BR112016017288B1 - CELL ON-OFF PROCEDURE FOR DUAL CONNECTIVITY - Google Patents

Abstract

CELL ON-OFF PROCEDURE FOR DUAL CONNECTIVITY Dynamic cell mode indication and reporting channel state information for resting cells in a dual connectivity carrier aggregation environment. UEs may be configured for carrier aggregation of cells associated with non-colocated eNBs, which may include a master eNB (MeNB) and one or more secondary eNBs (SeNB), each supporting multiple carrier frequencies. Cell mode indicators for MeNB or SeNB secondary cells are periodically sent using a broadcast mechanism and can configure active or sleep subperiods within the indicated periods. Indicators can be transmitted by a primary cell for the MeNB or special secondary cell for the SeNB. Alternatively, indicators can be transmitted by the secondary cell. When CSI measurements occur for rest periods, suppress CSI reporting for rest periods, or report some types of CSI and not others for rest periods.

Description

REFERENCES

[0001] The present patent application claims priority to US patent application no. 14/590,592 Damnjanovic et al., entitled “Cell on-off procedure for dual connectivity”, filed January 6, 2015, and US provisional patent application no. 61933,822 to Damnjanovic et al., entitled “Cell on-off procedure for dual connectivity,” filed January 30, 2015, each of which is assigned to the assignee hereof.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely used to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, message sending, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple access systems supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems. orthogonal frequency division (OFDMA).

[0003] In general, a wireless multiple access communication system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple mobile devices. Base stations can communicate with mobile devices on both downstream and upstream links. Each base station has a coverage range, which can be referred to as the cell's coverage area. In some cases, the coverage area may be subdivided into multiple cells. Also, in some cases, a base station may transmit multiple component carriers on different portions of available spectrum. These component carriers can also be referred to as cells.

[0004] A UE can be served by more than one carrier. In some cases, a UE may be served by multiple carriers transmitted from a single base station, in other cases, a UE may be served by multiple carriers from more than one base station. When more than one carrier is configured to serve one or more UEs there may be periods where one or more of the configured carriers may not transmit data to UEs. Continuing to transmit control information or reference signals when a carrier has no data to transmit to the UEs may result in inefficient use of resources for the base station and the UEs.

SUMMARY

[0005] The described features refer generally to one or more improved systems, methods or apparatus for indicating dynamic cell mode and reporting channel and interference feedback for resting cells in a multicarrier environment. In some embodiments, cell mode indicators for one or more secondary cells are sent (e.g., periodically or aperiodically) using a transmission mechanism (e.g., broadcast, unicast, multicast, etc.) and may configure active subperiods or in rest for the indicated periods. Cell mode indicators for a secondary cell may be transmitted on carriers of the primary cell, or indicators may be transmitted on carriers of the secondary cell, in some cases. Rest may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

[0006] In some embodiments, a wireless communication device may be configured for dual connectivity carrier aggregation using carriers from non-colocated base stations. A master cell group associated with a master base station may include a primary cell and one or more secondary cells while a secondary cell group associated with a secondary base station may include one or more secondary carriers, one of which may be a secondary carrier. special that can carry an uplink control channel for secondary cell group carriers. Cell sleep can be supported for secondary cells of the secondary cell group using cell mode indicators broadcast by the special secondary carrier, or broadcast by each of the secondary cells of the secondary cell group, in some cases.

[0007] Some embodiments are directed to managing channel state information (CSI) reporting for resting secondary cells. When CSI measurements occur for a carrier associated with a resting secondary cell, the UE may report CSI for the resting periods, suppress CSI reporting for the resting periods, or report some types of CSI and not others for the resting periods. rest (e.g., report periodic and suppress aperiodic, etc.). Reported CSI can be based on CSI measurements when the secondary cell was at rest or based on previous CSI measurements made when the secondary cell was active. These techniques can be applied to CSI reporting for secondary carriers of a master cell group or secondary cell group.

[0008] A method of wireless communication is described, including monitoring cell sleep indications for a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of carriers secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The method may include determining, based on monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers are at rest.

[0009] An apparatus for wireless communication is described, including means for monitoring cell sleep indications for a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group carrier being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The apparatus may include means for determining, based on monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers are at rest.

[0010] An apparatus for wireless communication is also described, including a processor; a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to monitor cell sleep indications for a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group and a second carrier group carrier group, the first carrier group being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The memory may include instructions executable by the processor to determine, based on monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest.

[0011] A computer program product for wireless communication is also described, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor for monitoring cell sleep indications for a multiple carrier configuration , the multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including a or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The computer-readable media may include instructions executable by the processor to determine, based on monitoring, whether one or more secondary carriers of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers are at rest.

[0012] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the determination comprises determining, based on a received cell mode indicator, that a secondary carrier of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest.

[0013] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the determination comprises determining, based on the absence of a cell mode indicator, that a secondary carrier of at least one of the first set of carriers secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest.

[0014] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the monitoring comprises monitoring the primary carrier of the first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers from the first set of secondary carriers.

[0015] A method, apparatus and computer program product with the above is also described wherein the monitoring comprises monitoring one or more secondary carriers from the first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers of the first set of secondary carriers.

[0016] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the second carrier group comprises a special secondary carrier, and wherein monitoring comprises monitoring the special secondary carrier for cell mode indicators associated with one or more secondary carriers from the second set of secondary carriers.

[0017] A method, apparatus and computer program product is also described wherein the second carrier group comprises a special secondary carrier, and wherein monitoring comprises monitoring one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers for indicators of cell mode associated with one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers.

[0018] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein monitoring comprises monitoring one or more search spaces of at least one first carrier of the first carrier group and at least one second carrier of the second carrier group of carrier at predefined time intervals for downlink control information (DCI) comprising cell sleep indications.

[0019] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described in which monitoring of cell rest indications for multiple carrier configuration is based on activation states of the secondary carriers of the first and second sets of carriers secondary.

[0020] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described further comprising receiving indications of cell rest associated with one or more secondary carriers, and wherein the determination comprises determining that one or more secondary carriers are at rest for a predetermined period of time.

[0021] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described further comprising receiving indications of cell rest associated with one or more secondary carriers, and wherein the determination comprises determining that one or more secondary carriers are at rest until the next cell rest indication is received.

[0022] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the predetermined period of time comprises one or more radio frames.

[0023] A method of wireless communication is described, comprising determining that at least one secondary carrier is at rest in a UE operating in a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration comprising a first group of carriers and a second group of carriers, the first group of carriers being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second group of carriers being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The method may include determining a channel state information (CSI) reporting configuration for at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is idle.

[0024] An apparatus for wireless communication is described, comprising means for determining that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration comprising a first group of carriers and a second group of carriers, the first carrier group being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The apparatus may include means for determining a CSI reporting configuration for at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is at rest.

[0025] An apparatus for wireless communication is also described, including a processor; a memory in electronic communication with the processor; and instructions stored in memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to determine that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration comprising a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The memory may include instructions executable by the processor to determine a CSI reporting configuration for at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on the determination that the at least one secondary carrier is.

[0026] A computer program product for wireless communication is also described, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor for determining that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for a multiple carrier configuration, the multiple carrier configuration comprising a first carrier group and a second carrier group, the first carrier group being associated with a first base station and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group being associated with a second base station and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers. The computer-readable medium may include instructions executable by the processor to determine a CSI reporting configuration for at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is at rest.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method as described above may include the features of determining whether at least one secondary carrier is associated with the first base station or the second base station, and performing CSI reporting for at least one secondary carrier to the first base station or to the second base station based on the determined association and according to the CSI reporting configuration. The described computer program apparatus and products may include means for, code for, or instructions executable by a processor to carry out these features.

[0028] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the CSI report configuration comprises suppressing CSI report for at least one secondary carrier for one or more periodic CSI report or CSI report aperiodic, or a combination thereof.

[0029] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the CSI reporting configuration comprises reporting CSI based on channel measurements of at least one secondary carrier over at least one period of time when at least at least one secondary carrier was not at rest.

[0030] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the CSI reporting configuration further comprises averaging channel measurements from at least one time period.

[0031] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the CSI reporting configuration comprises reporting CSI based on measurements for at least one secondary carrier.

[0032] A method, apparatus and computer program product as above is also described wherein the CSI reporting configuration comprises one or more of channel measurements of at least one secondary carrier, interference measurements of at least one secondary carrier or a combination thereof.

[0033] The further scope of applicability of the described methods and apparatus will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, as various changes and modifications understood in the spirit and scope of the description will become apparent to those skilled in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention can be achieved by reference to the following drawings. In the accompanying figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Additionally, multiple components of the same type can be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes between similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any of the similar components having the same first reference label independent of the second reference label.

[0035] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system according to various embodiments;

[0036] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system with multiple component carriers serving a wireless communication device according to various embodiments;

[0037] Figure 3 shows a diagram of a conventional subframe and a rest subframe according to various embodiments;

[0038] Figures 4A, 4B and 4C show periodic rest indication diagrams for secondary carriers according to various embodiments;

[0039] Figure 5 shows an example of a wireless communication system including a wireless communication device configured for dual connectivity carrier aggregation according to various embodiments;

[0040] Figures 6A and 6B show diagrams of a CSI reporting configuration for rest time periods according to various embodiments;

[0041] Figure 7 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication and channel reporting and interference feedback for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments;

[0042] Figure 8 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication and interference feedback channel reporting for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments;

[0043] Figure 9 shows a device for dynamic cell mode indication and channel reporting and interference feedback for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments;

[0044] Figure 10 shows a wireless communication device for dynamic cell mode indication and channel reporting and interference feedback for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments;

[0045] Figure 11 shows a device for indicating dynamic cell mode for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments;

[0046] Figure 12 shows a base station for dynamic cell mode indication for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments;

[0047] Figures 13A and 13B show flowcharts illustrating methods for indicating dynamic cell mode according to various embodiments;

[0048] Figure 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for configuring a CSI report for resting secondary cells according to various embodiments; It is

[0049] Figures 15A and 15B show flowcharts illustrating methods for indicating dynamic cell mode for resting cells in a base station according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Systems, methods or apparatus are described for dynamic cell mode indication and channel reporting and interference feedback for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment. In some embodiments, cell mode indicators for one or more secondary cells are sent (e.g., periodically or aperiodically, etc.), using a transmission mechanism (e.g., broadcast, unicast, multicast, etc.) and may configure active or rest subperiods in the indicated periods. Cell mode indicators for a secondary cell may be transmitted on carriers of the primary cell, or indicators may be transmitted on carriers of the secondary cell, in some cases. Sleep for predetermined periods of time may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

[0051] In some embodiments, a wireless communication device may be configured for dual connectivity carrier aggregation using uncolocated base station carriers. A master cell group associated with a master base station may include a primary cell and one or more secondary cells while a secondary cell group associated with a secondary base station may include one or more secondary carriers, one of which may be a secondary carrier. special that can carry an uplink control channel for secondary cell group carriers. Cell sleep can be supported for secondary cells of the secondary cell group using cell mode indicators broadcast by the special secondary carrier, or broadcast by each of the secondary cells of the secondary cell group, in some cases.

[0052] Some embodiments are directed to managing channel state information (CSI) reporting for resting secondary cells. When CSI measurements occur for a carrier associated with a resting secondary cell, the UE may report CSI for the resting periods, suppress CSI reporting for the resting periods, or report some types of CSI and not others for the resting periods. (e.g. report periodic and suppress aperiodic, etc.). Reported CSI can be based on CSI measurements when the secondary cell was at rest or based on previous CSI measurements made when the secondary cell was active. These techniques can be applied to reporting CSI for secondary carriers of a master cell group or secondary cell group.

[0053] The following description provides examples and is not limiting the scope, applicability or configuration set out in the claims. Changes can be made to the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the revelation. Various embodiments may omit, replace, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in other embodiments.

[0054] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100, according to various embodiments. The system 100 includes base stations 105, communication devices, also known as a user equipment (UE) 115, and a core network 130. The base stations 105 can communicate with the communication devices 115 under the control of a controller. base station (not shown), which may be part of the core network 130 or base stations 105 in various embodiments. The base stations 105 may communicate control information or user data with the core network 130 via backhaul links 132. In embodiments, the base stations 105 may communicate, directly or indirectly, with each other via backhaul links. return transport channel 134, which may be wired or wireless communication links. The system 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multicarrier transmitters can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on multiple carriers. For example, each communication link 125 may be a multicarrier signal modulated in accordance with various radio technologies described above. Each modulated signal can be sent on a different carrier and can carry control information (e.g. reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, data, etc.

[0055] Base stations 105 may communicate wirelessly with devices 115 via one or more base station antennas. Each of the base station locations 105 may provide communications coverage for a respective geographic area 110. In some embodiments, base stations 105 may be referred to as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a set service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a NodeB, a NodeB (eNB), a native NodeB, a native eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The coverage area 110 for a base station can be divided into sectors comprising only a portion of the coverage area (not shown). The system 100 may include base stations 105 of different types (e.g., macro, micro, and/or peak base stations). There may be areas of overlapping coverage for different technologies.

[0056] In embodiments, system 100 is an LTE/LTE-A network. In LTE/LTE-A networks, the terms Evolved Node B (eNB) and UE may be used generally to describe base stations 105 and devices 115, respectively. System 100 may be a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of eNBs provide coverage for various geographic regions. For example, each eNB 105 may provide communications coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other types of cells. The term “cell” is a 3GPP term that can be used to describe a base station, a carrier associated with a base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station, depending on the context .

[0057] A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell is a lower powered base station that can operate in the same or different frequency bands (e.g. licensed, unlicensed, etc.) as macro cells. Small cells include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells. A pico cell would, for example, cover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a house) and may provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs to users in the house and similar). An eNB for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a pico cell can be referred to as a pico eNB. And, an eNB for a femto cell can be referred to as a femto eNB or a native eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.

[0058] An eNB 105 may include a baseband unit (BBU) and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs), which may be connected via an internal electrical or optical interface (e.g., Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) ), etc.) to BBU. Thus, RRHs typically have an optimal return transport channel to the BBU and operate under the control (e.g., scheduling, precoding, etc.) of the eNB 105. The term small cell network can be used to refer to distributed radio technology including a centralized BBU and one or more RRHs. However, each RRH in a small cell network typically uses the same carrier frequencies and transmits on BBU-scheduled resources. Therefore, all RRHs of such a distributed radio network connected to the same BBU are part of a base station or eNB for the purposes of this description.

[0059] The core network 130 may communicate with the eNBs 105 via a backhaul channel 132 (e.g., S1, etc.). The eNBs 105 may also communicate with each other (e.g., directly or indirectly via backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2, etc.) or via backhaul links 132 (e.g., via core network 130). The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the eNBs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different eNBs may be approximately time aligned. For asynchronous operation, eNBs can have different frame timing and transmissions from different eNBs cannot be time aligned.The techniques described here can be used for synchronous or asynchronous operations.

[0060] Communication networks that can accommodate some of the various disclosed embodiments can be packet-based networks that operate in accordance with a layered protocol stack. At the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer can be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Media Access Control (MAC) layer can perform priority manipulation and multiplexing of logical channels on transport channels. The MAC layer can also use hybrid ARQ (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between the UE and the network used for user plane data. At the physical layer (PHY), transport channels can be mapped to physical channels.

[0061] The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile device, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a telephone handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. A UE 115 may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless telephone, a loop station wireless location (WLL) or similar. A UE 115 may also be capable of communicating with macro eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, relays, and the like.

[0062] Communication links 125 shown in system 100 may include uplink transmissions (UL) from a UE 115 to a base station 105 or downlink transmissions (DL) from a base station 105 to a UE 115. The transmissions Downlink transmissions can also be called forward link transmissions, while uplink transmissions can also be called reverse link transmissions. Links 125 may transmit bidirectional communications using FDD (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or TDD operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources). Frame structures for FDD (e.g. frame structure type 1) and TDD (e.g. frame structure type 2) can be defined.

[0063] The wireless network 100 may support operation on multiple carriers, which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multiple carrier operation. A carrier can also be referred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc. The terms “carrier”, “CC”, “cell” and “channel” may be used interchangeably here. A carrier used for the downlink can be referred to as a CC downlink, and a carrier used for the uplink can be referred to as a CC uplink. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs for carrier aggregation. Carrier aggregation can be used with both FF and TDD component carriers.

[0064] In one embodiment, UEs 115 are configured with UE-specific primary carriers (e.g., primary cell or PCell) or one or more secondary carriers (e.g., secondary cells or SCells). The PCell may include a downlink primary CC (e.g., PCC downlink) and an uplink primary CC (e.g., PCC uplink). A SCell can include a downlink secondary CC (e.g. downlink SCC) and, if configured, an uplink secondary CC (e.g. uplink SCC). Control information including programming for SCells can be performed in the SCell or in a different cell (PCell or SCell), which can be referred to as cross-carrier control signaling. The PCell may be identified by the UE 115 before establishing a connection with an eNB 105 (e.g., as the strongest available carrier, etc.). After the UE 115 establishes a connection with an eNB 105 through the PCell, one or more SCells can be configured through higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC, etc.). Configuration of SCells may include, for example, sending all system information (SI) to the SCell via RRC signaling.

[0065] In some cases, both PCell and SCells are supported by the same base station 105. In other cases, the PCell may be supported by a base station 105 and one or more SCells may be supported by the same base station 105 or a base station different 105. The techniques described here can be applied to a carrier aggregation scheme with a PCell and any number of SCells supported by one or more base stations 105.

[0066] In some cases, configured SCells are activated and deactivated for individual UEs 115 by a configuration cell using a primary carrier (e.g., PCell, etc.). For example, enable and disable commands for configured SCells can be carried in MAC signaling. When a SCell is deactivated, the UE 115 does not need to monitor for control information for the SCell, does not need to receive the corresponding downlink CC, cannot transmit on the corresponding uplink CC, nor is it necessary to perform channel quality information (CQI) measurements. . After deactivating a SCell, the UE may also flush all HARQ buffers associated with the SCell. Conversely, when a SCell is active, the UE 115 receives control information or data transmissions for the SCell, and is expected to be able to perform CQI measurements. The activation/deactivation mechanism is based on the combination of a MAC control element and deactivation timers. The MAC control element carries a bitmap for individual activation and deactivation of SCells so that SCells can be activated and deactivated individually, and a single enable/disable command can activate/deactivate a subset of the SCells. In general, a deactivation timer is maintained by SCell. In some cases, all timers for a UE can be configured with a common value through RRC. However, UEs are not limited to one timer per SCell, or to all timers being configured with a common value.

[0067] A SCell may be configured to serve one or more UEs 115, but in some cases it may not have data to transmit to the UEs 115. To conserve power for the eNB 105 and the UEs 115, the SCell may enter a state sleep for periods of time when no data is programmed. When at rest, a cell can transmit scant overhead signals and channels on the downlink carrier enough to a UE connected with radio resource control (RRC) to detect, measure, and report the resting carrier to the primary cell. In some cases, higher performance may be achieved by faster power-on and power-off times for cell sleep. For example, a cell on/off mechanism that operates at the frame or subframe level may provide higher performance gain.

[0068] During periods of rest of a SCell, the SCell may be deactivated for each UE served by the SCell. However, cell activation/deactivation is not an efficient mechanism to support cell rest notification, nor is cell activation/deactivation capable of supporting dynamic cell rest in frame or subframe order. For example, separate enable/disable commands are sent to each UE served by SCell, which absorbs significant resources and may take several subframes or more for notification of each served UE. Additionally, there is a delay (e.g., 8 subframes, etc.) between the MAC control elements activating or deactivating SCells and the UE monitoring for control information and measuring the carrier for CSI reporting. Furthermore, because UEs are not performing CSI measurements for deactivated SCells, reactivation of a fully resting cell can be a relatively slow process.

[0069] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 with a UE 115-a served by carriers 225 according to various embodiments. In one embodiment, carrier 225-a may be one or more primary carriers (e.g., primary cell or PCell) and other carriers (e.g., 225-b, 225-n, etc.) may be one or more secondary carriers (e.g. secondary cells or SCells). The PCell can include a secondary downlink CC and, if configured, a secondary uplink CC. In some cases, both PCell 225-a and SCells 225-b, 225-n are supported by the same base station 105-a. in other cases, PCell 225-a may be supported by a base station 105-a and one or more SCells 225 may be supported by a different base station 105 (not shown). The techniques described here can be applied to a carrier aggregation scheme with a PCell and any number of SCells supported by one or more base stations 105.

[0070] The systems of Figures 1 and 2, including base stations 105 or UEs 115, can be configured for dynamic cell mode indication and channel reporting and interference feedback for resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment. Cell mode indicators for carriers for one or more SCells can be transmitted using unicast (e.g., transmitted to a single target UE), multicast (e.g., transmitted to a selected subset of UEs), or broadcast (e.g., transmitted in a mode that can be received by all served UEs) and may be sent aperiodically, or periodically to configure active or rest subperiods within the indicated periods. Cell mode indicators for a SCell may be transmitted on PCell carriers, or indicators may be transmitted on SCell carriers, in some cases. Rest may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

[0071] Some embodiments are directed to managing channel state information (CSI) reporting for resting SCells. When CSI measurements occur for a carrier associated with a SCell at rest, the UE may report CSI for the rest periods, suppress CSI reporting for the rest periods, or report some types of CSI and not others for the rest periods ( for example, report periodic and suppress aperiodic, etc.). Reported CSI can be based on CSI measurements when the SCell was at rest or based on previous CSI measurements taken when the SCell was active.

[0072] Figure 3 shows a diagram 300 of a radio frame 305 for an OFDMA downlink component carrier 325 in accordance with various embodiments. Component carrier 325 covers an amount of bandwidth available for a carrier that can be divided into multiple orthogonal subcarriers (I) 315, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, or the like. Each subcarrier 315 can be modulated with data. A subcarrier 315 during a symbol period 320 may be referred to as a resource element 340. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers 315 may be fixed, and the total number (K) of subcarriers 315 may be dependent on system bandwidth. For example, K can be equal to 72, 180, 300, 600, 900, or 1200 with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilohertz (KHz) for a corresponding system bandwidth (with guard band) of 1, 4, 3 , 5, 10, 15, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. System bandwidth can also be divided into sub-bands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz, and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 subbands.

[0073] Radio frame 305 may have a radio frame length of 10 milliseconds (ms). Frame 305 may be divided into a number of subframes 310. For example, frame 305 may be divided into 10 subframes 310 as shown in diagram 300, where each subframe may have a length of 1 ms. Each subframe 310 may be further subdivided into a number of symbol periods. Each symbol period may cover a length of time sufficient to transmit a single modulation symbol. A symbol period may also include a period of time reserved for a protection period or transmission of a cyclic prefix.

[0074] Resource elements 340 can be used for different purposes. For example, a set of resource elements may be reserved for transmission of a downlink control channel. This set may correspond to physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 330-a or 330-b. Another set of resource elements may correspond to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) 335-a or 335-b. Some feature elements in the PDCCH 330 or PDSCH 335 may be used for transmitting reference signals (e.g., cell specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), positioning reference signals (PRS), multicast-broadcast single frequency network reference signals (MBSFN), UE-specific reference signals which may also be known as demodulation reference signals (DM-RS), etc.). Reference signals can be used for channel identification and channel quality estimation. PDSCH 335-a can be used to transmit user data to one or more UEs 115 with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

[0075] As illustrated in Figure 3, a radio frame 305 for downlink component carrier 325 may include a conventional subframe 310-a and a resting subframe 310-b. The component carrier 325 may correspond to the SCell 225-b or SCell 225-n downlink carrier of Figure 2, for example. In one embodiment, a carrier may be at rest for one or more frames 305. In another embodiment, a carrier may be at rest for a number of subframes 310 in a frame 305.

[0076] In some embodiments, no modulation symbols are transmitted on PDCCH 330-b or PDSCH 335-b during idle subframes. In some cases, some signals are sent, but the amount of signaling is reduced. A resting cell may continue to transmit some reference signals or some control information in some cases. For example, a resting cell may transmit overhead (discovery) signal transmissions on a downlink carrier with low periodicity. For active cells, primary synchronization signals (PSS), and secondary synchronization signals (SSS) can be transmitted with a periodicity of M = 5 ms, cell-specific reference signals (CRS) can be transmitted to each active subframe, CSI -RS can be transmitted every K active subframe (e.g. every fifth active subframe, etc.), and positioning reference signals (PRS) can be transmitted as configured. For a resting cell, PSS/SSS and CRS/CSI- RS/PRS can be transmitted in N ms bursts each M ms with L ms offset. The N, M and L parameters can be set in a reference signal configuration of discovery (DRS) for the SCell and can be configured by an active cell in service (e.g. PCell, etc.).

[0077] In an example, values for these variables for a resting cell may be N = 1, M = 80 ms, or 160 ms, and L = 0. UEs can detect resting cells using PSS/SSS and measure received power reference signal (RSRP) in CRS/CSI-RS/PRS. The system frame number (SFN) can be synchronized with neighboring active cells (e.g., PCell). In some cases, an SFN or subframe offset can also be configured. In one embodiment, active cells (e.g., PCell, other SCells, etc.) do not schedule data traffic in subframes where a discovery signal for a resting SCell is configured. UE radio resource management (RRM) measurements can be based on low periodicity CRS/CSI-RS/PRS. The UE 115 may determine how to combine or select CSI-RS, PRS and CRS measurements.

[0078] In some embodiments, a period of time (e.g., a number of radio frames such as 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc.) may be defined for transmitting cell mode indicators to SCells . UEs may monitor for cell mode indicators at the given periodicity (e.g., before or at the beginning of each time period, etc.) for configured SCells to determine whether the SCell is at rest for the time period or for a portion of the period of time (e.g., one or more frames or subframes, etc.). Resting for predetermined periods of time may also be indicated by the presence or absence of a cell mode indicator.

[0079] Additionally or alternatively, cell mode indicators can be transmitted aperiodically. Aperiodic cell mode indicators may be effective until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted. For example, a cell mode indicator received in subframe n-k (e.g., where k is a number such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, etc.) may be valid for subframe n and all other subsequent subframes up to that an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted. Transmission of aperiodic cell mode indicators may be limited to a subset of frames (e.g., every 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc. frames, frames configured for DRS, etc.) and/or a subset of subframes within frames (e.g. subframes 0 and 5 of each frame or selected frames, etc.). Limited transmission timing for cell mode indicators can reduce the amount of blind decoding for control information used to transmit the cell mode indicators. In this way, cell mode indicators can be transmitted according to any combination of timing schemes (e.g., aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast).

[0080] The indicator may be transmitted over a carrier of the SCell itself, or transmitted by another cell (e.g., PCell, etc.), in some cases. Broadcast cell mode indicators can be multi-bit and can select from multiple configurations stored for the SCells. The multiple configurations may include one or more configurations stored for the SCells in the non-sleeping state as well as one or more configurations stored for the SCells in the resting state.

[0081] Figure 4A shows a cell mode indication diagram 400-a for one or more SCells in accordance with various embodiments. Diagram 400-a illustrates carriers for Cell A 225-c, Cell B 225-d, and Cell C 225-e (only downlink CCs are shown for clarity). The illustrated cells 225 may support the same UE, and each of the cells 225 may support more than one UE. Some of the cells 225 (e.g., SCells) may enter a sleep state in which they do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 and also reduce control signaling and reference signaling, as described above.

[0082] In some embodiments, cell A 225-c may be a PCell (e.g., PCell 225-a of figure 2), while Cell B 225-c and cell C 225-d may be SCells (e.g., SCell 225-b or SCell 225-n of figure 2). In embodiments, cell mode indicators are transmitted to cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e (e.g., SCells) by cell A 225-e (e.g., PCell). For example, a period of time 405 (e.g., a number of frames such as 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc.) may be determined by periodically transmitting cell mode indicators. Cell A 225-c may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) periodic cell mode indications 420 regarding whether cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e are active or idle for the period of given time 405, or a cell mode configuration of active subperiods (e.g., subframes) in the time periods 405.

[0083] In some embodiments, cell A 225-c transmits cell mode indicators to Cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e regardless of whether these cells are configured for self-programming or cross-carrier programming of control information for UEs served by the cells. Although Figure 4A illustrates transmission of cell mode indicators on a Cell A 225-c carrier (e.g., PCell) to two other cells (e.g., SCells), cell mode indicators for any number (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 5, etc.) of cells can be indicated by cell A 225-c.

[0084] In diagram 400-a, cell A 225-c transmits cell mode indicators 420-a, 420-b and 420-c at the beginning of time periods 405-a, 405-b and 405-c, respectively, which indicate cell mode for Cell B 225-d and Cell C 225-e during the respective time periods. For example, cell mode indicator 420-a may indicate that cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e are not at rest during time period 405-a. cell mode indicator 420-b may indicate that cell B 225-d is at rest and cell C 225-e is not at rest during the time period 405-b. cell mode indicator 420-c may indicate that cell C 225-e is at rest for the period of time 405-c while cell B 225-d is at rest for a portion 425-a (e.g., one or plus subframes, etc.) of the 405-c time period.

[0085] In some embodiments, absence of cell mode indication reception may be interpreted by UEs 115 as mode and sleep. For example, the cell mode indicator 420-b may omit an indication for the B cell 225-d and UEs may interpret the lack of cell mode indication as resting the B cell 225-d for the period of time 405-b. Alternatively, cells may default to active for frames for which no cell mode indication is received. For example, cell A 225-c may not transmit cell mode indicators 420 to cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e for the period of time 405-a, and UEs 115 may interpret the lack of mode indication as cell for cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e for time period 405-a default to active or non-sleeping state.

[0086] Additionally or alternatively, cell A 225-c may transmit cell mode indicators (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) aperiodically. As described above, aperiodic cell mode indicators may be effective until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted and may be limited to certain frames or subframes within certain frames. Thereby, cell A 225-c can transmit cell mode indicators according to any combination of timing schemes (e.g., aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (e.g., unicast, multicast, broadcast, etc.) .

[0087] In some embodiments, UEs 115 decode cell mode indicators for activated SCells only. Additionally or alternatively, UEs 115 may decode cell mode indicators for disabled but configured SCells. In this case, UEs can assume that activated SCells will transmit PSS/SSS and CRS/CSI-RS/PRS with the normal periodicities of an active cell. In yet another embodiment, an eNB 105 may not broadcast mode information to SCells, and the UE 115 may determine the mode of operation on a subframe-by-subframe basis (e.g., by detecting the presence or periodicities of the various synchronization signals or reference, etc.).

[0088] Figure 4B shows a diagram 400-b of cell mode indication for one or more SCells using indicators sent over SCell carriers in accordance with various embodiments. Diagram 400-b illustrates carriers for Cell A 225-c, Cell B 225-d, and Cell C 225-e (only downlink CCs are shown for clarity). The illustrated cells 225 may support the same UE, and each of the cells 225 may support more than one UE. Some of the cells 225 (e.g., Cells) may enter a sleep state in which they do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 and also reduce control signaling and reference signaling, as described above.

[0089] In some embodiments, cell A 225-c may be a PCell (e.g., PCell 225-a of figure 2), while cell B 225-c and cell C 225-d may be SCells (e.g., SCell 225-b or SCell 225-n of figure 2). In embodiments, SCells periodically transmit cell mode indicators. For example, a period of time 405 (e.g., a number of frames such as 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, etc.) may be determined to periodically transmit cell mode indicators. Each SCell (e.g., Cell B 225-d, Cell C 225-e, etc.) may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) a mode indication regarding whether the SCell is active or sleeping for the given period of time, or a cell mode configuration of active subframes with the frame(s).

[0090] In some embodiments, the SCell periodically transmits cell mode indicators regardless of whether the SCell is configured for self-scheduling or cross-carrier scheduling to UEs served by the SCell. For example, even when a SCell is not configured for self-programming for any served UEs, the SCell may periodically broadcast cell mode indicators and the served UEs may monitor the SCell downlink CC 325 for the cell mode indicators. Although Figure 4B illustrates transmission of cell mode indicators over carriers of two SCells (e.g., Cell B 225-d and Cell C 225-e), cell mode indicators for any number (e.g., 1, 2, 3 , 5, etc.) of cells can be indicated in a similar way.

[0091] In diagram 400-b, cell B 225-d transmits cell mode indicators 420-d, 420-e and 420-f at the beginning of time periods 405-d, 405-e and 405-f that indicate that the cell mode for the 225-d cell B during the respective time periods. In the illustrated example, cell mode indicator 420-d indicates that cell B 225-d is active or not at rest for period of time 405-d, cell mode indicator 420-e indicates that cell B 225 -d is at rest for the period of time 405-e 3 cell mode indicator 420-f indicates that cell B 225-d is at rest for a portion 425-b (e.g., one or more frames or subframes) of the 405-f time period. Similarly, cell C 225-e transmits cell mode indicators 420-g, 420-h and 420-i at the beginning of time periods 405-d, 405-e and 405-f respectively. In the illustrated example, cell mode indicators 420-g and 420-h indicate that cell C 225-e is not at rest for periods of time 405-d and 405-e, respectively, while cell mode indicator 420-i indicates that cell C 225-e is at rest for period of time 405-f.

[0092] In some embodiments, lack of eNB cell mode indication reception may be interpreted by UEs 115 as idle mode. For example, cell B 225-d may omit cell mode indicator transmission 420-e, thereby indicating that cell B 225-d is at rest for period of time 405-e. Alternatively, cells may default to active for frames for which no cell mode indication is received. For example, cell B 225-d may omit transmission of cell mode indicator 420-d, thereby indicating that cell B 225-d is not at rest for period of time 405-d.

[0093] Additionally or alternatively, cell B 225-d and cell C 225-e may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) cell mode indicators aperiodically. As described above, aperiodic cell mode indicators may be effective until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted and may be limited to certain frames or subframes within certain frames. Thereby the B cell 225-d and the C cell 225-e can transmit cell mode indicators according to any combination of timing schemes (e.g., aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (e.g., unicast, multicast, broadcast , etc.).

[0094] In some embodiments, UEs 115 decode cell mode indicators for activated SCells only. Additionally or alternatively, UEs 115 may decode cell mode indicators for disabled but configured SCells. In yet another embodiment, an eNB 105 may not broadcast mode information to SCells, and the UE 115 may determine the mode of operation on a subframe-by-subframe basis (e.g., by detecting the presence or periodicities of the various synchronization signals or reference, etc.).

[0095] In some embodiments, cell rest indicators 420 illustrated in Figures 4A and 4B may be transmitted using DC1 signaling. Figure 4C shows a diagram 400-c of cell mode indication for one or more SCells using DCI signaling in accordance with various embodiments. Diagram 400-c illustrates carriers for cell A 225-c and cell B 225-d (only downlink CCs are shown for clarity). In diagram 400-c, cell A 225-c transmits DCI signaling 420-j indicating that cell B 225-d is not at rest for period of time 405-g (e.g., frame, etc.), DCI signaling 420 -k indicating that the 225-d B cell is at rest for the 405h time period, and 420-l DCI signaling indicating that the 225-d B cell is not at rest for the 405-i time period. Although diagram 400-c illustrates DCI signaling used for transmitting cell mode indication from different cells, DCI signaling can also be used for transmitting cell mode indication from the cell itself as illustrated in Figure 4B. Additionally or alternatively, DCI signaling may indicate scheduling for a message on a physical shared channel (e.g., PDSCH) that includes cell sleep indicators 420.

[0096] In some embodiments, cell state indicators may be transmitted in a certain subframe and make a certain number of subframes (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, etc.) valid after transmission, e.g., the diagram 400-c indicates that cell state indicators 420 may be transmitted in a subframe n and become valid for a rest period starting in subframe n+4. Where cell status indicators are transmitted from the same cell (e.g., from cell B 225-e) or from a different cell that is frame-aligned with the SCell as illustrated in Figure 4C, the indicators may thereby be transmitted in subframe 6 to indicate cell mode for the next radio frame (which begins 4 subframes after subframe 6). Offset 430 may allow UEs 115 to process signaling and be ready for SCell measurements.

[0097] In addition to or alternatively to periodic transmission, cell mode indicators can be transmitted aperiodically. As described above, aperiodic cell mode indicators may be effective until an additional cell mode indicator is transmitted and may be restricted to certain frames or subframes within certain frames. In this way, cell sleep indicators 420 can be sent according to any combination of timing schemes (e.g., aperiodic or periodic) and transmission schemes (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast).

[0098] In some embodiments cell mode indicators 420 may use DCI Format 1C and may be transmitted in a common search space. A DCI Format 1C message can carry cell mode indicators for more than one SCell. For example, a bitmap may be sent using DCI 1C format including bits representing the cell mode for multiple 225 SCells. The bitmap may include multiple bits for each SCell where the multiple bits are used to carry rest-related information. from cell to subperiods (e.g., subframes, etc.) of the time periods 405 between periodic transmissions of cell rest indicators. Other DCI formats including DCI 3 and 3A formats may be used in other examples.

[0099] Although DCI Formats have relatively high reliability, error scenarios in receiving cell indicators can be handled in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, lack of reception of a periodic transmission of cell indicators may be interpreted as a SCell being at rest for the associated rest period of time. This can avoid CSI measurements when the SCell is at rest, which can have a greater impact on system performance than not using subframes for CSI measurements when a SCell is in a non-sleep state.

[0100] In some embodiments, UEs 115 may be configured for carrier aggregation of cells associated with uncolocated base station groups or eNBs 105. The uncolocated eNBs 105 may include a master eNB (MeNB) and one or more secondary eNBs ( SeNB), each supporting multiple carrier frequencies. In some examples, the carrier frequencies used by MeNB may be different than the carrier frequencies used by SeNB. SeNBs can operate semi-autonomously and can be connected to the MeNB using an inter-eNB communication interface (e.g., S1, X2, etc.) which may be a non-ideal return transport channel. In some examples, SeNBs are small cells (e.g., user- or operator-deployed, etc.) and can communicate with the MeNB using existing backhaul channels, which may be consumer-type backhaul channels such as network connections. Internet rented. A configuration for carrier aggregation including carriers from one MeNB and one or more SeNBs may be referred to as “multistream” or “dual connectivity.”

[0101] The cells associated with the MeNB can be referred to as master cell group (MCG). One cell in an MCG can be configured as a PCell, while the remaining cells can be SCells. Cells associated with SeNB can be referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). SCGs can include a special secondary cell (SSCell), which can be used to load PUCCH (on the associated uplink CC) from UEs configured for operation using SCG cells. In this way, UEs configured for dual connectivity can transmit a PUCCH to the MeNB over the PCC uplink and a second PUCCH to the SeNB over the SCC uplink of the SSCell. PUCCH associated with SSCell facilitates CSI and HARQ feedback to all SCG cells. In some embodiments, if the SSCell is configured for any UEs, it may remain active (e.g., not sleep).

[0102] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 500 with a UE 115-b configured for dual connectivity according to various embodiments. In wireless communication system 500, MeNB 105-b may be associated with MCG 510, which may include multiple carriers (e.g., carriers 225-f, 225-g, 225-x, etc.). In one embodiment, carrier 225-f may be one or more primary carriers (e.g., PCell) and other carriers (e.g., 225-g, 225-x, etc.) may be one or more secondary carriers (e.g., , SCells). SeNB 105-c may be associated with SCG 520, which may also include multiple carriers (e.g. carriers 225-h, 225-i, 225-y, etc.). In one embodiment, carrier 225-h may be an SSCell, while other carriers (e.g., 225-i, 225-y, etc.) of SCG 520 may be SCells.

[0103] As illustrated in Figure 5, UE 115-b can be configured for dual connectivity using one or more MCG 510 carriers and one or more SCG 520 carriers. For example, UE 115-b can initially connect to eNB 105-b and can be configured with the 225-f carrier like the PCell. SSCell 225-h can then be configured for UE 115-b using MAC or RRC control element (CE) signaling. Additionally, SSCell 225-h can be activated and deactivated for UE 115-b using CE MAC or RRC signaling. Signaling to configure, activate and deactivate SSCell 225-h can be transmitted using PCell 225-c, for example.

[0104] In some embodiments, the SSCell 225-h may also enter a sleep state during periods of time when it is not actively transmitting or receiving. Signaling the SSCell 225-h cell state using synchronous techniques as described above may not be effective due to the potential for variable delays caused by non-optimal return transport channel. In some embodiments, RRC signaling (e.g., via PCell 225-c) is used to indicate the cell state of the SSCell 225-h. In some embodiments, the UE 115-b stores one or more configurations for the SSCell 225-h and signaling from the PCell 225-c may carry an indication of cell state to the SSCell 225-h and may not include a complete set of configuration parameters. A single bit or multiple bits can be used for signal activation of the existing configuration. the single bit or multiple bits may be included, for example, in an RRC, MAC CE message, or embedded in a new or existing physical channel on the PCell 225-c. In some embodiments, the UE 115-b may store multiple configurations for SSCell 225-h, which may include one or more configurations for SSCell 225-h in the activated or non-sleep state as well as one or more configurations for SSCell 225-h in the idle or disabled state.

[0105] In some embodiments, the UE 115-b may store multiple configurations for the SSCell 225-h or SCG 520, and activation or reconfiguration of the SSCell 225-h or SCG 520 may be selected by signaling (e.g., using multiple bits ) which of the stored configurations the UE 115-b should use. In some cases, the SSCell 225-h may carry signaling related to configuration or activation/deactivation of the SSCell 225-h or SCG 520. For example, the SSCell 225-h may carry MAC signaling to disable SCells of the SCG 520 or the SSCell itself 225-h. Additionally or alternatively, the SSCell 225-h may carry PHY or MAC layer signaling to indicate the state of the SSCell 225-h or cells of the SCG 520.

[0106] In some embodiments, cell resting is supported for SCells of the MCG 510 and SCG 520 using the techniques described above. For example, cell idle indicators for SCells associated with MCG 510 may be transmitted (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) by PCell 225-f of MCG 510 as described above with reference to Figure 4A. Thus, cell A 225-c of diagram 400-a may illustrate broadcast of cell mode indicators 420 by PCell 225-f to SCells of MCG 510 (e.g., SCell 225-g, SCell 225-x, etc. ) The cell mode indicators 420 may carry multiple bits for each SCell and may select between multiple configurations for the SCells of MCG 510. The multiple configurations may include one or more stored configurations for the SCells in the non-sleeping state as well as one or more more settings stored for the SCells in the resting state.

[0107] In other cases, cell sleep indicators may be transmitted (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) by SCells of the MCG 510. For example, SCell 225-g and SCell 225-x may broadcast mode indicators of cell 420 indicating cell rest as illustrated by Cell B 225-d or Cell C 225-e of Figure 4B.

[0108] An SeNB 105 associated with an SCG 520 (e.g., SeNB 105-c) may control cell sleep for SCells of the SCG 520 autonomously or semi-autonomously by transmitting (e.g., broadcast, multicast, unicast, etc.) cell mode indicators on the SSCell or SCells themselves. For example, cell quiescence can be supported for SCG 520 SCells using the techniques described with reference to Figures 4A and 4B. In some embodiments, SSCell 225-h can transmit indicators of cell rest to SCells associated with SCG 520 as described above with reference to Figure 4A. In this example, SSCell 225-h may remain active for each period of time 405 as illustrated by Cell A 225-c of Figure 4A. in other cases, cell rest indicators may be transmitted by SCells of the SCG 520. For example, SCell 225-i and SCell 225-y may transmit cell mode indicators 420 that indicate cell rest as illustrated by cell B 225-d or Cell C 225-e of Figure 4B. The cell mode indicators 420 may carry multiple bits and may select from multiple stored configurations for the SCells of SCG 510. The multiple configurations may include one or more stored configurations for the SCells in the non-sleep state as well as one or more stored configurations for SCells in the resting state.

[0109] Cell timing (e.g., frames, subframes, etc.) of MCG 510 and SCG 520 carriers may be synchronized, or unsynchronized in some cases. Additionally or alternatively, the cell resting time periods for MCG 510 and SCG 520 may be different. For example, an MCG 510 may use a cell rest period of one radio frame, while an SCG 520 may use two radio frames. Thus, the time periods for cell rest and periodic indications of cell rest may be the same or different and may be synchronized or unsynchronized.

[0110] Figure 6A shows a diagram 600-a of a CSI reporting configuration for cell rest periods according to various embodiments. Diagram 600-a may illustrate CSI reporting for rest periods for SCells associated with an eNB, a MeNB, or a SeNB. Diagram 600-a illustrates PCell 225-j (or SSCell 225-j when illustrating cells associated with a SeNB) and SCell 225-k. In diagram 600-a, only the downlink CCs are illustrated for clarity. The illustrated PCells, SSCells, or SCells may support the same UE, and each of the PCells, SSCells, or SCells may support more than one UE. SCells may enter a sleep state in which they do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 and also reduce control signaling and reference signaling, as described above. UEs may send CSI 630 reports on an uplink carrier of the SCell 225-k or PCell/SSCell 225-j, as appropriate. For example, where SSCell 225-j and SCell 225-k are associated with an SCG 520, UEs may report CSI on PUCCH using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-j, or on PUSCH using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-j, or using a SSCell 225-k uplink carrier, if configured.

[0111] In diagram 600-a, SCell 225-k is active for a first period of time 625-a (e.g., frames or subframes, etc.) and at rest for a second period of time 625-b. A CA-configured UE 115 using PCell 225-j and SCell 225-k may send (e.g., on an uplink control channel, etc.), CSI report 630-a based on CSI resource measurements (e.g., CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) or interference measurement capabilities (IMR) (e.g., CSI interference measurement capabilities (CSI-IM), etc.) for the CC downlink 325 of SCell 225-k per period of time 625-a. The CSI 630-a report may include periodic or aperiodic CSI reports. For the time period 625-b where the SCell 225-k is at rest, the UE 115 can be configured to send the CSI report 630-b.

[0112] The CSI report 630-b may be based on a CSI report configuration that is different from the CSI report configuration for the time period 625-a. In some embodiments, the CSI report 630-b is based on CSI measurements for the DC downlink 325 of the SCell 225-k when the SCell 225-k was active. For example, the UE 115 may continue to report CSI during idle period 625-b, but the CSI report 630-b may be based on the latest valid CSI resources (e.g., CRS, CSI-RS, etc.). Thus, the CSI report 630-b may include channel-based CSI or interference measurements from the time period 625-a.

[0113] In some embodiments, the CSI reporting configuration for time period 625-b includes reporting some types of CSI while suppressing other types. In some cases, the UE 115 may suppress reporting for aperiodic CSI for resting SCells while continuing to report periodic CSI. Alternatively, the UE 115 may suppress reporting for periodic CSI for resting SCells while continuing to report aperiodic CSI based on aperiodic CSI triggers for resting SCells.

[0114] In some embodiments, the CSI reporting configuration for time period 625-b is associated with a different configuration for measuring and reporting based on CSI-RS signals. For example, the CSI reporting configuration for time period 625-b may include measuring and reporting CSI based on different reference signals or a different measurement periodicity or offset than time period 625-a. For example, CSI-RS may be transmitted with the same or reduced periodicity during time period 625-b relative to time period 625-a, while CRS may be suppressed during time period 625-b. the CSI report 630-b may include CSI generated from the transmitted CSI-RS. In some examples, CSI-RS may be transmitted during burst periods for periods of time when the SCell is at rest. For example, CSI-RS may be transmitted every K' subframes with a subframe offset ?' during a burst period of N subframes with a burst periodicity of M subframes and a burst offset of L subframes, where K' is the CSI-RS periodicity and ?' is the subframe offset for cell rest periods. The N, M and L parameters can be configured according to the DRS configuration and can be defined in terms of frames or subframes. In some examples, K’ and ?’ can be separately configured from the CSI-RS periodicity K and subframe offset ? for non-quiet periods, and may be determined based on burst period N (e.g., subframe offset ?' may be the subframe offset modulus ? of burst period N, etc.), or may be default values .

[0115] Additionally or alternatively, the CSI reporting configuration for time period 625-b includes measuring and reporting CSI based on different cells or a different antenna port configuration than time period 625-a. For example, CSI-RS may be transmitted by SCell during idle periods such as time period 625-b from a subset of antenna ports. In some examples, the UE 115 may report CSI per time period 625-b for a default subset of antenna ports or may report CSI for a default transmission mode. In some examples, the UE 115 may report CSI for at least one neighboring non-serving SCell for the time period 625-b (e.g., based on CSI-RS transmitted by the neighboring non-serving SCell during interburst time periods DRS from SCell in service, etc.). The non-in-service SCell neighbor to report can be determined according to the physical cell index (PCI) of the neighboring cell (e.g., having the same PCI as the in-service SCell, a PCI indicated through the PCell or SSCell, etc. ).

[0116] Additionally or alternatively, channel measurement and interference measurement may be treated differently for idle period 625-b. for example, the UE 115 may report CSI based on IMR measurements (e.g., CSI-IM, etc.) for the time period 625-b, but may report CQI based on channel measurements from the time period 625-b latest that SCell 225-k was active (e.g. time period 625-a). In other examples, the UE 115 may report CSI based on IMR measurements (e.g., CSI-IM, etc.) for the time period 625-b, but may suppress CSI reporting for the time period 625-b. In some cases, the UE 115 may send a “null” CSI report 630-b indicating that it did not receive a reference signal from the SCell during the idle period 625-b.

[0117] In some examples, the UE 115 may perform mediation for CSI reporting. For periods of time where measurement is performed that includes resting and non-resting subperiods, the UE 115 can perform mediation in a variety of modes. For example, the UE may perform mediation for channel measurements (e.g., CQI) only on subframes where the SCell was active and may consider subframes where the SCell was idle as being invalid for channel measurement. The UE 115 may perform interference mediation (e.g., IMR) on any subframes including idle subframes. If Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Cancellation (eICIC) is employed for SCell, mediation for interference may be limited to subframe subsets (e.g., where eICOC is not employed on the downlink, etc.).

[0118] Figure 6B shows a diagram 600-b of a CSI reporting configuration for cell idle periods according to various embodiments. Diagram 600-b may illustrate CSI reporting for rest periods for SCells associated with an eNB, a MeNB, or a SeNB. Diagram 600-b illustrates PCell 225-j (or SSCell 225-j when illustrating cells associated with a SeNB) and SCell 225-k. In diagram 600-b, only the downlink CCs are illustrated for clarity. The illustrated PCells, SSCells, or SCells can support the same UE, and each of the PCells, SSCells, or SCells can support more than one UE. SCells may enter a sleep state in which they do not transmit user data on the associated downlink CC 325 and also reduce control signaling and reference signaling, as described above. UEs may send CSI 630 reports on an uplink carrier of the SCell 225-k or PCell/SSCell 225-j, as appropriate. For example, where SSCell 225-j and SCell 225-k are associated with an SCG 520, UEs may report CSI on PUCCH using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-j, or on PUSCH using the uplink carrier of the SSCell 225-j, or using a SSCell 225-k uplink carrier, if configured.

[0119] In diagram 600-b, SCell 225-k is active for a first time period 625-c (e.g., frames or subframes, etc.) and at rest for a second time period 625-d. A UE 115 configured for CA using PCell/SSCell 225-j and SCell 225-k may send (e.g., on an uplink control channel, etc.) CSI report 630-c based on CSI or IMR resource measurements to the CC downlink 325 associated with SCell 225-k for the time period 625-c. The CSI 630-c report may include periodic or aperiodic CSI reports. For the time period 625-d where SCell 225-k is at rest, the UE 115 may be configured to suppress CSI reporting. For example, the UE 115 may be allowed to skip reporting CSI feedback if the reference CSI feedback subframe (e.g., CQI measurement subframe, IMR subframe, etc.) occurs when SCell 225-k was operating in mode in rest.

[0120] Figure 7 shows a device 700 for indicating dynamic cell mode and reporting interference and channel feedback to resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. Device 700 may be an example of one or more aspects of a UE 115 described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 10. Device 700 may include a receiver 705, a rest module 710, or a transmitter 715. Device 700 may also include a processor (not shown). Each of these components can be in communication with each other.

[0121] Receiver 705 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, etc.). The receiver 705 can receive the various channels of information about a primary carrier associated with a primary cell and one or more secondary carriers associated with secondary cells including special secondary cells. Information 720 may be passed to the rest module 710, and to other components of the device 700. For example, information 720 may include carrier information (e.g., indications of a target carrier for monitoring).

[0122] Sleep module 710 may be a means for monitoring (e.g., via receiver 705) a carrier between a primary carrier and one or more secondary carriers for a periodic indication that at least one secondary carrier is at rest. It may also be a means of determining, based on the indication, whether at least one secondary carrier has been at rest for a predetermined period of time. Rest module 710 may communicate signals 725 to transmitter 715. Signals 725 may include, for example, feedback information (e.g., CSI, etc.) for one or more secondary carriers.

[0123] Transmitter 715 may transmit one or more signals (e.g., signals 725, etc.) received from other components of device 700. Transmitter 715 may transmit information about a primary carrier associated with a primary cell and one or more carriers secondary cells associated with secondary cells. In some embodiments, the transmitter 715 may be co-located with the receiver 705 in a transceiver module. Transmitter 715 may include a single antenna, or may include a plurality of antennas.

[0124] Figure 8 shows a device 800 for indicating dynamic cell mode and reporting interference and channel feedback to resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. Device 800 may be an example of one or more aspects of a UE 115 described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 5 and 10. It may also be an example of a device 700 described with reference to Figure 7. Device 800 may include a receiver 705-a, a rest module 710-a, or a transmitter 715-a, which may be examples of corresponding components of the device 700. The device 800 may also include a processor (not shown). Each of these components can be in communication with each other. For example, receiver 705-a may pass information 820 to rest module 810-a which may pass one or more signals 825 to transmitter 715-a. The sleep module 710-a may include a sleep monitoring module 805, a sleep determination module 810, or a channel state information (CSI) configuration module 815. The receiver 705-a and transmitter 715-a may perform the functions of receiver 705 and transmitter 715, of figure 6, respectively.

[0125] The idle monitoring module 805 may be a means for monitoring a carrier from between a primary carrier and one or more secondary carriers for a periodic indication that at least one secondary carrier is at rest. In one embodiment, it may be means for monitoring a carrier search space at a predefined time interval for downlink control information (DCI) comprising the indication. In some embodiments, the rest monitoring module 805 may be a means for monitoring periodic indications of cell rest for a multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group (e.g., MCG 510) and a second carrier group (e.g., , SCG 520). In some examples, the rest monitoring module 805 may receive cell mode indications that indicate cell rest for one or more carriers for a predetermined period of time. In another example, the sleep monitoring module 805 may receive cell mode indications that indicate sleep for one or more carriers for an indefinite period of time (e.g., until a next cell mode indication is received). The rest monitoring module 805 may pass a cell rest indication 830 to the rest determination module 810 .

[0126] The rest determination module 810 may be a means for determining, based on the indication 830 passed from the rest monitoring module 805, whether at least one secondary carrier is at rest (e.g., aperiodically, for a period of time predetermined, etc.). In one embodiment, it may be a means to determine, based on a presence of the indication, that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for a predetermined period of time. In another embodiment, means for determining based on an absence of the indication, that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for a predetermined period of time. In some embodiments, the rest determination module 810 may be a means for determining whether one or more secondary carriers of a first carrier group (e.g., MCG 510) and a second carrier group (e.g., SCG 520) are in rest for a predetermined period of time. The sleep determination module 810 may pass a sleep determination 835 to at least one secondary carrier to the CSI configuration module 815.

[0127] The CSI configuration module 815 may be a means for determining a CSI reporting configuration for at least one secondary carrier based at least in part on determining that the at least one secondary carrier has been at rest for a period of time. predetermined. The CSI configuration module 815 may receive the rest determination 835 and may determine the CSI reporting configuration based at least in part on the rest determination 835. In one embodiment, it may be means to suppress CSI reporting for at least a secondary carrier for one or more of a periodic CSI report or aperiodic CSI report, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, it may be means to report CSI based on channel measurements of at least one secondary carrier during at least one period of time when at least one secondary carrier was not at rest. In some cases, the CSI reporting configuration comprises averaging channel measurements from at least one time period. In some cases, the configuration may comprise reporting CSI based on measurements for at least one secondary carrier during the predetermined period of time.

[0128] In some embodiments, the CSI configuration module 815 may be a means for determining a CSI reporting configuration for a carrier at rest for a multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group (e.g., MCG 510) and a second carrier group (e.g. SCG 520). The CSI configuration module 815 can independently determine CSI reporting for secondary carriers of the first carrier group and for secondary carriers of the second carrier group according to one or more CSI reporting configurations. For example, the CSI configuration module 815 may report CSI for idle secondary carriers from the MCG 510 to the MeNB in accordance with a CSI reporting configuration associated with the MCG and report CSI for secondary carriers from the SCG 520 to the SeNB in accordance with with a CSI configuration associated with the SCG 520.

[0129] In some examples, the CSI reporting configuration determined by the CSI configuration module 715 may include a CSI-RS measurement configuration for the predetermined period of time that the secondary carrier is at rest. For example, the CSI-RS measurement configuration may include reduced periodicity for CSI-RS signals, CSI-RS transmission based on a DRS configuration, measurement of CSI-RS signals for a reduced subset of antenna ports, or measurement of CSI-RS signals to a different secondary carrier as described above.

[0130] Figure 9 shows a device 900 for indicating dynamic cell mode and reporting interference and channel feedback to resting cells in a dual connectivity carrier aggregation environment according to various modalities. Device 900 may be an example of one or more aspects of a UE 115 described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 5 and 10. It may also be an example of devices 700 or 800 described with reference to Figure 7 and Figure 8. device 900 may include a receiver 705-b, a rest module 710-b, and a transmitter 715-b, which may perform the functions described above with reference to receivers 705, rest modules 710, and transmitters 8715, respectively, of devices 700 and 800. Device 900 may also include a processor (not shown). The device may also include a dual connectivity module 940. Each of these components may be in communication with each other. For example, receiver 705-b may communicate information 905 to rest module 710-b or dual connectivity module 940. Rest module 710-b or dual connectivity module 940 may pass information 915 to transmitter 715- B.

[0131] The dual connectivity module 940 may perform functions associated with operating in a carrier aggregation configuration including cells associated with uncollocated eNBs 105. For example, the dual connectivity module 940 may establish a connection with a MeNB 105 and may receive configuration for one or more SCells from an MCG 510 associated with the MeNB 105. The dual connectivity module 940 can receive configuration information for cells from an SCG 520 associated with a SeNB 105 and the SCG configuration module 945 can manage the configuration, activating and deactivating an SSCell and one or more SCells of the SCG 520. In some cases configuration information may be transferred by information 905 passed from the receiver 705-b. In some cases, the dual connectivity module 940 may communicate bidirectionally with the rest module 710-b (e.g., connection information 910 may be passed between the dual connectivity module 940 and the rest module 710-b).

[0132] In some embodiments, the SCGT configuration module 945 may store one or more configurations for an SSCell of the SCG 520. The dual connectivity module 940 may enable or disable the SSCell based on signaling from the PCell. For example, the dual connectivity module 940 may receive (e.g., via information 905) a single bit in an RRC, MAC CE message, or embedded in a new or existing physical channel on the PCell for activation of the SSCell. The dual connectivity module 940 can retrieve the stored configuration from the SCG configuration module 945 and activate the SSCell according to the stored configuration. In this way, the dual connectivity module 940 can activate SSCell based on RRC signaling without receiving a full set of configuration parameters.

[0133] In some embodiments, the SCG configuration module 945 may store multiple configurations for the SSCell or SCG 520, and the dual connectivity module 940 may activate or reconfigure the SSCell or SCG 520 based on received signaling (e.g., using multiple bits) that indicates which of the stored settings to use. In some instances, the SSCell may carry signaling related to configuration or activation/deactivation of the SSCell or SCG 520. For example, the SSCell may carry MAC signaling to disable SCells of the SCG 520 or the SSCell itself. Additionally or alternatively, PHY or MAC layer signaling received from the SSCell may indicate the state of the SSCell or cells of the SCG 520.

[0134] The dual connectivity module 940 may, in cooperation with the resting module 710-b (e.g., using information 910) monitor cell resting cells associated with MCG 510 and SCG 520. For example, the sleeper module 710-b may monitor a PCell carrier of the MCG 510 for cell mode indications associated with SCells of the MCG 510 as described above with reference to Figures 4A and 5. In other cases, the sleeper module 710-b may monitor carriers of the SCells of the MCG 510 for indications of cell rest as described above with reference to Figure 4B and 5. Similarly, the resting module 710-b may monitor a carrier of the SSCell of the SCG 520, or carriers of the SCells, for indications of cell mode associated with SCells of the SCG 520 as described above with reference to Figures 4A, 4B and 5. In some instances, rest indicators for SCells of the MCG 510 may be treated differently than rest indicators for SCells of the SCG 520. In this way, the resting module 710-b can monitor the PCell of the MCG 510 for resting indicators of SCells of the MCG 510 while monitoring each SCell of the SCG 520. As described above, the resting module 710-b can monitor for cell mode indicators for configured SCells, or activated SCells only, in some cases.

[0135] Figure 10 shows a system 1000 for indicating dynamic cell mode and reporting interference and channel feedback to resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. System 1000 may include a UE 115-c, which may be an example of the UEs 115 of Figures 1, 2, or 5.

[0136] The UE 115-c may generally include components for two-way data and voice communications including components for transmitting communications and components for receiving communications. The UE 115-c may include antenna(s) 1040, a transceiver module 1035, a processor module 1005, and memory 1015 (including software (SW) 1020) that each may communicate, directly or indirectly, with each other (e.g., via one or more buses 1045). The transceiver module 1035 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally, via the antenna(s) 1040 or one or more wired or wireless links, with one or more networks, as described above. For example, transceiver module 1035 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with base stations 105 with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, or 5. Transceiver module 1035 may include a modem configured to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna(s) 1040 for transmitting and demodulating packets received from the antenna(s) 1040. Although the UE 115-c may include a single antenna 1040, the UE 115-c may have multiple antenna(s) 1040 capable of simultaneously transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver module 1035 may be capable of simultaneously communicating with one or more base stations 105 via multiple component carriers.

[0137] The UE 115-c may include a rest module 710-c, which may perform the functions described above for the rest modules 710 of the devices 700, 800 and 900 of Figures 7, 8 and 9. The UE 115- c may also include a channel quality module 1025 and a carrier aggregation module 1030. The channel quality module 1025 may perform channel measurements and interference measurements for configured carriers. For example, the channel quality module 1025 can perform SCells carrier measurements for CSI reporting as described above with reference to Figures 6A and 6B. The carrier aggregation module 1030 may perform functions associated with the configuration of UE 115-c for carrier aggregation. For example, the carrier aggregation module 1030 may process message sending (e.g., RRC, MAC, etc.) to configure one or more SCells for the UE 115-c including configuring scheduling and activation/deactivation of one or more SCells. . The UE 115-c may include a dual connectivity module 940-a that may perform the functions described above for the dual connectivity module 940 of the device 900 of FIG. 9.

[0138] Memory 1015 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1015 may store computer-executable, computer-readable firmware/software code 1020 containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause processor module 1005 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., call processing, management database processing, carrier mode indicator processing, CSI reporting for resting SCells according to a CSI configuration, etc.). Alternatively, firmware/software code 1020 may not be directly executable by processor module 1005, but be configured to cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. The processor module 1005 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.).

[0139] Figure 11 shows a device 1100 for indicating dynamic cell mode and reporting channel interference feedback to resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. Device 1100 may be an example of one or more aspects of an eNB 105 described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 5. Device 1100 may include a receiver 1105, a carrier aggregation configuration module 1110, an indication module 1115 or a transmitter 1120. The device 1100 may also include a processor (not shown). Each of these components can be in communication with each other.

[0140] Receiver 1105 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, etc.). The receiver 1105 can receive the various channels of information on one or more carriers. The received information 1125 may be passed to the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110, and to other components of the device 1100.

[0141] The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may be a means for establishing, at a base station 105, a configuration for communicating with one or more UEs 115 using a plurality of carriers including a primary carrier (e.g., PCell) and one or more secondary carriers (e.g. SCells). The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may perform functions associated with configuring carriers (e.g., PCells, SSCells, or SCells) and UEs 115 for carrier aggregation. For example, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may process message sending (e.g., RRC, MAC, etc.) to configure one or more UEs for carrier aggregation using one or more SCells including configuring on/off scheduling. of one or more SCells. In some cases, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may set a program to transmit reference signals (e.g., CRS, CSI-RS, PRS, etc.) as for a UE 115. Setting the program to transmit signals reference may be based on a secondary carrier being at rest. In some cases, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may reduce a frequency (i.e., temporal frequency) of transmission of reference signals.

[0142] In some embodiments, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may manage carrier aggregation for UEs configured for carrier aggregation using cells associated with uncollocated base station groups or eNBs 105. For example, the carrier aggregation configuration module Carrier aggregation 1100 may be implemented in a MeNB and may provide functionality (e.g., configuration, activation and deactivation, etc.) to support a PCell and one or more SCells of an MCG associated with the MeNB. The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may provide functionality to interface with one or more SeNBs and manage configuration of the SSCell or SCG (e.g., configuration, activation and deactivation, etc.) associated with the SeNBs.

[0143] In other examples, the carrier aggregation configuration module 1100 may be implemented in an SeNB and may provide functionality (e.g., configuration, activation and deactivation, etc.) to support an SSCell and one or more SCells of a SCG associated with SeNB. The carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 may provide functionality for communication between the SeNB and one or more MeNBs to provide dual connectivity to UEs served by the SeNB.

[0144] The sleep indication module 1115 may be a means for indicating to one or more UEs that at least one secondary carrier of the one or more secondary carriers is at rest, based on one or more signals 1130 received from the sleep configuration module. carrier aggregation 1110. In one embodiment, it may be means for processing downlink control information (DCI) for transmission in a search space associated with the secondary carrier. In some cases, the DCI is transmitted according to DCI Format 1C. In one embodiment, the idle indication module 1115 may be means for omitting transmission of an indication that at least one secondary carrier from one or more secondary carriers is not at rest for a predetermined period of time. The sleep indication module 1115 may determine periods of time when a SCell is at rest based on, for example, scheduling information for one or more UEs.

[0145] Transmitter 1120 may transmit one or more signals 1135 received from other components of device 1100. In some embodiments, transmitter 1120 may be co-located with receiver 1105 in a transceiver module. Transmitter 1120 may include a single antenna or may include a plurality of antennas. The transmitter 1120 in coordination with the idle indication module 1115, may be means for transmitting an indication that at least one secondary carrier of one or more secondary carriers is at rest for a predetermined period of time. In some cases, it may be a means of transmitting the indication on a carrier other than the secondary carrier. For example, a PCell may transmit an indication that a SCell is at rest. In other cases, it may be a means of transmitting a rest indication for a SCell on a secondary carrier associated with the SCell.

[0146] Figure 12 shows a communication system 1200 that can be configured for dynamic cell mode indication and reporting interference and channel feedback to resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. System 1200 may exemplify aspects of systems 100, 200, or 500 of Figure 1, Figure 2, or Figure 5. System 1200 includes eNB 105-c, which may incorporate the functionality and components of device 1100 of Figure 11. .

[0147] In some cases, the eNB 105-c may have one or more backhaul links wired. The eNB 105-c may have a wired backhaul link (e.g., S1 interface, etc.) with the core network 130-a. The eNB 105-c may also communicate with other base stations 105, such as base station 105-m and base station 105-n via inter-base station communication links (e.g., X2 interface, etc.). Each of the base stations 105 may communicate with UEs 115 using the same or different wireless communication technologies. In some cases, eNB 105-c may communicate with other base stations such as 105-m or 105-n using the base station communication module 1220. In some embodiments, the base station communication module 1220 may provide an X2 interface on the LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between some of the base stations 105. In some embodiments, eNB 105-c may communicate with other base stations via core network 130-a. In some cases, eNB 105-c may communicate with the core network 130-a via the network communication module 1205.

[0148] Components for eNB 105-c may be configured to implement aspects discussed above with respect to eNBs 105 of Figure 1, Figure 2, or Figure 5 or device 1100 of Figure 11, and some aspects may not be repeated here for purposes of brevity. For example, the eNB 105-c may be configured to indicate to UEs 115 served by the secondary cells whether one or more of the secondary cells are at rest. It may include a carrier aggregation configuration module 1110-a and an idle indication module 1115-a which may be examples of the carrier aggregation configuration module 1110 and idle indication module 1115 of device 900, respectively.

[0149] The eNB 105-c may include a processor module 1225, memory 1230 (including software (SW) 1235), transceiver modules 1240 and antenna(s) 1245, which each may be in communication, directly or indirectly with each other (e.g. example, via the 1250 bus system). The transceiver module 1240 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally, via the antenna(s) 1245, with the UEs 115, which may be multimode devices. The transceiver module 1240 (or other components of the eNB 105-c) can also be configured to communicate bidirectionally, (not shown). The transceiver module 1240 may include a modem configured to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna(s) 1245 for transmission and demodulate packets received from the antenna(s) 1245. The eNB 105-b may include multiple transceiver modules 1240, each with one or more associated antennas 1245. The transceiver module may be an example of a combined receiver 1105 and transmitter 1120 of Figure 11.

[0150] Memory 1230 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1230 may also store computer-executable, computer-readable firmware/software code 1235 containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause processor module 1225 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., select augmentation techniques coverage, call processing, database management, message forwarding, etc.). Alternatively, software 1235 may not be directly executable by processor module 1225, but be configured to cause a computer, for example, when compiled and executed, to perform functions described herein.

[0151] The processor module 1225 may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor module 1225 may include various special purpose processors such as encoders, queue processing modules, baseband processors, radio head controllers, digital signal processors (DSPs), and the like.

[0152] According to the architecture of Figure 12, the eNB 105-c may further include a base station communication module 1220. The base station communication module 1220 may manage communications with other base stations 105. The management module communications module may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the base station communications module 1220 may perform scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 or various interference mitigation techniques such as training beam or joint transmission.

[0153] Figures 13A and 13B show flow charts 1300-a and 1300-b illustrating methods for dynamic cell mode indication in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. Flowchart steps 1300-a and 1300-b can be performed by a UE 115 of Figures 1, 2, 5 and 10 or devices 700, 800 or 900 of Figures 7-9.

[0154] In blocks 1305-a and 1305-b of flowcharts 1300-a and 1300-b, a UE may monitor for a sleep indication. In one embodiment, this may include monitoring a carrier between a primary carrier and one or more secondary carriers for an indication (e.g., periodic, aperiodic, etc.) that at least one secondary carrier is at rest. In some cases, a predetermined period of time corresponding to a periodic indication may include one or more radio frames or subframes. In one embodiment, monitoring may be performed by the rest monitoring module 805.

[0155] In some cases, the UE 115 may be configured for carrier aggregation in accordance with a multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group (e.g., MCG) associated with a first base station (e.g., MeNB) and a second carrier group (e.g., SCG) being associated with a second base station (e.g., SeNB). The first carrier group may include a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers. The second carrier group may include a second set of secondary carriers. The UE 115 may monitor one or more carriers for secondary carrier cell rest from the first carrier group or second carrier group.

[0156] In some cases, carrier monitoring may comprise monitoring a carrier search space at a predefined time interval for downlink control information (DCI) comprising the indication. In some cases, at least one secondary carrier is monitored for the indication. In other cases, the primary carrier (e.g., PCell for carriers of the MCG) or special secondary carrier (e.g., SSCell for carriers of an SCG) is monitored for quiescent indicators for at least one secondary carrier. In one embodiment, monitoring for the indication is based on an activation state of at least one secondary carrier.

[0157] In block 1310, the UE may determine whether an indication has been received. In one embodiment the quiescent determination module 810 may determine, based on the indication, whether at least one secondary carrier is quiescent (e.g., aperiodically, for a predetermined period of time, or for selected subframes during a predetermined period of time). , etc.). In dual connectivity carrier aggregation configurations, at least one secondary carrier may be a secondary carrier of the first carrier group or secondary carrier group.

[0158] If a sleep indication for at least one secondary carrier is received in block 1310, the UE may determine that at least one secondary carrier is at rest in block 1315. In one embodiment, the sleep for at least one secondary carrier is determined in block 1315 by the presence of a sleep indicator transmitted in block 1310. The sleep indication may indicate that at least one secondary carrier is at rest aperiodically, for a predetermined period of time, or for a portion of a predetermined period of time. (e.g. subframes of a radio frame, etc.).

[0159] If an indication is received in block 1310 that indicates that at least one secondary carrier is not idle for the predetermined period of time, the UE may determine that at least one secondary carrier is not idle in block 1320. In some cases , the absence of a rest indication in block 1310 may indicate that at least one secondary carrier is not at rest for a predetermined period of time in block 1320.

[0160] In block 1330 of flowchart 1300-b, the UE may determine that an absence of a rest-related indication may be interpreted as a rest indication. For example, the UE may consider that the absence of rest-related DCI information for a secondary carrier from one or more secondary carriers means that the carrier will be at rest for a predetermined period of time.

[0161] In block 1335, if an absence of an indication is detected by at least one secondary carrier of one or more secondary carriers, the UE may determine that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for the predetermined period of time.

[0162] If a sleep-related indication is received in block 1330 for at least one secondary carrier of one or more secondary carriers, the UE may determine that at least one secondary carrier is not at rest in block 1340. In some cases, the rest-related indication may indicate that at least one secondary carrier is at rest for a predetermined period of time and may include information for subperiods of the predetermined period of time. For example, the indication may indicate subframes in a radio frame for which at least one secondary carrier is active. The UE may determine that at least one secondary carrier is idle for the other subframes. Additionally or alternatively, the resting-related indication may indicate that at least one secondary carrier is resting aperiodically.

[0163] Figure 14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating a method for reporting interference and channel feedback to resting cells in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. The steps of the present invention can be performed by the UE 115s of Figures 1, 2, 5 or 10 or devices 700, 800 or 900 of Figures 7-9.

[0164] In block 1405, the UE 115 may determine that at least one secondary carrier is at rest. The UE 115 may determine that at least one secondary carrier is at rest, for example, based on an indication of cell rest or based on inferring cell rest from signals on a carrier transmitted by the secondary cell.

[0165] In some cases, the UE 115 may be configured for carrier aggregation in accordance with a multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group (e.g., MCG) associated with a first base station (e.g., MeNB) and a second carrier group (e.g., SCG) being associated with a second base station (e.g., SeNB). The first carrier group may include a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers. The second carrier group may include a second set of secondary carriers. At least one secondary carrier may include secondary carriers of the first carrier group or second carrier group.

[0166] In block 1410, the UE 115 may determine whether to suppress periodic or aperiodic CSI reports for at least one secondary carrier. In one embodiment, the UE 115 may suppress CSI reporting for both periodic and aperiodic CSI reporting. In other embodiments, the UE 115 may suppress aperiodic CSI reports while reporting periodic CSI. In still other embodiments, the UE 115 may report both periodic and aperiodic CSI for at least one secondary carrier even when at least one carrier is at rest.

[0167] In block 1415, the UE 115 may determine whether to include a quiescent period in a CSI calculation for a CSI report for at least one secondary carrier. In some embodiments, the UE 115 may report CSI for at least one secondary carrier using the most recent channel measurements including for idle periods. In some embodiments, the UE 115 may report CSI for quiescent periods of at least one secondary carrier using channel measurements made during at least one period of time when the at least one secondary carrier was not quiescent. Alternatively, CSI for channel measurements and interference reporting may be treated differently. For example, the UE may report interference measurements (e.g., based on IMR, etc.) based on measurements for the idle period while still suppressing CSI reporting of channel measurements or using channel measurements from a period of time. when the carrier was not at rest.

[0168] In block 1420, the UE 115 may report CSI based on tapas determinations 1410 and 1415. In some cases, reporting CSI for at least one secondary carrier may include mediating interference or channel measurements of at least one period of time . For example, the UE 115 may report CSI for subframe-mediated channel measurements when at least one secondary carrier was not idle. In some embodiments, the UE 115 may report CSI for mediated interference measurements of resting and non-resting subframes.

[0169] Figures 15A and 15B are flow charts 1500-a and 1500-b illustrating methods for indicating dynamic cell mode in a carrier aggregation environment according to various embodiments. The steps in flowcharts 1500-a and 1500-b may be performed by components of a base station 105 with reference to Figures 1, 2, 5 or 12 or device 1100 with reference to Figure 11.

[0170] In blocks 1505-a and 150-5b of flowcharts 1500-a and 1500-b, respectively, an eNB 105 serving a UE 115 can establish a configuration for communicating with the UE 115 using multiple carriers. In one embodiment, the serving eNB may establish a configuration for communicating with at least one UE using a plurality of carriers including a primary carrier, a special secondary carrier, or one or more secondary carriers.

[0171] In some cases, the eNB 105 may operate to provide dual connectivity bearer aggregation for one or more UEs. For example, UEs 115 may be configured for carrier aggregation in accordance with a multiple carrier configuration including a first carrier group (e.g., MCG) associated with a first base station (e.g., MeNB) and a second carrier group (e.g. SCG) being associated with a second base station (e.g. SeNB). The first carrier group may include a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers. The second carrier group may include a second set of secondary carriers. Flowchart steps 1500-a and 1500-b can be performed by a MeNB for secondary carriers of an MCG or by a SeNB for secondary carriers of an SCG, for example.

[0172] Flowchart 1500-a may illustrate cell mode indication where the cell mode may default to active mode. In block 1510 of flowchart 1500-a, the eNB 105 may determine whether a secondary carrier (e.g., a SCell) will be at rest for a predetermined period of time (e.g., one or more frames or subframes, etc.). If the secondary carrier is at rest in block 1510, the eNB 105 may omit sending an indication in block 1515.

[0173] If it is determined that the secondary carrier will be at rest for portions or the entire period of time predetermined in block 1510, the eNB 105 may send an indication to UEs that the secondary carrier is at rest. The indication may be transmitted using the secondary carrier itself, or may be transmitted over a carrier other than the secondary carrier (for example, PCell or SSCell). In embodiments, the quiescent indicator is transmitted in block 1520 in cases where the secondary carrier is quiescent for portions of the predetermined period of time (e.g., frames or subframes of the predetermined period of time). In one embodiment, these steps may be performed by the idle indication module 1115. In some cases, this may comprise transmitting DCI in a monitored carrier search space for the idle indication. The search space may comprise a common search space for at least one UE. In one embodiment, the DCI is transmitted according to DCI format 1C.

[0174] Flowchart 1500-b may illustrate cell mode indication where the cell mode may default to sleep mode. If the secondary carrier is at rest in block 1530 of flowchart 1500-b, the eNB 105 may, in block 1535, omit sending the indication to the secondary carrier for the predetermined period of time.

[0175] If it is determined that the secondary carrier is not at rest for all or portions of the predetermined time period in block 1530, the eNB 105 may send an indication to UEs that the secondary carrier is not at rest. The indication may be transmitted using the secondary carrier itself, or may be transmitted over a carrier other than the secondary carrier (for example, PCell or SSCell). In embodiments, the idle indicator is transmitted in block 1520 in cases where the secondary carrier is at rest for portions of the predetermined time period (e.g., frames or subframes of the time period) and active for other portions. In one embodiment, these steps may be performed by the idle indication module 1115. In some cases, this may comprise transmitting DCI in a carrier search space monitored with respect to the idle indication. The search space may comprise a common search space for at least one UE. In one embodiment, the DCI is transmitted according to the DCI format 1C.

[0176] In some embodiments, the carrier used for transmitting the idle indication in blocks 1520 and 1540 may be independent of a carrier used for programming information. For example, the idle indication may be transmitted on a PCell or SSCell even when the secondary carrier is configured for self-scheduling to one or more UEs served by the secondary carrier, or it may be transmitted on the secondary carrier even when the secondary carrier is configured for scheduling. cross-carrier to one or more UEs served by the secondary carrier.

[0177] The detailed description set forth above with respect to the attached drawings describes exemplary embodiments and does not represent the only embodiments that can be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” used throughout this description means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other embodiments.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the techniques described. These techniques, however, can be put into practice without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described embodiments.

[0178] Information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic particles or fields, optical particles or fields or any combination of the same.

[0179] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure of the present invention can be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an array field programmable gate (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described here. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0180] The functions described here can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored in or transmitted as instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, wiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located in various positions, including being distributed so that such portions of functions are implemented in different physical locations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by the phrase “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates a disjunctive list so that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (that is, A and B and C).

[0181] Computer-readable media includes both computer-readable media and communications media including any media that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to load or storing desired program code media in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer, or a general purpose or special purpose processor. Also any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the media definition. Disk and disc, as used here, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disc, and blu-ray disc where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers . Combinations of the above shall also be included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0182] The foregoing description of the disclosure is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Throughout this disclosure the term “example” or “exemplary” indicates an example or instance and does not imply or require any preference for the example mentioned. Accordingly, the disclosure should not be limited to the examples and designs described here, but the broadest scope compatible with the novel principles and features disclosed here should be agreed upon.

[0183] Techniques described here can be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement a radio technology such as CDM2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 releases 0 and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. A TDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Developed UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Long-Term Evolution 3GPP (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the “3rd Generation Society Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called “3rd Generation Society Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniques described here can be used for the radio systems and technologies mentioned above as well as other radio systems and technologies. The above description, however, describes an LTE system for example purposes, and LTE terminology is used throughout much of the above description, although the techniques are applicable beyond LTE applications.

Claims (15)

1. Wireless communications method comprising: monitoring cell idle indications (1305-a, 1305-b) for a multi-carrier configuration, wherein cell idle indications are transmitted in a certain subframe and become valid in a certain number (430) of subframes after transmission to indicate cell rest for the next radio frame and wherein the multiple carrier configuration includes a first carrier group (510) and a second carrier group ( 520), the first carrier group (510) being associated with a first base station (105-b) and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second carrier group (520) being associated with a second base station (105-c) and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers; determining (1310, 1330), based on monitoring (1305-a, 1305-b), whether at least one secondary carrier of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest; determining (1410, 1415) a channel state information, CSI, reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based, at least in part, on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is at rest; and reporting (1420) a channel state information, CSI, based on channel measurements of the at least one secondary carrier recorded during at least a period of time when the at least one secondary carrier is not at rest. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the determination (1310, 1330) comprises: determining, based on a received cell mode indicator, that a secondary carrier of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest. 3. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the determination (1310, 1330) comprises: determining, based on an absence of a cell mode indicator, that a secondary carrier of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest. 4. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that monitoring (1305-a, 1305-b) comprises: monitoring the primary carrier of the first carrier group for cell mode indicators associated with one or more carriers secondary carriers from the first set of secondary carriers. 5. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that monitoring (1305-a, 1305-b) comprises: monitoring the one or more secondary carriers from the first carrier group for associated cell mode indicators to one or more secondary carriers of the first set of secondary carriers. 6. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the second group of carriers comprises a special secondary carrier that carries an uplink control channel for carriers of the second group of carriers, and wherein monitoring comprises monitoring the special secondary carrier by cell mode indicators associated with the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring comprises monitoring the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of secondary carriers by cell mode indicators associated with the one or more secondary carriers of the second set of carriers. secondary. 8. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that monitoring (1305-a, 1305-b) comprises: monitoring one or more search spaces of at least one first carrier of the first carrier group and at least at least one second carrier of the second carrier group at predefined time intervals for downlink control information, DCI, comprising cell sleep indications. 9. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that monitoring (1305-a, 1305-b) of cell rest indications for the multiple carrier configuration is based on activation states of secondary carriers of the first and the second set of secondary carriers. 10. Method, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that it further comprises: receiving indications of cell rest associated with the one or more secondary carriers, and in which the determination (1310, 1330) comprises determining that the one or more secondary carriers Secondaries are at rest for a predetermined period of time. 11. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that it further comprises: receiving indications of cell rest associated with the one or more secondary carriers, and wherein the determination comprises determining that one or more secondary carriers are at rest until a next cell rest indication is received. 12. Method, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that it further comprises: determining whether the at least one secondary carrier is associated with the first base station (105-b) or the second base station (105-c); performing CSI reporting for the at least one secondary carrier for the first base station (105-b) or for the second base station (105-c) based on the determined association and in accordance with the CSI reporting configuration. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the CSI reporting setup further comprises averaging channel measurements from at least one time period. 14. Apparatus (800) for wireless communication, characterized by the fact that it comprises: means for monitoring (805) cell rest indications for a multiple carrier configuration, wherein the cell rest indications are transmitted in a certain subframe and become valid in a certain number (430) of subframes after transmission to indicate cell rest for the next radio frame and wherein the multiple carrier configuration comprises a first carrier group (510) and a second carrier group (520 ), the first carrier group (510) being associated with a first base station (105-b) and including a primary carrier only or the primary carrier and a first set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers, and the second group of carrier (520) being associated with a second base station (105-c) and including a second set of secondary carriers including one or more secondary carriers; and means for determining (810), based on indications of cell rest, whether at least one secondary carrier of at least one of the first set of secondary carriers or second set of secondary carriers is at rest; means for determining (815) a channel state information, CSI, reporting configuration for the at least one secondary carrier based, at least in part, on determining that the at least one secondary carrier is at rest; and means for reporting (715) channel state information, CSI, based on channel measurements of the at least one secondary carrier recorded during at least a period of time when the at least one secondary carrier is not at rest. 15. Computer-readable memory, characterized by the fact that it comprises instructions, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 13.