Patent ID: 9197379
Filing Date: 2015-11-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method, in a wireless base station configured for operation in a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network, for providing Hybrid-ARQ signaling in a downlink carrier signal, the method comprising: mapping a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) to first resource elements in a control region of a downlink subframe, and optionally mapping one or more Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channels (PHICHs) to second resource elements of the control region of the downlink subframe; assembling a plurality of Physical Downlink Control Channels (PDCCHs) for carrying resource grant information, by aggregating control channel elements (CCEs) and allocating the aggregated CCEs to first resource element groups (REGs), each REG representing a plurality of available resource elements of the control region of the downlink subframe; allocating an encoded group of hybrid automatic-repeat-request (Hybrid-ARQ indicators to a plurality of second REGs, where the second REGs are REGs that are not used by any of the PDCCHs and such that the encoded group of Hybrid-ARQ indicators is allocated to REGs that are inaccessible to any PDCCH; mapping the first REGs and the second REGs onto the control region of the first subframe, around the resource elements used by the PHICHs, if any PHICHs are present, and around the resource elements used by the PCFICH; and transmitting the downlink subframe.