Patent Description:
Machine-type communications (MTC) has become increasingly important, and the number of MTC devices has increased significantly in recent years. Some of these MTC devices are mission-critical and require a high level of reliable connectivity to support public safety applications or other applications. Nevertheless, MTC devices are expected to communicate with infrequent small- burst transmissions, and other non-MTC devices should be able to use as much bandwidth as possible without interfering with MTC operations, to provide wireless users with expected data rate levels. <NPL>" discusses frequency scheduling options for low cost MTC UEs. The document discloses a PDCCH that allocates a PDSCH for Cat <NUM> UE. The PDCCH does not occur in a primary partition, and the PDCCH does not determine resource allocation information of a secondary partition. <CIT> relates to resource allocation on a virtual carrier for machine-type communications with a narrow band EPDCCH.

Any embodiment, implementation, aspect or example not claimed is only presented as information.

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments can incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes.

<FIG> is a functional diagram of a 3GPP network in accordance with some embodiments. The network comprises a radio access network (RAN) (e.g., as depicted, the E-UTRAN or evolved universal terrestrial radio access network) <NUM> and the core network <NUM> (e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together through an S1 interface <NUM>. For convenience and brevity sake, only a portion of the core network <NUM>, as well as the RAN <NUM>, is shown.

The core network <NUM> includes a mobility management entity (MME) <NUM>, a serving gateway (serving GW) <NUM>, and packet data network gateway (PDN GW) <NUM>. The RAN <NUM> includes Evolved Node-B's (e:NBs) <NUM> (which can operate as base stations) for communicating with User Equipment (UE) <NUM>. The eNBs <NUM> can include macro eNBs and low power (LP) eNBs. In accordance with some embodiments, the eNB <NUM> can receive uplink data packets from the UE <NUM> on a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection between the eNB <NUM> and the UE <NUM>. The eNB <NUM> can transmit an RRC connection release message to the UE <NUM> to indicate a transition of the UE <NUM> to an RRC idle mode for the RRC connection. The eNB <NUM> can further receive additional uplink data packets according to the stored context information.

The MME <NUM> manages mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The serving GW <NUM> terminates the interface toward the RAN <NUM>, and routes data packets between the RAN <NUM> and the core network <NUM>. In addition, it can be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNB handovers and also can provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. The serving GW <NUM> and the MME <NUM> can be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. The PDN GW <NUM> terminates an SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW <NUM> routes data packets between the EPC <NUM> and the external PDN, and can be a key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. It can also provide an anchor point for mobility with non-LTE accesses. The external PDN can be any kind of IP network, as well as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domain. The PDN GW <NUM> and the serving GW <NUM> can be implemented in one physical node or separated physical nodes. Furthermore, the MME <NUM> and the Serving GW <NUM> can be collapsed into one physical node in which case the messages will be transferred with one less hop.

The eNBs <NUM> (macro and micro) terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for a UE <NUM>. In some embodiments, an eNB <NUM> can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN <NUM> including but not limited to RNC (radio network controller functions) such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In accordance with embodiments, UEs <NUM> can be configured to communicate Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with an eNB <NUM> over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique.

The S1 interface <NUM> is the interface that separates the RAN <NUM> and the EPC <NUM>. It is split into two parts: the S1-U, which carries traffic data between the eNBs <NUM> and the serving GW <NUM>, and the S1-MME, which is a signaling interface between the eNBs <NUM> and the MME <NUM>. The X2 interface is the interface between eNBs <NUM>. The X2 interface comprises two parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C is the control plane interface between the eNBs <NUM>, while the X2-U is the user plane interface between the eNBs <NUM>.

With cellular networks, LP cells are typically used to extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to add network capacity in areas with very dense phone usage, such as train stations. As used herein, the term low power (LP) eNB refers to any suitable relatively low power eNB for implementing a narrower cell (narrower than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a micro cell. Femtocell eNBs are typically provided by a mobile network operator to its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically the size of a residential gateway or smaller and generally connects to the user's broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to the mobile operator's mobile network and provides extra coverage in a range of typically <NUM> to <NUM> meters for residential femtocells. Thus, a LP eNB might be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through the PDN GW <NUM>. Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication system typically covering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls, train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocell eNB can generally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as a macro eNB through its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNB can be implemented with a picocell eNB since it is coupled to a macro eNB via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs can incorporate some or all functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this can be referred to as an access point base station or enterprise femtocell.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from an eNB <NUM> to a UE <NUM>, while uplink transmission from the UE <NUM> to the eNB <NUM> can utilize similar techniques. Each column and each row of the resource grid correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The network frame structure and particular frame information (e.g., frame number) can depend on the Radio Access Technology (RAT) being used by the UE to connect with the network. For example, communication over an LTE network can be divided into <NUM> frames, each of which can contain ten <NUM> subframes. Each subframe of the frame, in turn, can contain two slots of <NUM>.

The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element (RE). Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks (RBs), which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements and in the frequency domain and can represent the smallest quanta of resources that currently can be allocated.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to a UE <NUM>. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things.

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may be configured to operate according to a Machine Type Communication (MTC) or Internet of Things (IoT) mode or protocol. As part of such operation, the UE <NUM> may exchange small quantities of data with the eNB <NUM> (or other device) at relatively infrequent rates. For instance, data blocks that include <NUM> bytes or fewer may be transmitted to the eNB <NUM> at a frequency of less than once per minute. The block size is not limited to <NUM> bytes, however, as other block sizes such as <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or other number of bytes may be used in some cases. The frequency of transmission is also not limited to less than once per minute, as other frequency transmissions such as once per second, ten seconds, two minutes, ten minutes, one hour, one day or other period may be used in some cases.

There has been a recent trend of ever-increasing usage of MTC devices. Support for MTC is expected to be an important feature for 3GPP <NUM> systems and networks. MTC devices used for many applications will require low operational power consumption and are expected to communicate with infrequent small burst transmissions. Some MTC devices implement mission-critical applications (e.g., in the area of public safety) and accordingly require highly reliable connectivity with guaranteed low latency, availability and reliability-of-service. Other, non-MTC devices often expect very high data rates, which is also a driver in network development and evolution for <NUM> systems.

To address these and other concerns, a structure for Flexible RAT (e.g., "xRAT") has been proposed to define a unified framework for the support of diverse requirements, applications and services, multiple frequency bands, multiple application/services, licensed/unlicensed frequency, and multiple RATs.

<FIG> illustrates a design framework for 3GPP LTE <NUM> xRAT in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in the figure, multiple RATs/sub-RATs/partitions or applications in different or same frequency resource or frequency bands can be multiplexed in either TDM, FDM, Code division multiplexing (CDM), or a combination of the above. For example, a mission-critical MTC application <NUM> may have short TTIs, in a short TTI partition <NUM> to enable low-latency usage. Long TTIs in a long TTI partition <NUM> can be used for massive MTC <NUM> in which large numbers of MTC devices are present, but the MTC devices are themselves delay-tolerant (e.g., some MTC devices, as described earlier, may only communicate once per minute, once per hour, once per day, or even less frequently). TTIs in a normal TTI partition <NUM> for mobile broadband applications <NUM> are shown by way of comparison as being longer (e.g., twice as long) as TTIs <NUM> for mid-range requirements in latency. Other partitions <NUM> can also be present. Embodiments as described herein are not limited to the partitions and TTI lengths shown in <FIG>, nor are embodiments limited to any particular number of partitions. Embodiments can include one partitions (e.g., comprised of an entire system bandwidth) or any number of partitions.

Based on the proposed xRAT framework (e.g., the example xRAT framework shown in <FIG>), it may be beneficial to dynamically allocate resources for different partitions which can be used for different applications or services. For example, MTC usage may vary depending on time of day.

<FIG> illustrate dynamic resource allocation (DRA) for massive machine-type communication (MTC) applications in accordance with some embodiments. Depending on the traffic, resources or sub-bands may be dynamically allocated for MTC applications. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the MTC system may be lightly loaded in one time period (e.g., during the daytime), so a smaller partition <NUM> (e.g., a secondary partition) may be used for MTC, with the rest of the bandwidth being allocated to the primary partition <NUM> for regular (e.g., non-MTC) communication. In contrast, as seen in <FIG>, during another time interval (e.g., at night) a larger secondary partition <NUM> may be allocated for MTC applications, leaving the primary partition <NUM> slightly smaller.

Embodiments, therefore, provide for dynamic resource allocation, such that different sizes for secondary partitions <NUM> (e.g., partitions for MTC communication) can be provided at various times (e.g., times of day or other periodicity) to vary with expected or observed MTC system loads. For example, the size (e.g., in PRBs) of a secondary partition <NUM> can be increased when a larger MTC system load is expected or observed. Embodiments may be used in particular for situations of massive MTC, to increase the overall resource allocation for MTC applications, rather than for mission-critical MTC that is more delay-sensitive, although embodiments are not limited to massive MTC usage.

In various embodiments, the entire system bandwidth can be considered as a candidate for partitioning into secondary and primary partitions, and accordingly a UE <NUM> can receive (and an eNB <NUM> can transmit) DRA messages for allocating a secondary partition in any portion of the entire system bandwidth. At least these embodiments can provide greater flexibility in partitioning. However, this flexibility may come with a tradeoff of greater signaling overhead, at least because no portion of the system bandwidth can be assumed to always be of the primary partition, and signaling overhead may be increased to notify UEs <NUM> of the existence or location of secondary partitions and primary partitions.

In other embodiments, the UE <NUM> will receive configuration information from an eNB <NUM> that indicates information for a sub-band, of the entire system bandwidth, for which the UE <NUM> can receive DRA messages allocating resources to a primary partition and a secondary partition of the sub-band. As described earlier herein, the secondary partition in the context of embodiments described herein can include allocations for MTC, and the primary partition includes allocations for communications other than MTC. Portions of the system bandwidth outside the sub-band are allocated to the primary partition.

The UE <NUM> can receive the configuration information in a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB) or in dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, among other mechanisms described later herein. The eNB <NUM> may further indicate the resource allocation of different partitions within this configured bandwidth. By way of illustrate example, give a system bandwidth comprising <NUM> PRBs, PRBs from #<NUM> to # <NUM> may be allocated for dynamic resource allocation (DRA) of different partitions (e.g., primary partition and secondary partition), while the remaining PRBs are allocated for the primary partition. The eNB <NUM> can dynamically adjust the resources for secondary partitions within these configured <NUM> PRBs using DRA messaging as described, in accordance with various embodiments.

Further, the configuration information provided in the DRA messaging may only contain the resource allocation of the primary partition in some embodiments. In this case, the UE <NUM> may decode the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDDCH) in the primary partition to determine resource allocation information of the secondary partition. If the UE <NUM> is an MTC UE, the UE <NUM> may perform MTC communication in the secondary partition using the resource allocation information of the secondary partition that was retrieved through control channel decoding. These embodiments may be appropriate for delay tolerant applications, e.g., massive MTC applications, at least because it is necessary for the MTC UE <NUM> in these embodiments to decode a control channel to access secondary partition resources.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the configuration information provided in the DRA messaging may contain the resource allocation of the secondary partitions, in addition to or instead of containing the resource allocation of the primary partitions. At least these embodiments may allow the UE <NUM> quicker access to the secondary partitions, which may be beneficial for delay sensitive applications, e.g. mission critical MTC such as public safety communications. In at least these embodiments, an MTC UE <NUM> can perform MTC communications within the secondary partition when the configuration information includes allocation information for the secondary partition. Otherwise, if the UE <NUM> is other than MTC, the UE <NUM> may refrain from performing communications in the secondary partition.

To reduce the signaling overhead, a resource sub-band can be defined, whereby each resource sub-band includes a number of PRBs, so that signaling is not performed for each individual PRB but rather for groups of PRBs. Further, the size of resource sub-band can be different depending on the system bandwidth. An example of the size of the resource sub-band is illustrated in the Table <NUM>. Note that other examples of the resource sub-band sizes can be used, and therefore embodiments are not limited to the sub-band sizes, or possible system bandwidths, described in Table <NUM>.

The eNB <NUM> can indicate resource allocations within the primary partitions and secondary partitions using various mechanisms in accordance with various embodiments. In one example embodiment, the eNB <NUM> can transmit a bitmap that indicates the resource allocation of the primary partition, the secondary partition, or both the primary partition and the secondary partition. Given a system bandwidth BW, and K=sub-band size in PRBs, the number of resource sub-bands NSB for a partition can be given by: <MAT>.

The bitmap for expressing the allocations will therefore include NSB bits. A bit can have a value of "<NUM>" if, for example a corresponding sub-band is allocated to the secondary partition, and "<NUM>" if the corresponding sub-band is allocated to the primary partition. However, embodiments are not limited thereto and the bits can have opposite values to signify secondary partitions or primary partitions. For example, given NSB = <NUM>, a bitmap "<NUM>" indicates that resource sub-bands #<NUM>, #<NUM>, and #<NUM> are allocated for the primary partition while resource sub-band #<NUM> is allocated for the secondary sub-band. Accordingly, in the illustrated example for a <NUM> system bandwidth or configured partial system bandwidth, the secondary partition would be allocated <NUM> PRBs (or <NUM> PRBs for a <NUM> system bandwidth, and <NUM> PRBs for a <NUM> bandwidth) with reference to Table <NUM>. It will be appreciated, however, that embodiments are not limited to this illustrative example for determining secondary partition size or primary partition size. Further, in at least one embodiment, the eNB <NUM> can transmit a resource sub-band index to indicate the allocation of partitions. For example, given NSB = <NUM>, transmitting bit "<NUM>" indicates that the resource sub-band #<NUM> is allocated for a secondary partitions.

<FIG> illustrates a configuration of resource allocation of partitions in accordance with some carrier aggregation (CA) embodiments. In these embodiments allocation of partitions for component carriers (CC) are included in signaling from the eNB <NUM> in, e.g., the primary cell (PCell). As shown in <FIG>, UE # <NUM> obtains the information for resource allocation of the partitions for CC #<NUM> and CC #<NUM> while UE #<NUM> obtains the information for CC #<NUM> and CC #<NUM>. For each UE, the CC index(s) used for the DRA of partitions can be configured in a UE-specific manner via dedicated RRC signaling, although embodiments are not limited thereto.

The eNB <NUM> (or other entity) can signal resource allocation of partitions using one or more of a variety of mechanisms described herein.

For example, as described earlier herein, resource allocation of different partitions can be indicated in an MIB. After successfully decoding the MIB, the UE <NUM> obtains the resource allocation for different partitions. In other embodiments, resource allocation of different partitions can be indicated in the SIB. In at least these embodiments, the UE <NUM> receive updates of the DRA within a broadcast control channel (BCCH) modification period, which is provided by higher layers. A UE <NUM> may be informed of updates via a paging message including a SystemInfoModification flag. Use of these embodiments may be appropriate when resource allocation of different partitions is updated semi-statically.

In some embodiments, resource allocation of different partitions can be indicated in a control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDCCH, etc.). Resource allocation and configuration information for DRA will be indicated in the control channel using one of different mechanisms as described later herein, depending on the specific multiplexing scheme between control channels and shared channels.

In some embodiments, resource allocation of different partitions can be indicated in a dedicated control channel in the downlink. Because only limited information can be carried in the dedicated control channel, the size of configuration information may be small. Accordingly, the dedicated control channel may carry configuration information of resource allocation of partitions for only the serving cell. Dedicated control channel design is described in more detail later herein.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned mechanisms can be combined to indicate the resource allocation of different partitions. In one example, an eNB <NUM> can use a dedicated control channel to signal partial information of resource allocation of partitions, while another (e.g., non-dedicated) control channel may be used to signal remaining information. A UE <NUM> may first detect whether the dedicated control channel is updated. If the information is changed, the UE <NUM> may subsequently decode the corresponding control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDCCH, etc.) for the detailed resource allocation of partitions.

<FIG> illustrate multiplexing schemes for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in <FIG>, a control channel <NUM> can be TDM with a shared channel <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, a control channel <NUM> can be FDM with a shared channel <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, a control channel <NUM> can be both TDM and FDM with a shared channel (e.g., the control channel and shared channel can be multiplexed in a hybrid mode).

In embodiments for which the control channel and shared channel are multiplexed in a TDM manner (e.g., as shown in <FIG>), a self-contained control channel design may be implemented to avoid the collision between control channel and sub-band allocations for secondary partitions. In particular, the resource for the transmission of self-contained control channels may not overlap with that for secondary partitions.

<FIG> illustrate self-contained resource mapping of a PDCCH with secondary partitions in accordance with some embodiments. In <FIG>, the self-contained control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDCCH, etc.) <NUM> is transmitted in the central PRBs within the bandwidth and spans the initial OFDM symbols within one transmission time interval TTI. An example secondary partition <NUM> is also shown. In <FIG>, the self-contained control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDCCH, etc.) <NUM> is distributed in PRBs in the initial OFDM symbols, again avoiding a secondary partition <NUM>.

In embodiments for which the control channel and shared channel are multiplexed in a FDM manner (<FIG>) or a hybrid mode (<FIG>) a control channel with a common search space can be used to signal the configuration information for resource allocation of different partitions. Similarly, the resource allocated for the transmission of the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDCCH, etc.) with common search space may not overlap with that for secondary partitions.

In these and other embodiments, a DCI format that includes at least information regarding the dynamic resource allocation of the primary or secondary partitions can be provided. This DCI format can include other information, for example, dynamic DL/UL configurations in the TDD system or control channel common search space configuration can be carried in the same DCI format, by way of nonlimiting example.

<FIG> illustrate downlink control information (DCI) format structures in accordance with some embodiments. In <FIG>, the bit fields for dynamic resource allocations of partitions for N CCs are followed by similar bit fields for dynamic UL/DL configurations for M CCs. In contrast, in <FIG>, the bit fields for dynamic resource allocation of partitions and UL/DL configurations for CC #<NUM> are followed by corresponding bit fields for CC #<NUM>, and so on. Note that the CC index(s) for each UE used for the dynamic resource allocation of partitions and UL/DL configurations can be signaled in a UE specific manner via dedicated RRC signaling. Further, to avoid excessive blind decoding attempts, zero padding may be used in some embodiments for the proposed DCI format to match other DCI format(s). Similar design principles of the above-described embodiments can be extended to include other information in the DCI format, and embodiments are not limited to providing only DRA and dynamic UL/DL configurations in the DCI format described in <FIG>.

Further, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) (e.g., DRA-RNTI) can be defined in 3GPP LTE specifications (e.g., 3GPP LTE <NUM> specifications and later versions) for the transmission of control channels as described herein, wherein the cyclic redundancy code (CRC) of the control channel is scrambled by DRA-RNTI. Accordingly, a UE <NUM> can decode the control channel with a CRC scrambled by this RNTI (e.g., DRA-RNTI). This DRA-RNTI can be predefined or configured by higher layers via MIB, SIB, dedicated RRC signaling, etc..

The UE <NUM> can monitor for the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH, xPDCCH, etc.) in subframes specified according to a periodicity parameter provided in upper-layer signaling. To control the timescale of dynamic resource allocation of different partitions, the periodicity of the control which contains the resource information of primary or secondary partitions can be configured in some embodiments. Such timescale control can also assist in reducing power consumption in that a UE <NUM> will only monitor certain subframe for a control channel with CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI.

In at least some embodiments, the subframes that the UE <NUM> will monitor for a control channel with a CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI can be defined in the downlink subframes or in special subframes in a TDD system satisfying: <MAT> where nf and ns are radio frame numbers and slot numbers, respectively; NOFFSET,DRA and DRAPERIODICITY are the subframe offset and periodicity of the control channel transmission with CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI, respectively.

In accordance with the claimed embodiment, NOFFSET,DRA and DRAPERIODICITY can be defined according to IDRA which is given by Table <NUM>. Further, configuration index IDRA can be predefined or configured by higher layers via MIB, SIB, or dedicated RRC signaling.

In other embodiments, the periodicity, (e.g., DRAPERIODICY) for the control channel with CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI can be predefined or configured by higher layers via MIB, SIB or dedicated RRC signaling. Further, within this configured periodicity, the UE <NUM> may monitor a set of subframes for the control channel with CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI.

For example, a subframe bit map with parameter (e.g., "subframeBitMap") can be transmitted by the eNB <NUM> or other entity to signal the subframes that the UE <NUM> shall monitor for a control channel with CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI, which can be repeated within the configured periodicity. By way of illustrative example, subframeBitMap could have a value "<NUM><NUM>" and a configured periodicity in subframes can be set to <NUM>. In this illustrative example, the first and second radio frames have the same subframe bit map, and subframes #<NUM>, #<NUM>, #<NUM> and #<NUM> in each frame are allocated for the transmission of a control channel with CRC scrambled by DRA-RNTI. Embodiments are not limited to any particular size or configuration of the subframe bitmap or to any particular periodicity. As with DRAPERIODICITY, subframeBitMap can be predefined or configured by higher layers via MIB, SIB, or dedicated RRC signaling.

As described earlier herein, dedicated control channels are expected to only be able to carry limited amounts of information. Accordingly, the configuration of resource allocation of partitions provided in dedicated control channels may only include these for the serving cell. <FIG> illustrates operations of a method <NUM> for generation of a dedicated control channel. In the example, a resource allocation, expressed in bits, is provided for encoding at block <NUM>. In block <NUM>, a block coding is adopted for the resource allocation of the partitions, i.e., X bits. In one example, the block coding scheme can be based on the channel coding for control frame indicators (CFI) according to 3GPP LTE specifications in current or later versions thereof (e.g., 3GPP TS <NUM>). In another example, the block coding scheme can be based on the Reed-Müller code used for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format <NUM>.

The dedicated control channel is scrambled at operation <NUM> to minimize interference. More specifically, the scrambling seed can be defined as a function of a physical cell ID and/or a virtual cell ID and/or subframe/slot/symbol index for the transmission of dedicated control channel. In one example, the scrambling seed can be given by: <MAT> where ns is the slot index and <MAT> is the cell ID.

Modulation is performed at <NUM> (using, e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK) or offset quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), although embodiments are not limited thereto). Dedicated control channel resources are then mapped in operation <NUM>, and as illustrated later herein. While only resource allocation is provided as an input in the example of <FIG>, other information can be combined at the input, for instance, size of control region, common control channel configuration, etc. Further, the periodicity and subframes for the transmission of dedicated control channel can be configured according to operations described earlier herein for other control channels (e.g., non-dedicated control channels).

In at least some embodiments, the dedicated control channel is transmitted in the first symbol within a configured subframe. Given N as the number of modulated symbols for the dedicated control channel, and given that N symbols are divided into K groups, wherein each group includes M=N/K symbols or subcarriers. , embodiments can exploit frequency diversity by separating the K groups within the system bandwidth. For example, the frequency distance between two groups can be given by <MAT> where Nsc is the number of subcarriers within the system bandwidth. Further, to avoid collisions between dedicated control channel transmissions in neighboring cells, the location of the K groups in the frequency domain can be made to depend on the physical layer cell identity.

<FIG> illustrates resource mapping for a dedicated control channel in accordance with various embodiments as can be generated according to operation <NUM> of example method <NUM> (<FIG>). In the example of <FIG>, K = <NUM> (e.g., there are four groups <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> of symbols for dedicated control channel). Further, the starting frequency position of the dedicated control channel transmission can be made to depend on the physical cell identifier.

It will be appreciated that, in order to allow proper channel estimation and coherent detection by a UE <NUM>, reference symbols (RS) will be inserted within each group for the transmission of the dedicated control channel. The RSs can be based on cell-specific RS (e.g., CRS) or DeModulation RS (DM-RS). <FIG> illustrate resource mapping for data and reference symbols in accordance with various embodiments. <FIG> give various configurations using different numbers of RSs. For example, <FIG> gives four RSs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>; <FIG> gives different groupings and numbers of RSs than <FIG> (e.g., <NUM> RSs are given in the example of <FIG> shows yet another number of RSs (e.g., <NUM> RSs).

Alternatively, some embodiments may allow non-coherent detection at the UE <NUM>. In at least these embodiments, an RS may not be used or transmitted. More specifically, the modulated symbols occupy the entire resource allocated to the dedicated control channel.

In another embodiment, the dedicated control channel is transmitted within central PRBs relative to the system bandwidth. Further, the dedicated control channel may be transmitted adjacent to PSS/SSS/PBCH. Depending on the payload size of the dedicated control channel, the dedicated control channel may span a number Q of symbols (e.g., <NUM> symbol or <NUM> symbols) within one subframe.

<FIG> illustrates resource mapping for a dedicated control channel in accordance with various embodiments. In <FIG>, the dedicated control channel is transmitted prior to PSS and SSS. Note that other resource mapping schemes can be extended from the example as shown in <FIG>. For instance, the dedicated control channel can be transmitted after PSS/SSS/PBCH.

Regarding the RS resource mapping, the options as shown in <FIG> can be adopted. Alternatively, the UE <NUM> may rely on the PSS (e.g., PSS or xPSS), SSS (e.g., SSS or xSSS) and/or PBCH (e.g., PBCH or xPBCH) RS for the channel estimation for the dedicated control channel. In this case, the precoder applied for the transmission of PSS/SSS and/or PBCH is same as that for the transmission of dedicated control channel.

<FIG> is a functional diagram of a User Equipment (UE) <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments. The UE <NUM> may be suitable for use as a UE <NUM> as depicted in <FIG>. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include application circuitry <NUM>, baseband circuitry <NUM>, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry <NUM>, front-end module (FEM) circuitry <NUM> and one or more antennas <NUM>, coupled together at least as shown. In some embodiments, other circuitry or arrangements may include one or more elements and/or components of the application circuitry <NUM>, the baseband circuitry <NUM>, the RF circuitry <NUM> and/or the FEM circuitry <NUM>, and may also include other elements and/or components in some cases. As an example, "processing circuitry" may include one or more elements and/or components, some or all of which may be included in the application circuitry <NUM> and/or the baseband circuitry <NUM>. As another example, "transceiver circuitry" may include one or more elements and/or components, some or all of which may be included in the RF circuitry <NUM> and/or the FEM circuitry <NUM>. These examples are not limiting, however, as the processing circuitry and/or the transceiver circuitry may also include other elements and/or components in some cases.

In embodiments, the processing circuitry can configure the transceiver circuitry to receive configuration information from an eNB (e.g., eNB <NUM>, <FIG>). The configuration information can indicate information for a sub-band of a system bandwidth, for which the UE is to receive DRA messages allocating resources to a primary partition and a secondary partition of the sub-band. As described earlier herein, the secondary partition can include allocations for MTC, and the primary partition can include allocations for other than MTC, and portions of the system bandwidth outside the sub-band are typically allocated to the primary partition in most embodiments.

The processing circuitry can configure the transceiver circuitry to perform MTC communications within the secondary partition when the configuration information includes allocation information for the secondary partition and the UE <NUM> is a MTC UE. Otherwise, if the UE <NUM> is other than MTC, the processing circuitry can configure the transceiver circuitry to refrain from performing communications in the secondary partition.

The processing circuitry can configure the transceiver circuitry to receive other channels such as a downlink shared channel (e.g., PDSCH) from the eNB <NUM>. The downlink shared channel can be TDM with the control channel. The downlink shared channel can additionally or alternatively be FDM with the control channel. The processing circuitry can process the control channel and the downlink shared channel according to any methods or criteria described in standards for wireless communication.

The baseband circuitry <NUM> may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM>. Baseband processing circuity <NUM> may interface with the application circuitry <NUM> for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include a second generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 1204a, third generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 1204b, fourth generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 1204c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 1204d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (<NUM>), <NUM>, etc.). The baseband circuitry <NUM> (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 1204a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry <NUM>. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 1204e of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1204f. The audio DSP(s) 1204f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry <NUM> and the application circuitry <NUM> may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry <NUM> is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuitry.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry <NUM> may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include mixer circuitry 1206a, amplifier circuitry 1206b and filter circuitry 1206c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include filter circuitry 1206c and mixer circuitry 1206a. RF circuitry <NUM> may also include synthesizer circuitry 1206d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry <NUM> based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1206d. The amplifier circuitry 1206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1206c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry <NUM> for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1206a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1206d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry <NUM>. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry <NUM> and may be filtered by filter circuitry 1206c. The filter circuitry 1206c may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1206a may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1206a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1206d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+<NUM> synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 1206d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. The synthesizer circuitry 1206d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1206a of the RF circuitry <NUM> based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1206d may be a fractional N/N+<NUM> synthesizer.

Synthesizer circuitry 1206d of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+<NUM> (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1206d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry <NUM> may include an IQ/polar converter.

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface.

<FIG> is a functional diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the eNB <NUM> may be a stationary non-mobile device. The eNB <NUM> may be suitable for use as an eNB <NUM> as depicted in <FIG>. The eNB <NUM> may include physical layer circuitry <NUM> and a transceiver <NUM>, one or both of which may enable transmission and reception of signals to and from the UE <NUM>, other eNBs, other UEs or other devices using one or more antennas <NUM>. As an example, the physical layer circuitry <NUM> may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. As another example, the transceiver <NUM> may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range. Accordingly, the physical layer circuitry <NUM> and the transceiver <NUM> may be separate components or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some of the functionality described may be performed by a combination that may include one, any or all of the physical layer circuitry <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, and other components or layers. In some embodiments, the transceiver <NUM> can identify load conditions for machine-type communications (MTC) in a cell served by the eNB <NUM>. In some embodiments, the transceiver <NUM> can transmit configuration information to a UE <NUM> that indicates the size of a sub-band, of a system bandwidth for at least one component carrier (CC), for which the UE <NUM> is to receive DRA messages allocating resources to a primary partition and a secondary partition of the sub-band. The size of the secondary partition, of the sub-band, or of the primary partition (among other parameters), can be determined based on load conditions for MTC in the cell served by the eNB <NUM>, or by other cells. The transceiver circuitry <NUM> can transmit, to a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>, <FIG>), a control channel occupying an initial number of OFDM symbols of a downlink subframe. A value for the initial number of OFDM symbols can be signaled to the UE in one or more of a MIB or SIB, or within RRC signaling, or within a PCFICH, by way of nonlimiting example.

The eNB <NUM> may also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry <NUM> for controlling access to the wireless medium. The eNB <NUM> may also include processing circuitry <NUM> and memory <NUM> arranged to perform the operations described herein. The eNB <NUM> may also include one or more interfaces <NUM>, which may enable communication with other components, including other eNBs <NUM> (<FIG>), components in the EPC <NUM> (<FIG>) or other network components. In addition, the interfaces <NUM> may enable communication with other components that may not be shown in <FIG>, including components external to the network. The interfaces <NUM> may be wired or wireless or a combination thereof.

The antennas <NUM>, <NUM> may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas <NUM>, <NUM> may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> or the eNB <NUM> may be a mobile device and may be a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a wearable device such as a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> or eNB <NUM> may be configured to operate in accordance with 3GPP standards, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Mobile devices or other devices in some embodiments may be configured to operate according to other protocols or standards, including IEEE <NUM> or other IEEE standards. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM>, eNB <NUM> or other device may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an example machine <NUM> upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may perform. The machine <NUM> may be a UE, eNB, MME, personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.

When the machine <NUM> operates as a UE, the machine readable medium <NUM> can instruct one or more processors of the UE to receive configuration information from an eNB (e.g., eNB <NUM>, <FIG>), the configuration information indicating size, in physical resource blocks (PRBs), and location within a system bandwidth, for a sub-band within the system bandwidth that is to be considered for dynamic resource allocation (DRA) of resources of the sub-band to a secondary partition configured to support machine-type communications (MTC), portions of the sub-band outside the secondary partition being allocated to a primary partition for other than MTC; and perform MTC communications within the secondary partition when the configuration information includes allocation information for the secondary partition and the UE is a MTC UE, otherwise, if the UE is other than MTC, refrain from performing communications in the secondary partition.

The term "machine readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine <NUM> and that cause the machine <NUM> to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Nonlimiting machine readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may include non-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machine readable media may include machine readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions <NUM> may further be transmitted or received over a communications network <NUM> using a transmission medium via the network interface device <NUM> utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) <NUM> family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE <NUM> family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE <NUM>. <NUM> family of standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device <NUM> may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network <NUM>. In an example, the network interface device <NUM> may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device <NUM> may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine <NUM>, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

Claim 1:
A method performed by a base station, BS (<NUM>), comprising:
transmitting configuration information to a user equipment, UE (<NUM>), wherein the configuration information indicates a configuration of a plurality of frequency partitions of a system bandwidth, including a primary partition (<NUM>);
transmitting, to the UE (<NUM>), a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, configuration for monitoring of a PDCCH, wherein the PDCCH configuration specifies a periodicity and offset in time for the PDCCH monitoring, and wherein the periodicity and the time offset are jointly defined by a parameter; and
transmitting the PDCCH in in the primary partition (<NUM>), wherein the PDCCH is time and frequency division multiplexed with a physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH.