WO2013055337A1

WO2013055337A1 - Transmission during guard periods

Info

Publication number: WO2013055337A1
Application number: PCT/US2011/056047
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ming Yang; Tom Chin; Qingxin Chen; Guangming Shi
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2011-10-12
Filing date: 2011-10-12
Publication date: 2013-04-18

Abstract

In Time-Division Duplexed (TDD) communications, guard periods may be used for communication to increase communication throughput. Specifically, guard periods in time slots which precede time slots in the same communication direction (such as uplink or downlink) may be used. Guard periods in time slots which do not precede a time slot in the same communication direction may be preserved to protect communication integrity.

Description

TRANSMISSION DURING GUARD PERIODS

BACKGROUND

Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a method of improving throughput in wireless communications.

Background

[0002] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD- SCDMA). For example, China is pursuing TD-SCDMA as the underlying air interface in the UTRAN architecture with its existing GSM infrastructure as the core network. The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks. HSPA is a collection of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), that extends and improves the performance of existing wideband protocols.

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

[0004] FIGURE 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a telecommunications system.

[0005] FIGURE 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a node B in communication with a UE in a telecommunications system.

[0006] FIGURE 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a frame structure in a telecommunications system.

[0007] FIGURE 4 shows a call flow between a user equipment and a network according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIGURE 5 shows a call flow between a user equipment and a network according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIGURE 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIGURE 7 is a block diagram illustrating components to implement one aspect of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

[0011] Offered is a method of wireless communication. The method includes indicating, from a user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment. The method also includes receiving an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot. The method further includes communicating with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

[0012] Offered is a user equipment (UE) configured for wireless communication. The user equipment includes means for indicating, from the user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment. The user equipment also includes means for receiving an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot. The user equipment further includes means for communicating with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

[0013] Offered is a computer program product including a non-transitory computer- readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The program code includes program code to indicate, from a user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment. The program code also includes program code to receive an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot. The program code further includes program code to communicate with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

[0014] Offered is a user equipment configured for wireless communication. The user equipment includes a processor(s) and a memory coupled to the processor(s). The processor(s) is configured to indicate, from a user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment. The processor(s) is also configured to receive an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot. The processor(s) is further configured to communicate with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

[0015] This has outlined, rather broadly, the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described below. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the teachings of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features, which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

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

[0018] The geographic region covered by the RNS 107 may be divided into a number of cells, with a radio transceiver apparatus serving each cell. A radio transceiver apparatus is commonly referred to as a node B in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), or some other suitable terminology. For clarity, two node Bs 108 are shown; however, the RNS 107 may include any number of wireless node Bs. The node Bs 108 provide wireless access points to a core network 104 for any number of mobile apparatuses. Examples of a mobile apparatus include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, or any other similar functioning device. The mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. For illustrative purposes, three UEs 110 are shown in communication with the node Bs 108. The downlink (DL), also called the forward link, refers to the communication link from a node B to a UE, and the uplink (UL), also called the reverse link, refers to the communication link from a UE to a node B.

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

[0020] In this example, the core network 104 supports circuit-switched services with a mobile switching center (MSC) 112 and a gateway MSC (GMSC) 1 14. One or more RNCs, such as the RNC 106, may be connected to the MSC 112. The MSC 112 is an apparatus that controls call setup, call routing, and UE mobility functions. The MSC 1 12 also includes a visitor location register (VLR) (not shown) that contains subscriber- related information for the duration that a UE is in the coverage area of the MSC 112. The GMSC 1 14 provides a gateway through the MSC 112 for the UE to access a circuit- switched network 116. The GMSC 1 14 includes a home location register (HLR) (not shown) containing subscriber data, such as the data reflecting the details of the services to which a particular user has subscribed. The HLR is also associated with an authentication center (AuC) that contains subscriber-specific authentication data. When a call is received for a particular UE, the GMSC 1 14 queries the HLR to determine the UE's location and forwards the call to the particular MSC serving that location.

[0021] The core network 104 also supports packet-data services with a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 118 and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 120. GPRS, which stands for General Packet Radio Service, is designed to provide packet-data services at speeds higher than those available with standard GSM circuit-switched data services. The GGSN 120 provides a connection for the RAN 102 to a packet-based network 122. The packet-based network 122 may be the Internet, a private data network, or some other suitable packet-based network. The primary function of the GGSN 120 is to provide the UEs 1 10 with packet-based network connectivity. Data packets are transferred between the GGSN 120 and the UEs 1 10 through the SGSN 118, which performs primarily the same functions in the packet-based domain as the MSC 1 12 performs in the circuit-switched domain.

[0022] The UMTS air interface is a spread spectrum Direct-Sequence Code Division

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

[0023] FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a node B 210 in communication with a UE 250 in a RAN 200, where the RAN 200 may be the RAN 102 in FIGURE 1, the node B 210 may be the node B 108 in FIGURE 1, and the UE 250 may be the UE 1 10 in FIGURE 1. In the downlink communication, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 and control signals from a controller/processor 240. The transmit processor 220 provides various signal processing functions for the data and control signals, as well as reference signals (e.g., pilot signals). For example, the transmit processor 220 may provide cyclic redundancy check (CRC) codes for error detection, coding and interleaving to facilitate forward error correction (FEC), mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M- quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM), and the like), spreading with orthogonal variable spreading factors (OVSF), and multiplying with scrambling codes to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates from a channel processor 244 may be used by a controller/processor 240 to determine the coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes for the transmit processor 220. These channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal transmitted by the UE 250 or from feedback contained in the midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) from the UE 250. The symbols generated by the transmit processor 220 are provided to a transmit frame processor 230 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 230 creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble 214 (FIGURE 2) from the controller/processor 240, resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter 232, which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplifying, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for downlink transmission over the wireless medium through smart antennas 234. The smart antennas 234 may be implemented with beam steering bidirectional adaptive antenna arrays or other similar beam technologies.

[0024] At the UE 250, a receiver 254 receives the downlink transmission through an antenna 252 and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver 254 is provided to a receive frame processor 260, which parses each frame, and provides the midamble 314 (FIGURE 3) to a channel processor 294 and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor 270. The receive processor 270 then performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor 220 in the node B 210. More specifically, the receive processor 270 descrambles and despreads the symbols, and then determines the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the node B 210 based on the modulation scheme. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel processor 294. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data, control, and reference signals. The CRC codes are then checked to determine whether the frames were successfully decoded. The data carried by the successfully decoded frames will then be provided to a data sink 272, which represents applications running in the UE 250 and/or various user interfaces (e.g., display). Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor 290. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor 270, the controller/processor 290 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames.

[0025] In the uplink, data from a data source 278 and control signals from the controller/processor 290 are provided to a transmit processor 280. The data source 278 may represent applications running in the UE 250 and various user interfaces (e.g., keyboard). Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the node B 210, the transmit processor 280 provides various signal processing functions including CRC codes, coding and interleaving to facilitate FEC, mapping to signal constellations, spreading with OVSFs, and scrambling to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates, derived by the channel processor 294 from a reference signal transmitted by the node B 210 or from feedback contained in the midamble transmitted by the node B 210, may be used to select the appropriate coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes. The symbols produced by the transmit processor 280 will be provided to a transmit frame processor 282 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 282 creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble 314 (FIGURE 3) from the controller/processor 290, resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter 256, which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplification, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for uplink transmission over the wireless medium through the antenna 252.

[0026] The uplink transmission is processed at the node B 210 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 250. A receiver 235 receives the uplink transmission through the antenna 234 and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver 235 is provided to a receive frame processor 236, which parses each frame, and provides the midamble 314 (FIGURE 3) to the channel processor 244 and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor 238. The receive processor 238 performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor 280 in the UE 250. The data and control signals carried by the successfully decoded frames may then be provided to a data sink 239 and the controller/processor, respectively. If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receive processor, the controller/processor 240 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement ( ACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames.

[0027] The controller/processors 240 and 290 may be used to direct the operation at the node B 210 and the UE 250, respectively. For example, the controller/processors 240 and 290 may provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. The computer readable media of memories 242 and 292 may store data and software for the node B 210 and the UE 250, respectively. For example, the memory 292 of the UE 250 may store a gap period communication module 291 which, when executed by the controller/processor 290, communicates with a base station regarding communication during gap periods and coordinates such communication. As another example, the memory 242 of the node B 210 may store a gap period communication module 243 which, when executed by the controller/processor 240, communicates with a UE regarding communication during gap periods and coordinates such communication. A scheduler/processor 246 at the node B 210 may be used to allocate resources to the UEs and schedule downlink and/or uplink transmissions for the UEs.

[0028] FIGURE 3 shows a frame structure 300 for a TD-SCDMA carrier. The TD-

SCDMA carrier, as illustrated, has a frame 302 that is 10 ms in length. The frame 302 has two 5 ms subframes 304, and each of the subframes 304 includes seven time slots, TS0 through TS6. The length for each time slot is 864 chips. The first time slot, TS0, is usually allocated for downlink communication, while the second time slot, TS1, is usually allocated for uplink communication. The remaining time slots, TS2 through TS6, may be used for either uplink or downlink, which allows for greater flexibility during times of higher data transmission times in either the uplink or downlink directions. In the example illustrated, time slots TS 1-TS2 are allocated for uplink and time slots TS3-TS6 are allocated for downlink. Other uplink/downlink configurations for a TD-SCDMA frame are also possible. A downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS) 306, a guard period (GP) 308, and an uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS) 310 (also known as the uplink pilot channel (UpPCH)) are located between time slots TS0 and TS1. The DwPTS 406 and guard period 408 are 96 chips long. The UpPTS 410 is 160 chips long. Each time slot, TS0-TS6, may allow data transmission multiplexed on a maximum of 16 code channels. Data transmission on a code channel includes two data portions 312 separated by a midamble 314 and followed by a guard period (GP) 316. The data portions 312 are 352 chips long. The midamble 314 is 144 chips long. The guard period 316 is 16 chips long. The midamble 314 may be used for features, such as channel estimation, while the GP 316 may be used to avoid inter-burst interference. The chip rate in TD-SCDMA is 1.28 Mcps.

[0029] Guard periods are configured into time slots to allow communications to switch from uplink to downlink (or from downlink to uplink) without loss of data. In typical TD-SCDMA deployments, two time slots are for uplink and five timeslots are for downlink. In such a configuration the 16 chip long guard period 316 is typically configured for each time slot, regardless of whether the guard period exists at a point where communications switch from uplink to downlink, or from downlink to uplink. Having a guard period in every time slot is a waste of resources that may otherwise be used for communication.

[0030] Proposed is a communication method where data communications during a guard period are allowed when the guard period is not used to protect between a transition from uplink to downlink communications or from downlink to uplink communications. In particular, using the example of a configuration where two time slots are for uplink and five timeslots are for downlink (2 UL / 5 DL), the guard periods for uplink time slot 1 may be for data transmission (because the next time slot, time slot 2, is also uplink) and the guard periods in downlink time slots 3, 4, 5, and 6 may also be for data transmission (because they each precede another downlink time slot, time slot 6 coming before time slot 0, another downlink time slot). In other uplink / downlink configurations, different time slot guard periods may be used for communication. In the 2 UL / 5 DL configuration, allowing communication during the described guard periods may increase throughput by 12.8 kbps on the downlink.

[0031] When a UE has only been allocated one time slot for communication, guard period communication during that time slot may not necessarily be configured (even if that time slot is one during which guard period communication may otherwise be permitted, for example, time slot 3 in the described 2 UL / 5 DL configuration). The guard period of such single time slot communications may be preserved to prevent collision between communications of the UE with communications of other UEs. Other situations may also prevent guard period communications, such as legacy UEs not having the capability to communicate during guard periods.

[0032] To ensure proper UE configuration and proper coordination between the network and a UE, guard period communication may be implemented following communication between a UE and the network where the UE indicates its capability of communicating during guard periods. For example, during call setup, a UE may inform the network of the UE's capability of flexible guard period communication for multiple consecutive time slot allocation. The network may then configure guard period communications according to the UE's capability. After call setup, specified guard periods may then be used for data transmission/reception. As UE communications may be determined by a network, a UE may not be allocated multiple consecutive time slots in which to communicate.

[0033] FIGURE 4 shows a sample call flow between a UE and network to configure guard period communications. A UE 402 sends a Call Setup Request message at time 406 to a network 404. The network 404 responds to the UE 402 with a Call Setup message at time 408. The UE 402 sends a Call Setup Complete message at time 410 to the network 404. In the Call Setup Complete message the UE 402 indicates to the network 404 the UE's ability to communicate using guard periods. Data transmission at time 412 then occurs between the network 404 and the UE 402. If, as shown at time 414, the UE is configured for communication only on a single time slot, with no adjacent time slot in the same direction (i.e., two uplink or two downlink time slots together), the guard periods are not used for transmissions (Tx) or receptions (Rx), as shown at time 416. If, as shown at time 418, the UE is reconfigured for communication on multiple adjacent time slots in the same direction, communication during the guard period may resume at time 420.

[0034] Guard period communications may be configured flexibly depending on the time slots used by the UE for communication. For example, if the UE has only one time slot available for uplink communications but has multiple adjacent time slots for downlink communications, guard period communications may only be enabled for the UE for downlink guard periods. Or, if the UE has only one time slot available for downlink communications but has multiple adjacent time slots for uplink communications, guard period communications may only be enabled for the UE for uplink guard periods.

[0035] For operation in TD-SCDMA High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) systems, three physical channels may be enabled for use with flexible gap period communications:

• HS-PDSCH: the High-Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel, which carries user data bursts,

• HS-SCCH: High-Speed Shared Control Channel, which carries information such as: modulation, channelization code, and time slots information for the data bursts in the HS-PDSCH, and

• HS-SICH: High-Speed Shared Information Channel, which carries information such as: channel quality index, recommended transport block size, recommended modulation format, and HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) ACK/NACK of the HS-PDSCH transmission.

[0036] FIGURE 5 shows a sample call flow between a UE and network to configure guard period communications in HSDPA operation. A UE 502 sends a Call Setup Request message at time 506 to a network 504. The network 504 responds to the UE 502 with a Call Setup message at time 508. The UE 502 sends a Call Setup Complete message at time 510 to the network 504. In the Call Setup Complete message, the UE 502 indicates to the network 504 the UE's ability to communicate using guard periods. Data transmission at time 512 then occurs between the network 504 and the UE 502. If, as shown at time 514, the HS-SCCH indicates that UE is configured by the network to communicate on multiple adjacent time slots in the same direction, guard periods in the HS-PDSCH may be used for data communications, as shown at time 516. The UE 502 then sends a corresponding HS-SICH communication at time 518 to the network 504. If, as shown at time 520, the HS-SCCH indicates the UE is configured by the network for communication on only a single time slot (or on multiple, but non-adjacent time slots in the same direction), the guard periods in the HS-PDSCH may not be used for data communications, as shown at time 522. The UE 502 then sends a corresponding HS-SICH communication at time 524 to the network 504.

[0037] As shown in FIGURE 6 a UE may indicate, from the user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment, as shown in block 602. The UE may receive an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot, as shown in block 604. The UE may communicate with the serving base station during at least one guard period, as shown in block 604.

[0038] In one configuration, the apparatus, for example the UE 250, for wireless communication includes means for indicating, means for receiving an instruction, and means for communicating. In one aspect, the aforementioned means may include the controller/processor 290, memory 292, gap period communication module 291, receive processor 270, transmit processor 280, receiver 254, transmitter 256, and/or antenna 252 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a module or any apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. In one aspect the apparatus may be a base station and may perform corresponding means using comparable modules.

[0039] FIGURE 7 shows a design of an apparatus 700 for a UE, such as the UE 250 of

FIGURE 2. The apparatus 700 includes a module 702 to indicate, from the user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment. The apparatus 700 also includes a module 704 to receive an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot. The apparatus 700 also includes a module 706 to communicate with the serving base station during at least one guard period. The modules in FIGURE 7 may be processors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronics components, logical circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0040] Several aspects of a telecommunications system has been presented with reference to TD-SCDMA and TDD-LTE systems. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards. By way of example, various aspects may be extended to other UMTS systems such as W-CDMA, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) and TD-CDMA. Various aspects may also be extended to systems employing FDD Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra- Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0041] Several processors have been described in connection with various apparatuses and methods. These processors may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such processors are implemented as hardware or software will depend upon the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the system. By way of example, a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable processing components configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. The functionality of a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with software being executed by a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, or other suitable platform.

[0042] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium may include, by way of example, memory such as a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or a removable disk. Although memory is shown separate from the processors in the various aspects presented throughout this disclosure, the memory may be internal to the processors (e.g., cache or register).

[0043] Computer-readable media may be embodied in a computer-program product. By way of example, a computer-program product may include a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0044] It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein. [0045] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at least one of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of: a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase "step for."

[0046] WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

indicating, from a user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment;

receiving an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot; and

communicating with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data transmitted during guard periods of consecutive downlink time slots.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data transmitted during guard periods of non-consecutive downlink time slots.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting data during guard periods of consecutive uplink time slots.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting data during guard periods of non-consecutive uplink time slots.

6. The method of claim 1 , in which the guard period is immediately followed by another subframe of the same communication direction.

7. The method of claim 1, in which the at least one time slot comprises a Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) time slot.

8. A user equipment (UE) configured for wireless communication, the UE comprising:

means for indicating, from the user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment;

means for receiving an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot; and

means for communicating with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

9. The user equipment of claim 8, further comprising means for receiving data transmitted during guard periods of consecutive downlink time slots.

10. The user equipment of claim 8, further comprising means for transmitting data during guard periods of consecutive uplink time slots.

11. A computer program product, comprising:

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

program code to indicate, from a user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment; program code to receive an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot; and

program code to communicate with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , further comprising program code to receive data transmitted during guard periods of consecutive downlink time slots.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 , further comprising program code to transmit data during guard periods of consecutive uplink time slots.

14. A user equipment (UE) configured for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor,

the at least one processor being configured:

to indicate, from a user equipment to a serving base station, a flexible guard period communication capability of the user equipment;

to receive an instruction from the serving base station to communicate during a guard period of at least one time slot; and

to communicate with the serving base station during at least one guard period.

15. The user equipment of claim 14, in which the at least one processor is further configured to receive data transmitted during guard periods of consecutive downlink time slots.

16. The user equipment of claim 14, in which the at least one processor is further configured to receive data transmitted during guard periods of non-consecutive downlink time slots.

17. The user equipment of claim 14, in which the at least one processor is further configured to transmit data during guard periods of consecutive uplink time slots.

18. The user equipment of claim 14, in which the at least one processor is further configured to transmit data during guard periods of non-consecutive uplink time slots.

19. The user equipment of claim 14, in which the guard period is immediately followed by another subframe of the same communication direction.

20. The user equipment of claim 14, in which the at least one time slot comprises a Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD- SCDMA) time slot.