WO2016161635A1

WO2016161635A1 - Device using unlicensed band to communicate and communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2016161635A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/076332
Authority: WO
Inventors: 徐海博; 周华
Original assignee: 富士通株式会社; 徐海博; 周华
Priority date: 2015-04-10
Filing date: 2015-04-10
Publication date: 2016-10-13

Abstract

A device using an unlicensed band to communicate and a communication system. The device comprises: a first transmission unit used to transmit indication information to a user equipment of a secondary serving cell configured with an unlicensed band, the indication information being used to inform the user equipment to perform a channel interception on the secondary serving cell of the corresponding unlicensed band according to an indication of the indication information; and a first receiving unit used to receive a fed back channel interception result after the user device performs the channel interception based on the indication information. The embodiment of the present invention can avoid an interference between systems resulting from a problem of a hidden node present in the prior art.

Description

Device and communication system utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to an apparatus and a communication system that utilize unlicensed frequency band communication.

Background technique

In order to meet the bandwidth demand of future services, in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, communication using unlicensed bands has become a hot issue. The serving cell on the unlicensed band can be configured as a separate serving cell to the user equipment for communication by the user equipment, or the serving cell aggregation method or the dual connection method in the LTE system can be used as the secondary serving cell in the unlicensed frequency band. The serving cell is configured to the user equipment, and the primary serving cell is a serving cell on the licensed frequency band. The working mode of the primary serving cell may be FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode or Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode; the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed band also selects FDD mode or TDD mode, and only downlink or uplink and downlink can exist at the same time.

It should be noted that the above description of the technical background is only for the purpose of facilitating a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of the present invention, and is convenient for understanding by those skilled in the art. The above technical solutions are not considered to be well known to those skilled in the art simply because these aspects are set forth in the background section of the present invention.

Summary of the invention

Since there are systems currently available, for example, a Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) system, communication is performed using a serving cell on an unlicensed band. Therefore, the joining of the LTE system needs to ensure that the unlicensed frequency band can be utilized fairly between the LTE system and other systems and systems of different LTE operators. In order to achieve this, LBT (Listen-Before-Talk) can be used. The basic idea of the LBT is that the transmitting end listens for a period of time before listening to the channel on the unlicensed band. During this period of time, when the channel is idle, the transmitting end can send signals on the channel; when the channel is found to be busy during the listening period, in general, the transmitting end needs to automatically retreat for a period of time before detecting. Listen to if the channel is available. However, when the LTE system occupies an unlicensed frequency band on which the base station communicates with the user equipment, there is a problem of hiding the terminal, resulting in inter-system interference.

Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention provide a device and a communication system that utilize unlicensed band communication. With this embodiment, interference between systems due to the problem of hidden nodes existing in the prior art can be avoided.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for communicating using an unlicensed frequency band, the apparatus comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to send the indication information to the user equipment of the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment according to the indication of the indication information on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band Channel sensing on the secondary serving cell;

And a first receiving unit, configured to receive a channel listening result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback based on the indication information.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus for communicating using an unlicensed frequency band is provided, including:

a second receiving unit, configured to receive the indication information sent by the base station, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information;

a first listening unit, configured to perform channel sounding on a channel of an unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information;

And a third sending unit, configured to: when the channel listening result is that the channel is idle, the user equipment feeds back, to the base station, information that the channel is idle, and/or sends a reserved signal.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a communication system includes a base station and a user equipment for configuring a cell on a preset unlicensed frequency band as a secondary serving cell, where

The base station is configured to send indication information to a user equipment of a secondary serving cell configured with an unlicensed frequency band, and receive a channel sounding result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback according to the indication information; wherein the indication information is used for notification The user equipment performs channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information;

The user equipment is configured to receive indication information sent by the base station, perform channel sounding on a channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information, and send a channel to the base station when the channel sounding result is that the channel is idle. Feedback channel idle information, and/or transmission of reserved signals.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer readable program, wherein when the program is executed in a device utilizing an unlicensed band communication, the program causes a computer to perform the above-described use in the device utilizing an unlicensed band communication A method of authorizing band communication.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a storage medium storing a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program causes a computer to perform the above-described method of utilizing unlicensed band communication in a device utilizing an unlicensed band communication.

An embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages: when the LTE system is using an unlicensed frequency band, the network side may send the foregoing indication information to the user equipment, and receive a channel listening result that is fed back by the user equipment based on the indication information, so that the network side The channel listening result is processed accordingly, such as scheduling downlink data transmission, thereby overcoming an operator's LTE system when using an unlicensed band and other inter-systems operating on an unlicensed band (such as a WLAN system) and being unauthorized. There may be hidden terminal problems between other operators' LTE systems operating in the frequency band, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in detail with reference to the following description and the drawings, in which <RTIgt; It should be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not limited in scope. The embodiments of the present invention include many variations, modifications, and equivalents within the scope of the appended claims.

Features described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in one or more other embodiments in the same or similar manner, in combination with, or in place of, features in other embodiments. .

It should be emphasized that the term "comprising" or "comprises" or "comprising" or "comprising" or "comprising" or "comprising" or "comprises"

DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to the drawings without any inventive labor. In the drawing:

1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a hidden terminal exists;

2 is a flowchart of a method for utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

3 is a bitmap diagram showing indication information according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of a method for utilizing unlicensed band communication according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart of a method for performing channel sounding according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart of a method for performing channel sounding according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

7 to FIG. 9 are schematic diagrams of channel sounding and feedback according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

10 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an apparatus for utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

11 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an apparatus for utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention;

Figure 12 is a block diagram showing the structure of a base station according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention;

13 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an apparatus for utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention;

14 is a schematic structural diagram of a first intercepting unit according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention;

15 is a schematic structural diagram of a first intercepting unit according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention;

16 is a schematic diagram showing the system configuration of a user equipment 1600 according to Embodiment 10 of the present invention;

Figure 17 is a block diagram showing the structure of a communication system according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention;

18 is a flowchart of the operation of the communication system according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention;

19 is a second working flow chart of the communication system according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention;

Figure 20 is a third flowchart of the operation of the communication system of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are merely exemplary and are not limiting of the invention. In order to enable the person skilled in the art to easily understand the principles and embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention are described by using an LTE/LTE-A system for communication using an unlicensed frequency band as an example, but it can be understood that the present invention It is not limited to the above system and is applicable to other systems involved in communicating on an unlicensed band.

In LTE or LTE-A systems, carrier aggregation techniques are proposed to support bandwidth values that are capable of providing this high data rate requirement. Carrier aggregation (CA) technology can aggregate multiple carriers in different frequency bands to form a maximum bandwidth, such as 100M bandwidth, enabling user equipment (UE: User Equipment) of LTE or LTE-A system (also called mobile terminal). , mobile stations, etc.) can receive and/or transmit data on multiple carriers.

In the carrier aggregation technology, each pair of uplink and downlink component carriers (CC: Component Carrier) constitutes one serving cell, and the base station (eNB: Evolved NodeB) can configure multiple serving cells for the user equipment UE according to the service requirement of the user equipment UE. . One serving cell is defined as a primary serving cell (PCell: Primary Cell), and the remaining serving cells are defined as a secondary serving cell (SCell: Secondary Cell). In addition, in consideration of the dynamic change of the user equipment UE traffic, in order to better save the power of the user equipment UE, An activation/deactivation operation is introduced to the secondary serving cell SCell, that is, the base station eNB can control the user equipment UE to perform activation and deactivation on the secondary serving cell SCell according to the traffic volume of the user equipment UE. After the user equipment UE deactivates a secondary serving cell SCell, the user equipment UE does not need to perform the following operations: (1) listening to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel) of the secondary serving cell SCell; 2) Listening to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH: Physical Downlink Share Channel) of the serving cell SCell; (3) feeding back the channel quality information (CQI: Channel Quality Information) of the serving cell SCell. (4) Perform uplink transmission in the serving cell SCell, including the SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) transmission and the uplink data transmission.

Currently, in the LTE system, the serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band is configured as a secondary serving cell to the user equipment, and the primary serving cell is the serving cell on the licensed frequency band. In this way, when the LTE system occupies the unlicensed frequency band on which the base station communicates with the user equipment, there is a problem of hiding the terminal, thereby causing inter-system interference. The above problems will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a scene in which a hidden terminal exists. As shown in FIG. 1, the base station eNB that uses unlicensed band communication, user equipment UE1 and UE2, A indicates the listening range of the eNB, and C indicates the coverage area of the eNB (Coverage Area). The eNB serves the UE1, and the wireless fixed (WiFi, Access Fixed) access point (AP, Access Point) serves the UE2. The AP of the WiFi is not within the listening range A of the eNB, and the UE 2 is within the coverage C of the base station eNB. Channel A on the unlicensed band has been configured by the base station eNB to UE1 as its SCell. It is assumed that starting from time n, the WiFi AP has occupied channel A to communicate with UE2, and at time n+1, the eNB starts to listen on channel A to determine whether channel A is available. However, since the AP of the WiFi is not in the listening range of the eNB, that is, the terminal is hidden, the eNB may mistakenly consider that the channel A is idle, thereby starting downlink data transmission of the UE1, thereby performing AP data communication between the UE2 and the WiFi. Cause interference.

The above scenarios are described by taking the LTE system and the WLAN system as an example. However, the above problems may exist between LTE systems of different operators operating on unlicensed frequency bands, and will not be described herein.

Therefore, an object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a method for using unlicensed frequency band communication, a device thereof, and a communication system, to overcome the problem that an LTE system of an operator works with other unlicensed frequency bands when using an unlicensed frequency band. Hidden terminal problems may exist between different systems (such as WLAN systems) and other operators' LTE systems operating on unlicensed bands, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, in the LTE system The base station is a base station that uses the unlicensed frequency band communication, and the serving cell in the unlicensed frequency band is configured as the secondary serving cell to the user equipment, and the primary serving cell is the serving cell on the licensed frequency band as an example for description. And the node adjacent to the user equipment described in the following embodiments works on the same unlicensed frequency band as the base station and the user equipment.

Example 1

2 is a flow chart of a method for utilizing unlicensed band communication according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, on the network side, the method includes:

Step 201: The base station sends the indication information to the user equipment of the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel detection on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information. listen;

Step 202: Receive a channel sounding result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback based on the indication information.

In this embodiment, when the listening result of the channel interception by the user equipment is that the channel is idle, the channel listening result may be fed back to the base station. In step 202, the received feedback result is that the channel is idle.

In this embodiment, when the listening result of the channel interception by the user equipment is that the channel is busy, when the user equipment feeds back the interception result, in step 202, the received listening result is that the channel is busy.

In this embodiment, when the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sensing on the secondary serving cell of some or some unlicensed frequency bands, step 201 may be performed. For example, if the base station prepares to send downlink data for the user equipment in the unlicensed frequency band, and if the base station detects that the channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the cell is idle, the base station performs step 201.

Moreover, after the base station obtains the feedback result, corresponding processing may be performed based on the feedback result. For example, the base station may determine whether to perform downlink data transmission according to the feedback result received in step 202. Thus, the method may further include a step (not shown): the base station schedules downlink data transmission of the user equipment when the feedback result is that the channel is idle. This step is an optional step.

According to the foregoing embodiment, when the LTE system is using the unlicensed frequency band, the network side may send the foregoing indication information to the user equipment, and receive a channel sounding result that is fed back by the user equipment based on the indication information, so that the network side listens according to the channel. The result is processed accordingly, such as scheduling downlink data transmission, thereby overcoming an operator's LTE system operating with an unlicensed band and other heterogeneous systems operating on the unlicensed band (such as the WLAN system). There may be hidden terminal problems between the LTE systems of other operators operating on unlicensed bands, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

In this embodiment, the method may further include a step (not shown): the base station may further notify the user equipment of one or more of the following information:

The length of time (T), which is used to indicate that when the user equipment is performing channel interception on the secondary serving cell in the unlicensed frequency band, the user equipment needs to reserve the channel for the length of time, or the user equipment determines The information of the length of the reserved channel; the first resource information, which is used to indicate that when the user equipment is performing channel interception on the secondary serving cell in the unlicensed frequency band, the user equipment is used to send the channel when the channel is idle. The physical resource used for the reserved signal; the second resource information, which is used to indicate the physical resource used by the user equipment to listen to the channel listening result. Among them, this step is an optional step.

The foregoing information may be sent to the user equipment in the information included in the information, or may be sent to the user equipment separately, and is not listed here.

It can be seen that, when the base station detects that the channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to a certain cell is idle, the base station sends an indication information to notify the user equipment that configures the cell as the secondary serving cell, and the user equipment can perform channel detection according to the indication information. Listening, when the base station does not receive the channel feedback result or the channel feedback result is “channel busy”, even if the base station detects that the channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to a certain cell is an idle channel, the user is not scheduled. The downlink data transmission of the device overcomes the above-mentioned hidden terminal problem, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

Example 2

Embodiment 2 of the present invention also provides a method for utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication. The same points as those of the first embodiment are omitted, and the same contents as those of the first embodiment are incorporated herein, and differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail.

In this embodiment, the manner in which the user equipment needs to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell of the unlicensed frequency band is indicated by means of display. The indication information may be a secondary serving cell used to notify the user equipment that channel interception is required, and the indicated serving cell may be one or more.

For example, the indication information may be sent by using any existing or newly created message. For example, the indication information may be included in the existing Downlink Control Information (DCI) or the newly defined DCI format. Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH, Physical Downlink Control) The channel or the enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH, Enhanced PDCCH) transmits the indication information.

The PDCCH or the EPDCCH carrying the indication information may be sent on the primary serving cell of the user equipment. In this case, the indication information may be a secondary serving cell used to notify the user equipment that channel interception is required, and the secondary serving cell may include one or more secondary serving cells; for example, the user equipment may be notified. The cell index number of the secondary serving cell that the channel listens to, or in the case of using a bit map, the indication information may be bit information. The following is explained by way of example.

Example 1, the indication information is a cell index number of the secondary serving cell

When the user equipment can support up to five serving cells, the cell index number of the serving cell can be represented by 3-bit information; in the case that the user equipment can support up to 32 serving cells, the cell of the serving cell The index number can be represented by 5-bit information.

In this embodiment, the user equipment can support up to five serving cells and use three bits of information to represent the cell index as an example. For example, the base station configures one primary serving cell and three secondary serving cells for the user equipment; the cell index numbers of the configured three secondary serving cells may be 001, 010, and 011 respectively; and the secondary serving cells with index numbers 010 and 011 respectively Is the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed band.

When the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell with the index number of 010, the indication information may include an index number of the serving cell, that is, 010, so that the user equipment receives the indication. After the information, channel sensing is performed on the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information, that is, on the secondary serving cell corresponding to the index number 010.

The corresponding relationship between the bit information and the secondary serving cell may be pre-configured, which is similar to the prior art and is not described here.

Example 2, indicating a secondary serving cell performing channel sensing by using a bitmap

In the case that the user equipment can support up to 5 serving cells, the bit bitmap can be 8 bits; in the case that the user equipment can support up to 32 serving cells, the bit bitmap can be 32 bits.

In this embodiment, the user equipment can support up to five serving cells, and the 8-bit bit bitmap is used to indicate the secondary serving cell as an example. For example, the base station configures one primary serving cell and three secondary serving cells for the user equipment; the cell index numbers of the configured three secondary serving cells may be 001, 010, and 011 respectively; and the secondary serving cells with index numbers 010 and 011 respectively Is the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed band.

3 is a schematic diagram of a bit bitmap of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, the length of the bitmap is 8 bits. For example, bit 0 corresponds to the primary serving cell, and bits 1-7 correspond to the secondary serving cells with index numbers 000-111, respectively. When the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sounding on a certain secondary serving cell, the corresponding bit can be set to 1.

For example, when the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell with the index number 010 and the index number 011, the corresponding bit, that is, the second bit and the third bit can be set to 1, That is, the indication information may include 8 bits having a value of 0000110. In this way, after receiving the indication information, the user equipment performs channel sounding on the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information, that is, the secondary serving cell corresponding to the index numbers 010 and 011 whose bits correspond to "1".

In the foregoing example, the corresponding relationship between the foregoing bit and the secondary serving cell may be pre-configured, which is similar to the prior art, and details are not described herein again. The primary serving cell and the secondary serving cell configured by the base station for the user equipment are only specific examples, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the foregoing.

In addition, the PDCCH or EPDCCH carrying the indication information may be sent on the secondary serving cell where the user equipment needs to perform channel interception. In this case, the indication information is to indicate that the user equipment performs channel sounding on the secondary serving cell that needs to be intercepted. For example, the base station configures one primary serving cell and three secondary serving cells for the user equipment, and the user equipment can support up to five serving cells, and the cell index numbers of the three secondary serving cells are 001, 010, and 011, respectively. The secondary serving cell, which is 010 and 011, is the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed band. When the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell with index number 010, the base station may send the indication information on the secondary serving cell with index number 010. At this time, the indication information may contain 1 bit of information, and its value is set to 1. In this way, after the user equipment receives the indication information, when the bit information of the indication information is 1, channel sensing is performed on the secondary serving cell corresponding to the index number 010.

Further, the value of the bit information of the indication information is not limited to 1, and may be "0", and the above is only a specific example. The primary serving cell and the secondary serving cell configured by the base station for the user equipment are only specific examples, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the foregoing.

The PDCCH or the EPDCCH may be scrambled by a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) or may be passed through a newly defined user equipment-dedicated RNTI when the indication information is sent through the PDCCH/EPDCCH. To scramble. When scrambling through a newly defined RNTI, the base station may configure the RNTI for the user equipment when configuring the dedicated physical resource of the primary serving cell, or configure the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band for the user equipment. The RNTI is configured for the user equipment when the dedicated physical resource is used.

It can be seen that, by sending the foregoing indication information to the user equipment, the user equipment can determine, according to the indication information, which sub-serving cell performs channel sensing, and feed back the interception result, so that the base station performs corresponding according to the feedback result. Processing, thereby overcoming the above-mentioned hidden terminal problems, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

Example 3

Embodiment 3 of the present invention also provides a method for utilizing unlicensed frequency band communication. The same points as those of the first embodiment are omitted, and the same contents as those of the first embodiment are incorporated herein, and differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail.

In this embodiment, the existing message can be used as the indication information to indicate on which secondary serving cell the user equipment performs channel sounding, so that the user equipment is notified in an implicit manner to perform channel interception of the secondary serving cell, thereby saving Signaling overhead.

In an embodiment, an aperiodic Channel Quality Indication (CQI) request for a secondary serving cell on an unlicensed frequency band of the user equipment that is sent by the base station may be used as the indication information. For example, when the base station sends an aperiodic CQI request to request the user equipment to report the aperiodic CQI of the secondary serving cell on a configured unlicensed frequency band, it implicitly indicates that the user equipment needs to be on the serving cell. Perform channel interception. The non-periodic CQI request may be pre-agreed between the base station and the user equipment as the indication information. In this way, when the user equipment receives the aperiodic CQI request, the user equipment may determine to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band for which the CQI request is directed.

In another embodiment, the base station pre-configures, on the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band, a period for feeding back the channel listening result and a physical resource that feeds back the channel listening result. In this case, when the base station sends a notification information that is available to the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band configured by the user equipment, the notification information implicitly indicates that the user equipment needs to be in the secondary serving cell. Channel listening is performed on it. The notification information may be pre-agreed between the base station and the user equipment as the indication information. For example, when the base station detects that the channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to a cell is idle, the base station sends notification information for notifying that the user equipment configuring the cell as the secondary serving cell is available to the serving cell; After receiving the notification information, the device performs channel sensing on the available secondary serving cell included in the notification information according to a preset period of the feedback channel listening result. The period and physical resources of the feedback channel listening result may be the same as the periodic CQI reporting period and physical resources, or may be different from the periodic CQI reporting period and physical resources.

Example 4

4 is a flow chart of a method for utilizing unlicensed band communication according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. For the user equipment that configures the cell in the preset unlicensed frequency band as the secondary serving cell, as shown in FIG. 4, the method includes:

Step 401: The user equipment receives the indication information sent by the base station, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the corresponding secondary serving cell according to the indication of the indication information.

Step 402: The user equipment performs channel sounding on the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information.

Step 403: When the result of the channel listening is that the channel is idle, the user equipment feeds back information that the channel is idle and/or sends a reserved signal.

In this embodiment, the reserved signal is used to reserve a channel corresponding to the serving cell, and prevents other nodes from preempting the channel.

In this embodiment, in step 401, for the user equipment that configures the cell as the secondary serving cell, when the secondary serving cell is in an activated state, and the user equipment is in discontinuous reception (DRX, Discontinuous Reception) The user equipment monitors whether the base station sends the indication information when the base station sends the indication information, and the user equipment can receive the indication information when the base station sends the indication information. For the specific definition of the above activation state and activation time, refer to TS 36.321, V12.1.0, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In this embodiment, the base station may send the indication information in a display mode or an implicit manner, as described in Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2, and Embodiment 3, and details are not described herein; In the implicit mode, the information specifically included in the indication information is as described in Embodiment 2 and Embodiment 3, and details are not described herein again.

In an embodiment, when the base station indicates the secondary serving cell that performs channel interception in the manner of display, in step 402, when the user equipment receives the indication information, the user equipment may directly indicate the indication information. Channel sensing is performed on the serving cell.

In an embodiment, when the base station indicates the secondary serving cell performing channel interception in an implicit manner, such as the base station passing the aperiodic channel quality indication (CQI) request or by notifying the user equipment of the unlicensed frequency band The notification information that is available to the serving cell indicates that, in step 402, when the user equipment receives the aperiodic CQI request or the notification information, the user equipment is in the secondary serving cell to which the CQI request is directed or in the notification information. Channel sensing is performed on the available secondary serving cells of the notification.

In this embodiment, in step 402, the user equipment can pass the energy detection or signal detection manner. Channel interception is performed as follows.

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing channel interception according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Channel sensing is performed by energy detection, as shown in FIG. 5, the method includes:

Step 501: The user equipment performs energy detection on a channel of an unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell.

In step 502, it is determined whether energy is detected; when the determination result is no, step 503 is performed; otherwise, step 504 is performed.

Step 503: In step 502, if the result of the determination is that no energy transmission is detected on the channel, the channel listening result may be determined to be that the channel is idle.

Step 504, in step 502, the result of the determination is that when the energy transmission on the channel is detected, it is further determined whether the energy is from a signal sent by a neighboring base station of the same carrier. If the determination result is yes, step 503 is performed; otherwise, Go to step 505.

Step 505, in step 504, when the determination result is no, it may be determined that the channel listening result is that the channel is busy.

In this embodiment, in step 504, it may be determined whether the energy is from a signal transmitted by a neighboring base station of the same operator by detecting whether there is a sequence transmitted by a neighboring base station of the same operator.

For example, the serving base station of the user equipment may notify the user equipment of the sequence and location of the cell reference signal (CRS) sent by the neighboring base station on the neighboring cell of the secondary serving cell; the user equipment detects the secondary service When there is energy transmission on the cell, it is further detected whether there is a cell reference signal sent by the neighboring base station on the neighboring cell of the secondary serving cell. If so, it can be determined that the signals are transmitted by neighboring base stations from the same carrier, thus further determining that the channel listening result is channel idle.

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing channel interception according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Channel sensing is performed by energy detection. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes:

Step 601: The user equipment performs signal detection according to a format of a Clear To Send (CTS) packet.

The format of the CTS packet can refer to the format of the CTS packet in the WLAN system, and details are not described herein again.

In this case, the user equipment needs to be equipped with a wireless receiver for receiving and processing CTS signals in the WLAN system.

Step 602, it is determined whether a signal is detected; when the determination result is no, step 603 is performed; otherwise, step 604 is performed.

Wherein, when no CTS packet is decoded, it can be determined that no signal is detected, otherwise, the detected signal can be determined.

Step 603, in step 602, when the result of the determination is that no signal is detected, the channel listening result may be determined to be that the channel is idle.

Step 604, in step 602, when the result of the determination is that the signal is detected, it is further determined whether the CTS packet is from a data packet sent by a neighboring base station of the same operator. If the determination result is yes, step 603 is performed; otherwise, step 606 is performed. .

Step 606, in step 604, when the determination result is no, it may be determined that the channel listening result is that the channel is busy.

In this embodiment, in step 604, when it is determined whether the CTS data packet is from a data packet sent by a neighboring base station of the same operator, it may be detected whether the address in the CTS packet is a neighboring base station of the same carrier. the address of. For example, the serving base station of the user equipment can inform the user equipment of the address of its neighboring base station. When detecting the CTS data packet transmission on the secondary serving cell, the user equipment further detects whether the address in the CTS data packet is an address of a neighboring base station of the same operator. If yes, it may be determined that the CTS packet is sent by a neighboring base station of the same carrier, and then the channel interception result may be determined to be a channel idle.

In this embodiment, in step 402, when the result of the channel listening is that the channel is busy, the method may further include: the user equipment feeding back the channel busy information to the base station, and stopping channel listening.

In this embodiment, when the base station indicates the secondary serving cell that performs the interception in an implicit manner, if the base station is configured in advance for the user equipment, the secondary serving cell in a certain unlicensed frequency band is used to feed back the channel. When the period of the listening result is indicated by the foregoing notification information, in step 402, when the channel listening result is that the channel is busy, the method may further include:

The user equipment performs channel sounding according to a preset period of the feedback channel sounding result, and stops channel sounding when the preset condition is met. The preset condition may be that the user equipment detects that the channel is an idle channel, or the listening time reaches a maximum length of time that the base station can continuously occupy the channel. The maximum length of the continuously occupied channel indicates the maximum time that the base station can perform data transmission on the channel after preempting the channel. After this time, if the base station wants to continue data transmission on the channel, the base station needs to perform channel sensing again. The maximum length of time that the base station can continuously occupy the channel can be pre-configured to the user equipment.

In this embodiment, in step 402, the user equipment may further include: determining whether the channel quality measured by the user equipment meets the base station pre-determination before the step 403 is performed. Setting a threshold for triggering the channel listening result; when the judgment result is that the condition preset by the base station is met, Line 403. The channel quality may be represented by CQI or by a CQI index number (CQI index). For the definition of the CQI index and the corresponding modulation and coding mode, refer to TS36.213, V12.0, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again. For example, the threshold may be set to 6, that is, when the value of the CQI index corresponding to the CQI measured by the user equipment is greater than 6, the user equipment needs to feed back information about the channel idleness to the base station. The above description is based on the threshold value of 6. The threshold value is not limited to this value, and can be set according to actual conditions by those skilled in the art, and will not be enumerated here.

In this embodiment, in step 403, the user equipment may send the reserved signal on the secondary serving cell by using the primary serving cell feedback channel idle information, and the feedback channel idle information and the reserved signal may be Sending at the same time, can also be sent in succession, which can be determined according to the actual situation, and will not be described here.

In this embodiment, in step 402, when the user equipment performs channel sounding, the start time of the channel sounding, the reserved channel position and length, and the feedback channel sounding result, that is, the channel, may be determined according to actual conditions. The time of idle or busy information on the channel. The following examples are given:

For example, when the base station sends the indication information through the control channel or the enhanced control channel, the first time length (T1) is configured in advance, where the first time length T1 may be the maximum processing time for decoding the PDCCH or the EPDCCH;

In this case, after receiving the control channel or the enhanced control channel, the user equipment starts channel listening after a preset first time length (T1); when the listening result is that the channel is idle, The user equipment feeds back channel idle information in the next subframe of the current subframe in which the channel is being listened; the length of time reserved for the channel is the current subframe in which channel sounding is performed, and the length of time remaining after channel interception ends. (t) The sum of the predetermined second time length (T2) (t+T2).

The second time length T2 may be preset to 1 or any other value, or may be set to zero; or may be pre-configured by the base station, such as the time length T described in Embodiment 1, by which the reservation may be determined. The time of the channel; or configured by the base station through high layer signaling, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of performing channel sounding according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. For example, the first predetermined time T1 is 5 OFDM symbols, and T2 takes a value of 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the user equipment receives a PDCCH or an EPDCCH in a current frame SFn, and the user equipment starts channel sensing after a T1 time, and the channel listening time length is x; the channel listening result, such as “channel idle or busy” The information may be transmitted in the next subframe SFn+1 of the current subframe SFn; and when the channel listening result is that the channel is idle, the reserved signal may be immediately transmitted. Reserved channel The length of time may be the sum of the time t and T2 remaining after channel interception of the current subframe SFn (t+T2).

The above is described by taking T2=1 as an example. However, T2 is not limited to this value, and may be arbitrarily set according to the actual situation. In addition, in the foregoing embodiment, the description is performed by taking the indication information by using the PDCCH or the EPDCCH. The first time length T1 is determined according to the time when the PDCCH or the EPDCCH is decoded, but in a case where the indication information is carried by other information, the first time length T1 is determined according to the time of decoding the corresponding other information. This is not listed here.

Example 2, presetting a time interval from the time when the indication information is received to the time interval k subframes required to be able to feed back the channel listening result;

For example, when the base station sends the indication information through the control channel or the enhanced control channel, preset a time interval k from the time when the (E)PDCCH of the bearer indication information is received to the time when the channel listening result can be fed back. Subframes.

In this case, the user equipment starts channel listening at a time of a predetermined third time length (x1) before the subframe in which the channel listening result is fed back; wherein the subframe of the feedback channel listening result can be received according to the receiving The time of the (E)PDCCH of the bearer indication information and the time interval of the k subframes are determined; wherein the third time length is a length of time required for the user equipment to perform channel sounding.

And when the listening result is that the channel is idle, the user equipment feeds back the channel idle information in the subframe of the feedback channel channel listening result; the starting position of the reserved channel is the start of the subframe of the feedback channel listening result. Position; and the length of time reserved for the channel is a preset fourth time length (T4). The manner of determining the T4 is the same as the manner of determining the T2, and details are not described herein again.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of performing channel sounding according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. For example, when the (E)PDCCH carrying the indication information is received in the nth subframe (SFn), the user equipment may determine to feed back the channel interception result in the (n+k)th subframe (SFn+k). As shown in FIG. 8, k takes 4 subframes, and T4 takes a value of 1.

As shown in FIG. 8, the length of time required for the user equipment to perform channel sounding is x1, so that the user equipment needs to be at the time of (n+k-x1), that is, the subframe in which the feedback channel is heard. Channel sensing is performed at a timing of a predetermined third time length (x1) before SFn+4). The result of the interception is that the channel is idle, the user equipment feeds back the channel listening result detected in the (n+k)th subframe, and reserves the channel from the starting position of the (n+k) subframe. . The length of the reserved channel may be T4, and the value of the T4 is similar to the value of T2, and is not described here.

In the above embodiment, the base station carries the indication information by using the PDCCH or the EPDCCH as an example. The description of the line, but not limited to the above manner, for example, the base station may also implicitly indicate the user equipment by using an aperiodic CQI request. Thus, in FIG. 8, the information received in the nth subframe is an aperiodic CQI request, and the other Similar, it will not be repeated here.

Example 3, similar to the example 2, presetting a channel to listen to a predetermined fifth time length (x2) before the subframe of the feedback channel listening result; the difference is that the feedback channel is listening for the result. The subframe is configured by the base station, for example, the base station presets a period for feeding back the channel listening result for the user equipment. The fifth time length is a length of time required for the user equipment to perform channel sounding.

In this case, the user equipment starts channel listening at a time of a fifth time length (x2) before each preset subframe of the feedback channel listening result; and when the listening result is that the channel is idle, The user equipment feeds back the idle information of the channel in the subframe of the preset feedback channel listening result; and reserves the length of the channel for a preset sixth time length (T5), and reserves the starting position of the channel as The preset feedback channel listens to the starting position of the sub-frame of the result (ie, the starting point of T5). The method for determining T5 is the same as T2, and will not be described here.

In the above embodiment, T4 and T5 may not be zero.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of performing channel sounding according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. For example, the nth subframe (SFn) receives the notification information sent by the base station to notify the next serving cell, and the subframe of the periodic feedback channel interception result configured by the base station for the user equipment is the SFn+2 subframes. As shown in FIG. 9, T5 takes a value of 1.

As shown in FIG. 9, the user equipment performs channel sounding at a predetermined fifth time length (x2) before the SFn+2 subframes. The result of the interception is that the channel is idle, and the user equipment feeds back the channel listening result detected in the SFn+2 subframes, and reserves the channel from the starting position of the SFn+2 subframe. The length of the reserved channel may be T5, and the value of the T5 is the value of T2, which is not described here.

In this embodiment, when the base station sends one or more of the following information to the user equipment, the method may further include a step (not shown): receiving the information sent by the base station; the information may include time The length, the first resource information, and the second resource information are as described in Embodiment 1, and the contents thereof are incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the reserved signal is a predetermined first sequence, and the first sequence occupies the entire bandwidth of the serving cell, and the length of the first sequence is the length of the reserved channel; or, the reserved signal is a predetermined second sequence, the physical resources occupied by the second sequence are pre-configured by the base station, such as the first resource information notified by the base station in the embodiment; or the reserved signal is a clear sending packet that the WLAN system can identify, the pre- The leave signal occupies the entire bandwidth of the secondary serving cell.

In step 403, when the reserved signal is sent, when the reserved signal is identifiable by the WLAN system When clearing the sending packet, the length of the reserved channel is also included in the reserved signal and sent together; when the reserved signal is the first and second sequences, the reserved signal is not required to be reserved. The length of time of the channel.

In step 403, when the reserved signal is transmitted, when the reserved signal is a clear transmission packet recognizable by the WLAN system, the user equipment needs to be equipped with a wireless transmitter for processing and transmitting a CTS signal in the WLAN system.

As can be seen from the above, the user equipment can perform channel sounding according to the indication information sent by the base station, and feed back the channel interception result, so that the base station can schedule downlink data transmission of the user equipment according to the channel interception result, thereby overcoming the above possibility. There is a hidden terminal problem to avoid inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

A person skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above embodiments can be performed by a program to instruct related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. All or part of the steps of the above embodiment may be included, and the storage medium may include: ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, and the like.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides an apparatus, a base station, and a user equipment that utilize unlicensed frequency band communication, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle of solving the problem by the device, the base station, and the user equipment is similar to the foregoing method for communicating by using the unlicensed frequency band based on the base station and the user equipment, the implementation of the apparatus, the base station, and the user equipment using the unlicensed frequency band communication may refer to the method. The implementation, repetitions will not be repeated.

Example 5

Figure 10 is a block diagram showing the structure of an apparatus for utilizing unlicensed band communication according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the device 1000 includes: a first sending unit 1001 and a first receiving unit 1002;

The first sending unit 1001 is configured to send the indication information to the user equipment of the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment of the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information. Perform channel interception on;

The first receiving unit 1002 is configured to receive a channel listening result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback based on the indication information.

In this embodiment, when the listening result of the channel interception by the user equipment is that the channel is idle, the channel sensing may be fed back to the base station, and the feedback result received by the first receiving unit 1002 is that the channel is idle.

In this embodiment, when the listening result of the channel interception by the user equipment is that the channel is busy, when the user equipment feeds back the interception result, the feedback result received by the first receiving unit 1002 is that the channel is busy.

In this embodiment, when the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell of the certain or some unlicensed frequency bands, the first sending unit 1001 may be triggered to send the indication information. For example, the base station prepares a case where the cell in the unlicensed frequency band transmits downlink data for the user equipment, and the base station detects that the channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the cell is idle, but is not limited to this case.

Moreover, after the base station obtains the feedback result, corresponding processing may be performed based on the feedback result. For example, the base station may determine whether to perform downlink data transmission according to the feedback result received in step 202. Thus, as shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 1000 may further include a processing unit 1003, configured to schedule downlink data transmission of the user equipment when the feedback result is that the channel is idle. This part is an optional part.

As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 1000 further includes a second sending unit 1004, where the second sending unit 1004 is configured to notify the user equipment of one or more of the following information: time length (T), first resource information, and second Resource information. The meaning of each of the above information is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the contents thereof are hereby incorporated herein by reference. The component is an optional component, and the foregoing information may be sent to the user equipment in the information together with the indication information, or may be separately sent to the user equipment, and will not be enumerated here.

In this embodiment, the workflow of the device 1000 may refer to the method flow of the embodiment 1, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

According to the foregoing embodiment, when the LTE system is using the unlicensed frequency band, the network side may send the foregoing indication information to the user equipment, and receive a channel sounding result that is sent back by the user equipment based on the indication information, so that the network side listens according to the channel. The result is processed accordingly, such as scheduling downlink data transmission, thereby overcoming an operator's LTE system working with other unlicensed bands (such as WLAN systems) and operating on unlicensed bands when using unlicensed bands. There may be hidden terminal problems between other operators' LTE systems, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

Example 6

Figure 11 is a block diagram showing the structure of an apparatus for utilizing unlicensed band communication according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the device 1100 includes a first sending unit 1101, a first receiving unit 1102, a processing unit 1103, and a second sending unit 1104, which function as the first sending unit 1001 and the first receiving unit 1002 of the embodiment 5. Processing unit 1003 is similar to second transmitting unit 1004, and its contents are now incorporated herein.

In this embodiment, the user equipment is required to perform channel sensing on the secondary serving cell of the unlicensed frequency band, and the indication information is used to notify the user equipment that channel interception is required. Service area.

In this embodiment, the first sending unit 501 may send the indication information by using any existing or newly created message, for example, the indication information may be included in existing downlink control information (DCI, Downlink Control Information) or new In the defined DCI format, the indication information is sent through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH, Physical Downlink Control Channel) or an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH, Enhanced PDCCH).

In this embodiment, the first sending unit 501 may send the control channel or the enhanced control channel on the primary serving cell of the user equipment, or may send the control channel on the secondary serving cell of the user equipment that needs to perform channel interception. Control channel or enhanced control channel. For the content of the indication information in the two transmission modes, as described in Embodiment 2, the content thereof will be incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the control channel or the enhanced control channel is scrambled by a Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI); or is scrambled by a predetermined user equipment-specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI);

And the device 1100 further includes a first configuration unit 1105, where the first configuration unit 1105 is configured to: when the base station configures a dedicated physical resource of the primary serving cell for the user equipment, or configure a non-configuration for the user equipment When the dedicated physical resource of the secondary serving cell on the licensed frequency band is authorized, the RNTI is configured for the user equipment. After the RNTI is configured by the first configuration unit 1105, when the first sending unit 1101 sends the indication information by using the control channel, the configured RNTI may be used for scrambling; or the RNTI is stored into the storage unit ( Not shown), used when scrambling. The first configuration unit 1105 is an optional component, and when scrambling is performed using the C-RNTI, it is not necessary to configure the RNTI.

Example 7

Embodiment 7 of the present invention also provides an apparatus for communicating using an unlicensed frequency band. The same points as those of the fifth embodiment are omitted, and the same contents as those of the fifth embodiment are incorporated herein, and differences from the fifth embodiment will be described in detail.

In this embodiment, the existing message can be used as the indication information to indicate which service device the user equipment is small. Channel sensing is performed on the area, so that the user equipment is notified in an implicit manner to the secondary serving cell for channel interception, thereby saving signaling overhead.

In an embodiment, an aperiodic Channel Quality Indication (CQI) request for a secondary serving cell on an unlicensed frequency band of the user equipment that is sent by the base station may be used as the indication information.

In another embodiment, the base station pre-configures, on the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band, a period for feeding back the channel listening result and a physical resource that feeds back the channel listening result. In this case, a notification message sent by the base station to notify the user equipment of the configured secondary service cell on the unlicensed frequency band is used as the indication information. The specific notification manner is as described in Embodiment 3, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again. In this case, the apparatus may further include a configuration unit configured to configure a period on the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band to feed back the channel listening result and a physical resource that feeds back the channel listening result.

The various components of the apparatus of the above embodiments 5-7 can be combined according to actual conditions, and will not be enumerated here.

Example 8

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a base station, where the base station includes the apparatus of Embodiment 5 or Embodiment 6 or Embodiment 7. If the components of Embodiment 5-7 are combined according to actual conditions, the base station includes the combined Device.

An example of a base station according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention can be referred to FIG. The base station 1200 can include a central processing unit (CPU) 1201 and a memory 1202; the memory 1202 is coupled to the central processing unit 1201. The memory 1202 can store various data; in addition, a program for communicating by using an unlicensed band is stored, and the program is executed under the control of the central processing unit 1201 to send the indication information to the user equipment, and receive the information fed back by the user equipment, As described in Embodiment 1, no further details are provided herein.

In one embodiment, the functionality of the apparatus of the above-described embodiments can be integrated into a central processing unit. The central processing unit 1201 may be configured to: send the indication information to the user equipment of the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment according to the indication of the indication information on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band. Performing channel sensing on the secondary serving cell; receiving a channel sensing result that is feedback by the user equipment based on the indication information after channel sensing.

In addition, the central processing unit 1201 may be further configured to notify the user equipment of one or more of the following information: a length of time, first resource information, and second resource information. The function of each information is as described in Embodiment 1, and details are not described herein again.

In another embodiment, the functions of the apparatus of the foregoing embodiment may be separately configured from the central processing unit. For example, the foregoing apparatus may be configured as a chip connected to the central processing unit, and the control of the central processing unit is used to implement each device. Features.

In this embodiment, the memory can store information such as the configured RNTI.

In this embodiment, the indication information may be sent in a display or an implicit manner, as described in Embodiment 1-3, and details are not described herein again.

In addition, the base station 1200 may further include: a transceiver 1203, an antenna 1204, and the like; wherein the functions of the foregoing components are similar to the prior art, and details are not described herein again. It should be noted that the base station does not have to include all the components shown in FIG. 12; in addition, the base station may further include components not shown in FIG. 12, and reference may be made to the prior art.

Example 9

Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the structure of an apparatus for utilizing unlicensed band communication according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention. Corresponding to the user equipment that configures the cell in the unlicensed frequency band as the user equipment of the secondary serving cell, the device 1300 includes: a second receiving unit 1301, a first listening unit 1302, and a third sending unit 1303;

The second receiving unit 1301 is configured to receive indication information that is sent by the base station, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information;

a first intercepting unit 1302, configured to perform channel sensing on a channel of an unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information;

The third sending unit 1303 is configured to: when the channel is intercepted, the channel is idle, the user equipment feeds back, to the base station, information that the channel is idle, and/or sends a reserved signal.

In this embodiment, the reserved signal is used to reserve a channel corresponding to the serving cell, and prevents other nodes from preempting the channel. The reserved signal is as described in Embodiment 4, and the content thereof is hereby incorporated herein, and is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the manner in which the second receiving unit 1301 receives the indication information is as described in step 401 of the embodiment 4, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

In an embodiment, when the base station indicates, by means of display, the secondary serving cell that performs channel sensing, In a listening unit 1302, channel sensing can be performed directly on the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information.

In an embodiment, when the base station indicates the secondary serving cell performing channel interception in an implicit manner, such as the base station passing the aperiodic channel quality indication (CQI) request or by notifying the user equipment of the unlicensed frequency band The notification information available to the serving cell indicates that the first intercepting unit 1302 performs channel sensing on the secondary serving cell for which the CQI request is directed or on the available secondary serving cell notified by the notification information.

In this embodiment, the indication information sent by the base station in the display mode or the implicit mode is as described in

Embodiments

1, 2, and 3, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the apparatus 1300 may further include a first processing unit 1304. When the listening result of the first intercepting unit 1302 is that the channel is busy, the apparatus 1300 may feed back the channel busy information to the base station, and stop the channel. Listening. Or the first processing unit 1304 is configured to perform, according to a preset period of the feedback channel sounding result, when the base station pre-configures the user equipment to periodically feed back a channel listening result on the secondary serving cell of the unlicensed frequency band. Channel snooping stops channel listening when a preset condition is met. The preset condition is as described in Embodiment 4, and the content thereof is hereby incorporated herein, and is not described herein again; and the first processing unit 1304 is an optional component.

In this embodiment, the apparatus 1300 may further include a first determining unit (not shown), where the first determining unit is configured to determine when the channel listening of the first listening unit 1302 is that the channel is idle. Whether the channel quality measured by the user equipment meets the threshold of the triggering report channel listening result preset by the base station; and the third sending unit 1303 is further configured to feed back the channel to the base station when the determining result of the first determining unit is yes Idle information, and/or send the reservation signal.

In this embodiment, the first intercepting unit 1302 can perform channel sensing by means of energy detection or signal detection.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a first intercepting unit according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the first intercepting unit 1302 includes: a first detecting unit 1401, a second detecting unit 1402, and a first determining unit 1403; wherein the first detecting unit 1401 is used for non-authorization corresponding to the secondary serving cell. Performing energy detection on the channel of the frequency band; the second detecting unit 1402 is configured to further detect, when the detection result of the first detecting unit 1401 is that there is energy transmission on the channel, whether the energy is sent by a neighboring base station of the same operator. The first determining unit 1403 is configured to: when the detection result of the first detecting unit 1401 is that the energy transmission is not detected on the channel, or the first detecting unit 1401 detects that there is energy transmission on the channel, and the second detecting unit The result of the detection of 1402 is that when the energy is transmitted from a neighboring base station of the same operator, the channel is determined to be an idle channel.

Figure 15 is a block diagram showing the structure of a first listening unit according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, the first intercepting unit 1302 includes: a third detecting unit 1501, a fourth detecting unit 1502, and a second determining unit 1503. The third detecting unit 1501 is configured to perform signal detection according to a format of clearing a sending packet. The fourth detecting unit 1502 is configured to further detect, when the detection result of the third detecting unit 1501 is that the clear sending packet is detected, whether the clear sending packet is sent by a neighboring base station of the same carrier; the second determining unit When the detection result of the third detecting unit 1501 is that the clear sending packet is detected, and the detection result of the fourth detecting unit 1502 is the clearing of the data packet sent by the neighboring base station of the same carrier, the channel is determined. Is a free channel.

The specific listening method of the first listening unit 1302 and the detecting method of the second detecting unit 1402 and the fourth detecting unit 1502 as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are as described in Embodiment 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. The contents are incorporated herein and will not be described here.

In this embodiment, the first intercepting unit 1302 may further include a parameter determining unit (not shown) for determining one or more of the following information, that is, determining the start of channel listening. Time, reserved channel position and length, and feedback channel listening result, that is, the time when the channel is idle or the channel is busy. It can be determined according to the actual situation, and the specific determination manner is as shown in Embodiment 4 and FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 , and the contents thereof are incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, when the reserved signal is a clear transmission packet that can be identified by the WLAN system, the device 1400 may further include a wireless transceiver unit (not shown) for receiving and processing the WLAN system. CTS signal.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the device can perform channel sounding according to the indication information sent by the base station, and feed back the channel interception result, so that the base station can schedule downlink data transmission of the user equipment according to the channel interception result, thereby overcoming the above possibility. There is a hidden terminal problem to avoid inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

Example 10

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a user equipment, which includes the apparatus described in Embodiment 9, and is configured as described in Embodiment 9, and the content thereof is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Figure 16 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a user equipment 1600 according to Embodiment 10 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 16, user device 1600 can include central processor 1601 and memory 1602; memory 1602 is coupled to central processor 1601. It is worth noting that the diagram is exemplary; it can be supplemented with other types of structures. Or replace the structure to implement telecommunications functions or other functions.

In one embodiment, the functionality of device 1300 utilizing unlicensed band communication may be integrated into central processor 1601. The central processing unit 1601 may be configured to: receive indication information sent by the base station, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information; Channel sensing is performed on the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information; when the channel is intercepted, the channel is idle, and the channel idle information is fed back to the base station, and/or the reserved signal is transmitted.

In another embodiment, the device 1300 utilizing unlicensed band communication may be configured separately from the central processor 1601, as shown in FIG. 16, for example, a device utilizing unlicensed band communication may be configured to be connected to the central processor 1601. The chip, through the control of the central processing unit 1601, implements the function of the device utilizing unlicensed band communication.

In this embodiment, the central processing unit 1601 may be configured to: when the channel listening result is that the channel is busy, feed back the channel busy information to the base station, and stop channel listening; or, at the base station, the user equipment When the period of the feedback channel listening result is pre-configured, the user equipment performs channel sensing according to the preset period of the feedback channel listening result, and stops channel listening when the preset condition is met. The preset condition is as described in Embodiment 4, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the method for listening to the secondary serving cell is as described in Embodiment 4, and details are not described herein again. In addition, the method for determining the listening start position, the length of the reserved channel, and the time for feeding back the channel listening result is as described in Embodiment 4, and details are not described herein again.

As shown in FIG. 16, the user equipment 1600 may further include: a communication module 1603, an input unit 1606, an audio processing unit 1604, and a display 1605. It should be noted that the user equipment 1600 does not have to include all of the components shown in FIG. 16; in addition, the user equipment 1600 may also include components not shown in FIG. 1600, and reference may be made to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 16, central processor 1601, also sometimes referred to as a controller or operational control, may include a microprocessor or other processor device and/or logic device, and central processor 1601 receives input and controls various components of user device 1600. Operation.

The memory 1602 may be, for example, one or more of a buffer, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable medium, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, or other suitable device. Various information, such as pre-configured information (RNTI), or information sent to the user equipment, as described in the embodiments; or various time information, as described in Embodiment 4, may be stored. It is also possible to store a program that executes the communication method. And the central processor The program stored in the memory 1602 can be executed by the 1601 to implement information storage or processing and the like. The functions of other components are similar to those of the existing ones and will not be described here. The various components of user device 1600 may be implemented by special purpose hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof without departing from the scope of the invention.

Example 11

Figure 17 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system in accordance with an eleventh embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17, the communication system 1700 includes a base station 1701, and a user equipment UE for configuring a cell on a preset unlicensed frequency band as a secondary serving cell, where

The base station is configured to send indication information to a user equipment of a secondary serving cell configured with an unlicensed frequency band, and receive a channel sounding result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback based on the indication information; where the indication information is used by the base station The user equipment is notified to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell in the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information. The specific configuration is as described in Embodiment 8, and details are not described herein again.

The user equipment is configured to receive indication information sent by the base station, perform channel sounding on a channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information, and when the channel sounding result is that the channel is idle, The base station feeds back the information that the channel is idle, and/or sends the reserved signal. The specific configuration is as described in Embodiment 16, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the user equipment 1702 may send the reserved signal by multicast or broadcast. If the neighboring node can receive the reserved signal, the communication system 1700 may further include the user equipment 1702. The node 1703, the neighboring node 1703 is configured to receive a reservation signal sent by the user equipment, and perform data transmission on the reserved channel according to the indication of the reserved signal.

The workflow of the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the user equipment is configured with a secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band, the base station is a base station that communicates with the unlicensed frequency band, the node is a node adjacent to the user equipment, and works in the same manner as the base station and the user equipment. On the unlicensed band.

Figure 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication system of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention. The way to display the indication information. In the case that the base station needs the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell of the certain or some unlicensed frequency bands, if the base station prepares the downlink data for the user equipment in the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band, For example, the description is not limited to this case, and is applicable to any scenario where it is necessary to send indication information to the user equipment.

As shown in Figure 18, it includes:

Step 1800: The base station listens to the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, and detects the time. The channel of the unlicensed band corresponding to the serving cell is idle.

Step 1801: Send, to the user equipment of the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, the indication information, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information. ;

The content of the indication information and the content of the indication information are as described in Embodiment 2, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

Step 1802: The user equipment receives the indication information sent by the base station, and performs channel sounding on the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information.

The method for performing channel interception by the user equipment is as described in Embodiment 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6. In addition, the time of the interception start time, the reserved time, and the time of the feedback channel listening result may be according to the figure. 7 and the manner shown in FIG. 8 is determined, and the contents thereof are incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again;

For example, the channel listening result is that the channel is idle.

Step 1803, the user equipment determines whether the channel quality measured by the user equipment meets a preset threshold of the triggering reporting channel sounding result preset by the base station;

The specific judging method is as described in Embodiment 4, and the content thereof is incorporated herein, and details are not described herein again.

Step 1804, when the result of the determination in step 1803 is satisfied, the channel idle information is fed back to the base station.

Step 1805, the base station may perform corresponding processing according to the feedback channel idle information.

For example, if the base station is ready to send a downlink data transmission to the user equipment, the base station can schedule downlink data transmission of the user equipment.

Step 1806, when the result of the determination in step 1803 is that the condition preset by the base station is met, the user equipment may further send the reservation information.

The reserved signal may be sent by means of multicast or broadcast, and may be sent simultaneously with the idle information of the feedback channel, or may be sent in sequence. The order of sending is not limited herein.

Step 1807, the neighboring node receives the reserved signal and reserves the channel.

If the neighboring node of the user equipment receives the reserved signal, according to the reserved signal, the channel is not used to transmit data during the length of the reserved channel to avoid interference to the user equipment.

In the above embodiment, step 1800 is an optional step, and 1803 is also an optional step; if no neighboring node receives the reserved signal, step 1807 may not be included.

In this embodiment, in step 1802, if the channel listening result is that the channel is busy, the user equipment The channel is fed back to the base station for busy information and stops channel listening (see steps 1804' and 1805); when the indication information is received again, channel sensing is performed based on the indication information. The above steps are optional steps.

Figure 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication system of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention. The manner of implicitly indicating the indication information, wherein the indication information is a non-periodic CQI request. As shown in Fig. 19, step 1903 - step 1907 is the same as steps 1803-1807 of Fig. 18, and steps 1904' and 1905' are the same as steps 1804' and 1805', the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In step 1901, the indication information that is sent is a non-periodic CQI request. The specific notification manner is as described in Embodiment 3. The content is hereby incorporated by reference herein. In step 1902, when performing channel sounding, the manner shown in FIG. 8 may be employed to determine the starting position of the interception, the length of time to reserve the channel, and the like.

Figure 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication system of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention. The manner of implicitly indicating the indication information, wherein the indication information is notification information. As shown in FIG. 20, step 2003-step 2007 is the same as steps 1803-1807 of FIG. 18, and steps 2004' and 2005' are the same as steps 1804' and 1805' of FIG. 18, and the contents thereof are hereby incorporated herein. Let me repeat.

In step 2001, the indication information that is sent is the notification information of the secondary serving cell that is notified to the user equipment. The specific notification manner is as described in Embodiment 3, and the content thereof is hereby incorporated herein. In step 2002, when performing channel sounding, the manner shown in FIG. 9 may be used to determine the starting position of the listening, the length of time for reserving the channel, and the like.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 20, the method further includes a step 2000, where the base station configures, on the secondary serving cell of the unlicensed frequency band, a period for feeding back a channel listening result and a physical resource for feeding back a channel listening result. The steps are optional and can be pre-configured and notified to the user device.

According to the foregoing embodiment, when the LTE system is using the unlicensed frequency band, the network side may send the foregoing indication information to the user equipment, and receive a channel sounding result that is fed back by the user equipment based on the indication information, so that the network side listens according to the channel. The result is processed accordingly, such as scheduling downlink data transmission, thereby overcoming an operator's LTE system working with other unlicensed bands (such as WLAN systems) and operating on unlicensed bands when using unlicensed bands. There may be hidden terminal problems between other operators' LTE systems, thereby avoiding inter-system interference caused by the hidden terminal problem.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer readable program, wherein when the program is executed in a device utilizing an unlicensed band communication, the program causes the computer to execute the embodiments 1-4 in the device utilizing the unlicensed band communication A method of utilizing unlicensed band communication.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a storage medium storing a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program causes a computer to perform the method of utilizing unlicensed band communication of Embodiments 1-4 in a device utilizing unlicensed band communication.

The above apparatus and method of the present invention may be implemented by hardware or by hardware in combination with software. The present invention relates to a computer readable program that, when executed by a logic component, enables the logic component to implement the apparatus or components described above, or to cause the logic component to implement the various methods described above Or steps. Logic components such as field programmable logic components, microprocessors, processors used in computers, and the like. The present invention also relates to a storage medium for storing the above program, such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a DVD, a flash memory, or the like.

The present invention has been described in connection with the specific embodiments thereof, and it should be understood by those skilled in the art that A person skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

An apparatus for communicating using an unlicensed frequency band, the apparatus comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to send, to the user equipment of the secondary serving cell configured with the unlicensed frequency band, the indication information, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment according to the indication of the indication information in the corresponding non- Channel sensing on the secondary serving cell on the licensed band;

a first receiving unit, configured to receive a channel listening result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback based on the indication information.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the indication information is used to notify a secondary serving cell in which the user equipment needs to perform channel interception.
The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first transmitting unit carries the indication information through a control channel or an enhanced control channel;

When the first sending unit sends the control channel or the enhanced control channel on the primary serving cell of the user equipment, the indication information is used to notify the user equipment that the secondary serving cell needs to perform channel interception;

When the first sending unit sends the control channel or the enhanced control channel on the secondary serving cell of the user equipment that needs to perform channel sensing, the indication information is used to notify the user equipment of the need Channel sensing is performed on the secondary serving cell performing channel sensing.
The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said control channel or enhanced control channel is scrambled with a Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI); or a predetermined user equipment-specific Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) is employed. Scrambling

And when the RNTI is scrambled, the apparatus further includes a first configuration unit, where the first configuration unit is configured to: when the base station configures a dedicated physical resource of the primary serving cell for the user equipment, or is When the user equipment configures the dedicated physical resource of the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band, the RNTI is configured for the user equipment.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the indication information is an aperiodic channel quality indication (CQI) request sent by a base station for a secondary serving cell on an unlicensed frequency band of the user equipment; or, in the When the base station configures the user equipment to be used in the secondary serving cell of the unlicensed frequency band to feed back the channel listening result period, the indication information is sent by the base station to notify the secondary service on the unlicensed frequency band of the user equipment. Notification information available to the cell;

And the indication information is used for notifying the user equipment that channel sensing is performed on the secondary serving cell to which the CQI request is directed or on the available secondary serving cell notified by the notification information.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a second transmitting unit, the second transmitting unit configured to notify the user equipment of one or more of the following information:

a length of time, which is used to indicate the length of time that the user equipment reserves the channel when the user equipment is performing channel interception on the secondary serving cell, and the user equipment is used to determine the reserved channel. Length of time information;

a first resource information, which is used to indicate a physical resource used by the user equipment to send a reserved signal when a user equipment is performing channel interception on a secondary serving cell in an unlicensed frequency band, and the channel is idle;

The second resource information is used to indicate a physical resource used by the user equipment when the channel is listened to.
A device for utilizing unlicensed band communication, comprising:

a second receiving unit, configured to receive indication information sent by the base station, where the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information. Listen

a first intercepting unit, configured to perform channel sensing on a channel of an unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information;

And a third sending unit, configured to: when the channel listening result is that the channel is idle, the user equipment feeds back, to the base station, information that the channel is idle, and/or sends a reserved signal.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, when the result of the channel listening is that the channel is busy, the apparatus further comprises:

a first processing unit, the first processing unit is configured to feed back information about channel busy to the base station, and stop channel listening; or, the base station pre-configures the secondary service in the unlicensed frequency band for the user equipment When the period of the channel listening result is fed back on the cell, the first processing unit is configured to perform channel sounding according to the preset period of the feedback channel sounding result, and stop channel sounding when the preset condition is met.
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the preset condition is that the user equipment detects that the channel is an idle channel, or that the listening time reaches a maximum length of time that the base station can continuously occupy the channel.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

When the indication information is carried by a control channel or an enhanced control channel, the first listening unit is receiving After the preset first time length after the control channel or the enhanced control channel, channel interception is started;

And when the listening result of the first listening unit is that the channel is idle, the third sending unit feeds back information that the channel is idle in the next subframe of the current subframe in which the channel is being monitored;

The length of time for reserving the channel is the sum of the length of time remaining in the current subframe for channel sounding after the end of channel listening and the predetermined second length of time.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first intercepting unit starts channel sensing at a timing of a predetermined third time length before a subframe in which a channel listening result is fed back; wherein said feedback channel is listening The resulting subframe is determined by a time at which the indication information is received, and a preset time interval from a time when the indication information is received to a time when the channel listening result can be fed back;

And when the listening result of the first listening unit is that the channel is idle, the third sending unit feeds back information that the channel is idle in a subframe of the feedback channel channel listening result;

The starting position of the reserved channel is the starting position of the subframe of the feedback channel listening result; and the time length of the reserved channel is a preset fourth time length.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, when the base station presets a period of feedback channel listening result for the user equipment, the first listening unit listens to the result of each preset feedback channel. Channel sounding starts at the time of the fifth time length before the frame;

And when the listening result of the first listening unit is that the channel is idle, the third sending unit feeds back information that the channel is idle in a subframe of the preset feedback channel listening result;

The starting position of the reserved channel is the starting position of the subframe of the preset feedback channel listening result; and the time length of the reserved channel is a preset sixth time length.
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said apparatus further comprises:

a first determining unit, configured to determine, when the channel listening result of the first listening unit is that the channel is idle, whether the channel quality measured by the user equipment meets a trigger report preset by the base station The threshold of the channel listening result;

And the third sending unit is further configured to: when the determination result of the first determining unit is yes, feed back information about channel idleness to the base station, and/or send the reserved signal.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first listening unit comprises:

a first detecting unit, where the first detecting unit is used for a letter in an unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell Conduct energy detection on the road;

a second detecting unit, configured to detect, when the detection result of the first detecting unit is that there is energy transmission on the channel, whether the energy is sent from a neighboring base station of the same operator signal of;

a first determining unit, configured to: when the detection result of the first detecting unit is that no energy transmission is detected on the channel, or when the first detecting unit detects the channel When there is energy transmission, and the detection result of the second detecting unit is that the energy is transmitted from a neighboring base station of the same operator, it is determined that the channel is an idle channel.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first listening unit comprises:

a third detecting unit, configured to perform signal detection according to a format of clearing a sending packet;

a fourth detecting unit, configured to: when the detection result of the third detecting unit is that the clear sending packet is detected, further detecting whether the clear sending packet is sent by a neighboring base station of the same carrier Data packet

a second determining unit, where the second determining unit is configured to detect that the clear sending packet is detected by the third detecting unit, and the detecting result of the fourth detecting unit is that the clear sending packet is from the same carrier When a data packet is transmitted by a neighboring base station, it is determined that the channel is an idle channel.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the indication information is used to notify a secondary serving cell in which the user equipment needs to perform channel interception.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the indication information is an aperiodic channel quality indication (CQI) request sent by a base station for a secondary serving cell on an unlicensed frequency band of the user equipment; or When the base station configures the user equipment to periodically report the channel listening result period on the secondary serving cell in the unlicensed frequency band, the indication information is a notification sent by the base station to notify the secondary serving cell on the unlicensed frequency band of the user equipment. information;

And the indication information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell to which the CQI request is directed or on the secondary serving cell notified by the notification information.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

The reserved signal is a predetermined first sequence, the first sequence occupies the entire bandwidth of the secondary serving cell, and the length of the first sequence is the length of the reserved channel; or

The reserved signal is a predetermined second sequence, and the physical resources occupied by the second sequence are pre- Configuration; or,

The reserved signal is a clear sending packet that can be identified by the WLAN system, and the reserved signal occupies the entire bandwidth of the secondary serving cell.
A communication system includes a base station and a user equipment for configuring a cell on a preset unlicensed frequency band as a secondary serving cell, where

The base station is configured to send indication information to a user equipment of a secondary serving cell configured with an unlicensed frequency band, and receive a channel sounding result that is performed by the user equipment after channel interception feedback based on the indication information; wherein the indication is The information is used to notify the user equipment to perform channel sounding on the secondary serving cell on the corresponding unlicensed frequency band according to the indication of the indication information;

The user equipment is configured to receive indication information sent by the base station, perform channel sounding on a channel of the unlicensed frequency band corresponding to the secondary serving cell indicated by the indication information, and when the channel sounding result is that the channel is idle, The base station feeds back information that the channel is idle, and/or transmits a reserved signal.
The communication system according to claim 19, wherein said communication system further comprises a node adjacent to said user equipment, said node operating on the same unlicensed frequency band as said base station and user equipment, and for receiving a reserved signal sent by the user equipment.