Patent ID: 9596667
Date: 2017-03-14
CPC Classifications: H04L,H04W

Claim:
1. A communication apparatus for communicating with a plurality of mobile communication devices in a cellular communication system using a plurality of radio frames, said communication apparatus comprising: a communication control module configured to operate a communication cell on an associated component carrier; a synchronization module configured to configure said apparatus to communicate a signal comprising at least one of a synchronization signal and a reference signal at a configured relative location within a radio frame to be transmitted in said communication cell using said component carrier, said configured relative location being a location within said radio frame relative both to a time range spanned by said radio frame and to a frequency range spanned by said radio frame; and a transceiver configured to communicate a signal at said configured relative location within said radio frame, wherein said synchronization module is operable to configure said apparatus to communicate said signal at any of a plurality of relative locations within said radio frame, wherein said communication control module is configured to operate a plurality of communication cells on respective component carriers, wherein said transceiver is operable to communicate a first signal within a first radio frame transmitted in a first of said plurality of cells using a first component carrier, said first signal being transmitted at a predetermined relative location within said radio frame relative both to a time range spanned by said first radio frame and to a frequency range spanned by said first radio frame, wherein said synchronization module is operable to configure said apparatus to communicate a second signal at a configured relative location within a second radio frame to be transmitted in a second of said plurality of cells using a second component carrier, said configured relative location being a location within said radio frame relative both to a time range spanned by said second radio frame and to a frequency range spanned by said second radio frame, wherein said transceiver is further operable to communicate a second signal at said configured relative location within said second radio frame, wherein said first and second signals are of a same type as one another, each comprising at least one of a synchronization signal and a reference signal, and wherein said synchronization module is operable to configure said apparatus to communicate said second signal at a configured relative location within said second radio frame that is different to the predetermined relative location within said first radio frame.