(12) United States Patent
`Baldemair et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`USOO863888OB2
`
`(54)
`
`(75)
`
`(73)
`
`(*)
`
`(21)
`(22)
`(86)
`
`(87)
`
`(65)
`
`(60)
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`(58)
`
`RADIO BASE STATION AND USER
`EQUIPMENT AND METHODS THEREIN
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`Inventors: Robert Baldemair, Solna (SE); David
`Astely, Bromma (SE); Dirk
`Gerstenberger, Stockholm (SE); Daniel
`Larsson, Solna (SE); Stefan Parkval,
`Stockholm (SE)
`Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
`(publ), Stockholm (SE)
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 284 days.
`13/119,504
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`Notice:
`
`PCT Fled:
`
`Jan. 18, 2011
`
`PCT/SE2O11AOSOO52
`
`PCT NO.:
`S371 (c)(1),
`Mar. 17, 2011
`(2), (4) Date:
`PCT Pub. No.: WO2O11AO874.48
`PCT Pub. Date: Jul. 21, 2011
`
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2011 FO261858 A1
`Oct. 27, 2011
`Related U.S. Application Data
`Provisional application No. 61/295.885, filed on Jan.
`18, 2010.
`
`Int. C.
`H04L 27/20
`U.S. C.
`USPC ........... 375/308; 3.75/260; 375/261; 375/295;
`375/298; 375/302
`
`(2006.01)
`
`Field of Classification Search
`USPC ......... 375/219, 259,260, 263,267, 268,271,
`375/295,302,303, 308,316, 329, 347
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`8,385.467 B2 * 2/2013 Han et al. ...................... 375,299
`2008/0051125 A1
`2/2008 Muharemovic et al.
`(Continued)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`* 5/2009
`WO WO, 20090573O2
`WO
`2009134082 A2 11/2009
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`3rd Generation Partnership Project, Source: Nokia Siemens Net
`works, Nokia, “Details for Block Spread DFT-S-OFDMA. 3GPP
`TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #62, R1-104429, Madrid, Spain, Aug.
`23-27, 2010.
`
`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner—Hirdepal Singh
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Coats & Bennett, PLLC
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`Embodiments herein include a method in a user equipment
`(UE) for transmitting uplink control information in time slots
`of a subframe over a radio channel to a radio base station. The
`uplink control information is comprised in a block of bits.
`The UE maps the block of bits to a sequence of complex
`valued modulation symbols. The UE block spreads the
`sequence across Discrete Fourier Transform Spread-Or
`thogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFTS-OFDM)
`symbols. This is performed by applying a spreading sequence
`to the sequence of complex valued modulation symbols, to
`achieve a block spread sequence of complex valued modula
`tion symbols. The UE further transforms the block-spread
`sequence, per DFTS-OFDM symbol. This is performed by
`applying a matrix that depends on a DFTS-OFDM symbol
`index and/or slot index to the block-spread sequence. The UE
`also transmits the block spread sequence, as transformed,
`over the radio channel to the radio base station.
`
`20 Claims, 21 Drawing Sheets
`
`One two bits HAROACK
`
`BPSKIOPSK
`
`w
`
`w
`
`w
`
`Same processing as
`first slot
`
`IIIT
`
`length-12 phase
`rotated
`Sequence
`(Varying per
`symbol)
`
`length
`4 Sequence
`length
`3 Sequence
`
`FFTIFFTIFFTIFFTIFFT FFTIFFT
`
`RS
`
`RS
`
`RS
`
`1ms subframe
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`US 8,638,880 B2
`Page 2
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2008, O247477
`2008/0279170
`2009/O2O7797
`2010.0002800
`2010, O254434
`2011/029.2900
`2012,0082113
`2013/O155988
`
`375,260
`A1* 10, 2008 Shen et al. .............
`370,343
`A1* 11/2008 Malladi et al.
`r 370,329
`A1* 8, 2009 Shen et al. .............
`375,295
`A1
`1/2010 Kim et al. ..............
`375,141
`A1* 10, 2010 Iwai et al. ...
`A1: 12/2011 Ahn et al.
`370,329
`A1
`4, 2012 Lee et al. ....
`370,329
`A1
`6, 2013 Bertrand et al. ........
`370,329
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`
`
`Peng et al., “Block Spread IFDMA: An Improved Uplink Transmis
`sion Scheme.” 18th Annual IEEE International Symposium on Per-
`
`sonal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC '07), pp.
`1-4, Sep. 1, 2007.
`Yang, et al. “Semi-Blind Multi-User Detection for LTE-PUCCH.”
`Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, 2009, IEEE,
`Piscataway, NJ, pp. 1-5, Apr. 5, 2009.
`Jungnickel, et al., “SC-FDMA Waveform Design, Performance,
`Power Dynamics and Evolution to MIMO, IEEE Interational Con
`ference on Portable Information Devices, 2007, pp. 1-6, May 1, 2007.
`Nakao et al., “Performance Enhancement of E-UTRA Uplink Con
`trol Channel in Fast Fading Environments.” 2009 IEEE 69th Vehicu
`lar Technology Conference, Barcelona, Spain, pp. 1-5, Apr. 26, 2009.
`Astely et al., “LTE: The Evolution of Mobile Broadband.” IEEE
`Communications Magazine, vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 44-51, Apr. 2009.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`?ueuuele 90.Inosau ?uO
`
`\s?xe-Z
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 2 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`|OquuÁS
`
`SIXe-X
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 3 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`! 6uddou / T.~ Kouanbºu- /
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`US 8,638,880 B2
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`Fig.5
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 4 of 21
`
`ombination
`
`2™transportblock
`
`
`1*transportblock
`
`O= =
`
`O= = O
`
`o = C
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 5 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`?pOO XOOIE
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 7 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`ZHWOZIZHWOzZI|ZHWoz|zHwozlzHwozl~
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ZHWOOL40YpImMpuegpajyebaibby
`
`g‘bi4
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 8 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`GEeSngivesOF)SMOCLEDalchini
`
`
`
`frreOUBADIYsSfLO)cy
`
`6“big
`
`AHa
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 9 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`CN
`
`
`
`(6XX X\
`V
`NEXXX XXV
`
`O
`v
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 10 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`S?
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 11 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 12 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`Kouºhbe)
`
`
`
`
`
`9 | -61
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 13 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 14 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`Wd40-S14d}S1
`
`
`
`joquiAs
`
`Wds4O0-SLACpug
`
`|jOquAS
`
`9G/
`
`SSIVSL
`
`lJOE
`
`0
`
`"199109
`
`Buipoo
`
`QG/L $sJO
`
`GG|
`
`14d|
`
`$IEYpuz
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 15 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`LOL
`
`3
`
`40110
`
`"BL105
`
`Buss
`
`
`
`(6FennyeoOX)tue~im(X<)e-tom(<}e—fom
`
`
`
`
`
`MasoSiisaWMddoSlsaWoso0S14dWOI0S1L30WdseslsdWdodo3SLi0
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`|=OQWASZ7¥jOGWASPOGWASZoawAs|oqUIASQoawAs
`
`
`
`
`
`9)‘Bi
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 16 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 17 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`Z6||
`| Iquelos
`
`ZpOWN
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 18 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`|??queJOS|
`
`= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ==
`
`
`
`Jou= | 103 ------------------------}
`
`zoz^*-----------+-----------| ? epopu=
`
`|beloo
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 19 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`.
`
`X
`
`7
`A.
`w
`A.
`
`XX)
`()
`X) XA
`X)
`
`w
`
`ZTZ
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 20 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`225
`
`
`
`Mapsymbol
`
`Fig.22
`
`ricsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`L O E
`
`221
`
`222
`
`223
`
`224
`
`Transform
`
`
`
`Blockdespread
`
`£&3 O
`
`o
`Oo
`
`Eo
`
`OA =AL
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 28, 2014
`
`Sheet 21 of 21
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`
`
`6u?peaudsep
`
`??nOJIO
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`1.
`RADIO BASE STATION AND USER
`EQUIPMENT AND METHODS THEREIN
`
`RELATED APPLICATIONS
`
`This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. S371 (c) to
`International Patent Application PCT/SE2011/050052, filed
`Jan. 18, 2011, and under 35 U.S.C. S 119(e) to U.S. Provi
`sional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/295,885, filed Jan. 18,
`2010, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in
`their entireties.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`Embodiments herein relate to a radio base station, a user
`equipment and methods therein. In particular, embodiments
`herein relate to transmission of uplink control information
`comprised in a block of bits over a radio channel to the radio
`base station.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`2
`resource allocation in LTE is typically described in terms of
`resource blocks, where a resource block corresponds to one
`slot of 0.5 ms in the time domain and 12 subcarriers in the
`frequency domain. Resource blocks are numbered in the fre
`quency domain, starting with resource block 0 from one end
`of the system bandwidth.
`Downlink transmissions are dynamically scheduled, i.e., in
`each subframe the base station or radio base station transmits
`control information about to which user equipments or ter
`minals data is transmitted and upon which resource blocks the
`data is transmitted, in the current downlink subframe. This
`control signaling is typically transmitted in the first 1, 2, 3 or
`4 OFDM symbols in each subframe. A downlink system with
`3 OFDM symbols used for control signaling is illustrated in
`FIG.3 and denoted as control region. The resource elements
`used for control signaling are indicated with wave-formed
`lines and resource elements used for reference symbols are
`indicated with diagonal lines. Frequencies for Subcarriers are
`defined along an Z-axis and symbols are defined along an
`X-axis.
`LTE uses hybrid-Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ).
`where, after receiving downlink data in a subframe, the user
`equipment attempts to decode it and reports to the radio base
`station using uplink control signaling whether the decoding
`was successful by sending an Acknowledgement (ACK) if
`successful decoding or a “non Acknowledgement” (NACK) if
`not successful decoding. In case of an unsuccessful decoding
`attempt, the radio base station may retransmit the erroneous
`data.
`Uplink control signaling from the user equipment or ter
`minal to the base station or radio base station comprises
`hybrid-ARQ acknowledgements for received downlink
`data;
`user equipment or terminal reports related to the downlink
`channel conditions, used as assistance for the downlink
`Scheduling;
`scheduling requests, indicating that a user equipment or
`terminal needs uplink resources for uplink data trans
`missions.
`Uplink control information may be transmitted in two dif
`ferent ways:
`on the Physical Uplink shared Channel (PUSCH). If the
`user equipment or terminal has been assigned resources
`for data transmission in the current subframe, uplink
`control information, including hybrid-ARQ acknowl
`edgements, is transmitted together with data on the
`PUSCH.
`on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). If the
`user equipment or terminal has not been assigned
`resources for data transmission in the current Subframe,
`uplink control information is transmitted separately on
`PUCCH, using resource blocks specifically assigned for
`that purpose.
`Herein the focus is on the latter case, i.e. where Layer1/
`Layer2 (L1/L2) control information, exemplified by channel
`status reports, hybrid-ARO acknowledgements, and schedul
`ing requests, is transmitted in uplink resources, i.e. in the
`resource blocks, specifically assigned for uplink L1/L2 con
`trol information on the Physical Uplink Control Channel
`(PUCCH). Layer 1 comprises a physical layer and Layer 2
`comprises the data link layer. As illustrated in FIG.4, PUCCH
`resources 41.42 are located at the edges of the total available
`cell uplink system bandwidth. Each Such resource comprises
`twelve “subcarriers', i.e. it comprises one resource block,
`within each of the two slots of an uplink subframe. In order to
`provide frequency diversity, these frequency resources are
`frequency hopping on the slot boundary, as illustrated by the
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`In today's radio communications networks a number of
`different technologies are used, such as Long Term Evolution
`(LTE), LTE-Advanced, 3rd Generation Partnership Project
`(3GPP) Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
`(WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/En
`hanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), World
`wide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), and
`Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few.
`Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a project within the 3rd
`Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to evolve the
`WCDMA standard towards the fourth generation of mobile
`telecommunication networks. In comparisons with
`WCDMA, LTE provides increased capacity, much higher
`data peak rates and significantly improved latency numbers.
`For example, the LTE specifications support downlink data
`peak rates up to 300Mbps, uplink data peak rates of up to 75
`Mbit/s and radio access network round-trip times of less than
`10 ms. In addition, LTE supports scalable carrier bandwidths
`from 20 MHZ down to 1.4 MHZ and supports both Frequency
`Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD)
`operation.
`LTE is a Frequency Division Multiplexing technology
`wherein Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
`(OFDM) is used in a downlink (DL) transmission from a
`radio base station to a user equipment. Single Carrier-Fre
`quency Domain Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) is used in an
`uplink (UL) transmission from the user equipment to the
`radio base station. Services in LTE are supported in the packet
`switched domain. The SC-FDMA used in the uplink is also
`referred to as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread (DFTS)-
`OFDM.
`The basic LTE downlink physical resource may thus be
`seen as a time-frequency grid as illustrated in FIG. 1, where
`each Resource Element (RE) corresponds to one OFDM sub
`carrier during one OFDM symbol interval. A symbol interval
`comprises a cyclic prefix (cp), which cp is a prefixing of a
`symbol with a repetition of the end of the symbol to act as a
`guard band between symbols and/or facilitate frequency
`domain processing. Frequencies for Subcarriers having a
`Subcarrier spacing Afare defined along an Z-axis and symbols
`are defined along an X-axis.
`In the time domain, LTE downlink transmissions are orga
`nized into radio frames of 10 ms, each radio frame comprising
`65
`ten equally-sized subframes, #0-#9, each with a T-1
`ms of length in time as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, the
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`3
`arrow, i.e. within a subframe there is one “resource'' 41 com
`prising 12 Subcarriers at the upper part of the spectrum within
`a first slot of the Subframe and an equally sized resource 42 at
`the lower part of the spectrum during a second slot of the
`subframe or vice versa. If more resources are needed for the
`uplink L1/L2 control signaling, e.g. in case of very large
`overall transmission bandwidth supporting a large number of
`users, additional resource blocks may be assigned next to the
`previously assigned resource blocks. Frequencies for Subcar
`riers are defined along an Z-axis and symbols are defined
`along an X-axis.
`The reasons for locating the PUCCH resources at the edges
`of the overall available spectrum are:
`Together with the frequency hopping described above, the
`location of the PUCCH resources at the edges of the
`overall available spectrum maximizes the frequency
`diversity experienced by the control signaling.
`Assigning uplink resources for the PUCCH at other posi
`tions within the spectrum, i.e. not at the edges, would
`have fragmented the uplink spectrum, making it impos
`sible to assign very wide transmission bandwidths to
`single mobile user equipment or terminal and still retain
`the single-carrier property of the uplink transmission.
`The bandwidth of one resource block during one subframe
`is too large for the control signaling needs of a single user
`equipment or terminal. Therefore, to efficiently exploit the
`resources set aside for control signaling, multiple user equip
`ments or terminals may share the same resource block. This is
`done by assigning the different user equipments or terminals
`different orthogonal phase rotations of a cell-specific length
`12 frequency-domain sequence.
`The resource used by a PUCCH is therefore not only speci
`fied in the time-frequency domain by the resource-block pair,
`but also by the phase rotation applied. Similarly to the case of
`reference signals, there are up to twelve different phase rota
`tions specified, providing up to twelve different orthogonal
`sequences from each cell-specific sequence. However, in the
`case of frequency-selective channels, not all the twelve phase
`rotations may be used if orthogonality is to be retained. Typi
`cally, up to six rotations are considered usable in a cell.
`As mentioned above, uplink L1/L2 control signaling
`includes hybrid-ARO acknowledgements, channel-status
`reports and Scheduling requests. Different combinations of
`these types of messages are possible, using one of two avail
`able PUCCH formats, capable of carrying different number
`of bits.
`PUCCH format 1. There are actually three formats, 1, 1a,
`and 1b in the LTE specifications, although herein they are all
`referred to as format 1 for simplicity. PUCCH format 1 is used
`for hybrid-ARO acknowledgements and Scheduling requests.
`It is capable of carrying up to two information bits in addition
`to Discontinuous Transmission (DTX). If no information
`transmission was detected in the downlink, no acknowledge
`ment is generated, also known as DTX. Hence, there are 3 or
`5 different combinations, depending on whether MIMO was
`used on the downlink or not. This is illustrated in FIG.5. In col
`51 the combination index is denoted, in col 52 the ARQ
`information sent when no MIMO is used is disclosed, and in
`col 53 the ARQ information when MIMO is used when a first
`transport block and a second transport block are received is
`shown.
`PUCCH format 1 uses the same structure in the two slots of
`a subframe, as illustrated in FIG. 6. For transmission of a
`hybrid-ARQ acknowledgement (ACK), the single hybrid
`ARO acknowledgement bit is used to generate a Binary
`Phase-Shift Keying (BPSK) symbol, in case of downlink
`spatial multiplexing the two acknowledgement bits are used
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`10
`
`15
`
`4
`to generate a Quadrature Phase ShiftKeying (QPSK) symbol.
`For a scheduling request, on the other hand, the BPSK/QPSK
`symbolis replaced by a constellation point treated as negative
`acknowledgement at the radio base station or evolved NodeB
`(eNodeB). Each BPSK/QPSK symbol is multiplied with a
`length-12 phase rotated sequence. These are then weighted
`with a length-4 sequence before transformed in an IFFT pro
`cess. Phase shifts vary on SC-FDMA or DFTS-OFDM sym
`bol level. The reference symbols (RS) are weighted with a
`length-3 sequence. The modulation symbol is then used to
`generate the signal to be transmitted in each of the two
`PUCCH slots. BPSK modulation symbols, QPSK modula
`tion symbols, and complex valued modulation symbols are
`examples of modulation symbols.
`For PUCCH format 2, there are also three variants in the
`LTE specifications, formats 2, 2a and 2b, where the last two
`formats are used for simultaneous transmission of hybrid
`ARO acknowledgements as discussed later in this section.
`However, for simplicity, they are all referred to as format 2
`herein.
`Channel-status reports are used to provide the radio base
`station or eNodeB with an estimate of the channel properties
`at the user equipment or terminal in order to aid channel
`dependent scheduling. A channel-status report comprises
`multiple bits per subframe. PUCCH format 1, which is
`capable of at most two bits of information per subframe, can
`obviously not be used for this purpose. Transmission of chan
`nel-status reports on the PUCCH is instead handled by
`PUCCH format 2, which is capable of multiple information
`bits per subframe.
`PUCCH format 2, illustrated for normal cyclic prefix in FIG.
`7, is based on a phase rotation of the same cell-specific
`sequence as format 1, i.e. length-12 phase rotated sequence
`that is varying per SC-FDMA or DFTS-OFDM symbol. The
`information bits are block coded, QPSK modulated, each
`QPSK symbol b0-b9 from the coding is multiplied by the
`phase rotated length-12 sequence and all SC-FDMA or
`DFTS-OFDM symbols are finally IFFT processed before
`transmitted.
`In order to meet the upcoming International Mobile Tele
`communications (IMT)-Advanced requirements, 3GPP is
`currently standardizing LTE Release 10 also known as LTE
`Advanced. One property of Release 10 is the support of
`bandwidths larger than 20 MHz while still providing back
`wards compatibility with Release 8. This is achieved by
`aggregating multiple component carriers, each of which can
`be Release 8 compatible, to form a larger overall bandwidth to
`a Release 10 user equipment. This is illustrated in FIG. 8,
`where five 20 MHZ are aggregated into 100 MHz.
`In essence, each of the component carriers in FIG. 8 is
`separately processed. For example, hybrid ARQ is operated
`separately on each component carrier, as illustrated in FIG.9.
`For the operation of hybrid-ARQ, acknowledgements
`informing the transmitter on whether the reception of a trans
`port block was successful or not is required. A straightfor
`ward way of realizing this is to transmit multiple acknowl
`edgement messages, one per component carrier. In case of
`spatial multiplexing, an acknowledgement message would
`correspond to two bits as there are two transport blocks on a
`component carrier in this case already in the first release of
`LTE. In absence of spatial multiplexing, an acknowledge
`ment message is a single bit as there is only a single transport
`block per component carrier. Each flow F1-Fi illustrates a
`data flow to the same user. Radio Link control (RLC) for each
`received data flow is performed on the RLC layer. In the
`Medium Access Control (MAC) layer MAC multiplexing and
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`US 8,638,880 B2
`
`5
`HARO processing is performed on the data flow. In the physi
`cal (PHY) layer the coding and OFDM modulation of the data
`flow is performed.
`Transmitting multiple hybrid-ARQ acknowledgement
`messages, one per component carrier, may in Some situations
`be troublesome. If the current LTE Frequency Division Mul
`tiplex (FDM) uplink control signaling structures are to be
`reused, at most two bits of information may be sent back to the
`radio base station or eNodeB using PUCCH format 1.
`One possibility is to bundle multiple acknowledgement
`bits into a single message. For example, ACK could be sig
`naled only if all transport blocks on all component carriers are
`correctly received in a given subframe, otherwise a NACK is
`fed back. A drawback of this is that some transport blocks
`might be retransmitted even if they were correctly received,
`which could reduce performance of the system.
`Introducing a multi-bit hybrid-ARQ acknowledgement
`format is an alternative solution. However, in case of multiple
`downlink component carriers, the number of acknowledge
`ment bits in the uplink may become quite large. For example,
`with five component carriers, each using MIMO, there are 5
`different combinations, keeping in mind that the DTX is
`preferably accounted for as well, requiring at least log2(5)
`s 11.6 bits. The situation can get even worse in Time Division
`Duplex (TDD), where multiple downlink subframes may
`need to be acknowledged in a single uplink subframe. For
`example, in a TDD configuration with 4 downlink subframes
`and 1 uplink subframe per 5 ms, there are 5 combinations,
`corresponding to more than 46 bits of information.
`Currently, there is no PUCCH format in LTE specified
`capable of carrying such a large number of bits.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`6
`to carry uplink control information, and the uplink control
`information is comprised in a block of bits.
`The user equipment comprises a mapping circuit config
`ured to map the block of bits to a sequence of complex valued
`modulation symbols. Also, the user equipment comprises a
`block spreading circuit configured to block spread the
`sequence of complex valued modulation symbols across
`DFTS-OFDM symbols by applying a spreading sequence to
`the sequence of complex valued modulation symbols, to
`achieve a block spread sequence of complex valued modula
`tion symbols. Furthermore, the user equipment comprises a
`transforming circuit configured to transform the block-spread
`sequence of complex valued modulation symbols per DFTS
`OFDM symbol. This is done by applying a matrix that
`depends on a DFTS-OFDM symbol index and/or slot index to
`the block-spread sequence of complex valued modulation
`symbols. The user equipment also comprises a transmitter
`configured to transmit the block spread sequence of complex
`valued modulation symbols that has been transformed over
`the radio channel to the radio base station.
`According to another aspect of embodiments herein the
`object is achieved by a method in a radio base station for
`receiving uplink control information in time slots in a Sub
`frame over a radio channel from a user equipment. The radio
`channel is arranged to carry uplink control information and
`the uplink control information is comprised in a block of bits.
`The user equipment and radio base station are comprised in a
`radio communications network.
`The radio base station receives a sequence of complex
`valued modulation symbols. The radio base station also
`OFDM demodulates the sequence of complex valued modu
`lation symbols. The radio base station also transforms, per
`DFTS-OFDM symbol, the sequence of complex valued
`modulation symbols that has been OFDM demodulated by
`applying a matrix that depends on a DFTS-OFDM symbol
`index and/or slot index to the OFDM demodulated sequence
`of complex valued modulation symbols.
`The radio base station further despreads the sequence of
`complex valued modulation symbols that has been OFDM
`demodulated and transformed with a despreading sequence.
`The radio base station also maps the despread sequence of
`complex valued modulation symbols that has been OFDM
`demodulated and transformed, to the block of bits.
`According to another aspect of embodiments herein the
`object is achieved by a radio base station for receiving uplink
`control information in time slots in a subframe over a radio
`channel from a user equipment. The radio channel is arranged
`to carry uplink control information, and the uplink control
`information is comprised in a block of bits. The radio base
`station comprises a receiver configured to receive a sequence
`of complex valued modulation symbols. The radio base sta
`tion also comprises an OFDM demodulating circuit config
`ured to OFDM demodulate the sequence of complex valued
`modulation symbols. The radio base station further comprises
`a transforming circuit configured to transform, per DFTS
`OFDM symbol, the sequence of complex valued modulation
`symbols that has been OFDM demodulated by applying a
`matrix that depends on a DFTS-OFDM symbol index and/or
`slot index to the OFDM demodulated sequence of complex
`valued modulation symbols. The radio base station also com
`prises a block despreading circuit configured to block
`despread the sequence of complex valued modulation sym
`bols that has been OFDM demodulated and transformed, with
`a despreading sequence. Furthermore, the radio base station
`comprises a mapping circuit configured to map the despread
`
`SUMMARY
`
`35
`
`40
`
`An object of embodiments herein is to provide a mecha
`nism that enables high transmission performance in a radio
`communications network in an efficient manner.
`According to a first aspect of embodiments herein the
`object is achieved by a method in a user equipment for trans
`mitting uplink control information in time slots in a subframe
`over a radio channel to a radio base station. The radio channel
`is arranged to carry uplink control information and the user
`equipment and radio base station are comprised in a radio
`communications network. The uplink control information is
`comprised in a block of bits.
`The user equipment maps the block of bits to a sequence of
`complex valued modulation symbols. The user equipment
`also block spreads the sequence of complex valued modula
`tion symbols across Discrete Fourier Transform Spread-Or
`thogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFTS-OFDM)
`symbols. This is performed by applying a spreading sequence
`to the sequence of complex valued modulation symbols, to
`achieve a block spread sequence of complex valued modula
`tion symbols. The user equipment further transforms the
`55
`block-spread sequence of complex valued modulation sym
`bols per DFTS-OFDM symbol. This is performed by apply
`ing a matrix that depends on a DFTS-OFDM symbol index
`and/or slot index to the block-spread sequence of complex
`valued modulation symbols. The user equipment also trans
`mits the block spread sequence of complex valued modula
`tion symbols that has been transformed over the radio channel
`to the radio base station.
`According to another aspect of embodiments herein the
`object is achieved by a user equipment for transmitting uplink
`control information in time slots in a subframe over a radio
`channel to a radio base station. The radio channel is arranged
`
`65
`
`45
`
`50
`
`60
`
`Ericsson Exhibit 1119
`ERICSSON v. ETRI
`
`

`

`7
`sequence of complex valued modulation symbols that has
`been OFDM demodulated and transformed, to the block of
`bits.
`Thus, the inter-cell interference is reduced since the matrix
`or matrices transforms the block spread sequence of complex
`valued modulation symbols per DFTS-OFDM symbol and
`thereby increases interference Suppression.
`According to another aspect of embodiments herein the
`object is achieved by a method in a terminal for transmitting
`uplink control information in a slot in a subframe over a
`channel to a base station in a wireless communication system.
`The uplink control information is comprised in a code word.
`The terminal maps the code word to modulation symbols. The
`terminal block spreads the modulation symbols across DFTS
`15
`OFDM symbols by repeating the modulation symbols for
`each DFTS-OFDM symbol and applying a block spreading
`sequence of weight factors to the repeated modulation sym
`bols to achieve a respective weighted copy of the modulation
`symbols for each DFTS-OFDM symbol. The terminal then
`transforms, for each DFTS-OFDM symbol, the respective
`weighted copy of the modulation symbols by applying a
`matrix that depends on a DFTS-OFDM symbol index and/or
`slot index to the respective weighted copy of the modulation
`symbols. The terminal then transmits, on or within each
`DFTS-OFDM symbol, the respective weighted copy of the
`modulation symbols that has been transformed to the base
`station.
`In some embodiments herein, a transmission format is
`provided wherein a code word or block of bits corresponding
`to uplink control information from all configured or activated
`component carriers of a single user is mapped to modulation
`symbols such as a sequence of complex valued modulation
`symbols and block spread over DFTS-OFDM symbols using
`a spreading sequence. The symbol sequence within one
`DFTS-OFDM symbol is then transformed and transmitted
`within the one DFTS-OFDM symbol. Multiplexing of users
`is enabled with block spreading, i.e. the same signal or sym
`bol sequence is spread across all DFTS-OFDM symbols
`within one slot or subframe and the transformation per DFTS
`40
`OFDM symbol reduces the inter-cell interference.
`
`10
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Embodiments will now be described in more detail in
`relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting resources in a fre
`quency-time grid,
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a LTE time-domain
`structure of a