WO2013151545A1 - Creating measurement gaps to reduce data loss in a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

UEs perform LTE, or other radio access technology (RAT) measurements during an idle interval with reduced data loss, thus improving system capacity, A first UE transmits utilizing resources ailocated fo the first UE by the network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the UE. The signaled resources include aiiocated resources coinciding with a network configured idfe interval of a second UE and/or unallocated resources. The transmitting occurs during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of the second UE, where the TTI is adjacent to an idle intervai of the first UE. Additionally, the first UE measures another radio access technology (RAT) during the idle interval of the second UE, without data Soss. The UEs can perform inter-frequency measurement in addition to or instead of the inier-RAT measurement.

Description

CREATING MEASUREMENT GAPS TO REDUCE DATA LOSS IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

BACKGROUND

Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to reducing data loss when performing inter- RAT/frequency measurements during idle intervals.

Background

[0002] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support

communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

(UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD- SCDMA). For example, China is pursuing TD-SCDMA as the underlying air interface in the UTRAN architecture with its existing GSM infrastructure as the core network. The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks. HSPA is a collection of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), that extends and improves the performance of existing wideband protocols.

[0003] As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, research and development continue to advance the UMTS technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications.

SUMMARY

[0004] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of wireless

communication and transmitting by a first user equipment (UE) during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE. The TTI is adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE. The transmitting utilizes resources allocated to the first UE by the network, and also utilizes additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the first UE. The additional resources include allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources. The method also includes measuring another radio access technology (RAT)/frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

[0005] In another aspect, an apparatus for measuring without data loss is described. The apparatus includes means for transmitting by a first user equipment (UE) during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of the second UE. The TTI is adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE. The transmitting means utilizes resources allocated to the first UE by the network, and also utilizes additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the first UE. The additional resources include allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources. The apparatus also includes means for measuring another radio access technology (RAT)/frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

[0006] Another aspect discloses a computer program product for wireless

communications in a wireless network having a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer readable medium has non-transitory program code recorded thereon which, when executed by the processor(s), causes the processor(s) to perform operation of transmitting by a first UE during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE. The TTI is adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE. Transmit resources include resources allocated to the first UE by the network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the first UE. The additional resources include allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources. The program code also causes the processor(s) to measure another radio access technology (RAT)/frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

[0007] Another aspect discloses wireless communication having a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The processor(s) is configured to transmit by a first UE during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE. The TTI is adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE. The resources utilized to transmit include resources allocated to the first UE by the network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the first UE. The additional resource signals include allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources. The processor(s) is also configured to measure another radio access technology (RAT)/frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

[0008] This has outlined, rather broadly, the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described below. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the teachings of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features, which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] 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 identify correspondingly throughout.

[0010] FIGURE 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a telecommunications system.

[0011] FIGURE 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a frame structure in a telecommunications system.

[0012] FIGURE 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a node B in communication with a UE in a telecommunications system.

[0013] FIGURES 4A-6C illustrate example uplink and downlink transmissions of two UEs during operation in TD-SCDMA.

[0014] FIGURE 5 is a block diagram illustrating a method for creating measurement gaps.

[0015] FIGURE 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] 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 practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the 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.

[0017] Turning now to FIGURE 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating an example of a telecommunications system 100. The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. By way of example and without limitation, the aspects of the present disclosure illustrated in FIGURE 1 are presented with reference to a UMTS system employing a TD-SCDMA standard. In this example, the UMTS system includes a (radio access network) RAN 102 (e.g., UTRAN) that provides various wireless services including telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and/or other services. The RAN 102 may be divided into a number of Radio Network Subsystems (RNSs) such as an RNS 107, each controlled by a Radio Network Controller (RNC) such as an RNC 106. For clarity, only the RNC 106 and the RNS 107 are shown; however, the RAN 102 may include any number of RNCs and RNSs in addition to the RNC 106 and RNS 107. The RNC 106 is an apparatus responsible for, among other things, assigning, reconfiguring and releasing radio resources within the RNS 107. The RNC 106 may be interconnected to other RNCs (not shown) in the RAN 102 through various types of interfaces such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, or the like, using any suitable transport network.

[0018] The geographic region covered by the RNS 107 may be divided into a number of cells, with a radio transceiver apparatus serving each cell. A radio transceiver apparatus is commonly referred to as a node B in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), or some other suitable terminology. For clarity, two node Bs 108 are shown; however, the RNS 107 may include any number of wireless node Bs. The node Bs 108 provide wireless access points to a core network 104 for any number of mobile apparatuses. Examples of a mobile apparatus include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, or any other similar functioning device. The mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as 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, a wireless

communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. For illustrative purposes, three UEs 110 are shown in communication with the node Bs 108. The downlink (DL), also called the forward link, refers to the communication link from a node B to a UE, and the uplink (UL), also called the reverse link, refers to the communication link from a UE to a node B.

[0019] The core network 104, as shown, includes a GSM core network. However, as those skilled in the art will recognize, the various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented in a RAN, or other suitable access network, to provide UEs with access to types of core networks other than GSM networks.

[0020] In this example, the core network 104 supports circuit-switched services with a mobile switching center (MSC) 112 and a gateway MSC (GMSC) 114. One or more RNCs, such as the RNC 106, may be connected to the MSC 112. The MSC 112 is an apparatus that controls call setup, call routing, and UE mobility functions. The MSC 112 also includes a visitor location register (VLR) (not shown) that contains subscriber- related information for the duration that a UE is in the coverage area of the MSC 112. The GMSC 114 provides a gateway through the MSC 112 for the UE to access a circuit- switched network 116. The GMSC 114 includes a home location register (HLR) (not shown) containing subscriber data, such as the data reflecting the details of the services to which a particular user has subscribed. The HLR is also associated with an authentication center (AuC) that contains subscriber- specific authentication data. When a call is received for a particular UE, the GMSC 114 queries the HLR to determine the UE's location and forwards the call to the particular MSC serving that location.

[0021] The core network 104 also supports packet-data services with a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 118 and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 120. GPRS, which stands for General Packet Radio Service, is designed to provide packet-data services at speeds higher than those available with standard GSM circuit-switched data services. The GGSN 120 provides a connection for the RAN 102 to a packet-based network 122. The packet-based network 122 may be the Internet, a private data network, or some other suitable packet-based network. The primary function of the GGSN 120 is to provide the UEs 110 with packet-based network connectivity. Data packets are transferred between the GGSN 120 and the UEs 110 through the SGSN 118, which performs primarily the same functions in the packet-based domain as the MSC 112 performs in the circuit- switched domain. [0022] The UMTS air interface is a spread spectrum Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) system. The spread spectrum DS-CDMA spreads user data over a much wider bandwidth through multiplication by a sequence of

pseudorandom bits called chips. The TD-SCDMA standard is based on such direct sequence spread spectrum technology and additionally calls for a time division duplexing (TDD), rather than a frequency division duplexing (FDD) as used in many FDD mode UMTS/W-CDMA systems. TDD uses the same carrier frequency for both the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) between a node B 108 and a UE 110, but divides uplink and downlink transmissions into different time slots in the carrier.

[0023] FIGURE 2 shows a frame structure 200 for a TD-SCDMA carrier. The TD- SCDMA carrier, as illustrated, has a frame 202 that is 10 ms in length. The chip rate in TD-SCDMA is 1.28 Mcps. The frame 202 has two 5 ms subframes 204, and each of the subframes 204 includes seven time slots, TS0 through TS6. The first time slot, TS0, is usually allocated for downlink communication, while the second time slot, TS1, is usually allocated for uplink communication. The remaining time slots, TS2 through TS6, may be used for either uplink or downlink, which allows for greater flexibility during times of higher data transmission times in either the uplink or downlink directions. A downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS) 206, a guard period (GP) 208, and an uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS) 210 (also known as the uplink pilot channel (UpPCH)) are located between TS0 and TS1. Each time slot, TS0-TS6, may allow data transmission multiplexed on a maximum of 16 code channels. Data transmission on a code channel includes two data portions 212 (each with a length of 352 chips) separated by a midamble 214 (with a length of 144 chips) and followed by a guard period (GP) 216 (with a length of 16 chips). The midamble 214 may be used for features, such as channel estimation, while the guard period 216 may be used to avoid inter-burst interference. Also transmitted in the data portion is some Layer 1 control information, including Synchronization Shift (SS) bits 218. Synchronization Shift bits 218 only appear in the second part of the data portion. The Synchronization Shift bits 218 immediately following the midamble can indicate three cases: decrease shift, increase shift, or do nothing in the upload transmit timing. The positions of the SS bits 218 are not generally used during uplink communications.

[0024] FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of a node B 310 in communication with a UE 350 in a RAN 300, where the RAN 300 may be the RAN 102 in FIGURE 1, the node B 310 may be the node B 108 in FIGURE 1, and the UE 350 may be the UE 110 in FIGURE 1. In the downlink communication, a transmit processor 320 may receive data from a data source 312 and control signals from a controller/processor 340. The transmit processor 320 provides various signal processing functions for the data and control signals, as well as reference signals (e.g., pilot signals). For example, the transmit processor 320 may provide cyclic redundancy check (CRC) codes for error detection, coding and interleaving to facilitate forward error correction (FEC), mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M- quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM), and the like), spreading with orthogonal variable spreading factors (OVSF), and multiplying with scrambling codes to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates from a channel processor 344 may be used by a controller/processor 340 to determine the coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes for the transmit processor 320. These channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal transmitted by the UE 350 or from feedback contained in the midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) from the UE 350. The symbols generated by the transmit processor 320 are provided to a transmit frame processor 330 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 330 creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) from the controller/processor 340, resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter 332, which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplifying, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for downlink transmission over the wireless medium through smart antennas 334. The smart antennas 334 may be implemented with beam steering bidirectional adaptive antenna arrays or other similar beam technologies.

[0025] At the UE 350, a receiver 354 receives the downlink transmission through an antenna 352 and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver 354 is provided to a receive frame processor 360, which parses each frame, and provides the midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) to a channel processor 394 and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor 370. The receive processor 370 then performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor 320 in the node B 310. More specifically, the receive processor 370 descrambles and despreads the symbols, and then determines the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the node B 310 based on the modulation scheme. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel processor 394. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data, control, and reference signals. The CRC codes are then checked to determine whether the frames were successfully decoded. The data carried by the successfully decoded frames will then be provided to a data sink 372, which represents applications running in the UE 350 and/or various user interfaces (e.g., display). Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor 390. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor 370, the controller/processor 390 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames.

[0026] In the uplink, data from a data source 378 and control signals from the controller/processor 390 are provided to a transmit processor 380. The data source 378 may represent applications running in the UE 350 and various user interfaces (e.g., keyboard). Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the node B 310, the transmit processor 380 provides various signal processing functions including CRC codes, coding and interleaving to facilitate FEC, mapping to signal constellations, spreading with OVSFs, and scrambling to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates, derived by the channel processor 394 from a reference signal transmitted by the node B 310 or from feedback contained in the midamble transmitted by the node B 310, may be used to select the appropriate coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes. The symbols produced by the transmit processor 380 will be provided to a transmit frame processor 382 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 382 creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) from the

controller/processor 390, resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter 356, which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplification, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for uplink transmission over the wireless medium through the antenna 352. [0027] The uplink transmission is processed at the node B 310 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 350. A receiver 335 receives the uplink transmission through the antenna 334 and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver 335 is provided to a receive frame processor 336, which parses each frame, and provides the midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) to the channel processor 344 and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor 338. The receive processor 338 performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor 380 in the UE 350. The data and control signals carried by the successfully decoded frames may then be provided to a data sink 339 and the controller/processor, respectively. If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receive processor, the

controller/processor 340 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames.

[0028] The controller/processors 340 and 390 may be used to direct the operation at the node B 310 and the UE 350, respectively. For example, the controller/processors 340 and 390 may provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. The computer readable media of memories 342 and 392 may store data and software for the node B 310 and the UE 350, respectively. For example, the memory 392 of the UE 350 may store a timing module 391 which, when executed by the controller/processor 390, configures the UE 350 for timing. A scheduler/processor 346 at the node B 310 may be used to allocate resources to the UEs and schedule downlink and/or uplink transmissions for the UEs.

MEASUREMENTS WITH REDUCED DATA LOSS IN TD-SCDMA

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to reducing data loss when performing LTE, or other radio access technology (RAT) measurements during an idle interval. The measurements may be performed without additional resources, and without wasting or not utilizing resources, in terms of time slots and codes, thus improving system capacity. Configurations of the present disclosure can be extended to perform inter frequency measurements.

[0030] Time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) is based on time division and code division to allow multiple UEs to share the same radio bandwidth on a particular frequency channel. The bandwidth of each frequency channel in a TD-SCDMA system is 1.6 MHz, operating at 1.28 mega chips per second. The downlink and uplink transmissions share the same bandwidth in different time slots (TSs). Additionally, in each time slot, there are multiple code channels.

[0031] FIGURE 4A is an example of multiple UEs operating in a TD-SCDMA system. In particular, the UEs 402 and 404 operate in transmission time intervals (TTI) 406 and 408. The UE 402 sends uplink transmissions during time slot 1 (TS1) and it receives downlink transmissions during time slot 4 (TS4) in both transmission time intervals 406, 408. The UE 404 transmits (i.e., sends uplink transmissions) during time slot 2 (TS2) and receives downlink transmissions during time slot 5 (TS5) also in both transmission time intervals 406, 408.

[0032] FIGURE 4B illustrates idle interval operation of UEs 402 and 404. During idle interval operation, the UEs 402 and 404 tune to other radio access technologies (RATs), such as LTE, (or other frequencies) to perform measurements during the idle interval. The UEs 402 and 404 do not perform uplink transmission and downlink reception during these idle transmission interval periods (406 in FIGURE 4B). The idle intervals 406 may be network configured idle intervals or forced idle intervals used for measurement of other radio access technologies and/or frequencies. The idle intervals do not refer to intervals where the UE is idle due to inactivity.

[0033] Idle interval information is defined in the 3 GPP protocol specification 25.331 10.3.7.12a, which is used for UMTS time division duplexing. It is noted that TD- SCDMA is a low chip rate UMTS time division duplexing system. A UE utilizing multiple radio access technology (multi-RAT) may request an idle interval for LTE or E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network) measurements while in the radio resource control connected mode and in a CELL_DCH (dedicated channel) state. However, during the idle interval data and/or voice frames may be lost.

[0034] Referring back to FIGURE 4B, during the first transmission time interval 406, the UEs 402, 404 are both in idle interval operation and are not transmitting or receiving during time slots 1, 2, 4 and 5 (TS1, TS2, TS4, and TS5) as they do during normal operation (as illustrating in FIGURE 4A). During the idle interval transmission time interval 406, data may be lost because the UEs do not transmit or receive

uplink/downlink data at this time. Accordingly, the resources available during the idle interval, such as uplink time slots 1 and 2, and downlink time slot 3 and 4, are not utilized. During the second transmission time interval 408, the UEs 402 and 404 return to normal operation.

[0035] In aspects according to the present disclosure, the network configures an idle interval period to reduce data loss and utilize available resource. In FIGURE 4C, the network configures the idle interval period 410 to include the two transmission time intervals 406 and 408. The UEs, 402 and 404, each have the same length idle interval (i.e., one transmission time interval 406 or 408) and the network configures the idle intervals of the UEs 402 and 404 to occur at alternate transmission time intervals during the idle interval period 410. In particular, the network configures the idle interval for the UE 402 to occur during the transmission time interval 406 (or the first half of the idle interval period 410). When the UE 402 is in idle interval mode during the transmission time interval 406, the UE 404 is in normal operation mode (i.e., the UE 404 sends/receives uplink/downlink transmissions). The idle interval of the UE 404 is configured to occur during the transmission time interval 408 (or the second half of the idle interval period 410) when the UE is in normal operation mode. During their respective idle intervals, the UEs 402 and 404 do not perform uplink/downlink transmission/reception, but instead perform inter-RAT measurements, (e.g., LTE measurements) and/or inter-frequency measurements.

[0036] When the UE 404 is in normal operation mode and the UE 402 is in and idle interval mode (i.e., during TTI 406), the UE 404 data rate can be increased by using resources allocated to the UE 402 in addition to the resources already allocated to UE 404. Optionally, any available resources that have not been assigned (i.e., unallocated resources) may be used by the UE 404. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that resources may include, but are not limited to time slots and code channels.

[0037] In the network configured idle interval period 410, during the transmission time interval 406, the UE 402 is in idle interval mode and the UE 404 is in normal operation mode. The resources originally allocated to the UE 402 (i.e., time slots 1 and 4) have been reallocated to the UE 404 thereby permitting the UE 404 to transmit uplink data in time slot 1 and 2, and to receive downlink transmissions in time slots 4 and 5. The additional resource allocation to the UE 404 doubles the data rate for the UE 404 (as compared to the date rate for the UE 404 in FIGURE 4A). During the transmission time interval 408, the UE 404 is in idle interval mode and the UE 402 is in a normal operation mode. Resources are reallocated to the UE 402, such that the UE 402 transmits uplink data in time slots 1 and 2 and receives downlink transmissions in time slots 4 and 5. The data rate for the UE 402 is doubled as compared to the UE 402 operating in FIGURE 4A. The reallocation of resources reduces data loss by allowing a UE 402 to transmit and receive data during the idle intervals of UE 404 (and vice versa). FIGURE 4C illustrates resource allocation with a peer or grouped UE using its resources and those resources originally assigned to its peer. Optionally, the UE may be assigned additional previously unallocated resources.

[0038] In some aspects, resources allocated to a UE, while its peer or grouped UE is in an idle interval, are signaled or instructed by the network to the specific UE.

Additionally, though only two transmission time intervals and UEs are shown in the exemplary figures, any number of intervals and UEs may be grouped. Furthermore, though time slots have been indicated as the allocated and unallocated resources, these resources may also be Walsh codes.

[0039] FIGURE 5 illustrates a method 500 for performing LTE measurements during an idle interval without data loss. In block 510, a first UE transmits during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE. The transmission time interval is adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE. The first UE transmits by utilizing resources allocated to it by the network and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the UE. The additional resources may include allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE and/or unallocated resources. In block 512, the UE measures another radio access technology and/or frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

[0040] In one configuration, the UE 350 is configured for wireless communication including means for transmitting. In one aspect, the transmitting means may be the controller/processor 390, memory 392, transmit processor 380 and/or antenna 352 configured to perform the functions recited by the transmitting means. The UE 350 is also configured to include a means for measuring. In one aspect, the measuring means may be the receive processor 370, controller/processor 390, memory 392 and/or antenna 352 configured to perform the functions recited by the measuring means. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be any module or any apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0041] FIGURE 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 600 employing a processing system 614. The processing system 614 may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 624. The bus 624 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system 614 and the overall design constraints. The bus 624 links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware modules, represented by the processor 604 the modules 608, 612, and the computer-readable medium 606. The bus 624 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.

[0042] The apparatus includes a processing system 614 coupled to a transceiver 610. The transceiver 610 is coupled to one or more antennas 620. The transceiver 610 enables communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The processing system 614 includes a processor 604 coupled to a computer-readable medium 606. The processor 604 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium 606. The software, when executed by the processor 604, causes the processing system 614 to perform the various functions described for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium 606 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 604 when executing software.

[0043] The processing system includes a transmitting module 608 and a measuring module 612. The transmitting module can transmit utilizing resources allocated to the first UE by the network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the UE. The measuring module can measure another radio access technology/frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss. The modules may be software modules running in the processor 604, resident/stored in the computer readable medium 606, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 604, or some combination thereof. The processing system 614 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 392, and/or the

controller/processor 390.

[0044] Several aspects of a telecommunications system has been presented with reference to TD-SCDMA systems. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards. By way of example, various aspects may be extended to other UMTS systems such as W- CDMA, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) and TD-CDMA. Various aspects may also be extended to systems employing Long Term Evolution (LTE) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra- Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0045] Several processors have been described in connection with various apparatuses and methods. These processors may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such processors are implemented as hardware or software will depend upon the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the system. By way of example, a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable processing components configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. The functionality of a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with software being executed by a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, or other suitable platform.

[0046] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium may include, by way of example, memory such as a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or a removable disk. Although memory is shown separate from the processors in the various aspects presented throughout this disclosure, the memory may be internal to the processors (e.g., cache or register).

[0047] Computer-readable media may be embodied in a computer-program product. By way of example, a computer-program product may include a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0048] It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein.

[0049] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at least one of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of: a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase "step for."

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

transmitting, by a first user equipment (UE), during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE, the TTI being adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE in which the transmitting utilizes resources allocated to the first UE by a network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by a network to the first UE, the additional resources comprising at least allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources; and

measuring another frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the transmission time interval is an integer multiple of idle intervals.

3. The method of claim 1, in which the additional resources are Walsh codes.

4. The method of claim 1, in which the additional resources are time slots.

5. The method of claim 1, in which the other frequency comprises another radio access technology (RAT).

6. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for transmitting, by a first user equipment (UE), during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE, the TTI being adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE in which the transmitting means utilizes resources allocated to the first UE by a network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by a network to the first UE, the additional resources comprising at least allocated resources coinciding with the network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources; and

means for measuring another frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the transmission time interval is an integer multiple of idle intervals.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the additional resources are Walsh codes.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the additional resources are time slots.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the other frequency comprises another radio access technology (RAT).

11. A computer program product for wireless communication in a wireless network,

comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising:

program code to transmit, by a first user equipment (UE), during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE, the TTI being adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE in which the resources utilized to transmit include resources allocated to the first UE by a network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the first UE, the additional resources comprising at least allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources; and

program code to measure another frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, in which the transmission time interval is an integer multiple of idle intervals.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, in which the additional resources are Walsh codes.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, in which the additional resources are time slots.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, in which the other frequency comprises another radio access technology (RAT).

16. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured:

to transmit, by a first user equipment (UE), during a transmission time interval (TTI) coinciding with an idle interval of a second UE, the TTI being adjacent to an idle interval of the first UE in which the resources utilized to transmit include resources allocated to the first UE by a network, and also additional resources signaled with dedicated signaling by the network to the UE, the additional resources comprising at least allocated resources coinciding with a network configured idle interval of the second UE or unallocated resources; and

to measure another frequency during the idle interval of the second UE, without data loss.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, in which the transmission time interval is an integer multiple of idle intervals.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, in which the additional resources are Walsh codes.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, in which the additional resources are time slots.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, in which the other frequency comprises another radio access technology (RAT).