Patent ID: 8547886

Claim:
A method for implementing an uplink resource grant (ul grant), comprising: receiving, by a user terminal, an ul grant from a base station on one of a plurality of downlink subframes, the ul grant including one of a plurality of values for an uplink resource index; identifying, by the user terminal, the downlink subframe on which the user terminal receives the value for the uplink resource index; in accordance with a pre-defined relationship between the plurality of downlink subframes, a plurality of uplink subframe sets correlated with the plurality of downlink subframes, the plurality of values for the uplink resource index, and a plurality of groups, identifying, by the user terminal, a group of at least one uplink subframe corresponding to the received value for the uplink resource index, the identified group being one group in the uplink subframe set corresponding to the identified downlink subframe; and sending to the base station, by the user terminal, data on each of the at least one uplink subframes specified in the time domain in the identified group; wherein the pre-defined relationship correlates each of the plurality of values for the uplink resource index with a respective group in an uplink subframe set, wherein each uplink subframe set has at least one of the plurality of groups, and wherein each group has a unique uplink subframe grouping specifying the at least one uplink subframe in the time domain for use by the user terminal.