Apple Inc.

Awais M Hussain

Tarik Tabet

Syed Aon Mujtaba

Moustafa M Elsayed

Farouk Belghoul

Samy Khay-Ibbat

Lydi Smaini

Rafael L Rivera-Barreto

Sarma V Vangala

Christian W Mucke

Matthias Sauer

David Boettger

Ronald William Dimpflmaier

Bernd W Adler

A user equipment device (UE) may communicate according to a new device category satisfying specified QoS (quality of service) requirements while also satisfying specified link budget requirements, and additional optimization requirements. The UE may use physical channels and procedures (e.g. it may receive and decode control channels) in a manner compatible with and not infringing on the operation of other UEs operating in the same network, while allowing the network more flexibility to assign resources. Specifically, resources for EPDCCH on UE-specific SS and EPDCCH on common SS may be shared. That is, the resources for two search spaces may be overlaid partially or in full, giving the network more flexibility in allocating resources. Furthermore the DCI formats for MPDCCH may be extended to devices operating according to the new device category, which enables the coverage enhancement of MTC for these devices.

Control channel design for category-A devices

A user equipment (UE) device may communicate according to a new device category satisfying specified QoS (quality of service) requirements while also satisfying specified link budget requirements, and/or additional optimization requirements. The UE device may communicate with a cellular base station according to a first mode of operation associated with the new device category, and may switch to communicating with the cellular base station according to a second mode of operation associated with a second (pre-existing) device category in response to the link budget requirements exceeding a specified value and the quality of service requirements not being sensitive. The UE device may also switch to communicating with the cellular base station according to a third mode of operation associated with a third (pre-existing) device type in response to the link budget requirement not exceeding the specified value, or the QoS requirements being sensitive and a downlink throughput requirement exceeding a specified throughput value.

Device category in 3GPP communications

This disclosure relates to providing system information for cell access to link budget limited devices. According to some embodiments, a base station may transmit an announcement information block (MB) in a downlink shared data channel (e.g., PDSCH), wherein the AIB contains information useable by a UE in determining the location of system information in the downlink shared data channel. The UE can thus determine the location of and decode system information without having to decode a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH). This may be important for certain classes of devices, such as link budget limited devices, which have issues in decoding the downlink control channel. Improved paging scheduling techniques are also disclosed which more efficiently use PDCCH paging resources.

Non-PDCCH signaling of SIB resource assignment

This disclosure relates to providing system information for cell access to link budget limited devices. According to some embodiments, a base station may transmit a master information block (MIB), a first system information block (SIB), and second SIBs. The first SIB and the second SIBs may be configured for different device categories, and may accordingly have different characteristics. For example, the first SIB may be configured for link budget limited devices, and may include information specific to such devices and/or may exclude information not relevant to such devices or not critical to accessing the cell. In some instances, the first SIB may also include information from the MIB, such that at least some devices may be able to decode the first SIB and gain cell access without decoding the MIB.

System information signaling for link budget limited wireless devices

This disclosure relates to techniques for a link budget limited UE to improve communications performance with a cellular network. The UE may perform signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) measurements and use these measurements to adjust a received signal power value that is provided to the cellular network as a received signal power measurement. The UE may generate the received signal power value based at least in part on the SINR measurement in order to reduce the likelihood of handover when the UE has good SINR but poor received signal power. The UE may also provide preferred configuration information to the base station which enhances the performance of the UE when link budget limited. The configuration information may specify one or more parameter values designed to provide improved performance for a link budget limited device.

Packet-switched wireless communication for link budget limited wireless devices

This disclosure relates to performing cellular communication in unlicensed spectrum using a flexible slot structure. A cellular base station may perform a listen-before-talk procedure, and may transmit a reservation frame when the listen-before-talk procedure is successful. The reservation frame may reserve a wireless medium for a transmit opportunity. Transmission slots may be scheduled for communication with one or more wireless devices during the transmit opportunity. The transmission slots may be selected from multiple possible uplink transmission slot types and multiple possible downlink transmission slot types. Indications of the scheduled transmission slots, including indications of slot types of the scheduled transmission slots, may be provided to the wireless devices. Wireless communication may be performed between the cellular base station and the wireless devices according to the scheduled transmission slots.

Listen-before-talk procedures for transmit opportunity (TXOP)

Techniques are disclosed relating to broadcasting and receiving system information in a radio access network (RAN). In some embodiment, a base station is configured to broadcast different sets of first system information blocks (SIBs) for different classes of user equipment devices (e.g., traditional UEs and UEs having a limited link budget). Different classes of UEs may use the different sets of SIBs to initiate communications with the base station.

Compressed system information for link budget limited UEs in a radio access network

This disclosure relates to techniques for providing robust downlink control information with flexible resource assignments for wireless devices that operate in a restricted bandwidth compared to the system bandwidth. A base station may determine a resource assignment for a wireless device. The base station may transmit downlink control information to the wireless device. The downlink control information may include an indication of a resource assignment for the wireless device. The indication of the resource assignment may include an indication of a first narrowband associated with the resource assignment, and an indication of whether one or more additional narrowbands are associated with the resource assignment. The base station and the wireless device may communicate data according to the resource assignment.

Robust downlink control information with flexible resource assignments

This disclosure relates to accommodating link budget constrained wireless devices performing random access procedures. A base station may detect a preamble message from a wireless device. It may be determined that the preamble message is received from a link budget constrained wireless device. Characteristics of a response message may be selected based at least in part on determining that the preamble message is received from a link budget constrained wireless device. The response message may be transmitted to the link budget constrained wireless device using the selected characteristics.

Random access procedures for link budget constrained wireless devices

This disclosure relates to techniques for selecting operational modes of a wireless device. The operational mode may be selected based on determining the presence or absence of reference symbols. A low power mode may be selected when the presence or absence of reference symbols suggests that a control channel used by the wireless device may not be present.

Growing community of inventors

Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Awais M Hussain