comprise a transmitter 126 and a receiver 128 that utilize at least one antenna 130 for transmission and reception.

  [0035] Similarly, an independent serving cell receive controller 103 for managing a receiving independent serving cell on multiple carriers at UE 114, in one aspect, includes: It may operate to enable data reception in HSDPA. The first receiver 132 receives data 104 from the first serving cell 106 on the first downlink carrier 118. The second receiver 134 receives the data 104 on the second downlink carrier 120 from the second serving cell 110 that is independent of the first serving cell 106. The first transmitter 136 transmits the channel feedback 122 on the first uplink carrier 124 to at least one of the first serving cell 106 and the second serving cell 110.

  [0036] In an exemplary aspect, the UE 114 has a second transmitter 138 for transmitting the second uplink carrier 140, and the second uplink carrier 140 is an anchor carrier. Can be. The first and second receivers 132, 134, and the first and second transmitters 136, 138 utilize one or more antennas 142.

  [0037] A carrier may be considered an anchor carrier in that the anchor carrier carries a control channel for a non-anchor carrier. Alternatively or additionally, anchor carrier measurements may be the basis for making a mobility decision. Alternatively or additionally, a single uplink also means that a single active set is maintained only on the anchor carrier by the UE (and network).

  [0038] W-CDMA Rel. In current multi-carrier HSPA at 8, 9 and 10, all downlink carriers have the same serving cell. Such an implementation simplifies certain operations on the medium access control (MAC) layer and the radio link control (RLC) layer, but such an implementation also limits the UE data rate in many situations. To do. The present invention allows for wireless communication systems with two or more independent sectors or cells, and the serving cell for each carrier can be chosen independently. Channel feedback on one or more uplink carriers from the UE is addressed. Specifically, carriers can be grouped into carrier groups. Each carrier group has one uplink carrier and thus one active set. The serving cell for each downlink carrier is selected from among the member cells in the active set for that carrier group. Mobility can be based on anchor carriers or can be independent for each carrier group. The HS-DPCCH may be coded in one codeword and sent on an anchor uplink carrier, or may be sent on an uplink carrier coded per carrier group and linked to that carrier group.

  [0039] Thus, in one aspect, the first serving cell and the second serving cell may be selected from the active set based on the measurement report 143, eg, by the RNC 116 executing the independent serving cell transmission controller 101.

  [0040] In another aspect, the first serving cell 106 transmits a first High Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) for the first downlink carrier 118. The second serving cell 110 transmits a second HS-SCCH for the second downlink carrier 120. In an aspect, in response to the operation of the independent serving cell receive controller 103, the encoder 144 at the UE 114 may perform a high speed downlink physical control channel (at least based on the first HS-SCCH and the second HS-SCCH). Channel feedback 122 with High Speed Downlink Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCCH) information is encoded in one codeword on the first uplink carrier 124. This one codeword may be decoded by the decoder 146 at the RAN.

  [0041] Thus, in FIG. 2A, method 200, such as performed by user equipment 114 of FIG. 1, is for receiving data in high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) from two independent cells or sectors. It is. The user equipment receives data on the first downlink carrier from the first serving cell (block 202). The user equipment receives data on a second downlink carrier from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell (block 204). In any aspect, the user equipment transmits channel feedback on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell (block 206).

  [0042] In an exemplary aspect, the first serving cell and the second serving cell are selected by the radio network controller (RNC) from the active set based on the measurement report.

  [0043] In another exemplary aspect, the method further comprises monitoring a first high-speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) transmitted by the first serving cell for the first downlink carrier. Monitoring a second HS-SCCH transmitted by a second serving cell for a second downlink carrier. The user equipment may use a high speed downlink physical control channel (HS-DPCCH) based at least in part on the first HS-SCCH and the second HS-SCCH in one codeword on the first uplink carrier. Encode channel feedback with information. In certain aspects, the user equipment transmits data on a second uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell, wherein the first uplink carrier transmits an anchor carrier. Prepare.

  [0044] In an additional exemplary aspect, a user equipment receives a first assignment of a first downlink carrier and a first uplink carrier to a first carrier group and to a second carrier group Receive a second assignment of the second downlink carrier and the second uplink carrier. The user equipment transmits channel feedback on the first uplink carrier to the first serving cell and transmits channel feedback on the second uplink carrier to the second serving cell. In certain aspects, the user equipment determines channel feedback for the selected carrier group by monitoring the HS-SCCH for each downlink carrier assigned to the selected carrier group. In a more specific aspect, the user equipment may serve a serving cell for the selected carrier group in response to the channel quality falling below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier. Trigger mobility between.

  [0045] In a further exemplary aspect, the user equipment determines that the channel quality is below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier designated as an anchor carrier. In response, trigger mobility between serving cells. In a particular aspect, the user equipment measures the channel quality using the compressed mode of the third downlink carrier transmitted by the new cell to update the active set of neighboring cells and sectors. .

  [0046] In yet another aspect, the user equipment triggers mobility between the serving cells in response to the channel quality falling below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier. .

  [0047] In a further additional aspect, the first serving cell may comprise a first serving sector and the second serving cell may comprise a second serving sector.

  [0048] In FIG. 2B, a method 250, such as performed by the network device of FIG. 1, eg, RAN 102, is for transmitting data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. The RAN allocates portions of data by the RNC to the first serving cell and the second serving cell for transmission to the user equipment (block 252). The RAN transmits data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier by the first serving cell (block 254). The RAN transmits data to the user equipment on a second downlink carrier with a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell (block 256). In an exemplary aspect, the RAN receives channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via the RNC via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell (block 258). ).

  [0049] In an aspect, the first serving cell and the second serving cell may be selected by the RNC from the active set based on the measurement report, thereby supporting legacy UEs.

  [0050] In another aspect, the RAN transmits a first HS-SCCH by a first serving cell for a first downlink carrier and a second by a second serving cell for a second downlink carrier. 2 HS-SCCHs are transmitted. The RAN has one code on the first uplink carrier comprising high speed downlink physical control channel (HS-DPCCH) information based at least in part on the first HS-SCCH and the second HS-SCCH. Decode the channel feedback received in the word. In an exemplary aspect, the RAN receives data on a second uplink carrier from user equipment by at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell, wherein the first uplink carrier is an anchor Have a career.

  [0051] In an additional aspect, the RAN assigns the first downlink carrier and the first uplink carrier to the first carrier group, and assigns the second downlink carrier and the second uplink carrier to the first carrier group. Assign to 2 carrier groups. The RAN receives channel feedback on the first uplink carrier from the user equipment with the first serving cell. The RAN receives channel feedback on the second uplink carrier from the user equipment with the second serving cell. In an exemplary aspect, the RAN receives channel feedback for the selected carrier group based on the HS-SCCH for each downlink carrier assigned to the selected carrier group. In certain aspects, the RAN may provide mobility between serving cells for the selected carrier group in response to the channel quality falling below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier. Trigger.

  [0052] In a further aspect, the RAN transmits data to other user equipments using the second downlink carrier by the first serving cell. The RAN has a first serving cell for transmitting the first downlink carrier and a second serving cell for transmitting the second downlink carrier to the user equipment to increase throughput through the operation of the RNC. And select.

  [0053] In yet another aspect, the RAN transmits data using the second downlink carrier by the first serving cell. The RAN transmits to other user equipment by means of data using the first uplink carrier by the second serving cell. The RAN, through the operation of the RNC, for transmitting a first serving cell for transmitting a first downlink carrier and a second downlink carrier to user equipment for load balancing. A second serving cell is selected.

  [0054] In a further additional aspect, the RAN is responsive to the channel quality being below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier designated as an anchor carrier. To trigger mobility between serving cells.

  [0055] In yet a further aspect, the RAN triggers mobility between the serving cells in response to the channel quality falling below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier.

  [0056] In an aspect, the first serving cell comprises a first serving sector and the second serving cell comprises a second serving sector.

  [0057] Various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a wide variety of telecommunications systems, network architectures and communication standards. By way of example, and not limitation, the aspects of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 3 are presented with respect to a UMTS system 300 that employs a W-CDMA air interface. The UMTS network includes three interacting domains: a core network (CN) 304, a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) 302, and a user equipment (UE) 310. In this example, UTRAN 302 provides various wireless services including telephone, video, data, messaging, broadcast, and / or other services. UTRAN 302 may include multiple RNSs, such as radio network subsystem (RNS) 303, each controlled by a respective RNC, such as radio network controller (RNC) 306. Serving Radio Network Subsystem (SRNS) is also used interchangeably herein instead of RNS. Here, UTRAN 302 may include any number of RNCs 306 and RNSs 303 in addition to the RNCs 306 and RNSs 303 shown herein. The RNC 306 is in particular a device responsible for allocating, reconfiguring and releasing radio resources within the RNS 303. The RNC 306 may be interconnected with other RNCs (not shown) in the UTRAN 302 through various types of interfaces, such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, etc. using any suitable transport network.

  [0058] Communication between UE 310 and Node B 308 may be considered to include a physical (PHY) layer and a medium access control (MAC) layer. Further, communication between UE 310 and RNC 306 via each Node B 308 may be considered to include a radio resource control (RRC) layer. As used herein, the PHY layer may be considered layer 1, the MAC layer may be considered layer 2, and the RRC layer may be considered layer 3. In the information herein below, the terms introduced in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification, 3GPP TS 25.331 v9.1.0, which are incorporated herein by reference. Is used.

  [0059] The geographic area covered by SRNS 303 may be divided into a number of cells, and a wireless transceiver device may serve each cell. A wireless transceiver device is commonly referred to as a Node B in UMTS applications, but by those skilled in the art, a base station (BS), a transceiver base station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set. (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Access Point (AP), or some other suitable terminology. For clarity, three Node Bs 308 are shown in each SRNS 303, but the SRNS 303 may include any number of wireless Node Bs. Node B 308 provides a wireless access point to core network (CN) 304 for any number of mobile devices. Examples of mobile devices include cellular phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, smart books, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning system (GPS) devices , Multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, or any other similar functional device. A mobile device is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in a UMTS application, but by those skilled in the art, a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device , Wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal (AT), mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, terminal, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term There is. In a UMTS system, the UE 310 may further include a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) 311 that includes user subscription information to the network. For illustration purposes, one UE 310 is shown communicating with several Node Bs 308. The downlink (DL), also referred to as the forward link, refers to the communication link from Node B 308 to UE 310, and the uplink (UL), also referred to as the reverse link, refers to the communication link from UE 310 to Node B 308.

  [0060] The core network 304 interfaces with one or more access networks, such as UTRAN 302. As shown, the core network 304 is a GSM core network. However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, the various concepts presented throughout this disclosure are implemented in the RAN or other suitable access network to give the UE access to types of core networks other than GSM networks. Can be done.

  [0061] The core network 304 includes a circuit switched (CS) domain and a packet switched (PS) domain. Some of the circuit switching elements are the Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC), the Visitor Location Register (VLR) and the gateway MSC. The packet switching element includes a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). In the illustrated example, the core network 304 supports circuit switched services with the MSC 312 and the GMSC 314. In some applications, GMSC 314 may be referred to as a media gateway (MGW). One or more RNCs such as RNC 306 may be connected to MSC 312. The MSC 312 is a device that controls call setup, call routing, and UE mobility functions. The MSC 312 also includes a Visitor Location Register (VLR) that contains subscriber relationship information for the duration that the UE is in the coverage area of the MSC 312. The GMSC 314 provides a gateway via the MSC 312 for the UE to access the circuit switched network 316. The GMSC 314 includes a Home Location Register (HLR) 315 that contains subscriber data, such as data that reflects the details of services that a particular user has subscribed to. The HLR is also associated with an authentication center (AuC) that contains subscriber-specific authentication data. When a call for a particular UE is received, the GMSC 314 queries the HLR 315 to determine the location of the UE and forwards the call to the specific MSC serving that location. Some network elements, such as EIR, HLR, VLR and AuC, can be shared by both circuit switched and packet switched domains.

  [0062] The core network 304 also supports packet data services along with a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 318 and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 320. GPRS, which represents General Packet Radio Service, is designed to provide packet data services at a rate higher than that available with standard circuit switched data services. GGSN 320 provides a connection for UTRAN 302 to packet-based network 322. Packet-based network 322 may be the Internet, a private data network, or some other suitable packet-based network. The main function of GGSN 320 is to provide packet-based network connectivity to UE 310. Data packets may be transferred between the GGSN 320 and the UE 310 through the SGSN 318, which primarily performs the same functions in the packet base domain as the MSC 312 performs in the circuit switched domain.

  [0063] The UMTS air interface is a spread spectrum Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) system. Spread spectrum DS-CDMA spreads user data by multiplication by a sequence of pseudo-random bits called a chip. The W-CDMA air interface for UMTS is based on such direct sequence spread spectrum technology and further calls for frequency division duplex (FDD). FDD uses different carrier frequencies for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) between Node B 308 and UE 310. Another air interface for UMTS that utilizes DS-CDMA and uses time division duplex is the TD-SCDMA air interface. Although various examples described herein may refer to a W-CDMA air interface, those skilled in the art will recognize that the underlying principles are equally applicable to a TD-SCDMA air interface. Like.

  [0064] The HSPA air interface includes a series of enhancements to the 3G / W-CDMA air interface that allow for higher throughput and reduced latency. Among other changes in previous releases, HSPA utilizes hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), shared channel transmission, and adaptive modulation and coding. Standards that define HSPA include HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access, also called Enhanced Uplink or EUL).

  [0065] HSDPA uses a high-speed downlink shared channel (HS-DSCH) as its transport channel. HS-DSCH is three physical channels: high-speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH), high-speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) And implemented by a high-speed dedicated physical control channel (HS-DPCCH).

  [0066] Among these physical channels, the HS-DPCCH carries HARQ ACK / NACK signaling on the uplink to indicate whether the corresponding packet transmission has been successfully decoded. That is, for the downlink, the UE 310 provides feedback to the Node B 308 on the HS-DPCCH to indicate whether it has correctly decoded the packet on the downlink.

  [0067] The HS-DPCCH further includes feedback signaling from the UE 310 to assist the Node B 308 in making a correct decision regarding the modulation and coding scheme and precoding weight selection, The feedback signaling includes CQI and PCI.

  [0068] "HSPA Evolved" or HSPA + is an evolution of the HSPA standard that includes MIMO and 64-QAM, allowing increased throughput and higher performance. That is, in one aspect of the present disclosure, Node B 308 and / or UE 310 may have multiple antennas that support MIMO technology. The use of MIMO technology allows Node B 308 to exploit the spatial domain to support spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and transmit diversity.

  [0069] Multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) generally refers to multi-antenna technology, ie, multiple transmit antennas (multiple inputs to a channel) and multiple receive antennas (multiple outputs from a channel). It is a term used. A MIMO system generally improves data transmission performance, enables diversity gain to reduce multipath fading and increase transmission quality, and spatial multiplexing gain to increase data throughput. Single input multiple output (SIMO), on the other hand, generally refers to a system that utilizes a single transmit antenna (single input to the channel) and multiple receive antennas (multiple outputs from the channel). Thus, in a SIMO system, a single transport block is sent on each carrier.

  [0070] The UE 310 may be the same as or similar to the user equipment 114 (FIG. 1) and may receive independent serving cell reception to perform the method 200 and other aspects as described herein. An independent serving cell receive controller (ISCRC) 103 (FIG. 1) can be incorporated. UTRAN 302 may be the same as or similar to RAN 102 (FIG. 1), and may perform independent serving cell transmission controllers (independent serving cell transmission controllers) to perform method 250 and other aspects as described herein. transmit controller) (ISTCTC) 101 (FIG. 1) can be incorporated as well.

  [0071] Referring to FIG. 4, an access network 400 in the UTRAN architecture is shown. A multiple access wireless communication system includes multiple cellular regions (cells), including cells 402, 404 and 406, each of which can include one or more sectors. Multiple sectors can be formed by groups of antennas, each antenna responsible for communication with UEs in a portion of the cell. For example, in cell 402, antenna groups 412, 414, and 416 may each correspond to a different sector. In cell 404, antenna groups 418, 420 and 422 each correspond to a different sector. In cell 406, antenna groups 424, 426, and 428 each correspond to a different sector. Cells 402, 404 and 406 may include a number of wireless communication devices, such as user equipment or UEs, that may communicate with one or more sectors of each cell 402, 404 or 406. For example, UEs 430 and 432 can communicate with Node B 442, UEs 434 and 436 can communicate with Node B 444, and UEs 438 and 440 can communicate with Node B 446. Here, each Node B 442, 444, 446 is configured to provide an access point to the core network for all UEs 430, 432, 434, 436, 438, 440 in the respective cells 402, 404 and 406. Is done.

  [0072] As the UE 434 moves from the illustrated location in the cell 404 into the cell 406, a serving cell change (SCC) or handover may be performed, and in the serving cell change (SCC) or handover, the UE 434 Communications from the cell 404, sometimes referred to as the source cell, to the cell 406, sometimes referred to as the target cell. Management of handover procedures may be performed at UE 434, at Node B corresponding to each cell, at Radio Network Controller (RNC) 405, or at another suitable node in the wireless network. For example, during a call with the source cell 404 or at any other time, the UE 434 may determine various parameters of the source cell 404 and various parameters of neighboring cells, such as cells 406 and 402. May be monitored. Further, depending on the quality of these parameters, UE 434 may maintain communication with one or more of the neighboring cells. During this time, UE 434 may maintain an active set, ie, a list of multiple cells to which UE 434 is connected simultaneously. For example, a UTRA cell that is currently allocating a downlink dedicated physical channel DPCH or a fractional downlink dedicated physical channel F-DPCH to UE 434 constitutes an active set. (Constitute) is also good.

  [0073] The modulation and multiple access schemes employed by access network 400 may vary depending on the particular telecommunications standard being deployed. By way of example, this standard may include Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). EV-DO and UMB are air interface standards published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000 standard family and are broadband to mobile stations using CDMA.・ Provide Internet access. This standard is alternatively used in wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), as well as TD-SCDMA, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) Other variants of CDMA, including Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, and Flash-OFDM employing OFDMA. It may be Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which employs a form. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced and GSM are described in documents from the 3GPP organization. CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from the 3GPP2 organization. The actual wireless communication standard and multiple access technology employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

  [0074] The UE 432 may be the same as or similar to the user equipment 114 (FIG. 1) and may receive independent serving cell reception to perform the method 200 and other aspects as described herein. A controller (ISCRC) 103 (FIG. 1) can be incorporated. Node B 442 may be the same as or similar to base nodes 108, 112 (FIG. 1), and may perform independent serving cell transmissions to perform method 250 and other aspects as described herein. A controller (ISCTC) 101 (FIG. 1) can be incorporated as well.

  [0075] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a Node B 510 in communication with UE 550, which may be RAN 102 (FIG. 1) and UE 550 may be user equipment 114 (FIG. 1). Good. For downlink communication, the transmit processor 520 may receive data from the data source 512 and receive control signals from the controller / processor 540. Transmit processor 520 provides various signal processing functions for data and control signals, as well as reference signals (pilot signals). For example, the transmit processor 520 may use a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code for error detection, coding and interleaving to enable forward error correction (FEC), two phase shift keying (BPSK), four phase. Mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes such as shift keying (QPSK), M phase shift keying (M-PSK), M quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM), and quadrature variable spreading factor ( OVSF) spreading and multiplication with a scrambling code to generate a series of symbols may be provided. Channel estimates from channel processor 544 may be used by controller / processor 540 to determine coding, modulation, spreading and / or scrambling schemes for transmit processor 520. These channel estimates may be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 550 or from feedback from UE 550. The symbols generated by the transmit processor 520 are provided to the transmit frame processor 530 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 530 creates this frame structure by multiplexing these symbols with information from the controller / processor 540 to produce a series of frames. These frames are then provided to a transmitter 532 that amplifies, filters, and modulates these frames on a carrier for downlink transmission over the wireless medium through antenna 534. Various signal conditioning functions are provided. The antenna 534 may include one or more antennas including, for example, a beam steering bi-directional adaptive antenna array, or other similar beam technology.

  [0076] At UE 550, receiver 554 receives a downlink transmission through antenna 552 and processes this transmission to recover the information modulated on the carrier. Information recovered by receiver 554 is provided to receive frame processor 560, which parses each frame and passes the information from the frame to channel processor 594 for data, control and reference signals. Are supplied to the receiving processor 570. Receive processor 570 then performs the reverse of the processing performed by transmit processor 520 at Node B 510. More specifically, receive processor 570 descrambles and despreads the symbols and then determines the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by Node B 510 based on the modulation scheme. . These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by the channel processor 594. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control and reference signals. The CRC code is then checked to determine if the frame has been successfully decoded. The data carried by the successfully decoded frame is then provided to the data sink 572, which runs within the UE 550 and / or various user interfaces (displays). Represents. The control signal carried by the successfully decoded frame is supplied to the controller / processor 590. When frame decoding fails by receive processor 570, controller / processor 590 also uses an acknowledgment (ACK) and / or negative acknowledgment (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames. May also be used.

  [0077] On the uplink, data from data source 578 and control signals from controller / processor 590 are provided to transmit processor 580. Data source 578 may represent applications that run within UE 550 and various user interfaces (keyboards). Similar to the functionality described for downlink transmission by Node B 510, the transmit processor 580 performs CRC code, coding and interleaving to enable FEC, mapping to signal constellation, spreading by OVSF, Various signal processing functions are provided, including scrambling to generate a series of symbols. The channel estimate derived by the channel processor 594 from the reference signal transmitted by the Node B 510 or from the feedback contained in the midamble transmitted by the Node B 510 is the appropriate coding, modulation, It can be used to select a spreading and / or scrambling scheme. The symbols generated by the transmit processor 580 are provided to the transmit frame processor 582 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 582 creates this frame structure by multiplexing these symbols with information from the controller / processor 590 to produce a series of frames. These frames are then provided to transmitter 556, which includes frame amplification, filtering, and modulation on the carrier for uplink transmission over the wireless medium through antenna 552. Provide various signal adjustment functions.

  [0078] Uplink transmission is processed at Node B 510 in a manner similar to that described for the receiver function at UE 550. Receiver 535 receives uplink transmissions through antenna 534 and processes the transmissions to recover the information modulated on the carrier. Information recovered by receiver 535 is provided to receive frame processor 536, which analyzes each frame and receives information from the frame into channel processor 544 for data, control and reference signals. To the processor 538. Receive processor 538 performs the reverse of the processing performed by transmit processor 580 at UE 550. Data and control signals carried by successfully decoded frames can then be provided to data sink 539 and controller / processor, respectively. If decoding of some of the frames by the receiving processor fails, the controller / processor 540 also acknowledges (ACK) and / or acknowledges (NAK) to support retransmission requests for those frames. Protocols may also be used.

  [0079] Controllers / processors 540 and 590 may be used to direct operation at Node B 510 and UE 550, respectively. For example, the controllers / processors 540 and 590 may provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. Computer readable media in memories 542 and 592 may store data and software for Node B 510 and UE 550, respectively. A scheduler / processor 546 at Node B 510 may be used to allocate resources to the UE and schedule downlink and / or uplink transmissions for the UE.

  [0080] UE 550 may be the same as or similar to user equipment 114 (FIG. 1), and is capable of independent serving cell reception to perform method 200 and other aspects as described herein. A controller (ISCRC) 103 (FIG. 1) can be incorporated. Node B 510 may be the same as or similar to base node 108, 112 (FIG. 1), and may perform independent serving cell transmissions to perform method 250 and other aspects as described herein. A controller (ISCTC) 101 (FIG. 1) can be incorporated as well.

  FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 600 that employs a processing system 602, such as for the RAN 102 (FIG. 1) or user equipment 114 (FIG. 1). In this example, processing system 602 may be implemented using a bus architecture represented schematically by bus 604. Bus 604 may include any number of interconnection buses and bridges depending on the particular application of processing system 602 and the overall design constraints. Bus 604 links various circuits together, including one or more processors, schematically represented by processor 606, and a computer-readable medium, schematically represented by computer-readable medium 608. Bus 604 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, but these circuits are well known in the art and are therefore no more. I do not explain. Bus interface 610 provides an interface between bus 604 and transceiver 612. The transceiver 612 provides a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. Depending on the nature of the device, a user interface 614 such as a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc. may also be provided.

  [0082] The processor 606 is responsible for managing the bus 604 and general processing including execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium 608. This software, when executed by the processor 606, causes the processing system 602 to perform various functions described below for a particular device. The computer-readable medium 608 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 606 when executing software.

  [0083] The computer-readable medium 608 is used to perform the method 200 and other aspects as described herein for the user equipment 114 (FIG. 1), such as an independent serving cell receive controller (ISRCC) 103 (FIG. 1). ) May be provided. Alternatively, the computer readable medium 608 may comprise an independent serving cell transmission controller (ISTCC) 101 (FIG. 1) to perform the method 250 and other aspects as described herein for the RAN 102. Good.

  [0084] Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), which utilizes single carrier modulation and frequency domain equalization, is a wireless technique based on OFDMA. SC-FDMA has similar performance as the OFDMA system and essentially the same overall complexity. However, SC-FDMA signals have the advantage of a lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) due to their unique single carrier structure. SC-FDMA has drawn much attention, especially in uplink communications where lower PAPR can greatly benefit mobile terminals in terms of transmit power efficiency. It is currently a practical premise for uplink multiple access schemes in 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), or Evolved UTRA.

  [0085] FIG. 7 shows a method 700 for transmitting data from a single serving cell to a given legacy UE 702 on multiple carriers within a single sector, where the radio access network (RAN) 704 is directed to the legacy UE 702. It is possible to transmit data independently from a plurality of cells or sectors. Referring to FIG. 7, the RAN 704 determines that the legacy UE 702 is limited to receiving data from a single serving cell (block 710). Legacy UE 702 establishes sector 1 of RAN 704 as its serving sector (block 712). For example, establishing a serving sector may include a UE monitoring and measuring a pilot signal for sector 1 and then successfully camping on sector 1. After sector 1 is established as a serving sector for legacy UE 702, sector 1 allocates the uplink (UL_F1) of carrier F1 to legacy UE 702 and also receives mobile-terminated data from sector 1 on it. ) To instruct legacy UE 702 to monitor the downlink (DL_F1) of carrier (or frequency) F1 and the downlink (DL_F2) of carrier F2 (block 714). In one example, uplink carrier UL_F1 can be used by legacy UE 702 to report feedback, which can be used to adjust downlink transmission power and data rate from sector 1 to legacy UE 702. In a further example, the downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 are legacy UEs 702 according to the MIMO Physical Layer in Release 7 and DC-HSDPA or Dual-Carrier DC-HSDPA in Release 8 and / or 9. May correspond to different frequencies used to communicate with. Downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 may each include a respective HS-DSCH transmitted on a different carrier on a different carrier by sector 1. The uplink carrier UL_F1 may also include a high speed dedicated physical control carrier (HS-DPCCH) by which the legacy UE 702 can provide feedback to sector 1.

  [0086] Sector 1 of RAN 704 may initiate transmissions to legacy UE 702 on downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2, and legacy UE 702 may be assumed to be tuned to and receive these downlink transmissions. (Block 716). At block 718, the legacy UE 702 monitors downlink pilot signals for each sector in its active set and / or from a local cell or sector to identify cells not yet in the legacy UE 702's active set. . Although not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 7, the legacy UE 702 may also be transmitted on the reverse link physical layer channel (HS-DPCCH) physical layer (channel quality indicator (CQI) and / or H-ARQ information). ) Can also monitor and measure downlink data transmissions on DL_F1 and DL_F2. As will be appreciated, measurements made by the legacy UE 702 may result in mobility events that may result in a change of the legacy UE 702's active set.

  [0087] After monitoring downlink pilot signals during a time period at block 718, legacy UE 702 sends channel feedback to sector 1 on uplink carrier UL_F1 (block 720). For example, channel feedback may be the average signal strength of each monitored downlink pilot signal and / or the average pilot signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of each monitored downlink pilot signal. ) May be included. Channel feedback may be forwarded to the serving RNC in RAN 704, which uses the channel feedback to perform mobility management including changes to the active set. Channel feedback may be sent in radio resource control (RRC) messages, which are treated as data by the physical layer. Sector 1 of the RAN 704 receives HS-DPCCH feedback on the uplink carrier UL_F1 from the legacy UE 702 and forwards this channel feedback to the serving RNC, and if necessary, the serving RNC relies on the legacy UE 702 based on this feedback. The active set of is updated (block 722).

  [0088] FIG. 8 shows a wireless communication system 800 illustrating connections established between the legacy UE 702 of FIG. 7 and sector 1 of the RAN 704. Accordingly, FIG. 8 shows two downlink carriers, DL_F1 and DL_F2, from sector 1 to legacy UE 702, and FIG. 8 also shows an uplink carrier UL_F1 from legacy UE 702 to sector 1 of RAN 704.

  [0089] Communicating with target UEs on multiple frequency bands within a single serving sector may reduce throughput compared to communicating with the same UE on a single frequency band of a single serving sector. Although it can be improved, aspects of the invention are directed to further improving throughput via communication between multiple serving sectors and at least one target UE. In the aspects described below, the target UE may receive physical layer feedback (CQI) for each of its carriers (collectively forming a single “carrier group”) on multiple serving sectors, as in FIG. 9A. And a single uplink carrier (UL_F1 or UL_F2) can be allocated on which to send HS-DPCCH feedback (such as H_ARQ information), or alternatively between different sectors, as in FIG. 9B Multiple uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) may be allocated on which to send physical layer feedback for different “groups” of that carrier, which may be distributed at the same time. Also, channel feedback, such as measured average signal strength and average pilot SIR of local downlink pilot signals from sectors near UE 902, can be sent in an RRC message that can be sent on any of the available uplink carriers. Can be.

  [0090] FIG. 9A illustrates a method 900 for transmitting data to a given UE via multiple serving sectors, according to an aspect of the invention. Referring to FIG. 9A, RNC 903 and UE 902 establish sector 1 906 of RAN 904 as a serving sector (block 950). For example, establishing sector 1 906 may include UE 902 monitoring and measuring a pilot signal for sector 1 906 and then successfully camping on sector 1 906. After sector 1 906 is established as a serving sector for the UE, sector 1 906 allocates an uplink carrier (UL_F1) to UE 902 and receives mobile incoming data from sector 1 906 thereon Assume that the UE 902 is instructed to monitor one or more downlink carriers (or frequencies) DL_F1 and DL_F2 (block 916). Sector 1 906 communicates with UE 902 on a single downlink carrier (either DL_F1 or DL_F2, but not both), as described in more detail below with respect to the example implementations of FIGS. 10A-10G. Or alternatively, can communicate with UE 902 on both carriers (DL_F1 and DL_F2) simultaneously.

  [0091] In one example, uplink carrier UL_F1 may be used by UE 902 to report channel feedback that may be used by a serving RNC to maintain active set (s) for the UE. For example, the measured signal strength and / or SIR associated with a local cell or sector, by which the active set is controlled by UL_F1, may be updated. In a further example, the downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 are in accordance with the MIMO Physical Layer in Release 7 and according to DC-HSDPA or Dual-Carrier DC-HSDPA in Release 8 and / or 9 It can correspond to different frequencies used to communicate. Downlink carriers DL_F 1 and DL_F 2 may include two HS-DSCHs transmitted on different frequencies by sector 1 906. The uplink carrier UL_F1 can also include a high-speed dedicated physical control channel (HS-DPCCH).

  [0092] Referring to FIG. 9A, sector 1 906 initiates transmission to the UE on downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 (block 914). The UE 902 monitors downlink pilot signals for each sector in its active set and / or from a local cell or sector to identify cells not yet in the UE's active set (block 916). As will be appreciated, measurements made by UE 902 may cause a mobility event that may cause serving RNC 903 to change the active set of UE 902 when reported to the network. For example, at block 916, measurements made by UE 902 with and without compressed mode (CM) operation are Rel. 8, Rel. 9 and Rel. 10 and the like. After monitoring the downlink pilot signal during a time period at block 916, the UE 902 sends channel feedback to sector 1 906 on the uplink carrier UL_F1 (block 918). For example, the channel feedback may include the average signal strength of each of the monitored downlink pilot signals and / or the average pilot SIR of each of the monitored downlink pilot signals based on measurements taken by UE 902 at block 916. May be included. Sector 1 906 of RAN 904 receives channel feedback from UE 902 on uplink carrier UL_F1, forwards mobility to the serving RNC, and if necessary, serving RNC 903 can determine the active set for UE 902 based on the channel feedback. Update the block (s) (block 920).

  [0093] Although not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 9A, UE 902 may also provide DL_F1 from sector 1 906 and provide physical layer feedback (channel quality indicator (CQI) and / or H-ARQ information) and And / or downlink data transmission on DL_F2 may be monitored and measured, and this physical layer feedback may be sent to sector 1 906 on the UL_F1 reverse link physical layer channel (HS-DPCCH), and then the sector 1 906 (which is in the UE's active set) may be used to adjust the data rate and / or transmit power level on DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from sector 1 906.

  [0094] Assume at some later point in time, UE 902 enters a handover region between its current serving sector 1 906 and another sector ("sector 2 908") (block 922). As those skilled in the art will appreciate, as used in other wireless protocols, “soft handover” has not been traditionally supported by HSDPA because HSDPA was introduced in Release 5 . Rather, HSDPA in Release 5 and above is a “hard handover” on the downlink side, where only one serving cell is transmitting to the target UE 902 at a given time, even when the target UE 902 hands off to a new serving cell. Supports the format. In other words, conventionally, in HSDPA release 5 and above, there is no overlapping period of coverage by multiple cells for the target UE 902.

  [0095] Returning to the aspect of FIG. 9A, adding both sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 as the serving sector of UE 902 at block 924 causes each of sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 to transmit to UE 902. Different mobile incoming data from the serving RNC 903 of the RAN 904 may be provided. From the uplink perspective, sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 (and any other sector in UE 902's active set) are monitoring for UE transmissions on their respective carriers (UL_F1 and / or UL_F2). It becomes. In the exemplary version, sector 2 908 is selected as the serving cell or sector for UE 902 based in part on the presence of sector 2 908 in the active set of UE 902. As will be appreciated, in one example, the active set is closely related to uplink power control and scheduling grant calculation, where the number of active sets is the number of uplink carriers allocated to the UE. Must be: Thus, as an example, the maximum number of serving cells across all downlink carriers is less than or equal to the number of uplink carriers.

  [0096] Thus, after sector 2 908 is established as the second serving sector for the UE, sector 2 908 may receive one or more for receiving mobile incoming data from sector 2 908 thereon Assume that the UE 902 is instructed to monitor downlink carriers (or frequencies) DL_F1 and DL_F2 (block 926). Sector 2 908 communicates with UE 902 on a single downlink carrier (DL_F1 or DL_F2, but not both), as described in more detail below with respect to the example implementations of FIGS. 10A-10G. Or alternatively, can communicate with UE 902 on both carriers (DL_F1 and DL_F2) simultaneously. As will be appreciated, the mobile incoming data transferred for transmission by sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 need not be the same, and the amount of data need not be the same. Rather, the serving RNC controlling sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 in a suitable manner between sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 and also DL_F1 and / or in sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 Even during DL_F2, it can participate in load balancing to distribute data for transmission to UE 902. This is because the serving RNC 903 discusses in more detail below, the current load on different sectors as well as different carriers, as well as which sectors are “primary” and which sectors are “secondary” for a particular carrier. It may include considering other factors, such as whether there are any.

  [0097] Referring to FIG. 9A, sector 2 908 begins transmission to the UE on downlink carrier DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 (block 928), and sector 1 906 is on downlink carrier DL_F1 and / or DL_F2. Continue to transmit to the UE (block 930). At blocks 928 and 930, the UE 902 may be assumed to be tuned to and receive these downlink transmissions.

  [0098] At block 932, the UE 902 monitors downlink pilot signals for each sector in its active set and / or from a local cell or sector to identify cells not yet in the UE's active set. To do. As will be appreciated, measurements made by UE 902 may cause mobility events that, when forwarded to the serving RNC, may cause the serving RNC to change the UE's active set. For example, at block 932, measurements made by UE 902 with and without compressed mode (CM) are Rel. 8, Rel. 9 and Rel. 10 and the like. After monitoring the downlink pilot signal during a time period at block 932, the UE 902 sends channel feedback on the uplink carrier UL_F1 (block 934). For example, the channel feedback may include the average signal strength of each of the monitored downlink pilot signals and / or the average pilot SIR of each of the monitored downlink pilot signals based on measurements taken by UE 902 at block 932. May be included. In the aspect of FIG. 9A, it may be assumed that sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 of RAN 904 receive channel feedback on uplink carrier UL_F1 from UE 902. For example, sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 may each be in the active set of UL_F1, which means that sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 are actively monitoring for uplink transmissions from UE 902 on UL_F1. Means. Thus, at block 934, when UE 902 transmits on UL_F1, both sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 receive the transmission. At this point, each of sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 forwards channel feedback to serving RNC 903, and if necessary, serving RNC 903 can determine the active set (s) for UE 902 based on this channel feedback. Update (blocks 936, 938).

  [0099] Although not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 9A, UE 902 may also provide sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 to provide physical layer feedback, such as channel quality indicator (CQI) and / or H-ARQ information. DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 downlink data transmission from the physical layer feedback may also be received from sectors 1 and 2 906 on the reverse link physical layer channel, such as UL_F1, HS-DPCCH, 908 and then used by sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 to adjust the data rate and / or transmit power level on DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from the respective sector.

  [00100] In the aspect of FIG. 9A described above, UE 902 is allocated a single uplink carrier UL_F1 on which to send physical layer feedback to serving sectors 1 and 2 906,908. Thus, for power control, downlink carriers DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 are such that each carrier from each sector is from a single uplink carrier UL_F1 (ie, an “anchor” carrier). They are part of the same “carrier group” in the sense that they are controlled based on physical layer feedback. In the aspect of FIG. 9B described next, UE 902 is allocated multiple uplink carriers to provide feedback thereon. In this version, a different carrier group may be associated with each uplink carrier assigned to the UE.

  [00101] FIG. 9B illustrates another method of transmitting data to the UE 902 via multiple serving sectors, according to an aspect of the invention. Referring to FIG. 9B, blocks 910-924 are as described for FIG. 9A and are therefore not further described for the sake of brevity.

  [00102] Referring to FIG. 9B, at block 924, after adding sector 2 908 as an additional serving sector, at block 940, similar to block 926 of FIG. Instructs the UE 902 to monitor one or more downlink carriers (or frequencies) DL_F1 and DL_F2 for receiving mobile incoming data. However, unlike FIG. 9A, sector 2 908 also allocates a second uplink carrier (UL_F2) to UE 902 at block 940 as well.

  [00103] Referring to FIG. 9B, sector 2 908 begins transmission to the UE on downlink carrier DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 (block 942), and sector 1 906 is on downlink carrier DL_F1 and / or DL_F2. Continue to transmit to the UE (block 944). At blocks 942 and 944, the UE 902 is tuned to and receives these downlink transmissions. At block 946, the UE 902 monitors downlink pilot signals for each sector in its active set and / or from a local cell or sector to identify cells not yet in the UE 902 active set. As will be appreciated, measurements made by UE 902 may cause a mobility event that, when forwarded to serving RNC 903, may cause serving RNC 903 to change the active set of UE 902. For example, at block 946, measurements made by UE 902 with and without compressed mode (CM) can be performed using Rel. 8, Rel. 9 and Rel. 10 and the like.

  [00104] As briefly described above, each of the uplink carriers UL_F1 and UL_F2 may be associated with its own active set and its own carrier group, each carrier group having its downlink transmission power And / or corresponds to a set of sectors in which the data rate is controlled based in part on physical layer feedback provided from one of the uplink carriers UL_F1 or UL_F2. As in the case of FIG. 9B, when there are two or more uplink carriers, each carrier group is configured by the network (ie, sectors 1 and 2) so that carriers in the same carrier group have similar coverage areas. Configured by the serving RNC 903 of the network that controls 906, 908. For example, carriers supported by the same serving sector can collectively form part of a carrier group. In FIG. 9B, there are two carrier groups (unless an anchor carrier is used on the uplink) since each of the two uplink carriers UL_F1 and UL_F2 in DC HSUPA shall have their own active set.

  [00105] In one example, each of the two uplink carriers UL_F1 and UL_F2 can independently control their respective carrier group (with respect to data rate and / or transmission power changes). Alternatively, one of the uplink carriers may include an “anchor” carrier, and the other uplink carrier includes at least a carrier that is paired with a secondary uplink carrier. Other “unpaired” downlink carriers may be placed in either of two carrier groups. This grouping can be implemented in such a way that carriers in the same carrier group have similar handover boundaries.

  [00106] At block 946, the measurement of the downlink pilot signal made by the UE 902 may trigger a "mobility event". With regard to mobility, in the anchor carrier version, each mobility event (or each trigger of a potential active set change, such as soft handover, transition to a new or different serving cell, dropping of an old serving cell) is anchor carrier ( UL_F1). In this case, the secondary uplink carrier (UL_F2) is treated as “unused”, and the event 2x is used for measurement. The UE 902's ability to measure secondary uplink carriers without compressed mode (CM) may be advantageous for identifying new cells on this frequency. As an example, assuming that UL_F1 is an uplink anchor carrier, when UE 902 moves from sector 1 906 to sector 2 908, the service from DL_F1 on sector 1 906 is that DL_F2 in sector 1 906 is the active set of UL_F2. Can only be added when added to. A new mobility event may also prompt UE 902 to report DL_F2 strength while UL_F1 is an anchor carrier.

  [00107] In an alternative version, rather than triggering a report from UE 902 based on the channel quality of the cell only on the anchor frequency, the report was also measured on other non-anchor frequencies. Based on the channel quality, it can be triggered from the UE 902 and can aid in unequal load in the network.

  [00108] In another alternative version, mobility event management may be performed by units per carrier group rather than by a single anchor carrier. As described above, the active set is maintained for each carrier group. In one example, assume that the UE maintains two independent active sets (one for each carrier group), and a search for both carrier groups can be performed without CM. In this case, when UE 902 is moving away from sector 2 908 towards sector 1 906, the service on DL_F1 from sector 1 906 is when DL_F2 on sector 1 906 is added to the active set of UL_F2. Rather, it may be added when DL_F1 on sector 1 906 is added to the active set on UL_F1. This results in a greater extension of the DL_F1 service from sector 1 906. This option may require DC-HSUPA support. Moreover, the problem of the physical layer feedback channel on the uplink is that the HS-DPCCH for each downlink carrier (DL_F1, DL_F2) is carried separately on each of the paired uplink carriers (UL_F1, UL_F2). Can be mitigated by being able to do so.

  [00109] Sector 2 908 is on a single downlink carrier (either DL_F1 or DL_F2, but not both), as described in more detail below with respect to the example implementations of FIGS. 10A-10G. It can communicate with a given UE 902 or alternatively can communicate with a given UE 902 on both carriers (DL_F1 and DL_F2) simultaneously. Downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 (if present) in sector 1 906, except that downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 (if present) in sector 2 908 are transmitted from different serving sectors of a given UE. ) In substantially the same manner.

  [00110] Returning to FIG. 9B, after monitoring downlink pilot signals during a time period at block 946, a given UE 902 sends channel feedback to sector 1 906 on the uplink carrier UL_F1 (block 948) and channel feedback is sent separately to sector 2 908 on uplink carrier UL_F2 (block 950). Thus, the described version of FIG. 9B corresponds to a non-anchor carrier version, whereby the carrier groups for UL_F1 and UL_F2 are controlled separately. Although not shown in FIG. 9B, an alternative to this approach is to use a single uplink carrier (UL_F1 or UL_F2) to provide channel feedback for both carrier groups. An anchor carrier version (described in more detail below) that can be done (ie, measured pilots of both carrier groups can be sent on the anchor carrier). In one example, uplink carrier UL_F1 is associated with a first carrier group that includes at least downlink carriers DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 in sector 1 906, and uplink carrier UL_F2 is at least a downlink carrier in sector 2 908 Associated with a second carrier group including DL_F1 and / or DL_F2. Further, the channel feedback sent at blocks 948 and 950 may be monitored for the average signal strength of each of the monitored downlink pilot signals and / or based on measurements taken by a given UE 902 at block 946. An average pilot SIR for each of the downlink pilot signals may be included.

  [00111] Although not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 9B, a given UE 902 may also provide sectors 1 and 2 to provide physical layer feedback, such as channel quality indicator (CQI) and / or H-ARQ information. The downlink data transmission on DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from 906, 908 can also be monitored and measured, and this physical layer feedback is on the UL_F1 and / or UL_F2 reverse link physical layer channel (HS-DPCCH). Can be transmitted to sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 and then used by sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 to adjust the data rate and / or transmit power level on DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from the respective sector obtain. Multiple uplink carriers UL_F1 and UL_F2 code HS-DPCCH information for carriers in the same carrier group that a given UE 902 is coded together and sent on the uplink carrier corresponding to this carrier group Can be made possible. For example, if UE 902 has two downlink carriers (DL_F1 and DL_F2) and two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2), this option may be used in two downlink carriers (sectors 1 and / or 2). The HS-DPCCH for DL_F1 and DL_F2) will be encoded on two uplink carriers.

  [00112] Returning to FIG. 9B, sector 1 906 of the RAN 904 receives channel feedback from a given UE 902 on the uplink carrier UL_F1, forwards this channel feedback to the serving RNC, and, if necessary, the serving RNC. Adjusts the active set of a given UE 902 for UL_F1 based on this channel feedback (block 952). Similarly, sector 2 908 of RAN 904 receives feedback on the uplink carrier UL_F2 from a given UE 902 and forwards this channel feedback to the serving RNC, which, if necessary, based on this feedback , Adjust the active set of a given UE 902 for UL_F2 (block 954).

  [00113] In addition, each of FIGS. 9A and 9B allows a given UE 902 to establish sector 1 906 as an initial serving sector and later between sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 by a given UE 902. A scenario is shown in which sector 2 908 is added as another serving sector when entering the handover zone or region of the same. In an alternative version, a given UE 902 can simply power up in a handover zone or region between sectors 1 and 2 906, 908, in which case both sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 In parallel, it may be set up as the serving sector of UE 902.

  [00114] In addition, Node Bs associated with sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 in FIGS. 9A and 9B may have different transmit power capabilities. For example, a Node B that supports sector 1 906 may support sector 1 906 as a macrocell, microcell, or picocell, resulting in different transmit power capacities compared to Node B that supports sector 2 908. Can result. Such an imbalance in transmit power capability may result in a scenario that may improve throughput by allowing different serving cells to operate on different carriers.

  [00115] In an alternative version, as described above, instead of sending separate feedback (channel feedback or physical layer feedback) for the two carrier groups on the uplink channels UL_F1 and UL_F2, One may be designated as the “anchor” uplink carrier. In this case, for physical layer feedback, the HS-DPCCH information for each downlink carrier (such as DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from sector 1 906, DL_F1 and / or DL_F2 from sector 2 908, etc.) (for DC HSDPA) Rel.8, or jointly coded into one codeword (such as Rel.9 for DC HSDPA with MIMO and Rel.9 for DB DC HSDPA, or Rel.10 for 4C HSDPA) Can then be sent on an anchor uplink carrier. As will be appreciated, if a single anchor carrier is used on behalf of multiple carrier groups, the serving sector associated with that anchor carrier will provide UE feedback (to other serving sector (s)). Or the anchor carrier can be monitored by each of the carriers simultaneously, eg, at least by each carrier in the active set of the anchor carrier.

  [00116] In the following, some implementations of the processes of FIGS. 9A and 9B are provided with respect to FIGS. 10A to 10G. More specifically, each of FIGS. 10A-10G shows a different set of connections that may be established between UE 902 of FIGS. 9A-9B and serving sector 1 906 and sector 2 908.

  [00117] In FIG. 10A, a communication system 1000a is shown according to an implementation of the method of FIG. 9A, whereby each of serving sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 is the same single downlink carrier (ie, DL_F1). UE 902 is assigned a single uplink carrier (ie, UL_F1) to provide feedback for the carrier group thereon. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 10A, the second downlink carrier DL_F2 is not used. As will be appreciated, the omission of downlink carrier DL_F2 is that serving sectors 1 and / or 2 cannot support downlink carrier DL_F2 (sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 are instrumental by a single carrier frequency deployment). Or alternatively, the load level for the downlink carrier DL_F2 may exceed the threshold and resources to support the UE 902 on the downlink carrier DL_F2 will not be currently available It can be based on a decision by the serving RNC.

  [00118] Referring to FIG. 10A, assume that sector 1 906 corresponds to a “primary” sector for downlink carrier DL_F1, and sector 2 908 corresponds to a “secondary” serving sector for downlink carrier DL_F1. To do. In aspects of the invention, each particular downlink carrier may be supported by a single primary serving sector and at least one secondary serving sector. In general, the primary serving sector is more permanent than the secondary serving sector (s) for a particular downlink carrier. Also, the RNC can direct more downlink mobile incoming data to the primary serving sector as opposed to the secondary serving sector. In a further example, the primary serving sector can be associated with a lower load for the associated carrier and / or have a better connection to the UE 902 compared to the secondary serving sector. Each downlink carrier DL_F 1 in sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 carries a separate HS-DSCH that can be monitored by UE 902. In this case, two separate transport blocks may be conveyed from sector 1 and 2 906, 908 to UE 902 via two HS-DSCHs on the same carrier or frequency (ie, DL_F1). In other words, different data is transmitted in the same carrier by different sectors (ie, in contrast to soft handover in non-HSDPA protocol, where the same data is transmitted redundantly in the handover region). is there). This type of transmission scheme is sometimes referred to as Single-Frequency Dual-Cell HSDPA (SF-DC-HSDPA). As will be appreciated, SF-DC-HSDPA can provide dynamic load balancing in realistic deployments where the system is not fully utilized. As shown in FIG. 10A, each of primary serving sector 1 906 and secondary serving sector 2 908 can monitor and receive signals from UE 902 transmitted on uplink carrier UL_F1.

  [00119] In FIG. 10B, a communication system 1000b is shown according to an implementation of the method of FIG. 9A, whereby each of serving sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 is a single downlink carrier (ie, DL_F1 and Communicate with UE 902 via DL_F2), and UE 902 is assigned a single uplink carrier (ie, UL_F1) on which to provide feedback for the carrier group. Thus, in the example of FIG. 10B, the downlink carrier frequencies DL_F1 and DL_F2 used by sectors 1 and 2 906, 908, respectively, can be orthogonal to each other so as to reduce interference at UE 902. Referring to FIG. 10B, assume that downlink carrier DL_F 1 in sector 1 906 and downlink carrier DL_F 2 in sector 2 908 each carry a separate HS-DSCH that can be monitored by UE 902. In this case, two separate transport blocks may be conveyed from sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 to UE 902 via two HS-DSCHs on different carriers or frequencies (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2). In the exemplary version of FIG. 10B, since serving sector 1 906 communicates with UE 902 via DL_F1 and serving sector 2 908 communicates with UE 902 via DL_F2, both serving sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 are Since secondary carriers are not in FIG. 10B, they are “primary” with respect to their particular downlink carrier. As shown in FIG. 10B, each of serving sector 1 906 and serving sector 2 908 monitors signals from UE 902 transmitted on uplink carrier UL_F1, even if serving sector 2 908 is not transmitting on DL_F1. And can be received. In one example, serving sector 2 908 may be overloaded and serving sector 2 908 may not be able to provide downlink support on DL_F1, but is still transmitted on UL_F1 as an anchor carrier. The UE 902 feedback may be decodable.

  [00120] Referring further to FIG. 10B, in another example, assume that both sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 support both downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2. However, further assume that DL_F2 on sector 1 906 and DL_F1 on sector 2 908 are heavily loaded, while DL_F1 on sector 1 906 and DL_F2 on sector 2 908 are lightly loaded. In this case, servicing UE 902 from sector 1 906 on DL_F1 and sector 2 908 on DL_F2 (as shown in FIG. 10B) results in increased throughput. As will be appreciated, there are a number of different scenarios where service to UE 902 can be improved by serving UE 902 on different carriers from different sectors.

  [00121] In FIG. 10C, a communication system 1000c is shown according to the example implementation of the method of FIG. 9B, whereby each of serving sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 is a single (and different) downlink carrier ( That is, communicate with UE 902 via DL_F1 and DL_F2, respectively, to UE 902 on which each carrier group (ie, a first carrier group that includes DL_F2 of at least sector 2 908 and at least sector 1 906) Two uplink carriers (ie, UL_F1 and UL_F2) are allocated to provide feedback for the second carrier group including DL_F1. The example of FIG. 10C shows that FIG. 10C provisions two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) to UE 902 instead of the single uplink carrier (UL_F1) from FIG. Similar to the example described above with respect to FIG. 10B, except that it produces two separate carrier groups and an active set. Thus, the two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) allow the UE 902 to control both two separate carrier groups separately via UL_F1 and UL_F2, as described above with respect to FIG. 9B. To do. For example, uplink carrier UL_F1 can provide feedback in connection with a first carrier group that includes at least downlink carrier DL_F1 on sector 1 906, and uplink carrier UL_F2 is at least down on sector 2 908. Feedback may be provided in connection with the second carrier group that includes the link carrier DL_F2.

  [00122] Alternatively, referring to FIG. 10C, even if two uplink carriers UL_F1 and UL_F2 are provisioned to the UE 902, the feedback for both carrier groups is a single anchor carrier (UL_F1 or UL_F2). In this case, both sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 are in the active set for the anchor carrier so that feedback on the anchor carrier is correctly decoded by both sectors. The further description of FIG. 10C is similar to FIG. 10B and is omitted for the sake of brevity.

  [00123] Referring to FIG. 10C, in one example, assume that sector 1 906 corresponds to a hot spot that supports both downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2, while sector 2 908 supports only downlink carrier DL_F2. . In this case, when UE 902 is located in the handover area between sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 and is closer to sector 2 908 than sector 1 906, sector 1 906 on DL_F1 and sector 2 on DL_F2 From 908, higher overall can be achieved by servicing UE 902. Thus, a range-extension to serve UE 902 may be achieved in a non-universal deployment scenario (ie, a scenario where not all sectors support both DL_F1 and DL_F2).

  [00124] As will be appreciated, FIGS. 10A to 10C show different sector downlink carriers (DL_F1 on sector 1 906 and DL_F1 on sector 2 908 as shown in FIG. 10A, or FIGS. 10B and 10C. The UE 902 is configured for operation having receiving two separate transport blocks on DL_F1 on sector 1 906 and DL_F2 on sector 2 908 as described. Such a UE 902 may be characterized as a DC-HSDPA compatible UE (compatible-UE) and / or an SF-DC-HSDPA compatible UE. In the following, UE 902 will be described with respect to FIGS. 10D-10G as being capable of tuning to more than two transport blocks on multiple downlink carriers simultaneously. A UE 902 that can tune to more than two transport blocks on multiple downlink carriers at the same time may be characterized as a 4C-HSDPA compatible UE in Release 10.

  [00125] In FIG. 10D, a communication system 1000d is shown in accordance with an example implementation of the method of FIG. 9A, whereby serving sector 1 906 communicates with UE 902 via a single downlink carrier (ie, DL_F1). , Serving sector 2 908 communicates with UE 902 via a plurality of downlink carriers (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2) to UE 902 on which each carrier group (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2 of at least sector 2 908) Assigned a single uplink carrier (ie, UL_F1 or anchor carrier) to provide feedback for a first carrier group including a second carrier group including a DL_F1 of at least sector 1 906 It is. Thus, in the example of FIG. 10D, sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 support UE 902 via both overlapping (ie, DL_F1) and non-overlapping (ie, DL_F2) carriers. In the exemplary version of FIG. 10D, serving sector 1 906 is a primary sector for supporting DL_F1, and serving sector 2 908 is a secondary sector for supporting DL_F1. Further, since sector 2 908 is the only sector that supports DL_F2 in FIG. 10D, sector 2 908 is “primary” for DL_F2 in the sense that there is no secondary sector that supports DL_F2. Referring to FIG. 10D, assume that downlink carrier DL_F 1 in sector 1 906 and downlink carriers DL_F 1 and DL_F 2 in sector 2 908 each carry a separate HS-DSCH that can be monitored by UE 902. In this case, the three separate transport blocks are connected to sector 1 via three HS-DSCHs on different carriers or frequencies (ie, DL_F1 in sector 1 906 and DL_F1 and DL_F2 in sector 2 908). And 2 906, 908 to the UE 902. As shown in FIG. 10D, since primary serving sector 1 906 and secondary serving sector 2 908 each support F1, and because sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 are each in the active set for anchor carrier UL_F1 , Sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 can monitor and receive signals from UE 902 transmitted on uplink carrier UL_F1 as anchor carriers.

  [00126] In FIG. 10E, a communication system 1000e is shown in accordance with the example implementation of the method of FIG. 9B, whereby serving sector 1 906 communicates with UE 902 via a single downlink carrier (ie, DL_F1). , Serving sector 2 908 communicates with UE 902 via multiple downlink carriers (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2), and UE 902 provides two uplinks for providing feedback for a carrier group thereon Carriers (ie, UL_F1 and UL_F2) are assigned. The example of FIG. 10E shows that FIG. 10E provisions two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) to the UE 902 instead of the single uplink carrier (UL_F1) from FIG. Similar to the example described above with respect to FIG. 10D except that it produces two separate carrier groups and an active set. Thus, the two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) are a given anchor carrier selected by UE 902 separately from two separate carrier groups or from UL_F1 and UL_F2, as described above with respect to FIG. 9B. Allows to control either through. For example, uplink carrier UL_F1 can provide feedback in connection with a first carrier group that includes at least downlink carrier DL_F1 on sector 1 906, and uplink carrier UL_F2 is at least down on sector 2 908. Feedback may be provided in connection with a second carrier group that includes link carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2. Alternatively, even if two separate uplink carriers are assigned to the UE, feedback for both carrier groups is provided via a single anchor carrier (UL_F1 or UL_F2) as described above Can be done. Further description of FIG. 10E is similar to FIG. 10D and is omitted for brevity.

  [00127] In FIG. 10F, a communication system 1000f is shown according to the example implementation of the method of FIG. 9A, whereby serving sector 1 906 communicates with UE 902 via multiple downlink carriers (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2). Serving sector 2 908 also communicates with UE 902 via the same multiple downlink carriers (i.e., DL_F1 and DL_F2), and UE 902 simply provides feedback for the carrier group on it. One uplink carrier (ie, UL_F1) is allocated. Thus, in the example of FIG. 10F, sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 support UE 902 via the same overlapping carrier (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2). In the exemplary version of FIG. 10F, serving sector 1 906 is a primary sector for DL_F1 and secondary sector for DL_F2, and serving sector 2 908 is a primary sector for DL_F2 and for DL_F1. Secondary sector for Referring to FIG. 10F, assume that downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 in sector 1 906 and downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 in sector 2 908 each carry a separate HS-DSCH that can be monitored by UE 902. In this case, four separate transport blocks are routed over four HS-DSCHs on different carriers or frequencies (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2 in sector 1 906, and also DL_F1 and DL_F2 in sector 2 908). Sector 1 and 2 906, 908 may be carried to UE 902. As shown in FIG. 10F, since each of sectors 1 and 2 906, 908 supports F1, and since sector 1 and 2 906, 908 are in the active set for anchor carrier UL_F1, respectively, sector 1 and 2 906, 908 can monitor and receive signals from UE 902 transmitted on the uplink anchor carrier (which can be UL_F1 or UL_F2).

  [00128] In FIG. 10G, a communication system 1000g is shown in accordance with the example implementation of the method of FIG. 9B, whereby serving sector 1 906 communicates with UE 902 via multiple downlink carriers (ie, DL_F1 and DL_F2). Serving sector 2 908 also communicates with UE 902 via multiple downlink carriers (ie, F1 and DL_F2), and UE 902 has two to provide feedback for the carrier group on it. Uplink carriers (ie UL_F1 and UL_F2) are allocated. In the example of FIG. 10G, FIG. 10G provisions two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) to UE 902 instead of a single uplink carrier (UL_F1) from FIG. Similar to the example described above with respect to FIG. 10F except that it produces two separate carrier groups and an active set. Thus, the two uplink carriers (UL_F1 and UL_F2) allow the UE 902 to control both two separate carrier groups separately, as described above with respect to FIG. 9B. For example, uplink carrier UL_F1 can provide feedback in connection with a first carrier group that includes at least downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 on sector 1 906, where uplink carrier UL_F2 is at least sector 2 908. Feedback may be provided in connection with the second carrier group including the upper downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2. Alternatively, feedback for both carrier groups may be provided via a single anchor carrier (UL_F1 or UL_F2) as described above. Further description of FIG. 10G is similar to FIG. 10F and is omitted for the sake of brevity.

  [00129] While the aspects of the invention described above are directed to two separate carriers that can be supported by two sectors, other aspects of the invention include (i) three or more carrier frequencies (F3 , F4, etc.) and / or (ii) it will be appreciated that more than two sectors simultaneously supporting UE 902 may be targeted. For example, if UE 902 enters a handover region where services can be provided from three different sectors, UE 902 potentially tunes to the carrier group (s) associated with the downlink carrier in each of the three sectors. Can do. Further, downlink carriers (DL_F1, DL_F2, etc.) allocated to UE 902 may be adjacent carriers, non-adjacent carriers in the same frequency band, such as in FIG. 10A, so that DL_F1 is Support from sectors 1 and 2 906, 908, etc. and / or non-adjacent carriers in different frequency bands.

  [00130] For example, assume that there are two downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2, each of which is supported by two serving sectors 1 and 2 906, 908. In this case, sector 1 906 may be a “primary” serving cell for DL_F1 and a secondary serving cell for DL_F2, and sector 2 908 may be a primary serving cell for DL_F2 and a secondary serving cell for DL_F1. Can be. In another example, assume there are two downlink carriers DL_F1 and DL_F2 that are distributed between sectors 1-4. In this case, sector 1 906 can be the primary serving cell for DL_F1, sector 2 908 can be the secondary serving cell for DL_F1, sector 3 can be the primary serving cell for DL_F2, and sector 4 , Can be a secondary serving cell for DL_F2.

  [00131] Further, although not explicitly discussed in the above exemplary version description, it is possible that the HS-DPCCH power offset may need to be boosted to be decodable in multiple cells. It will be understood. Similarly, the uplink pilot SINR setpoint may also need to be boosted. The amount of boosting can be relatively modest if the carrier group is properly chosen.

  [00132] In addition, some enhancements may be implemented at higher layers to improve performance. For example, the UE 902 may establish multiple MAC-ehs entities, one for each HS serving cell. The plurality of MAC-ehs may be co-located or non-co-located and may be on one or more frequencies. In this case, it will be appreciated that out-of-order delivery can occur between MAC-ehs flows. Out-of-order delivery issues between MAC-ehs flows can be reduced by RLC layer changes and / or by PDCP-based approaches.

  [00133] With reference to FIG. 11A, shown is a system 1100 for wireless communication, more specifically, for receiving data in HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. For example, system 1100 can reside at least partially within user equipment capable of over-the-air (OTA) communication, such as user equipment 114 (FIG. 1). System 1100 is represented as including a plurality of functional blocks, which are functional blocks that represent functions implemented by a computing platform, processor, software, or combination thereof (eg, firmware). I want you to be understood. System 1100 includes a logical grouping 1102 of electrical components that can act in conjunction. For example, logical grouping 1102 can include an electrical component 1104 for receiving data on a first downlink carrier from a first serving cell at a user equipment. Moreover, logical grouping 1102 can include an electrical component 1106 for receiving data on a second downlink carrier at a user equipment from a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. Further, in an exemplary aspect, logical grouping 1102 provides electrical for transmitting channel feedback by the user equipment on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell. A general component 1108 may be included. Additionally, system 1100 can include a memory 1120 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with electrical components 1104-1108. Although shown as being external to memory 1120, it should be understood that one or more of electrical components 1104-1108 can be internal to memory 1120.

  [00134] Referring to FIG. 11B, shown is a system 1150 for wireless communication, and more specifically, for HSDPA from two independent cells or sectors. For example, system 1150 can reside at least partially within a network device for wireless access, such as RAN 102 (FIG. 1). System 1150 is represented as including a plurality of functional blocks, which are functional blocks representing functions implemented by a computing platform, processor, software, or combination thereof (eg, firmware). I want you to be understood. System 1150 includes a logical grouping 1152 of electrical components that can act in conjunction. For example, logical grouping 1152 may include an electrical component 1154 for assigning a portion of data to a first serving cell and a second serving cell for transmission by the RNC to user equipment. Moreover, logical grouping 1152 can include an electrical component 1156 for transmitting data to user equipment on a first downlink carrier by a first serving cell. Further, logical grouping 1152 can include an electrical component 1158 for transmitting data to user equipment on a second downlink carrier by a second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. In an exemplary addition, the logical grouping 1152 receives channel feedback from the user equipment on the first uplink carrier via the RNC via at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell. The electrical component 1160 may be included. Additionally, system 1150 can include a memory 1170 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with electrical components 1154-1160. Although shown as being external to the memory 1170, it should be understood that one or more of the electrical components 1154-1160 can be internal to the memory 1170.

  [00135] According to various aspects of the disclosure, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented using a "processing system" that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and throughout this disclosure There are other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software includes instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software, regardless of the names of software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, etc. It should be interpreted broadly to mean a package, routine, subroutine, object, executable, thread of execution, procedure, function, etc. The software may reside on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. Non-transitory computer readable media include, by way of example, magnetic storage devices (eg, hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (eg, compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart Cards, flash memory devices (eg, cards, sticks, key drives), random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) ), Registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer-readable media can also include, by way of example, carrier waves, transmission lines, and any other suitable media for transmitting software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. The computer readable medium may reside within the processing system, be external to the processing system, or be distributed across multiple entities that include the processing system. The computer readable medium may be implemented in a computer program product. By way of example, a computer program product may include a computer readable medium in packaging material. Those skilled in the art will know how best to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system. Be recognized.

  [00136] It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods is an example of an exemplary process. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearranged based on design preferences. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically stated herein.

  [00137] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to perform the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Accordingly, the claims are not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but are to be given the full scope consistent with the language of the claims and references to elements in the singular are Unless stated otherwise, it does not mean “one and only one”, but “one or more”. Unless otherwise specified, the word “some” means “one or more”. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including individual members. As an example, “at least one of a, b, or c” includes a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, a, b, and c. Is intended to be. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure, known to those skilled in the art or later become known, are expressly incorporated herein by reference. And is intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is open to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. Any claim element is included using the phrase “step” unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase “means”, or in the case of a method claim. Unless otherwise specified, it should not be construed under the provisions of Section 112 (6) of the US Patent Act.

Claims (15)

An apparatus for receiving data in high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) from two independent cells or sectors,
Means for receiving data on a first downlink carrier from a first serving cell at a user equipment;
Means for receiving data on a second downlink carrier from a second serving cell independent of the first serving cell in the user equipment. A first receiver for receiving data on the first downlink carrier from the first serving cell at the user equipment;
The user equipment further comprises a second receiver for receiving data on the second downlink carrier from the second serving cell that is independent of the first serving cell. The device described in 1.   The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first serving cell and the second serving cell are selected by an Radio Set (RNC) from an active set based on a measurement report by the user equipment.   The method further comprises: a first transmitter for transmitting channel feedback by the user equipment on the first uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell. 2. The apparatus according to 2. The first receiver is further for monitoring a first high-speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) transmitted by the first serving cell for the first downlink carrier;
The second receiver is further for monitoring a second HS-SCCH transmitted by the second serving cell for the second downlink carrier;
The apparatus may perform a high speed downlink physical control channel (HS) based at least in part on the first HS-SCCH and the second HS-SCCH in one codeword on the first uplink carrier. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising an encoder for encoding channel feedback comprising (DPCCH) information.   A second transmitter for transmitting data by the user equipment on the second uplink carrier to at least one of the first serving cell and the second serving cell; The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the uplink carrier comprises an anchor carrier. At least one of the first receiver and the second receiver further receives a first assignment of the first downlink carrier and the first uplink carrier to a first carrier group. And receiving a second assignment of the second downlink carrier and the second uplink carrier to a second carrier group,
The first transmitter is further for transmitting channel feedback by the user equipment on the first uplink carrier to the first serving cell;
The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a second transmitter for transmitting channel feedback by the user equipment on the second uplink carrier to the second serving cell.   At least one of the first receiver and the second receiver further monitors a high-speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) for each downlink carrier assigned to the selected carrier group, The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is for determining the channel feedback for the selected carrier group.   At least one of the first receiver and the second receiver is further responsive to channel quality falling below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is for receiving mobility triggering between serving cells for a selected carrier group.   At least one of the first receiver and the second receiver further selects between the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier whose channel quality is designated as an anchor carrier 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is for receiving mobility triggering between serving cells in response to falling below one of the thresholds.   At least one of the first receiver and the second receiver is further configured to compress a third downlink carrier transmitted by a new cell to prompt an active set update of neighboring cells and sectors. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is for measuring channel quality using.   At least one of the first receiver and the second receiver is further responsive to channel quality falling below a threshold value of one of the first downlink carrier and the second downlink carrier. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is for receiving mobility triggering between serving cells.   The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first serving cell comprises a first serving sector and the second serving cell comprises a second serving sector. An apparatus for transmitting data in high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) from two independent cells or sectors,
Means for assigning by a radio network controller (RNC) a portion of data to a first serving cell and a second serving cell for transmission to a user equipment;
Means for transmitting data by the first serving cell to the user equipment on a first downlink carrier;
Means for transmitting data to the user equipment on a second downlink carrier by the second serving cell independent of the first serving cell. The RNC for allocating portions of data to the first serving cell and the second serving cell for transmission to the user equipment;
The first serving cell for transmitting data to the user equipment on the first downlink carrier;
15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: the second serving cell independent of the first serving cell for transmitting data to the user equipment on the second downlink carrier.

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