EXHIBIT 21

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US007580388B2 

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 7,580,388 B2 

Kim (45) Date of Patent: Aug. 25, 2009 

(54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR 6,473.410 B1 10/2002 Sakoda et al. 

PROVIDING ENHANCED MESSAGES ON 6,628,946 B1 9/2003 Wiberg et al. 

COMMON CONTROL CHANNEL IN 6,684,081 B2 1/2004 Sarkkinen et al. 

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM 6,956,832 B1 * 10/2005 Muhonen et al. ............ 370,310 

7,199,608 B1 * 4/2007 Trimberger ....... ... 326/38 

(75) Inventor: Myeong Cheol Kim, Aachen (DE) 7.301.926 B1 * 1 1/2007 Dietrich et al. ............. 370/338 

2002/0041578 A1* 4/2002 Kim et al. ................... 370,335 

(73) Assignee: LG Electronics Inc., Seoul (KR) 2002.0128035 A1 9, 2002 Jokinen et al. 

( c ) Notice: Subject tO any disclaimer, the term of this 2003/O156558 A: 8, 2003 Cromer et al. .............. 370,331 

patent is extended or adjusted under 35 2003/02O7696 A1* 11/2003 Willenegger et al. ........ 455,522 

U.S.C. 154(b) by 749 days. 2004/0224688 A1* 11/2004 Fischer .................... 455,435.1 

(21) Appl. No.: 11/065,872 

(22) Filed: Feb. 25, 2005 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS e Afav9. 

RU 2145775 2, 2000 

(65) Prior Publication Data 

US 2005/0266846A1 Dec. 1, 2005 

k . Related U.S. Application Data cited by examiner 

(60) Provisional application No. 60/576,214, filed on Jun. E. family Stal J 1, 2004, provisional application No. 60/589,630, filed SSiStant Examiner tis Ompson, Jr. 

on Jul. 20, 2004. (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Lee, Hong, Degerman, Kang s & Waimey 

(51) Int. Cl. H0474/00 (2009.01) (57) ABSTRACT 

(52) U.S. Cl. ........................... 370/329; 455/39; 455/68; 

37O/341 A method and aroparatus pp for p providing 9. new configurations 9. for 

(58) Field of Classification Search ................. 370/235, transmitting control information between a mobile terminal 

370/236, 232,270,276, 277,278, 282,311, and a network using a common control channel (CCCH) 

370/327, 328,329, 331, 340,360, 436,438, logical channel/transport channel. The new configurations 

370/455 enable messages to be sent that are larger than currently 

See application file for complete search history. allowed and the availability of the new configurations is indi 

(56) References Cited cated such that mobile terminals that do not support the new configurations are not impacted. 

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 

6,463,504 B1 * 10/2002 Ishibashi et al. ............ TO9,213 65 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets 

2 10 

SelectPRACH 

configuration (S104) 

Generate message utilizing selected 

PRACH configuration (S106) 

Adapt message size to 

transport block size (S108) 

Indicate existing and extended PRACH configurations (S102) 

RACH configuration 

 

 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 1 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 1. 

Related Art 

Core Network 

~ ).

* 

Radio 

NetWork 

Subsystem 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 2 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 2 

Related Art 

C-plane U-plane 

Layer 

3 

Control 

Radio 

bearers 

s 

O 

9 

Layer 

2 

Logical 

channel 

Transport 

channels 

Layer 

1. 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 3 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 3 

Related Art 

Control Channel (CCH) Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) 

Paging Control Channel (PCCH) 

Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) 

Common Control Channel (CCCH) 

Shared Channel Control Channel (SHCCH) 

Traffic Channel (TCH) - Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH) 

Common Traffic Channel (CTCH) 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 4 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG. 4 

Related Art 

BCCH PCCH DCCH CCCH SHCCH CTCH DTCH 

-SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP 

(TDD only) 

MAC SAPS 

Transport S 

Channels BCH PCH CPCH RACH FACH USCH DSCH HS-OSCH DCH 

(FDD only) (TDD only) 

FIG. 5 

Related Art 

BCCH PCCH DCCH CCCH SHCCH CTCH DTCH 

-SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP -SAP 

(TDD only) 

MAC SAPS 

Transport 

Channels BCH PCH, CPCH RACH FACH USCH OSCH HS-OSCH DCH 

(FDD only) (TDD only) 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 5 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG. (5 Related Art 

RRC Connected Mode 

CELLPCH 

out of 

Service 

CELL FACH 

out of 

Service 

Release RRC Establish RRC Release RRC Establish RRC 

Connection Connection Connection Connection 

Camping on a UTRAN 6 cell 

de Mode 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 6 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 7 

Related Art 

MAC header MAC SDU 

UE-d TCTF C/T 

FIG. 8 

Related Art 

Data Part Data bits 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 7 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 9 

Related Art 

RRC-ASN.1 R99 part 

Encoder added 

padding (0.7 bits) 

Basic production Extension X 

RRC added 

padding 

RRCPDU 

FIG. O. 

Related Art 

Adapt message size to 

transport block size (S16) 

 

 

 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 8 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 11 

Related Art 

-5 

Select transport format with 10 msec TTI 52 

from the available transport formats 

supported by all PRACHs 

54 

Calculate power margin P? 

56 

Yes Power margin 

creater than 6 db 2 

60 

Select 10 msec TT Select 20 msec TT 

 

 

 

 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 9 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

Generate message 

utilizing selected 

PRACH configuration (S106) 

Adapt message size to 

transport block size (S108) 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 10 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG. 13 

Select transport format with 10 msec TTI 152 

from the available transport formats 

supported by all extension PRACHs 

V 54 

Calculate power margin ? 

56 

Yes Power margin 

greater than 6 db. ? 

160 

Select 10 msec TTI Select 20 msec TT 

 

 

 

 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 11 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

F.G. 14 

Syntax understood 

by both legacy UE2 

and new UE2 

Initial 

message 

Read by new UE 2 if 

extension is indicated 

ignored by old UE Indicate 

extension 

>J-4 

Syntax 

Understood only 

by new UE2 

FIG 15 

RRC CONNECTION REOUEST 

RRC CONNECTION SETUP 

(indicate available PRACH configurations) 

RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE 

 

 

 

 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 12 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG 16 

240 200 

N/ 23S 2O6 255 

Receiver Power Management 

RF Mode 

21O 215 

Display 

DSP/ Microprocessor 

Keypad 

220 

Flash Memory, 

250 245 ROM, SRAM 

230 

 

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U.S. Patent Aug. 25, 2009 Sheet 13 of 13 US 7,580,388 B2 

FIG. 17 

RNS 325 

UTRAN 32O 

 

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US 7,580,388 B2 

1. 

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR 

PROVIDING ENHANCED MESSAGES ON 

COMMON CONTROL CHANNEL IN 

WRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM 

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED 

APPLICATIONS 

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional 

Application Ser. Nos. 60/576.214 filed on Jun. 1, 2004, and 

60/589,630, filed on Jul. 20, 2004, the contents of which are 

hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 

1. Field of the Invention 

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for 

enhancing the signaling between a mobile communication 

device and a network. Specifically, the present invention is 

directed to a method and apparatus for providing new con 

figurations for transmitting control information between a 

mobile terminal, for example user equipment (UE), and a 

radio network controller (RNC) using a common control 

channel (CCCH) logical channel/transport channel. 

2. Discussion of the Related Art 

The universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) is a European-type, third generation IMT-2000 mobile com 

munication system that has evolved from a European stan 

dard known as Global System for Mobile communications 

(GSM). UMTS is intended to provide an improved mobile 

communication service based upon a GSM core network and 

wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) wireless 

connection technology. 

In December 1998, the ETSI of Europe, the ARIB/TTC of 

Japan, the T1 of the United States, and the TTA of Korea 

formed a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The 

3GPP creates detailed specifications of UMTS technology. 

In order to achieve rapid and efficient technical develop 

ment of the UMTS, five technical specification groups (TSG) 

have been created within the 3GPP for standardizing the 

UMTS by considering the independent nature of the network 

elements and their operations. Each TSG develops, approves, 

and manages the standard specification within a related 

region. Among these groups, the radio access network (RAN) 

group (TSG-RAN) develops the standards for the functions, 

requirements, and interface of the UMTS terrestrial radio 

access network (UTRAN), which is a new radio access net 

work for supporting W-CDMA access technology in the 

UMTS. 

A conventional UMTS network structure 1 is illustrated in 

FIG. 1. One mobile terminal 2, or user equipment (UE), is 

connected to a core network 4 through a UMTS terrestrial 

radio access network (UTRAN)6. The UTRAN 6 configures, maintains, and manages a radio access bearer for communi 

cations between the UE 2 and core network 4 to meet end-to 

end quality-of-service requirements. 

The UTRAN 6 consists of at least one radio network Sub 

system 8, including one RNC 10 acting as an access point to 

the core network 4, and at least one Node B 12 managed by a 

corresponding RNC. The RNCs 10 are logically classified as 

controlling RNCs, which allocate and manage common radio 

resources for a plurality of UEs 2 of a cell, and serving RNCs, 

which allocate and manage dedicated radio resources for a 

specific UE 2 of a cell. Each Node B 12 manages at least one 

cell. 

The core network 4 may be divided according to the type of 

service provided, namely, a circuit-switched (CS) domain 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

2 

and a packet-switched (PS) domain. For example, a general 

voice conversation service is a circuit switched (CS) service, 

while a Web browsing service via an Internet connection is 

classified as a packet switched (PS) service. 

The CS domain includes a mobile switching center (MSC) 

14 acting as an access point to the UTRAN 6 and a gateway mobile Switching center (GMSC) 16 acting as an access point 

to an external network. The PS domain includes a serving 

GPRS support node (SGSN) 18 acting as an access point to 

the UTRAN6 and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 20 

acting as an access point to the external network. A visitor 

location register (VLR) 22 and a home location register 

(HLR) 24 manage user registration information. 

In the CS domain, the access point of the core network 4 is 

the MSC 14 via an lu-CS interface. For supporting circuit 

switched services, the RNCs 10 are connected to the MSC 14 

of the core network 4 and the MSC is connected to the GMSC 

16 that manages the connection with other networks. 

In the PS domain, the access point of the core network 4 is 

the SGSN 18 via an lu-PS interface. For supporting packet 

switched services, the RNCs 10 are connected to the SGSN 

18 and the GGSN 20 of the core network 4. The SGSN 18 

supports the packet communications with the RNCs 10 and 

the GGSN 20 manages the connection with other packet 

Switched networks, such as the Internet. 

The interface between the UE 2 and UTRAN 6 is realized 

through a radio interface protocol established in accordance 

with 3GPP radio access network specifications. The conven 

tional architecture of the radio interface protocol is illustrated 

in FIG. 2. 

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the conventional radio interface 

protocol has horizontal layers comprising a physical layer 

(L1), a data link layer (L2), and a network layer (L3), and has 

Vertical planes comprising a user plane (U-plane) for trans 

mitting user data and a control plane (C-plane) for transmit 

ting control information. The user plane is a region that 

handles traffic information with the user, such as voice or 

Internet protocol (IP) packets. The control plane is a region 

that handles control information for an interface with a net 

work and maintenance and management of a call. 

The protocol layers may be divided into a first layer (L1), a 

second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the three 

lower layers of an open system interconnection (OSI) stan 

dard model. The first layer (L1) is the physical layer. The 

second layer (L2) includes a medium access control (MAC) 

layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a broadcast/multicast 

control (BMC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol 

(PDCP) layer. 

The physical (PHY) layer provides information transfer 

service to a higher layer by using various radio transfer tech 

niques. The physical layer is linked via transport channels to 

a medium access control (MAC) layer. 

The MAC layer handles mapping between logical channels 

and transport channels and provides allocation of the MAC 

parameters for allocation and re-allocation of radio resources. 

The MAC layer is connected to the physical layer by transport 

channels and may be divided into a MAC-b sub-layer, a 

MAC-d sub-layer, a MAC-c/sh sub-layer, and a MAC-hs 

Sub-layer according to the type of transport channel being managed. 

The MAC layer is connected to an upper layer called the 

radio link control (RLC) layer, via a logical channel. Various 

logical channels are provided according to the type of infor 

mation transmitted. In general, a control channel is used to 

transmit information of the control plane and a traffic channel 

is used to transmit information of the user plane. 

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US 7,580,388 B2 

3 

A logical channel may be a common channel or a dedicated 

channel depending on whether the logical channel is shared. 

Logical channels include a dedicated traffic channel (DTCH), 

a dedicated control channel (DCCH), a common traffic chan 

nel (CTCH), a common control channel (CCCH), a broadcast 

control channel (BCCH), and a paging control channel 

(PCCH), or a Shared Channel Control Channel. The BCCH 

provides information including information utilized by a UE 

2 to access the core network 4. The PCCH is used by the 

UTRAN 6 to access a UE2. The different logical channels are 

listed in FIG. 3. 

The MAC-b sub-layer manages a BCH (Broadcast Chan 

nel), which is a transport channel handling the broadcasting 

of system information. In the downlink, the MAC-c/sh sub 

layer manages a common transport channel. Such as a forward 

access channel (FACH) or a downlink shared channel 

(DSCH), which is shared by a plurality of terminals. In the 

uplink, the MAC-C/sh Sub-layer manages a Radio Access 

Channel (RACH). Therefore, each UE 2 has one MAC-c/sh entity. 

The possible mapping between the logical channels and the 

transport channels from the perspective of a UE 2 is illus 

trated in FIG. 4. The possible mapping between the logical 

channels and the transport channels from the perspective of a 

UTRAN 6 is illustrated in FIG. 5. 

The MAC-d sub-layer manages a dedicated channel 

(DCH), which is a dedicated transport channel for a UE2. The 

MAC-d sublayer is located in a serving RNC 10 (SRNC) that 

manages a corresponding UE 2, and one MAC-d Sublayer 

also exists in each UE 2. 

The RLC layer, depending of the RLC mode of operation, 

Supports reliable data transmissions and performs segmenta 

tion and concatenation on a plurality of RLC service data 

units (SDUs) delivered from an upper layer. When the RLC 

layer receives the RLC SDUs from the upper layer, the RLC 

layer adjusts the size of each RLC SDU in an appropriate 

manner based upon processing capacity and then creates data 

units by adding header information thereto. 

The data units, called protocol data units (PDUs), are trans 

ferred to the MAC layer via a logical channel. The RLC layer 

includes a RLC buffer for storing the RLC SDUs and/or the 

RLC PDUs. The RLC services are used by service-specific 

protocol layers on the user plane, namely a broadcast/multi 

cast control (BMC) protocol and a packet data convergence 

protocol (PDCP), and are used by a radio resource control 

(RRC) layer for signaling transport on the control plane. 

The BMC layer schedules a cell broadcast (CB) message 

delivered from the core network 4 and enables the CB mes 

sage to be broadcast to the corresponding UES 2 in the appro 

priate cell. Header information, Such as a message identifier, 

a serial number, and a coding scheme, is added to the CB 

message to generate a BMC message for delivery to the RLC 

layer. 

The RLC layer appends RLC header information and 

transmits the thus-formed message to the MAC layer via a 

common traffic channel as a logical channel. The MAC layer 

maps the common traffic channel to a forward access channel 

(FACH) as a transport channel. The transport channel is 

mapped to a secondary common control physical channel as 

a physical channel. 

The PDCP layer is located above the RLC layer. The PDCP 

layer is used to transmit network protocol data, such as the 

IPv4 or IPv6, effectively on a radio interface with a relatively 

small bandwidth. For this purpose, the PDCP layer reduces 

unnecessary control information used in a wired network, a 

function called header compression. 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

4 

The radio resource control (RRC) layer located at the low 

est portion of the third layer (L3) is only defined in the control 

plane. The RRC layer handles the control plane signaling of 

the network layer (L3) between the UEs 2 and the UTRAN 6 

and controls the transport and physical channels for the estab 

lishment, reconfiguration, and release of radio bearers. A 

radio bearer is a service provided by a lower layer, such as the 

RLC layer or MAC layer, for data transfer between the UE 2 

and UTRAN 6. 

The air interface (Uu) between the UE2 and the UTRAN 6 

includes the RRC layer for the establishment, reconfigura tion, and release of radio bearers, for example a service pro 

viding data transfer between the UE and an RNC 10 of the 

UTRAN. Establishment of a radio bearer determines the 

regulating characteristics of the protocol layer and channel 

needed to provide a specific service, thereby establishing the 

parameters and operational methods of the service. 

A UE 2 is said to be in the RRC-connected mode when the 

RRC layer of a UE and the RRC layer of a corresponding 

RNC 10 are connected, thereby providing for bi-directional 

transfer of RRC messages. If there is no RRC connection, the 

UE 2 is said to be in the RRC-idle mode. 

Upon power-up, a UE2 is in the RRC-idle mode by default. 

When necessary, an RRC-idle UE 2 transitions to the RRC 

connected mode through an RRC connection procedure. 

An RRC connection is established, for example, when 

uplink data transfer is needed to make a call or to respond to 

a paging message from the RNC 10. The RRC connection 

connects the UE 2 to the RNC 10 of the UTRAN 6. 

The different possibilities that exist for the mapping 

between the radio bearers and the transport channels are not 

all possible all the time. The UE 2 and UTRAN 6 deduce the 

possible mapping depending on the UE state and the proce 

dure that the UE and UTRAN are executing. 

The different transport channels are mapped onto different 

physical channels. For example, the RACH transport channel 

is mapped on a given PRACH, the DCH may be mapped on 

the DPCH, the FACH and the PCH may be mapped on the 

S-CCPCH, and the DSCH is mapped on the PDSCH. The 

configuration of the physical channels is determined by RRC 

signaling exchange between the RNC 10 and the UE 2. 

Because an RRC connection exists for UEs 2 in RRC 

connected mode, the UTRAN 6 can determine the existence 

of a particular UE within the unit of cells, for example in 

which cellorset of cells the RRC connected mode UE resides, 

and which physical channel the UE is monitoring. Therefore, 

the UE 2 can be effectively controlled. 

In contrast, the UTRAN 6 cannot determine the existence 

of a UE 2 in idle mode. The existence of idle UEs 2 can only 

be determined by the core network 4 to be within a region that 

is larger than a cell, for example a location or a routing area. 

Therefore, the existence of idle mode UEs 2 is determined 

within large regions, and, in order to receive mobile commu 

nication services such as Voice or data, the idle mode UE must 

transition into the RRC connected mode. The possible tran 

sitions between modes and states are illustrated in FIG. 6. 

A UE 2 in RRC connected mode may be in different states, 

for example CELL FACH state, CELL PCH state, CELL 

DCH state or URA PCH state. Depending on the state, the 

UE 2 performs different actions and monitors different chan 

nels. 

For example a UE 2 in CELL DCH state will attempt to 

monitor, among others, a DCH type of transport channel that 

is mapped to a certain DPCH. A UE 2 in CELL FACH state 

will monitor several FACH transport channels that are 

mapped to a certain S-CCPCH. A UE 2 in CELL PCH state 

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US 7,580,388 B2 

5 

will monitor the PICH channel and the PCH channel that is 

mapped to a certain S-CCPCH physical channel. 

The actions of a UE 2 are also different depending on the 

state. For example a UE 2 is in CELL FACH state whenever 

it moves from one cell into another cell and, depending on 

different conditions, the UE will start the CELL Update pro cedure by transmitting a Cell Update message to the Node B 

12 to indicate that the UE has changed location and will begin monitoring the FACH channel. This procedure is also per 

formed when the UE 2 transitions from any other state to 

CELL FACH state and the UE has no C-RNTI available, for 

example when transitioning from CELL PCH state or 

CELL DCH state, or when a UE in CELL FACH state was 

previously out of a coverage area. 

In order to distinguish transmissions between the RNC 10 

and the different UEs 2 and in order to distinguish the differ 

ent radio bearers that may be multiplexed in the MAC layer, 

the MAC includes a header in the transmissions. The logical 

channel type determines the type of MAC header that the UE 

2 uses to transmit the message, the UMTS mode (FDD or 

TDD) and the transport channel to which the logical channel 

is mapped. This header may contain an identifier that identi 

fies a specific UE 2. 

There are different identifiers used in the MAC header to 

distinguish transmissions to/from the different UEs 2. The 

RNC 10 allocates the different identifiers. 

Examples of identifiers are C-RNTI, U-RNTI, S-RNTI and 

H-RNTI. C-RNTI is used to identify a given UE 2 in a given 

cell. U-RNTI is used to identify a UE 2 in a given UTRAN 6 

system. S-RNTI identifies the UE 2 on a DSCH transport 

channel. H-RNTI identifies the UE 2 on a given HSDPA 

transport channel. 

The fields that are contained in the MAC header for all 

transport channels except the HS-DSCH transport channel 

are illustrated in FIG. 7. The TCTF (Target Channel Type 

Field) field indicates the type of logical channel that is 

mapped on the given transport channel in the event different 

logical channels may be mapped on the transport channel. 

The UE-Id type is the UE2 identifier. The C/T field indicates 

the radio bearer that was established. 

The TCTF is utilized to distinguish between the different 

logical channels. Distinguishing between logical channels 

determines the exact format of the rest of the MAC header. 

For example. If the CCCH is mapped on RACH (FACH, the 

MAC header contains only the TCTF field that carries the 

information that the rest of the MAC PDU contains a message from a CCCH type transport channel. 

Presently, the UMTS standard indicates that only the sig naling radio bearer 0 (SRB0) may use the CCCH logical 

channel. Therefore there is no need for the C/T field when the 

CCCH logical channel is used. 

In the uplink, not all transport channels are available 

depending upon the state of the UE 2. For example when the 

UE 2 is in CELL FACH state, the UE cannot use a DCH 

transport channel, but may use, for example, a RACH trans 

port channel. 

For the mapping of DCCH on RACH, for example, the UE 

2 must have a valid C-RNTI. However, if the UE 2 has just 

moved into a new cell and desires to start the Cell Update 

procedure, the UE does not have a valid C-RNTI. Therefore, 

the UE 2 may only map the CCCH logical channel on the 

RACH. In coding the CCCH message, an “initial Identity.” 

which is either fixed or allocated to the UE 2 by the core 

network 4, or the U-RNTI is included in the message to 

distinguish the UE 2. 

The same situation exists when the UE 2 has just been 

powered on and wants to establish an RRC connection. 

5 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

6 

Therefore, the UE 2 may only use CCCH logical channel 

mapped on the RACH transport channel to transmit the RRC 

Connection Request message. 

The RLC layer may use either transparent mode (TM), 

unacknowledged mode (UM) or acknowledged mode (AM). 

Depending upon the mode, the size of the RLC PDUs may 

change after each transmission of a transport block. In TM 

and UM mode, the size of the RLC PDUs may change after 

each transmission. In AM, the PDU size may not be changed dynamically, but only through a reconfiguration by the RNC 

10, because the PDUs might be retransmitted. 

The transport channels may handle RLC PDUs of pre defined sizes. The transport block size of the physical layer is 

defined by the RLC PDU size and the MAC header size. 

Different transport channels allow different transport block 

sizes and a given transport channel may also allow different 

sizes. Generally, the transport block sizes a UE 2 is allowed to 

use for a specific radio bearer are determined by the RNC 10 

or fixed by the UMTS standard. 

A transport channel is defined by its type, for example 

RACH, FACH, DCH, DSCH or USCH, and by its attributes. 

Some attributes are dynamic and some attributes are semi 

static. 

Dynamic attributes include the transport block size, which 

is the size of the MAC PDU; the transport block set size, 

which is the size of the MAC PDU multiplied by the number 

of MAC PDUs that can be transported in one transmission 

time interval (TTI); and the transmission time interval, which 

is an optional dynamic attribute for TDD only. Semi-static 

attributes include the transmission time interval, which is 

mandatory for FDD and optional for the dynamic part of TDD 

NRT bearers; the error protection scheme applied; the type of 

error protection; the turbo code; the convolutional code; no 

channel coding, which is semi-static for TDD only; the cod 

ing rate; the static rate matching parameter; and the size of 

CRC. 

The semi static part of an attribute may only be changed when the RRC layer changes the configuration. The dynamic 

part of an attribute provides several alternatives, for example 

that there may be one, two or three transport blocks transmit 

ted in one TTI. Furthermore, the transport block size may be 

changed during each TTI. 

A set of values of the dynamic and the semi-static parts is 

called a transport format (TF). Each transport channel may 

use one or more transport formats. For example, only one 

transport channel may be mapped on the Physical Random 

Access Channel (PRACH), the channel to which the present 

invention is directed. 

The PRACH message includes a data portion that is gen 

erated out of the transport block set received by the MAC 

layer and includes control information that is generated in the 

Physical layer. The control information includes the transport 

format combination indicator (TFCI) that is used to deter 

mine the coding and the transport format that is used for the 

transmission. FIG. 8 illustrates the RACH message structure. 

When a radio bearer is mapped via a logical channel to a 

transport channel, not all existing transport format combina 

tions may be used. The allowable transport format combina 

tions are determined by the RRC protocol, as indicated by the 

RB mapping information. 

Presently, the UMTS standard indicates that signaling 

radio bearer number 0 (SRB0) is always mapped via a CCCH 

logical channel on the RACH transport channel. Presently, 

the UMTS standard also indicates that a UE2 is only allowed 

to use the first transport format that is listed for the selected 

RACH for transmission of messages via CCCH. 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 18 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

7 

Generally, the first transport format of a RACH may carry 

only one transport block of 168 bits. However, the messages 

that are transmitted via the CCCH may be large and, in some 

situations, it may be beneficial to use also other transport 

block sizes. 

The CCCH is fixed to always use TM mode in the uplink. 

TM mode does not Support segmentation and padding. The 

MAC header always includes only the TCTF header, which 

consists of 2 bits. Therefore, the RRC message that is carried 

5 

in the MACSDU must be adapted to meet the required size of 10 

the MAC SDU. 

RRC messages are generated using a special coding known 

as ASN.1 coding. FIG. 9 illustrates ASN.1 coding of an RRC 

message for CCCH. 

The different information elements that form the R99 part 

and the extension part are encoded by the means of the ASN.1 

to create the basic production. The encoder adds padding bits 

to ensure that the number of bits is a multiple of 8. In order to 

adapt the RRC PDU size to the size of the MAC-SDU for the 

CCCH messages on TM, the RRC layer adds additional pad ding. 

The CCCH logical channel is used to transmit Cell Update 

messages, RRC connection request messages and URA 

update messages in the uplink. The messages have different 

sizes depending upon the information that is added to the 

message. The messages also contain information on the mea 

Sured results of neighboring cells, for example quality and 

timing information Such as measured results on RACH. 

Conventional methods adapt the size of the messages trans 

mitted on the CCCH logical channel so that the RLC PDU 

with the MAC header fits inside the transport block that is 

used in the RACH. A conventional method 1 for transmitting 

messages on the CCCH logical channel is illustrated in FIG. 

10. 

As illustrated in FIG. 10, information regarding the exist 

ing PRACH configurations is transmitted to a UE 2 (S10). 

Based on the existing transport PRACH configurations, the 

UE 2 selects the PRACH according to an algorithm (S12). 

The UE 2 generates a message including all information 

elements for transmission over the PRACH (S14). The UE 2 

compares the message size with the transport block size of the 

first transport format of the corresponding RACH and adapts 

the message size by deleting measurement information until 

the message fits within the transport block size (S16). The UE 

2 then transmits the adapted message via the PRACH (S18). 

In a UMTS system several PRACHs may be configured in a cell. A UE 2 in RRC-idle or RRC-connected mode reads a 

list of PRACH channels from the system information blocks. 

Each PRACH channel may have a list of available transport 

formats. 

In TDD (Time Division Duplex), the TTI (Transmission 

Time Interval), or duration of the transmission of a transport 

block, of a PRACH may be different depending on the trans 

port format. In 1.28 MCPS TDD mode, the UE 2 always 

selects the largest TTI of the transport formats that are suit 

able for transmission of the transport block set. 

In FDD (Frequency Division Duplex), each PRACH chan 

nel has a fixed TTI. Each transport format is characterized, 

among other characteristics, by a transport block size and the 

number of transport blocks that may be transmitted during 

One TTI. 

In order to select the PRACH, the UE2 first must select the 

TTI to be applied. Once the TTI is selected, the UE 2 selects 

one PRACH channel randomly from the PRACHs that exist 

that use the selected TTI length. If PRACHs with different 

TTI lengths exist, the TTI length is selected according to the 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

8 

method 50 illustrated in FIG. 11. Otherwise, the TTI of the 

configured PRACHs is utilized. 

Referring to FIG. 11, the UE 2 selects a transport format 

with 10 msec. TTI based on the available transport formats in 

step S52. From the transport formats supported by all 

RACHs, those formats that have a TTI of 10 msec. and cor 

respond to a single transport block of all configured RLC 

sizes are kept. 

For example, the RLC size applicable for RBO is kept in 

RRC-idle mode and the RLC sizes configured with explicit 

RB mapping information are kept in RRC-connected mode. If 

more than a single transport format is applicable, the UE 2 

may select any of the available formats. 

Preferably, the UE 2 selects the transport format that is 

intended for use by the next transmission. If such information 

is not available, the transport format corresponding to the 

largest configured RLC size is selected. 

In step S54, the UE 2 calculates the power margin by estimating the transmit power necessary to transmit a trans 

port block set on the RACH with a given transportformat. The 

algorithm used for this calculation is specified by the 3GPP 

standard and uses, among other input parameters, the TTI, the 

transport block size and the number of transport blocks to be 

transmitted. 

In step S56, the calculated power margin is compared to 6 

dB. If the power margin is greater than 6 dB, the 10 msec. TTI 

is selected in step S58. If the calculated power margin is not 

greater than 6 db, the 20 msec. TTI is selected in step S60. 

If the size of a CCCH message is too large using the 

conventional methods 1, 50, a UE2 might completely delete 

the information on the measured results of neighboring cells, 

for example measured results on RACH, even though the 

quality and timing information might be needed in the RNC 

10. Without the quality and timing information, a connection 

may not be established with the RNC 10 when a UE 2 moves 

to another cell. The UE2 may not be able to transmit data and 

a current call may be interrupted or a new call may not be 

initiated. 

Because the UMTS standard restricts a UE 2 to always use 

the first transport block size of the selected PRACH, there is 

only one transport block size available for SRB0. Therefore, 

the size of the messages is limited to the size of the transport 

block. 

It has been Suggested to change the size of the first transport 

format of the PRACH. However, there is no guarantee that all 

mobiles terminals will support a size change of the SRB0. 

Therefore, as long as there are mobile terminals that do not 

support another transport block size used in the PRACH, 

messages that are transmitted via the CCCH in the uplink may 

not be extended in new Releases of the UMTS standard. 

Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that 

conforms to a new UMTS standard that allows messages to be 

transmitted via the CCCH channel that are larger than the 

currently available transport block size, while not impacting 

the operation of mobile terminals that do not conform to the 

new UMTS standard. The present invention addresses these 

and other needs. 

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus 

for enhancing the signaling between a mobile communication 

device and a network. Specifically, the invention is directed to 

a method and apparatus for providing new configurations for 

transmitting control information between a mobile and a net 

work using a common control channel logical channel/trans 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 19 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

port channel such that the operation of mobile terminals that 

do not support the new configurations is not impacted. 

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be 

set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be 

apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice 

of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the 

invention will be realized and attained by the structure par ticularly pointed out in the written description and claims 

hereofas well as the appended drawings. 

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance 

with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and 

broadly described, the present invention is embodied in a 

method and apparatus that enhances the signaling between a 

mobile communication device and a network. Specifically, 

new configurations for transmitting control information 

between a mobile and a network using a common control 

channel (CCCH) logical channel ?transport channel are pro 

vided and an indication is provided from a network regarding which of the new configurations are available for use such that 

previously available configurations are still available for 

mobile terminals that do not support the new configurations. 

In one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided 

for transmitting control information to a network. The 

method includes receiving an information message indicating 

one or more available configurations for transmitting a mes 

sage, selecting one of available configurations and transmit 

ting a message utilizing the selected configuration. 

It is contemplated that the available configurations may include a legacy configuration mode and legacy configuration identity. The legacy configuration mode is a configuration 

mode for transmitting a message that may be utilized by 

mobile terminals that do not support the new configurations provided by the present invention. 

It is contemplated that the available configurations may include a predefined configuration mode and predefined con 

figuration identity. The predefined configuration mode is a 

new configuration for transmitting a message that is provided 

by the present invention. 

It is contemplated that the new configurations provided by 

the present invention may include an additional channel, an 

increased message block size for an existing channel, a new 

channel mapping configuration, and for a new message for 

mat. Preferably the selection of one of the available configu 

rations is based on the size of a message to be transmitted. 

It is contemplated that a new logical channel and/or a new 

physical channel may be provided. It is further contemplated 

that an increased message size may be provided for an exist 

ing channel, preferably a logical channel and for a physical 

channel. Moreover, it is contemplated that a new channel 

mapping configuration may be associated with mapping a 

logical channel to a physical channel. 

It is contemplated that the information message indicating 

the available configurations for transmitting a message may 

be received via a common channel. Preferably, the informa 

tion indicating the available configurations is included in an 

extension portion of the information message. 

It is contemplated that the information message indicating 

the available configurations for transmitting a message may 

be received via a dedicated channel. Preferably the informa 

tion message is an RRC connection setup message. 

In another aspect of the present invention, a method is 

provided for transmitting control information between at 

least one mobile communication device and a network. The 

method includes providing new configurations for transmit 

ting a message in one or more mobile communication 

devices, the new configurations including an additional chan 

nel, an increased message block size for an existing channel, 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

10 

a new channel mapping configuration, and for a new message 

format, transmitting an information message indicating the 

new configurations from the network to one or more mobile 

communication devices, selecting one of the new configura 

tions in the mobile communication devices and transmitting a 

message utilizing the selected configuration from the mobile 

communication devices to the network. 

It is contemplated that a new logical channel and for a new 

physical channel may be provided. It is further contemplated 

that an increased message size may be provided for an exist 

ing channel, preferably a logical channel and for a physical 

channel. Moreover, it is contemplated that a new channel 

mapping configuration may be associated with mapping a 

logical channel to a physical channel. Preferably the selection 

of one of the new configurations is based on the size of a 

message to be transmitted. 

It is contemplated that the information message indicating 

the new configurations for transmitting a message may be 

transmitted via a common channel to a plurality of mobile 

communication devices. Preferably, the information indicat 

ing the available configurations is included in an extension 

portion of the information message Such that mobile commu 

nication devices that do not incorporate the new configura 

tions do not interpret the information. 

It is contemplated that the information message indicating the new configurations for transmitting a message may be 

transmitted via a dedicated channel to a specific mobile com 

munication device. Preferably the information message is an 

RRC connection setup message. 

In another aspect of the present invention, a method is 

provided for transmitting control information to a network. 

The method includes transmitting an information message indicating one or more available configurations for transmit 

ting a message and receiving a message transmitted utilizing 

one of the available configurations. 

It is contemplated that the available configurations may include a legacy configuration mode and legacy configuration identity. The legacy configuration mode is a configuration 

mode for transmitting a message that may be utilized by 

mobile terminals that do not Support the new configurations provided by the present invention. 

It is contemplated that the available configurations may 

include a predefined configuration mode and predefined con 

figuration identity. The predefined configuration mode is a 

new configuration for transmitting a message that is provided 

by the present invention. 

It is contemplated that the new configurations provided by 

the present invention may include an additional channel, an 

increased message block size for an existing channel, a new 

channel mapping configuration, and for a new message for 

mat. Preferably the information message is an RRC connec 

tion setup message. 

It is contemplated that a new logical channel and for a new 

physical channel may be provided. It is further contemplated 

that an increased message size may be provided for an exist 

ing channel, preferably a logical channel and for a physical 

channel. Moreover, it is contemplated that a new channel 

mapping configuration may be associated with mapping a 

logical channel to a physical channel. 

It is contemplated that the information message indicating the available configurations for transmitting a message may 

be transmitted via a common channel to a plurality of mobile 

terminals. Preferably, the information indicating the available 

configurations is included in an extension portion of the infor 

mation message. 

It is contemplated that the information message indicating 

the available configurations for transmitting a message may 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 20 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

11 

be transmitted via a dedicated channel to a specific mobile 

terminal. Preferably the information message is an RRC con 

nection setup message. 

In another aspect of the present invention, a mobile com 

munication device is provided for transmitting control infor 

mation to a network. The mobile communication device 

includes an RF module, an antenna, a keypad, a display, a 

storage unit, and a processing unit. 

The antenna and RF module receive an information mes 

sage from the network and transmit a message to the network. 

The keypad allows a user to enter information. The display 

conveys information to a user. The storage unit stores infor 

mation associated with one or more configurations. The pro cessing unit performs the methods of the present invention to 

process an information message indicating available configu 

rations for transmitting a message, select one of the available 

configurations and transmit a message utilizing the selected 

configuration. 

In another aspect of the present invention, a network is 

provided for transmitting control information to one or more 

mobile terminals. The network includes a transmitter, a 

receiver and a controller. 

The transmitter transmits an information message to one or 

more mobile terminals. The receiver receives a message from 

one or more mobile terminals. The controller performs the 

methods of the present invention to generate an information 

message indicating one or more available configurations for 

transmitting a message and to process messages transmitted 

from one or more mobile terminals utilizing one of the avail 

able configurations. 

It is to be understood that both the foregoing explanation and the following detailed description of the present invention 

are exemplary and illustrative and are intended to provide 

further explanation of the invention as claimed. 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 

The accompanying drawings, which are included to pro 

vide a further understanding of the invention and are incor 

porated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate 

embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the descrip tion serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the 

drawings: 

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a conventional UMTS 

network structure. 

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional radio interface protocol. 

FIG. 3 illustrates different logical channels in a conven 

tional radio interface protocol. 

FIG. 4 illustrates possible mapping between the logical 

channels and the transport channels from the perspective of a 

mobile terminal in a conventional radio interface protocol. 

FIG. 5 illustrates possible mapping between the logical 

channels and the transport channels from the perspective of a 

core network in a conventional radio interface protocol. 

FIG. 6 illustrates possible transitions between modes and 

states of a conventional mobile terminal. 

FIG. 7 illustrates the fields contained in the MAC header in 

a conventional radio interface protocol for all transport chan 

nels except the HS-DSCH transport channel. 

FIG. 8 illustrates the conventional RACH message struc 

ture. 

FIG. 9 illustrates the conventional ASN.1 coding of an 

RRC message for CCCH. FIG. 10 illustrates a conventional 

method for transmitting messages on the CCCH logical chan 

nel. 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

12 

FIG. 11 illustrates a conventional method for selecting the 

TTI length in order to select the PRACH for transmission of 

messages in FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode. 

FIG. 12 illustrates a method for transmitting messages on 

the CCCH logical channel according to one embodiment of 

the present invention. 

FIG. 13 illustrates a method for selecting the TTI length in 

order to select the PRACH for transmission of messages in 

FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode according to one 

embodiment of the present invention. 

FIG. 14 illustrates a method for transmitting an indication 

of available PRACH configurations utilizing a message trans 

mitted to a plurality of mobile terminals according to one 

embodiment of the present invention. 

FIG. 15 illustrates a method for transmitting an indication 

of available PRACH configurations utilizing a message trans 

mitted to a specific mobile terminal according to one embodi 

ment of the present invention. 

FIG.16 illustrates a mobile communication device accord 

ing to one embodiment of the present invention. 

FIG.17 illustrates a network according to one embodiment 

of the present invention. 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED 

EMBODIMENTS 

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for 

providing new configurations for transmitting control infor 

mation between a mobile terminal, for example user equip 

ment (UE), and a radio network controller (RNC) using a 

common control channel (CCCH) logical channel ?transport 

channel such that the operation of mobile terminals that do 

not support the new configurations is not impacted. Although 

the present invention is illustrated with respect to a mobile 

terminal, it is contemplated that the present invention may be 

utilized anytime it is desired to provide new configurations 

for transmitting control information between a mobile com 

munication device and a network. 

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are 

illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the 

drawings, like elements are indicated using the same or simi 

lar reference designations. 

The invention proposes to use a new configuration for the 

transmission of the RRC messages of SRB0. The new con 

figuration is intended to enable messages to be transmitted 

over the CCCH that are larger than those currently allowed for 

transmission. Enabling larger messages, for example mes 

sages containing additional information, to be transmitted 

over the CCCH may prevent essential quality and timing 

information, for example measured results on RACH, from 

being deleted from the messages sent over the CCCH. There 

are several ways in which a new configuration may be imple 

mented. 

A first embodiment of the new configuration provides a 

new physical RACH channel (PRACH) which would be used 

only by UEs 2 that support the use of the additional PRACH. 

The new PRACH may be indicated utilizing the existing 

system information messages such that only UEs 2 that Sup 

port the use of the new PRACH would utilize the new channel 

to transmit messages via the CCCH on the new PRACH. 

A second embodiment of the new configuration allows a 

UE 2 to use a different transport format on the same RACH 

that is presently utilized to transmit messages via the CCCH. 

A new logical channel may be implemented, for example an 

enhanced common control channel (ECCCH), which may be 

mapped on any transport format combination of the available 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 21 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

13 

RACH channels. The RNC 10 would indicate whether a UE 2 

is allowed to use the enhanced CCCH, for example in an 

existing system information message, RRC messages or any 

other messages transmitted from the RNC to the UE 2. 

A third embodiment allows the mapping of the CCCH 

channel on other transport block sizes of the existing RACH. 

There would be no need to change the architecture of the UE 

2 or core network 4, as only the mapping of the PRACH 

would be changed. 

According to the third embodiment, the RNC 10 may sig 

nal whether the UE 2 is allowed to map the CCCH on any 

PRACH and whether any PRACH transport block size or only 

certain PRACH transport block sizes are allowed. The RNC 

10 may indicate the numbers of the entries in the list of 

PRACH transport block sizes that are allowed. Alternately, 

the mapping of the CCCH channel on any PRACH may be 

allowed without any indication from the RNC 10. 

A fourth embodiment allows a new message format to be 

utilized. The new message format may be adapted to include 

only the most necessary data. For example, the START values 

may be omitted in an RRC Connection Request message 

since the START values are also transmitted in the Initial 

Direct transfer message. 

FIG. 12 illustrates a method 100 for selecting a configura tion for transmitting a message via the PRACH according to 

one embodiment of the present invention. The method 100 

includes transmitting information indicating the available 

PRACH configurations to a UE 2 (S102), selecting one of the 

available PRACH configurations (S104), generating a mes 

sage to be transmitted using the selected PRACH configura tion (S106), adapting the generated message to the transport 

block size if necessary (S108) and transmitting the message 

via the PRACH (S110). 

In step S102, the RNC 10 transmits information to a UE 2 

indicating the available PRACH configurations. The avail 

able PRACH configurations may include existing, or legacy 

configurations that are Supported by all UES 2 and for pre 

defined new, or extended, configurations that may not be 

supported by all UEs. 

The extended PRACH configurations may incorporate one 

or more of the four embodiments previously defined; a new 

physical RACH channel, a new logical channel Such as an 

enhanced common control channel (ECCCH), mapping of 

the CCCH channel on other transport block sizes of the exist 

ing RACH, and/or a new message format. The indication of 

the available PRACH configurations may include a configu ration mode and configuration identity for each available 

legacy configuration and each available predefined configu 

ration. 

In step S104, the UE2 selects one of the available PRACH 

configurations, for example by performing an algorithm that 

includes the existing PRACH configuration and the extended 

PRACH configurations. The selection between the existing 

PRACH configuration and the one or more extended PRACH 

configurations is based on the size of the message that is to be 

transmitted in order to select the PRACH configuration that 

allows a transport block size that accommodates all message 

data while adding a minimum amount of overhead. 

Preferably, the UE 2 first determines if the transport block 

size of the existing PRACH configurations allow inclusion of 

all information regarding measured results of neighboring 

cells, for example quality and timing information Such as 

measured results on RACH, in the message. If the transport 

block sizes of the existing PRACH configurations are insuf 

ficient to allow inclusion of all information regarding mea 

Sured results of neighboring cells in the message, the UE 2 

selects one of the extended PRACH configurations. 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

14 

The UE 2 then generates a message to be transmitted 

including all information elements by utilizing the selected 

PRACH configuration in step S106. If the transport block size 

of the selected PRACH configuration is still insufficient to 

allow inclusion of all information regarding measured results 

of neighboring cells in the message, the UE 2 reduces the 

amount of information regarding measured results of neigh boring cells that is included in the message in order to adapt 

the message size to the transport block size of the selected 

PRACH configuration in step S108. 

In FDD (Frequency Division Duplex), if the UE2 is 

allowed to use additional transport formats or an enhanced 

ECCCH, the algorithm to determine the TTI of the available 

PRACHs is impacted. The TTI may be selected according to 

the method 150 in FIG. 13. 

Referring to FIG. 13, the UE 2 selects a transport format 

with 10 msec. TTI based on the available transport formats in 

step S152. From the transportformats supported by all exten 

sion PRACHs, those formats that have a TTI of 10 msec. and 

correspond to a single transport block are kept. If more than a 

single transport format is applicable, the UE 2 may select any 

of the available formats. 

Preferably, the UE 2 selects the transport format that is 

intended for use by the next transmission. For example, for 

RB0/CCCH, the smallest available RLC size that allows the 

next message to be transmitted is selected. If such informa 

tion is not available or, if the largest RLC size is not large enough to accommodate the next message, the transport for 

mat corresponding to the largest configured RLC size is 

selected. 

In step S154, the UE 2 calculates the power margin by estimating the transmit power necessary to transmit a trans 

port block set on the RACH with a given transportformat. The 

algorithm used for this calculation is specified by the 3GPP 

standard and uses, among other input parameters, the TTI, the 

transport block size and the number of transport blocks to be 

transmitted. 

In step S156, the calculated power margin is compared to 6 

dB. If the power margin is greater than 6 dB the 10 msec. TTI 

is selected in step S158. If the calculated power margin is not 

larger than 6 db, the 20 msec. TTI is selected in step S160. 

The transport format for which the power margin is calcu 

lated should then be selected to be the transport format with a 

TTI of 10 mSec. that allows transmission of the RBO/CCCH 

message. If several transport formats with a TTI of 10 msec. 

that allow transmission of the RB0/CCCH message exist, the 

format with the smallest transport block size is selected. If no 

Such transport format exists, the transport format with the 

largest transport block size with 10 msec. TTI is selected. 

In 1.28MCPS TDD mode, the UE 2 may select the trans 

port format with a transport block size that is configured by explicit signaling. For SRB0/CCCH the UE 2 may select a 

transport format that allows transmission of the next message 

for SRB0. If no such transport format exists, the transport 

format with the biggest size should be selected, or if several 

transport formats are available, the transport format with the 

smallest transport block size should be chosen. If several 

transport formats with this transport block size exist, the UE 

2 should select the largest TTI from those transport formats. 

The method of transmitting information indicating the 

available PRACH configurations to a UE 2 must be per 

formed in a manner such that UEs that do not support the new 

configurations are not impacted. The information indicating 

the available PRACH configurations may be transmitted to a 

UE 2 as an extension of the system information transmitted to 

a plurality of UEs 2, for example as part of a broadcast 

message on a common channel, as illustrated in FIG. 14. On 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 22 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

15 

the other hand, the information indicating the available 

PRACH configurations may be transmitted by dedicated 

RRC signaling on a dedicated channel as illustrated in FIG. 

15. 

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the portion of the message that 

contains information available according to the current 3GPP 

standard may be understood by both new UEs 2 that support the new configurations and legacy UEs that do not support the 

new configurations. The indication of extension information 

is read by new UEs 2 and ignored by legacy UEs. The exten 

sion information indicating the available PRACH configura tions is understood only by new UEs 2 that support the new 

configurations. 

As illustrated in FIG. 15, the information indicating the 

available PRACH configurations is transmitted to a specific 

new UE 2 that Supports the new configurations when a con 

nection between a UTRAN 6 and the UE is established. The 

existing RRC connection setup message is utilized to indicate 

the available PRACH configurations. 

The UE 2 requests an RRC connection by transmitting an 

RRC connection request message to the UTRAN 6. If the 

RRC connection can be accomplished, the UTRAN 6 trans 

mits an RRC connection setup message to the UE 2. 

The RRC connection setup message includes an indication 

of the available PRACH configurations if the UE supports the 

new configurations. The indicated available PRACH configu rations may include a legacy configuration, for example the 

existing PRACH configuration, and one or more predefined 

new PRACH configurations, for example any the extended 

PRACH configurations incorporating the four embodiments 

previously defined. If the UE 2 is a legacy UE that does not 

support the new configurations, no indication of the available 

PRACH configurations is included in the RRC connection 

Setup message. 

The UE 2, upon receiving the RRC connection setup mes 

sage, selects one of the available PRACH configurations and 

transmits an RRC connection setup complete message to the 

UTRAN 6. The UE 2 may then transmit messages via the 

PRACH by utilizing the selected PRACH configuration. 

Referring to FIG. 16, a block diagram of a mobile commu 

nication device 200 of the present invention is illustrated, for 

example a mobile phone for performing the methods of the 

present invention. The mobile communication device 200 

includes a processing unit 210 Such as a microprocessor or 

digital signal processor, an RF module 235, a power manage 

ment module 205, an antenna 240, a battery 255, a display 215, a keypad 220, a storage unit 230 such as flash memory, 

ROM or SRAM, a speaker 245 and a microphone 250. 

A user enters instructional information, Such as a telephone number, for example, by pushing the buttons of the keypad 

220 or by voice activation using the microphone 250. The 

processing unit 210 receives and processes the instructional 

information to perform the appropriate function, such as to 

dial the telephone number. Operational data may be retrieved 

from the memory unit 230 to perform the function. Further 

more, the processing unit 210 may display the instructional 

and operational information on the display 215 for the user's 

reference and convenience. 

The processing unit 210 issues instructional information to 

the RF module 235, to initiate communication, for example, by transmitting radio signals comprising Voice communica 

tion data. The RF module 235 includes a receiver and a 

transmitter to receive and transmit radio signals. The antenna 

240 facilitates the transmission and reception of radio signals. 

Upon receiving radio signals, the RF module 235 may for 

ward and convert the signals to baseband frequency for pro cessing by the processing unit 210. The processed signals 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

16 

may be transformed into audible or readable information 

output, for example, via the speaker 245. 

The RF module 235 and antenna 240 are adapted to receive 

an information message from the network 4 and to transmit a 

message to the network and the storage unit 230 is adapted to 

store information associated with one or more configurations. The processing unit 210 is adapted to process an information 

message indicating one or more available configurations for 

transmitting a message, select one of the available configu 

rations and transmit a message utilizing the selected configu 

ration. 

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be readily imple 

mented using, for example, the processor 210 or other data or 

digital processing device, either alone or in combination with 

external Support logic. 

FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of a UTRAN 320 

according to one embodiment of the present invention. The 

UTRAN 320 includes one or more radio network sub-sys 

tems (RNS) 325. Each RNS 325 includes a radio network 

controller (RNC)323 and a plurality of Node-Bs321, or base 

stations, managed by the RNC. The RNC 323 handles the 

assignment and management of radio resources and operates 

as an access point with respect to the core network 4. Further 

more, the RNC 323 is adapted to perform the methods of the 

present invention. 

The Node-Bs 321 receive information sent by the physical layer of a mobile terminal 200 through an uplink and transmit 

data to the mobile terminal through a downlink. The Node-Bs 

321 operate as access points, or as a transmitter and receiver, 

of the UTRAN 320 for a mobile terminal 200. 

The Node-Bs 321 are adapted to transmit an information 

message to one or more mobile terminals 200 and to receive 

a message from one or more mobile terminals. The RNC 323 

is adapted to generate an information message, the informa 

tion message indicating one or more available configurations 

for transmitting a message, and process a message from one 

or more mobile terminals 200, the message transmitted uti 

lizing one of the available configurations. 

The present invention enables a mobile terminal to transmit 

messages to a network via a CCCH that have a larger transport block size than is currently supported by providing extended 

PRACH configurations. By utilizing existing messages trans 

mitted by the network to the mobile terminal to indicate the 

available PRACH configurations, those mobile terminals that 

support the extended PRACH configurations may utilize the 

extended configurations while mobile terminals that do not 

support the extended PRACH configurations may utilize the 

existing configurations. 

Although the present invention is described in the context 

of mobile communication, the present invention may also be 

used in any wireless communication systems using mobile 

devices, such as PDAs and laptop computers equipped with 

wireless communication capabilities. Moreover, the use of 

certain terms to describe the present invention should not 

limit the scope of the present invention to certain type of 

wireless communication system, such as UMTS. The present 

invention is also applicable to other wireless communication 

systems using different air interfaces and/or physical layers, 

for example, TDMA, CDMA, FDMA, WCDMA, etc. 

The preferred embodiments may be implemented as a 

method, apparatus or article of manufacture using standard 

programming and/or engineering techniques to produce Soft 

ware, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. The 

term “article of manufacture' as used herein refers to code or 

logic implemented in hardware logic (e.g., an integrated cir 

cuit chip, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Applica 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 23 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

17 

tion Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.) or a computer 

readable medium (e.g., magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard 

disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD 

ROMs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory 

devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, 

SRAMs, firmware, programmable logic, etc.). 

Code in the computer readable medium is accessed and 

executed by a processor. The code in which preferred embodi 

ments are implemented may further be accessible through a 

transmission media or from a file server over a network. In 

Such cases, the article of manufacture in which the code is 

implemented may comprise a transmission media, Such as a 

network transmission line, wireless transmission media, Sig nals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, 

etc. Ofcourse, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without 

departing from the scope of the present invention, and that the 

article of manufacture may comprise any information bearing 

medium known in the art. 

The logic implementation shown in the figures described 

specific operations as occurring in a particular order. In alter 

native implementations, certain of the logic operations may 

be performed in different order, modified or removed and still 

implement preferred embodiments of the present invention. 

Moreover, steps may be added to the above described logic 

and still conform to implementations of the invention. 

What is claimed is: 

1. A method of transmitting control information from a 

mobile terminal in a network, the method comprising: 

receiving a first message in the mobile terminal, the first 

message including information indicating at least one 

available configuration for transmitting a second mes 

Sage, the second message including at least a portion of 

the control information; 

Selecting one of the at least one available configuration in 

the mobile terminal; and 

transmitting the second message from the mobile terminal 

utilizing the selected configuration, 

wherein the at least one available configuration is physical 

random access channel (PRACH) information related to 

a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel, the 

information including additional transport format infor 

mation for the CCCH comprising at least one of a RLC 

(Radio Link Control) size, a transport block size, or 

number of transport blocks. 

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one available 

configuration comprises a legacy configuration mode and 

legacy configuration identity. 

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one available 

configuration comprises a predefined configuration mode and 

a predefined configuration identity. 

4. The method of claim3, wherein the predefined configu ration mode comprises at least one of utilizing an additional 

channel, utilizing an increased message block size for an 

existing channel, utilizing a new channel mapping configu 

ration, or utilizing a new message format. 

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the additional channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the existing channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the new channel map ping configuration is associated with mapping a logical chan 

nel to a physical channel. 

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is 

received via a common channel. 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

18 

9. The method of claim8, wherein the information indicat 

ing the at least one available configuration for transmitting the 

second message is included in an extension portion of the first 

message. 

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is 

received via a dedicated channel. 

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first message is an 

RRC connection setup message. 

12. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one of the at 

least one available configuration comprises determining the 

size of the second message. 

13. A method of transmitting control information between 

at least one mobile communication device and a network, the 

method comprising: 

providing at least one new configuration for transmitting a 

message in the at least one mobile communication 

device, the at least one new configuration comprising at 

least one of utilizing an additional channel, utilizing an 

increased message block size for an existing channel, utilizing a new channel mapping configuration, or uti 

lizing a new message format; 

transmitting a first message from the network to the at least 

one mobile communication device, the first message including information indicating the at least one new 

configuration; 

selecting one of the at least one new configuration in the at 

least one mobile communication device; and 

transmitting a second message from the at least one mobile 

communication device to the network utilizing the 

Selected configuration, the second message including at 

least a portion of the control information, 

wherein the at least one new configuration is physical 

random access channel (PRACH) information related to 

a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel, the 

information including additional transport format infor 

mation for the CCCH comprising at least one of a RLC 

(Radio Link Control) size, a transport block size, or 

number of transport blocks. 

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the additional channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the existing channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the new mapping configuration is associated with mapping a logical channel to 

a physical channel. 

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the first message is 

transmitted via a common channel to a plurality of mobile 

communication devices. 

18. The method of claim 17, wherein information indicat 

ing the at least one new configuration is included in an exten 

sion portion of the first message Such that a mobile commu 

nication device that does not incorporate the at least one new 

configuration does not interpret the information. 

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the first message is 

transmitted via a dedicated channel to a specific mobile com 

munication device. 

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first message is an 

RRC connection setup message. 

21. The method of claim 13, wherein selecting one of the at 

least one new configuration comprises determining the size of 

the second message. 

22. A method of transmitting control information to at least 

one mobile terminal, the method comprising: 

transmitting a first message to the at least one mobile 

terminal, the first message including information indi 

cating at least one available configuration for transmit 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 24 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

19 

ting a second message, the second message including at 

least a portion of the control information; and 

receiving the second message from the at least one mobile 

terminal, the second message transmitted utilizing one 

of the at least one available configuration, wherein the at least one available configuration is physical 

random access channel (PRACH) information related to 

a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel, the 

information including additional transport format infor 

mation for the CCCH comprising at least one of a RLC 

(Radio Link Control) size, a transport block size, or 

number of transport blocks. 

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one 

available configuration comprises a legacy configuration 

mode and legacy configuration identity. 

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one 

available configuration comprises a predefined configuration 

mode and a predefined configuration identity. 

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the predefined con 

figuration mode comprises at least one of utilizing an addi 

tional channel, utilizing an increased message block size for 

an existing channel, utilizing a new channel mapping con 

figuration, or utilizing a new message format. 

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the additional channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the existing channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the new channel 

mapping configuration is associated with mapping a logical 

channel to a physical channel. 

29. The method of claim 22, wherein the first message is 

transmitted via a common channel to a plurality of mobile 

terminals. 

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the information indi 

cating the at least one available configuration is included in an 

extension portion of the first message. 

31. The method of claim 22, wherein the first message is 

transmitted via a dedicated channel to a specific mobile ter 

minal. 

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the first message is an 

RRC connection setup message. 

33. A mobile communication device for transmitting con 

trol information to a network, the mobile communication 

device comprising: 

an RF module configured to receive a first message from 

the network and to transmit a second message to the 

network, the first message including information indi 

cating at least one available configuration for transmit 

ting the second message and the second message includ 

ing at least a portion of the control information; 

an antenna configured to receive the first message from the 

network and to transmit the second message to the net 

work; 

a keypad configured to input information from a user; 

a storage unit configured to store information associated 

with the at least one available configuration for trans 

mitting the second message; 

a display configured to convey information to the user; and 

a processing unit configured to process the first message, 

Select one of the at least one available configuration and 

transmit the second message utilizing the selected con 

figuration, 

wherein the at least one available configuration is physical 

random access channel (PRACH) information related to 

a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel, the 

information including additional transport format infor 

mation for the CCCH comprising at least one of a RLC 

10 

15 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

20 

(Radio Link Control) size, a transport block size, or 

number of transport blocks. 

34. The mobile communication device of claim 33, 

wherein the at least one available configuration comprises a 

legacy configuration mode and legacy configuration identity. 

35. The mobile communication device of claim 33, 

wherein the at least one available configuration comprises a 

predefined configuration mode and a predefined configura 

tion identity. 

36. The mobile communication device of claim 35, 

wherein the predefined configuration mode comprises at least 

one of utilizing an additional channel, utilizing an increased 

message block size for an existing channel, utilizing a new 

channel mapping configuration, or utilizing a new message 

format. 

37. The mobile communication device of claim 36, 

wherein the additional channel comprises a logical channel or 

a physical channel. 

38. The mobile communication device of claim 36, 

wherein the existing channel comprises a logical channel or a 

physical channel. 

39. The mobile communication device of claim 36, 

wherein the new channel mapping configuration is associated 

with mapping a logical channel to a physical channel. 

40. The mobile communication device of claim 33, 

wherein the first message is received via a common channel. 

41. The mobile communication device of claim 40, 

wherein the information indicating the at least one available 

configuration is included in an extension portion of the first 

message. 

42. The mobile communication device of claim 33, 

wherein the first message is received via a dedicated channel. 

43. The mobile communication device of claim 42, 

wherein the first message is an RRC connection setup mes 

Sage. 

44. The mobile communication device of claim 33, 

wherein the processor is configured to select one of the at least 

one available configuration by determining the size of the 

Second message. 

45. A network for transmitting control information to at 

least one mobile terminal, the network comprising: 

a transmitter configured to transmit a first message to the at 

least one mobile terminal, the first message including information indicating at least one available configura tion for transmitting a second message; 

a receiver configured to receive the second message from 

the at least one mobile terminal, the second message including at least a portion of the control information; 

and 

a controller configured to generate the first message and 

process the second message from the at least one mobile 

terminal, the second message transmitted utilizing one 

of the at least one available configuration, 

wherein the at least one available configuration is physical 

random access channel (PRACH) information related to 

a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel, the 

information including additional transport format infor 

mation for the CCCH comprising at least one of a RLC 

(Radio Link Control) size, a transport block size, or 

number of transport blocks. 

46. The network of claim 45, wherein the at least one 

available configuration comprises a legacy configuration 

mode and legacy configuration identity. 

47. The network of claim 45, wherein the at least one 

available configuration comprises a predefined configuration 

mode and a predefined configuration identity. 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 25 of 26
US 7,580,388 B2 

21 

48. The network of claim 47, wherein the predefined con 

figuration mode comprises at least one of utilizing an addi 

tional channel, utilizing an increased message block size for 

an existing channel, utilizing a new channel mapping con 

figuration, or utilizing a new message format. 

49. The network of claim 48, wherein the additional chan 

nel comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

50. The network of claim 48, wherein the existing channel 

comprises a logical channel or a physical channel. 

51. The network of claim 48, wherein the new channel 

mapping configuration is associated with mapping a logical 

channel to a physical channel. 

52. The network of claim 45, wherein the first message is 

transmitted via a common channel to a plurality of mobile 

terminals. 

53. The network of claim 52, wherein the information 

indicating the at least one available configuration is included 

in an extension portion of the first message. 

54. The network of claim 37, wherein the first message is 

transmitted via a dedicated channel to a specific mobile ter 

minal. 

55. The network of claim 54, wherein the first message is 

an RRC connection setup message. 

10 

15 

22 

56. The method of claim 1, wherein the first or second 

message is a RRC (Radio Resource Control) message. 

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the RRC message is 

associated with a signaling radio bearer 0 (SRB0). 

58. The method of claim 13, wherein at least the first or 

second message is a RRC (Radio Resource Control) message. 

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the RRC message is 

associated with a signaling radio bearer 0 (SRB0). 

60. The method of claim 22, wherein at least the first or 

second message is a RRC (Radio Resource Control) message. 

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the RRC message is 

associated with a signaling radio bearer 0 (SRB0). 

62. The mobile communication device of claim 33, 

wherein at least the first or second message is a RRC (Radio 

Resource Control) message. 

63. The mobile communication device of claim 62, 

wherein the RRC message is associated with a signaling radio 

bearer 0 (SRB0). 

64. The network of claim 45, wherein at least the first or 

second message Is a RRC (Radio Resource Control) message. 

65. The network of claim 64, wherein the RRC message is 

associated with a signaling radio bearer 0 (SRB0). 

k k k k k 

Case 1:20-cv-22051-JEM Document 1-24 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/15/2020 Page 26 of 26