JP6728263B2 - Discovery in communication systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to device discovery in communication systems.

A communication system is considered to be a facility capable of communicating between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices, access points (APs), such as base stations, relays, servers, etc. Communication systems and compatible communication entities are typically based on a given standard or specification that specifies what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how to achieve them. Operate. For example, standards, specifications, and associated protocols may specify how different devices should communicate with each other, how different communication perspectives should be implemented, and how devices should be configured. it can.

Signals are carried via wired or wireless carriers. Wireless communication systems include, for example, architectures standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Recent developments in this area are often referred to as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Radio Access Technology of Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS). Further development of communication systems is expected.

The communication device is provided with suitable signal receiving and transmitting structures that allow it to communicate with other devices. Communication devices are typically used that are capable of receiving and transmitting communications such as speech and data. A user may wirelessly access a communication system by means of a suitable wireless communication device or terminal, often referred to as a user equipment (UE). Other types of wireless communication devices are also known, such as various access points, relays, etc., capable of wirelessly communicating with other devices.

New services and communication architectures are emerging. For example, proximity-based applications and services have been proposed. The introduction of proximity service (ProSe) capabilities into systems such as LTE is used to enable proximity-based applications. Another example of a proximity service user is various public safety organizations.

One aspect of proximity services is the need for devices that can perform device-to-device communication (D2D) and discover each other. This is preferably done in a power efficient manner. The problem of discovery is not only related to D2D communication, but in addition to conventional access points to user equipment (AP2UE) links, tree types that include both direct D2D and access points to access point (AP2AP) links. It is also related to the more common scenarios in network topologies. An example of a possible topology for such a system is shown in FIG.

Therefore, the telecommunication system needs to support a discovery function that allows network nodes to discover each other directly. The prior art allows only a limited number of nodes/communication links. However, there is a need for a more general configuration accommodating any number of devices and various communication needs among multiple network nodes.

It should be noted that the problems described above are not limited to a particular communication environment and station device and may occur in any suitable device.

Therefore, the present invention is directed to addressing one or several of the above problems.

According to one embodiment, a method for controlling discovery of devices within a network of devices, the device in a network for specifying resources for discovery and communicating information between the devices accordingly. To at least two discovery patterns for the transmit and receive stages.

According to one embodiment, a method for discovering a device by a device in a network of devices, wherein the information is sent or received according to a dedicated discovery pattern of a transmit and receive phase assigned from a set of different discovery patterns. A method is provided that includes performing.

According to one embodiment, a device for controlling device discovery in a network of devices, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and a computer program being provided. The code, with at least one processor, specifies resources for discovery and, accordingly, at least two discovery patterns for the devices in the network to communicate information between the devices in a transmit and receive phase. An apparatus configured to provide a device is provided.

According to one embodiment, for a device of a device network, the device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being at least one. An apparatus is provided with one processor configured to send or receive information according to a dedicated discovery pattern of transmit and receive stages assigned from a set of different discovery patterns.

According to a more detailed embodiment, control of the sending and/or receiving stage of information is based on a grouping of discovery patterns. The first group pattern allows two-way communication of information between devices associated with the first group. The pattern of the second group enables one-way communication of information between the devices associated with the second group and the devices associated with the first group.

Each pattern has N parts for the transmit and receive stages, and the patterns are grouped based on the number k of parts of the pattern allocated for the transmit stage, with a small value of k. The device associated with the group having the same can receive information from the device associated with the group having a large value of k.

Grouping provides a hierarchy between different devices in the network.

Cell-specific discovery control is provided based on the pattern of transmit and receive stages assigned to devices with access points involved in discovery based on normal control types. The access point applies a particular discovery format and dedicated discovery pattern to other devices involved in the discovery.

Subframe data resources are used for discovery patterns.

When the devices are arranged in at least two different trees, reversing the polarity of the discovery patterns associated with the devices in at least one tree provides different discovery patterns to neighboring devices. The order of discovery patterns can be exchanged between adjacent devices.

Two sets of discovery patterns are used, the first set of patterns is for higher level coordination of motion between devices, and the second set of patterns implements part of the higher level coordination commands. It is for doing.

Computer programs are also provided that include program code means for performing the methods described herein. According to yet another embodiment, there is also provided an apparatus and/or computer program product that can be implemented on a computer-readable medium to carry out at least one of the above methods.

Devices such as base stations, relays or user devices are configured to operate according to various embodiments. A communication system for implementing the apparatus and inventive principles are also provided.

It will be apparent that certain features of one aspect can be combined with other features of another aspect.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system in which some embodiments may be implemented. 3 is a schematic diagram of a control device according to some embodiments. FIG. 6 is a flowchart according to one embodiment. Indicates different frame types. An example of a discovery pattern and its group organization is shown. The number of found patterns for different pattern lengths is shown. The number of bidirectional finding patterns available is shown as a function of pattern length. An example of different discovery scenarios is shown. An example of different discovery scenarios is shown. An example of tree inversion is shown.

In the following, some example embodiments will be described with reference to a wireless or mobile communication system servicing a mobile communication device. Before describing the exemplary embodiments in detail, reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2 to assist in understanding the underlying technology of the examples described herein, and to refer to the wireless communication system and its access. A few general principles of systems and communication devices are briefly described.

A non-limiting example of recent developments in communication system architecture is the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS), which is standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Other examples of radio access systems include those provided by base stations in systems based on technologies such as wireless local area networks (WLANs) and/or MiMax (World Wide Interoperability for Microwave Access). ..

In system 10, communication device 1 has wireless access to a wide range of communication systems via access point 2, eg, a base station or similar wireless transmitter and/or receiver node that provides wireless access for a user. Given. FIG. 1 also shows a device 3 acting as a relay node between the access point 2 and the user device 1. The communication device includes any suitable device capable of wirelessly communicating data. The communication device is typically controlled by at least one suitable controller device to operate it. The control device is typically provided with a memory capacity and at least one data processor. The control device and its functions are distributed among a plurality of control units.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a controller of a communication device for integrating with, coupling to, and/or controlling the access point or other device of FIG. 1, for example. The control device 20 is generally configured to perform control functions in connection with communications, and according to some embodiments described below, at least in connection with service discovery aspects. To this end, the control device comprises at least one memory 21, at least one data processing unit 22, 23 and an input/output interface 24. Via this interface, the control device is coupled to the device's receiver and transmitter. The control device is also configured to execute the appropriate software code to perform the control function.

In the example below, the different nodes forming the network 10 of FIG. 1 can discover each other directly through the air. These examples describe the use of specific discovery patterns and groups of discovery patterns applicable to nodes operating in frame-based systems. In addition to discovery on traditional access point-to-user equipment (AP2UE) links, support is also provided for other link types such as equipment-to-equipment (D2D) communication and wireless backhauling. Time division duplex (TDD) is considered a feasible solution for service discovery for half-duplex nodes. D2D and discovery also use TDD technology in the case of FDD (frequency division duplex). Assume a scenario where nodes cannot transmit and receive at the same time in the spectrum. Therefore, the following examples focus on half-duplex technology.

The pattern described here is used for generic two-way communication in which all nodes can hear each other. The proposed configuration supports network topologies, for example, from higher hierarchy levels to lower hierarchy levels, including network elements of different hierarchy that require unidirectional discovery functionality in the network. You can

Discovery patterns are built on top of frame-based communication constructs. It is assumed that the network nodes are synchronized with each other.

The flowchart of FIG. 3 uses a particular discovery pattern or Tx/Rx pattern to allow, for example, network nodes or devices configured to form a tree topology to discover each other directly through the air. The general operating principle is shown below. The discovery of devices in a device network is controlled by providing different discovery patterns at the transmit and receive stages for different devices in the network to send and receive discovery information between devices (see block 32). Prior to assigning discovery patterns, discovery resources (eg, frequency/time/code) are obtained at 30.

Also, the network entity responsible for assigning discovery patterns controls resource reservation/designation for devices that are part of discovery. For example, in the case of D2D, a suitable control network entity includes the eNB or another access point in control of the discovery pattern assignment. In general, control is logically provided by network nodes at the highest hierarchical level in a geographic area.

The discovery pattern is delivered at 32 to the device in the network.

Based on certain possibilities, discovery patterns are pre-generated and specified in the specification. The eNB/AP manages the use of discovery patterns based on its specifications. The distribution of available discovery patterns is based on, for example, a table in the specification listing available discovery patterns. There is also a predetermined pattern index for each pattern.

This specification defines discovery patterns that correspond to at least one group of patterns, or more generally to groups of patterns.

The use/management of the discovery pattern is performed in the same manner as the reference signal use in LTE. One solution is to use a dedicated, eg higher layer signaling, eg Radio Resource Control (RRC) or Medium Access Control (MAC), for a node in the network to discover patterns or index of patterns. Is to specify. Also, the specification of discovery patterns can be automated and can be derived from pre-defined parameters (eg UE-ID) and pre-defined criteria (eg node type). The allocation of discovery resources (frequency/time/code) is part of the broadcast system information or beacon signaling. Alternatively, they are carried to the UE using dedicated signaling.

At 34, the device can use the pattern for discovery of other devices in the network. This involves sending or receiving information using predetermined discovery resources based on dedicated discovery patterns of the transmit and receive phases assigned from a set of different discovery patterns.

The use of transmit and receive stages for device discovery is based on arranging discovery patterns in different groups. The pattern of the first group is used to enable bidirectional communication of information between the devices assigned to the first group, and the pattern of the second group is the device assigned to the second group and It is used to enable one-way communication of information with the devices assigned to the first group. A more detailed example of using groups is described below.

Specific Tx/Rx patterns and groups of such patterns are desirable communications to network nodes configured to form, for example, mesh, D2D or self-backhauling networks using half-duplex TDD techniques. Defined to allow composition.

An example of a possible frame format for communication in the system of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. For simplicity, the subframe of FIG. 4 does not show guard periods (GP) between different subframe parts. However, in any case it is assumed that there is a GP when switching between the transmitting phase (Tx) and the receiving phase (Rx). The guard period allows different control frame types to be flexibly assigned to consecutive subframes.

In conventional network topologies, nodes are divided between different types. In this example, two types A (access point; AP) and B (user equipment; UE) are considered. Conventional communication is possible between A and B (AB), not AA (AP2AP) or BB (UE2UE), but the latter is now possible. The corresponding control frame format is shown in FIG. 4 as format a/b in AB and format c/d in AA and BB, respectively.

The data portion 44 of subframe 40 is used for either transmission or reception. Two Tx/Rx portions 42, 43 are available in the control portion 41 of each TDD subframe 40. This means that in the conventional configuration, a single subframe does not allow mutual communication between three or more types of nodes. Since there are more than two Tx/Rx parts to use for the discovery pattern, grouping multiple frames together allows more nodes in the system. These do not necessarily have to be contiguous and can be dispersed in time over multiple subframes.

According to one example, the control frame format shown in FIG. 4 is modified over time in a coordinated and predefined manner to facilitate a seamless control connection between all network nodes in the system. It also describes the framework of how to design such patterns and how to assign them to different network nodes.

The Tx/Rx pattern in the group can be defined based on the length of the pattern. The length of the pattern is represented by N in this case. The pattern length N means that there are N portions available for the transmission (Tx) and reception (Rx) stages. The patterns are grouped into k+1 groups. Group k comprises a pattern with k Tx parts. Since the pattern consists of a total of N parts, the number of different patterns available for group k is defined as:
The total number M of available patterns is calculated as follows.

Different characteristics can be defined for the pattern. According to one characteristic, all the patterns of group k enable the nodes associated with that group to communicate with each other in both directions. This feature of discovery pattern design can be used to ensure bidirectional communication among all patterns of a group. According to another characteristic feature, if k1<k2, all patterns of group k1 enable reception of information from all patterns of group k2. That is, the pattern of group k1 enables one-way communication with the nodes controlled by the pattern of group k2. This feature can be used to provide a hierarchical configuration of different groups of patterns.

To further illustrate the first feature, consider two different discovery patterns P1 and P2. Both patterns have k Tx parts. Since the patterns are different, the Tx portions cannot completely overlap, and there is at least one Tx portion at a position of P2 where the pattern P1 has an Rx portion. Therefore, at that location, the node using P1 can receive the information sent by the node using P2. For reasons of symmetry, there is also at least one other position where P1 has a Tx portion and P2 has an Rx portion. In this position, the node using P2 can receive the information sent by the node using P1.

To demonstrate the second feature, consider two different discovery patterns, P1 with k1 Tx parts and P2 with k2 Tx parts. Since k2>k1, P2 has more Tx parts, so that there is at least one Tx part at a position of P2 where the pattern P1 has no Tx part but an Rx part. Therefore, at that location, the node using P1 can receive the information sent by the node using P2.

Discovery patterns and groups of discovery patterns are defined by the standard or are otherwise agreed in advance. Certain discovery patterns are excluded from the group of accepted patterns by predefined criteria, eg, latency-related criteria associated with discovery. This is done, for example, by applying a limit to the number of consecutive Tx/Rx stages for the accepted discovery pattern. Therefore, patterns with a predetermined number or more of consecutive Tx or Rx indications are excluded from the set of accepted discovery patterns.

An example of a group of discovery patterns of length N=4 is shown in FIG. In this figure, the transmit (Tx) stage is represented by "1" and the receive (Rx) stage is represented by "0". A total of 2 ⁴ =16 Tx/Rx patterns are available. These patterns are grouped by the number k of Tx stages. The number of patterns for different groups calculated using equation (1) gives [1,4,6,4,1] patterns for group k.

It should be noted that all nodes that are part of the same group can communicate with each other because they can use a bidirectional communication link for all nodes using different patterns of the same group. Note that there is only one node in groups k=0 and k=4.

The group organization forms k hierarchical pattern groups. Bi-directional communication links can be provided between all nodes of a group using different patterns assigned to the group. In the hierarchy discovery reception (“0”; first unidirectional link) between different groups, the node of group k=0 listens to all patterns, and the node of group k=1 recognizes group k=1-4. Listen to all nodes, nodes in group k=2 listen to all nodes in group k=2-4, and nodes in group k=3 listen to all nodes in groups k=3 and k=4 It is provided so that it can.

In the hierarchical discovery transmission (“1”) corresponding to the second unidirectional link, all nodes hear the pattern of group k=4, and the nodes of group k=0-3 pattern of group k=3. , The nodes of group k=0-2 hear the pattern of group k=2, and the nodes of groups k=0 and k=1 can hear the pattern of group k=1.

Groups can be utilized in various ways. If bidirectional communication is required, all nodes need to be selected from the same group. A solution of this kind may be feasible, for example, when configuring the communication pattern for a predetermined or capped number of user equipments (UEs) configured to form a D2D communication network. .. It is also possible to use hierarchical groups of discovery patterns to provide hierarchical control. For example, a node at a higher hierarchy level needs to control a node at a lower hierarchy level. This is feasible if the patterns are assigned to higher hierarchy nodes from the same group or from higher groups than lower hierarchy nodes. For example, relays and terminals may be assigned to hierarchical groups in decreasing order to indicate access points.

The length of the pattern and the number of network nodes configured to support bi-directional communication using the pattern are linked. That is, the number of nodes supported depends on the length of the pattern that needs to be selected based on the maximum number of network nodes. On the other hand, the longer the pattern, the greater the latency associated with the discovery process. Below, we consider the problem of defining an appropriate pattern length.

FIG. 6 shows the number of discovery patterns available for different groups, N varying between 2 and 8. The number of patterns for each N value was calculated using equation (1). It is readily apparent that the number of patterns (N=4) shown in FIG. 5 is in accordance with the calculations shown in FIG.

If full two-way communication is required, the discovery pattern for all nodes will be selected from the same group. The group with the maximum number of patterns for a given length N is the group with k=N/2. (K can be rounded up or down if N is an odd value).

The maximum number of bidirectional discovery patterns available corresponding to the largest group of patterns is shown in FIG. This figure shows that the number of found patterns increases exponentially with the pattern length. A dedicated discovery pattern can be given to each communication node that requests bidirectional communication. Supporting a reasonable number of nodes can give a reasonable length of discovery pattern. For example, a pattern length of 15 Tx/Rx steps can support as much as 6435 patterns/node.

Hereinafter, two normative use cases of the discovery pattern will be described based on the frame structure shown in FIG. 4 and the pattern (k=2) shown in FIG. These make a total of 6 bidirectional patterns available with N=4.

An example of using the proposed discovery configuration for D2D communication using a cell-specific control part is shown in FIG. In this case, the access point (AP) 60 is part of the discovery procedure. The group 61 can include up to five UEs 62. Each UE is provided with a dedicated pattern in the discovery process (N=4). In this example, the exchange of discovery messages is limited to the control portion of the frame, which is indicated at 65 in FIG.

This construction is performed by using the procedure in which groups of bidirectional patterns are first generated. The control part of each frame is used for discovery. AP is set to occupy pattern type a (Tx/Rx, see FIG. 4). Using this pattern does not affect non-D2D UEs. The remaining patterns of the group are assigned to different D2D UEs. A dedicated pattern can be assigned to each D2D UE. The discovery UE is configured to apply a particular discovery format, for example on a periodic basis. Otherwise they follow the normal control type b. This procedure allows the D2D UE 62 to perform bidirectional communication, while non-D2D communication by the UE 64 remains unaffected.

Based on the discovery pattern, a D2D UE does not receive DL control signaling from AP 60 during a subframe. Also, some UEs cannot send UL control signaling towards the AP during certain subframes. These constraints can be taken into account by proper system design. Such designs include, for example, support for data scheduling across multiple subframes, and hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) bundling across multiple subframes.

Another example of using the proposed discovery configuration for D2D communication is shown in FIG. This configuration utilizes dedicated data resources for D2D discovery. In this example, the AP 60 is not part of the discovery procedure, so there are up to 6 UEs 62 with dedicated patterns in the discovery process (N=4). In this example, the discovery is performed based on a procedure in which groups of bidirectional patterns are first generated and the control portion 66 of the frame remains unchanged. Rather, some data (Tx/Rx) resources are allocated as discovery resources 67 to the D2D UE. This allocation is performed in a certain cycle, for example. Then, a dedicated discovery pattern is assigned to the D2D UE 62. In the procedure shown in FIG. 9, D2D UEs can perform bidirectional communication, while all UEs maintain the ability to communicate with APs.

The D2D UE 62 of FIG. 9 cannot send/receive UL/DL data to/from the AP during the discovery period. This can be taken into account by proper system design. Such designs include, for example, scheduler constraints by the AP and/or UE and shortening of the data portion.

In the following, consider some examples for communicating between communication trees. In multi-hop communication, all communication links from AP to relay to final UE are displayed as a tree. This is not the case for mesh structures where loops also exist. In FIG. 10, two trees are shown as tree 1 and tree 2. Each tree has different nodes, these are shown as nodes A and B. Two different patterns in the control structure, "TX, RX" and "RX, TX", are sufficient to allow communication between different adjacent nodes of each tree. However, communication between nodes in different trees is not possible for all different nodes. That is, some nodes can communicate between the trees as shown by the solid line, but other nodes cannot communicate as shown by the chain line. Note that, for clarity, not all possible communication lines are shown.

The polarity of one tree can be reversed to allow communication between nodes of the same type (A or B) in different trees. In other words, the positions of Rx and Tx are exchanged between the nodes. This is shown in a dashed version of Tree 2 to the right of Tree 2. Links that did not work with Tree 2 will work with the inverted version shown in dashed lines. This is because the communication is performed between different types (AB, BA). Communication between neighboring nodes in an inverted tree can be done as with a non-inverted tree, ie this solution does not degrade the performance of the communication in that tree.

For multiple trees, each tree must reverse its polarity in a different pattern. Considering a pattern of length N, we get 2 ^N different patterns corresponding to the binary notation from 0 to N-1.

Within the tree, the discovery patterns described above can be used to communicate between similar nodes. Therefore, if there is a tree with n nodes, n1 is represented by A and n2 is represented by B, n=n1+n2, n patterns are not needed, only n1 is different It suffices that there be n2 for each of the displayed nodes. This allows the use of short discovery patterns. It can be used in such a way that it does not significantly affect the possibility of "normal" or more frequent communication. This is because it is possible to avoid reassignment of the discovery pattern when the pattern is shortened.

According to an example, it is possible to provide a normative pattern that uses only the instructions "TX, RX" and "RX, TX" as the basic pattern. When only these patterns are used, it is sufficient to have one subframe in which the two nodes use the "TX, RX" or "RX, TX" indications in different orders, for example to allow two-way communication simultaneously. Is. If the length of the pattern is N (N pairs) positions, then a total of 2 ^N possible patterns are used. This is because the two patterns will be different in at least one position.

When the order of the "TX, RX" instructions is changed, the normal operation of communication with the adjacent node is prohibited in a certain state. To mitigate this effect, the pattern is modified in a synchronized manner with the adjacent nodes. If a node and its neighbor node(s) exchange order, communication between those neighbor nodes is still possible. Therefore, the same pattern or a slightly different pattern can be assigned to adjacent nodes. Neighboring nodes can communicate directly with each other regardless of the use of discovery patterns.

According to yet another example, only a limited number of cuts are provided in the tree. This is done, for example, by cutting the tree into two subtrees. The polarity of one subtree allows communication between all nodes of the two subtrees, either when the subtrees are flipped or during normal configuration, as shown for inter-tree communication. However, each connection between the nodes needs to be cut once to allow each node to communicate with each other node at least once. Therefore, it is preferable to cut more subtrees at the same time in order not to generate too long a cycle.

The following examples relate to the reconstruction of patterns and/or the use of two patterns. In general, two conflicting requirements can be seen in the pattern to be specified for a node. Certain patterns allow communication of multiple nodes, which inherently lengthens the pattern. At the same time, the pattern must be shortened to enable short delay communication between nodes. Two sets of patterns can be provided to address these needs. Long patterns allow coordination among multiple nodes, while short patterns are provided for such coordination where short-term coordination between nodes provides optimal resource usage. The first pattern is used to negotiate which node is allowed to communicate based on a short pattern. Short patterns allow only a subset of long pattern communications. Determining the best subset for use depends, for example, on instantaneous device distribution and load conditions. Therefore, it needs to be renegotiated over time. The two patterns can be used alternately, or interleaved. These patterns can operate on separate non-overlapping resources.

The above example illustrates a framework that enables communication between, for example, half-duplex network nodes (TDDs) configured to operate as part of a mesh/D2D/self backhaul network. The above principles are applied as a device-to-device discovery solution in, for example, Beyond 4G (B4G) wireless systems and/or LTE Release 12 and later versions. A general framework is provided for the top communication configuration of a half-duplex TDD node configured for a mesh/D2D/self backhaul network. The pattern is easy to generate. The design is very scalable with respect to the number of patterns and the length of the patterns. Patterns from different groups are assigned to different types of nodes that meet their needs.

The information communicated between the devices based on the discovery pattern is discovery information. However, other types of information can also be communicated based on the pattern. For example, the pattern can be used for distributed synchronization between half-duplex TDD nodes. For example, in order to deal with the fact that all nodes can perform bidirectional sounding on the sync signal, a pseudo random selection of Tx/Rx stages can be performed on the sync signal based on a predetermined pattern. Note also that the term "discovery" covers a given Tx/Rx stage decision defined for a half-duplex Tx node that cannot receive and transmit at the same time.

The patterns proposed here are for example facilitating distributed interference coordination (coordination is not only strictly speaking between "cells" but also between sets of transmitters, which may be access points, UEs or relays). , Etc.), or anywhere other than a proximity-based application for carrying different control information between network nodes, to allow the node to discover other nodes.

It should be noted that while the above embodiments have been described with reference to LTE, similar principles can be applied to other communication systems, or indeed further developments associated with LTE. Therefore, although some embodiments have been described above by way of example with reference to some normative architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, those embodiments may be other than those disclosed herein. Could be applied to any suitable form of communication system.

The required data processing equipment and functionality of any communication device is provided by one or more data processors. The functionality described herein at each end may be provided by a separate processor or an integrated processor. The data processor may be in any form suitable for the local technical environment, and by way of non-limiting example, general purpose computer, special purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), multicore. It includes one or more of a gate level circuit and a processor based on the processor architecture. Data processing is distributed across multiple data processing modules. The data processor is formed by, for example, at least one chip. Also, appropriate memory capacity is provided for the associated device. The memory(s) may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, It is implemented using fixed memory and removable memory.

In general, the various embodiments are implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or combinations thereof. While certain aspects of the invention are implemented in hardware, other aspects are implemented in firmware or software executed by a computer, microprocessor, or other computing device, the invention is not limited thereto. Not done. Although various aspects of the invention are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using other pictorial representations, these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein are not limiting. It should also be understood that by way of example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuitry or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers, or other computing devices or combinations thereof may be implemented. The software may be a physical medium such as a memory chip, or a memory block implemented in a processor, a magnetic medium such as a hard disk or a floppy disk, and for example a DVD and its data variants, a CD. Stored on an optical medium.

Above, various examples of means for implementing the functions have been shown. It should be noted, however, that these examples are not exhaustive of the means by which the principles of the invention described herein may be employed.

The above description provides a complete information description of the normative embodiments of the invention by way of normative, non-limiting example. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate various modifications and applications in the art when the above description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of the present invention are still included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Indeed, further embodiments are conceivable, which consist of a combination of one or more of the other embodiments described above.

1: Communication device 2: Access point 3: Relay node 10: System 20: Control device 21: Memory 22 and 23: Data processing unit 24: Input/output interface 40: Subframe 41: Control part 44: Data part 60: Access Point (AP)
61: Group 62, 64: UE

Claims (15)

In a method for discovering a device by a device in a network of devices,
Transmitting or receiving information according to a dedicated discovery pattern of the transmit and receive stages assigned from a set of different discovery patterns, the plurality of discovery patterns being any number of the devices for communication of information between the devices. Accepts the
And the dedicated discovery pattern is configured to use a predetermined discovery resource . Method according to claim 1, wherein the control of the sending and/or receiving stage of information is based on the grouping of discovery patterns. The method of claim 2, wherein the first group of patterns enables two-way communication of information between devices associated with the first group. The method of claim 3, wherein the pattern of the second group enables one-way communication of information between a device associated with the second group and a device associated with the first group. Each pattern has N parts for transmitting and receiving stages, said patterns being grouped based on the number k of parts of the pattern assigned to the transmitting stage, N representing the pattern length, The method of claim 2, wherein a device associated with a group with a low value of k can receive information from all devices associated with a group with a high value of k, where k comprises the number of said groups. Corresponds to a group with k transmission stages from the available patterns
Excluding at least one of the two bidirectional patterns,! The method of claim 5, wherein is a factorial. The method of claim 2 including providing hierarchy between different devices in the network by grouping. Provides cell-specific discovery control based on the pattern of transmit and receive stages assigned to the device including the access point involved in discovery according to normal control types, and discovery format and dedicated discovery to other devices involved in discovery The method of claim 1, comprising applying a pattern. The method of claim 1, comprising using subframe data resources for discovery patterns. The method of claim 1, comprising the periodic use of discovery patterns. The method of claim 1, comprising providing a different discovery pattern for neighboring devices by reversing the polarity of discovery patterns associated with devices in at least one tree when the device is configured with at least two different trees. the method of. The method of claim 1, comprising exchanging the order of discovery patterns between neighboring devices. Including two sets of discovery patterns for the network, the first set of patterns is for high-level coordination of operations between devices, and the second set of patterns is part of the high-level coordination commands. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is for performing. In a device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code for a device of a device network, the at least one memory and the computer program code being a set of at least one processor. Transmitting or receiving information according to the dedicated discovery patterns of the transmitting and receiving stages assigned from the different discovery patterns of the plurality of discovery patterns, wherein the plurality of discovery patterns enable any number of the devices to communicate information between the devices. An apparatus configured to accept and the dedicated discovery pattern configured to use a predetermined discovery resource . A node comprising the device according to claim 14 .