Dynamic signaling of downlink and uplink subframe assignments for TDD wireless communication systems

Abstract

To improve the reliability of decoding re-configuration information at user equipment (UE).SOLUTION: In a wireless communication system, a processing unit generates a UL / DL re-configuration command to indicate a dynamic TDD UL / DL allocation change in order to determine a time interval for periodic time division duplex (TDD) uplink / downlink (UL / DL) reconfiguration windows, and encodes the UL / DL re-configuration command in physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) data. An RF interface is coupled to the processing unit and causes the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command to be transmitted to first wireless UE of multiple pieces of wireless UE in a first of the UL / DL reconfiguration windows.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to dynamic signaling of downlink and uplink subframe assignments for time division duplex (TDD) wireless communication systems. [Background technology]

[0002] A wireless communication network may incorporate wireless terminal devices and base stations (BSs) for the purpose of providing communication services such as telephony, data, video, messaging, chat, and broadcasting. Multiple wireless terminals may be connected to a serving cell controlled by a BS. A wireless network may use various access schemes, which may include frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA). A BS may also be referred to as a NodeB in the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an evolved NodeB (eNB) in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a base transceiver system (BTS), or an access point (AP).

[0003] Generally, an eNB may be fixed hardware (e.g., not mobile), but in some cases, such as when located in a vehicle, it may be mobile. A wireless terminal may be portable hardware and may be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a wireless modem card. In a wireless communication network, uplink (UL) communication may refer to communication from a UE to an eNB, and downlink (DL) communication may refer to communication from an eNB to a UE. An eNB may include a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and receiver for communicating directly with UEs, which may be at a fixed location or may move freely around the eNB. Similarly, each UE may include an RF transmitter and receiver for communicating directly with an eNB. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In the illustrated example wireless communications network, processing resources are configured to determine a time interval for a periodic time division duplexing (TDD) uplink / downlink (UL / DL) reconfiguration window, generate a UL / DL reconfiguration command to indicate a dynamic TDD UL / DL allocation change, and encode the UL / DL reconfiguration command in physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) data. A radio front-end (RF) interface is coupled to the processing resources and configured to cause the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command to be transmitted to a first of a plurality of wireless user equipments (UEs) in a first UL / DL reconfiguration window of the UL / DL reconfiguration windows. The encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command is transmitted via the PDCCH to provide fast TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication network.

[0006] [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication device.

[0007] [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a frame structure for a wireless communication network.

[0008] [Figure 4] 1 is a table of TDD UL / DL configurations for radio frames.

[0009] [Figure 5] 1 is a table of Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) values.

[0010] [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration method.

[0011] [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a timing diagram of another TDD UL / DL reconfiguration method.

[0012] [Figure 8] 1 is a table of DCI Format 1C payload sizes and DCI Format 1A payload sizes for various bandwidths.

[0013] [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration data structure.

[0014] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of another TDD UL / DL reconfiguration data structure.

[0015] [Figure 11]10 is a table of mapping between serving cells and TDD UL / DL reconfiguration indexes.

[0016] [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart of a method for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

[0017] [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart of another method for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

[0018] [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart of another method for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

[0019] [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart of another method for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

[0020] [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart of another method for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

[0021] [Figure 17] 1 is a flowchart of a method for dynamically detecting TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] A dynamic TDD uplink / downlink (UL / DL) reconfiguration signaling scheme for a time division duplex (TDD) wireless communication system is disclosed herein. A TDD wireless communication system may transmit and receive data over a single carrier frequency. UL and DL transmissions are multiplexed by time slots within a fixed time interval. The ratio between UL and DL transmissions in the fixed time interval may be selected according to UL and DL traffic patterns. In a conventional homogeneous network with a macrocell deployment, the UL and DL traffic patterns may be substantially static or quasi-static. Therefore, the same TDD UL / DL configuration may be used for a time interval of at least several hundred milliseconds (ms) or several hundred seconds. However, in a heterogeneous network (hetnet) with a small cell deployment, the UL and DL traffic patterns may be inherently more dynamic. Furthermore, the proximity of neighboring small cells may introduce more dynamics into inter-cell interference, thereby affecting system performance and / or capacity.

[0023] Disclosed herein are embodiments of a dynamic signaling scheme for TDD UL / DL reconfiguration in a TDD wireless communication system. The TDD wireless communication system may include an eNB communicatively coupled to multiple UEs. The TDD wireless communication system may use a single carrier frequency of medium or wide bandwidth (e.g., 5, 10, and / or 20 megahertz (MHz)) for both UL and DL transmissions by multiplexing the UL and DL transmissions in the time domain (e.g., with respect to subframes). The TDD wireless communication system may support multiple predefined TDD UL / DL configurations, each of which may include a different ratio of the number of UL subframes to the number of DL subframes in a radio frame. The eNB may select an appropriate TDD UL / DL configuration according to a TDD UL / DL traffic pattern and dynamically signal the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration to the UE. In one embodiment, the eNB may determine a time interval for a periodic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window or modified window (e.g., an integer multiple of radio frames) and may send at least one TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command in the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window to signal a TDD UL / DL allocation change (e.g., a TDD UL / DL configuration index), e.g., starting at the next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window boundary.

[0024] The eNB may transmit a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command via physical layer signaling (such as the PDCCH) to provide fast reconfiguration (e.g., minimal configuration change latency). The eNB may encode and transmit the reconfiguration command in a PDCCH DCI message. The PDCCH DCI message may be placed in a PDCCH Common Search Space (CSS) and / or a PDCCH UE-Specific Search Space (UESS). In one embodiment, if the eNB uses a PDCCH CCS to signal the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration, the eNB may use a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration-specific RNTI (TDD-RNTI) for cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambling to differentiate the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command from other control commands that may be transmitted in the PDCCH CCS.

[0025] When a TDD wireless communication system uses carrier aggregation (CA), an eNB may signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for all serving cells to a UE in a PDCCH CCS of a primary serving cell (PCell). For example, the eNB may send a DCI message including UL / DL allocation changes for all serving cells or may send individual DCI messages for each serving cell in different reconfiguration schedules. Alternatively, the eNB may signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for a PCell and a secondary serving cell (SCell) separately. For example, the eNB may signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for a PCell in a CCS of the PCell PDCCH and TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for an SCell in a UESS of the SCell PDCCH.

[0026] The eNB may send multiple TDD UL / DL reconfiguration commands in a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window to improve the reliability of decoding the reconfiguration information at the UE. The disclosed embodiments may enable a TDD wireless communication system to dynamically signal TDD UL / DL assignments to adapt to TDD UL / DL traffic pattern changes, thereby significantly increasing system capacity.

[0027] 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication network 100 according to various embodiments. Network 100 may provide various communication services, such as voice, packet data, etc. In one embodiment, network 100 may be a 3GPP LTE network or a 3GPP LTE-Advanced network as described in the 3GPP LTE specifications Release 8 (Rel-8) through Release 11 (Rel-11), which are incorporated herein by reference. Network 100 includes an eNB 110 that is communicatively coupled to multiple UEs 120 via an UL channel 131 and a DL channel 132.

[0028] The eNB 110 may be a wireless communication equipped base station device configured to communicate with multiple UEs 120 over the air-interface via an UL channel 131 and a DL channel 132. The eNB 110 may include a wireless transceiver or separate wireless transmitters and receivers with one or more antennas. The eNB 110 may be configured to transmit DL radio signals to one or more UEs 120 and to receive UL radio signals from one or more UEs 120.

[0029] The UEs 120 may be wireless communication-equipped terminal devices configured to communicate with the eNB 110 over the air interface via UL channel 131 and DL channel 132. The UEs 120 may be mobile phones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or any mobile user equipment. Each UE 120 may be a wireless transceiver with one or more antennas or a separate wireless transmitter and receiver, and may be configured to transmit UL radio signals to the eNB 110 and receive DL radio signals from the eNB 110.

[0030] In some embodiments, network 100 may use a TDD transmission scheme for UL and DL transmissions on UL channel 131 and DL channel 132, respectively. Network 100 may multiplex UL and DL transmissions on UL channel 131 and DL channel 132, respectively, in the time domain on a single carrier frequency.

[0031] In some embodiments, the network 100 may use CA to increase bandwidth and thereby increase system capacity and / or data transmission bit rate. In such embodiments, the eNB 110 may use multiple component carriers (CCs) to serve multiple serving cells. The CCs may or may not be contiguous in frequency and each may include the same or different bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz). Each CC may operate in a different frequency band and may serve one serving cell, which may be a primary serving cell (PCell) or a secondary serving cell (SCell). For example, the eNB 110 may serve the UE 120 via one PCell (e.g., for establishing a connection to radio resource control (RRC) and the corresponding core network of the network 100) and via one or more SCells (e.g., for additional radio resources). The coverage of these serving cells may differ, for example, due to the CCs in different frequency bands experiencing different path losses. In an embodiment, the eNB 110 may send a separate transmission schedule to the UE 120 in each corresponding serving cell. In another embodiment, the eNB 110 may use a cross-scheduling scheme, in which the eNB 110 may send transmission schedules for the PCell and SCell on the CC of the PCell. The eNB 110 may configure the UE 120 to use CA via upper layer (e.g., Open System Interconnection (OSI) layer above the physical layer) configuration commands, such as media access control (MAC) layer commands.

[0032] In some embodiments, the eNB 110 may be a macro base station installed at a fixed physical location in a planned layout during network deployment to maximize coverage area and system performance (e.g., network capacity). The eNB 110 may serve a predetermined coverage area. This coverage area may be divided into one or more cells (e.g., three cells). When the network 100 is a homogeneous network, the network 100 may include one or more eNBs 110, each serving one or more macro cells and using substantially similar transmit power levels, antenna patterns, noise floors, and / or backhaul network connectivity to connect to back-end data and / or packet networks. In some other embodiments, the eNB 110 may be a small cell base station (e.g., a pico base station, a femto base station) serving a small cell. The small cell may or may not be overlaid on a macro cell. When small cells and macro cells are overlaid, such as to cover small holes or areas not reached by macro cells, or to increase capacity in hotspot zones, the network 100 may be referred to as a HetNet.

[0033] 2 is a block diagram of a wireless communication device 200 according to various embodiments. Device 200 may serve as an eNB (e.g., eNB 110), a UE (e.g., UE 120), and / or any other wireless device in a wireless communication network (e.g., network 100). As shown in FIG. 2, device 200 may include a digital interface 210, a processing unit 230 (e.g., a processing resource), a data storage unit 240, and an RF interface 220. Digital interface 210 may be configured to receive digital data streams from external devices and / or transmit digital data streams to external devices. In some embodiments, digital interface 210 may include high-speed serializer / deserializer (SerDes) lanes, an external memory interface (EMIF), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a serial peripheral interface (SPI), a universal asynchronous receive / transmit (UART) interface, an integrated-integrated circuit (I2C) interface, a general-purpose digital input / output (GPIO), etc.

[0034] A processing unit 230 may be coupled to the digital interface 210 to process data streams received from the digital interface 210 or to generate and transmit data streams to the digital interface 210. The processing unit 230 may include one or more processors (single or multi-core processors, digital signal processors, etc.), one or more hardware accelerators, one or more computers, and / or a data storage unit 240 that may function as a data store, buffer, etc. In some embodiments, the processing unit 230 may include multiple hardware accelerators designed specifically for wireless communications. Some examples of hardware accelerators may include turbo encoding and / or decoding, Viterbi decoding, bit rate processing, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), packet processing, security processing, etc.

[0035] Processing unit 230 may include a wireless transceiver module 231 stored in an internal non-transitory memory of processing unit 230 such that processing unit 230 may implement a baseband transmit chain, a baseband receive chain, downlink control signaling such as methods 600, 700, 1000, and / or 1100 as described in further detail below, and / or any other schemes as described herein. In an alternative embodiment, wireless transceiver module 231 may be implemented as instructions stored in data storage unit 240, which may be executed by processing unit 230.

[0036] Data storage unit 240 may include one or more caches (e.g., level 1 (L1), level 2 (L2), and / or level 3 (L3) caches) for temporarily storing content, such as random access memory (RAM). Data storage unit 240 may also include long-term storage, such as read-only memory (ROM), for relatively long-term storage of content. For example, the cache and long-term storage may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), double data rate 3 (DDR3) RAM and / or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), solid-state drives (SSD), hard disks, combinations thereof, or other types of non-transitory storage devices.

[0037] RF interface 220 may be coupled to processing unit 230 and a wireless front end. For example, the wireless front end may include one or more antennas and be configured to wirelessly receive and / or transmit wireless signals. RF interface 220 may be configured to receive digital frames generated by processing unit 230 and to transmit the received digital frames to the wireless front end. Conversely, RF interface 220 may be configured to receive digital frames converted by the wireless front end (e.g., from a received wireless signal) and to transmit the received digital frames to processing unit 230 for processing.

[0038] 3 is a block diagram of a frame structure 300 for a wireless communications network, such as network 100. Frame structure 300 may be communicated between an eNB (such as eNB 110) and one or more UEs (such as UE 120). In frame structure 300, radio transmissions may be defined in units of radio frames 310. Each radio frame 310 may include multiple subframes 320 and may span a fixed time interval. For example, in an LTE system, a radio frame 310 may span 10 ms and include 10 subframes 320, each with a time interval of 1 ms.

[0039] In one embodiment, a network may use a TDD transmission scheme for UL and DL transmissions by multiplexing the UL and DL transmissions in the time domain on a single frequency. In such an embodiment, each subframe 320 may be configured for UL and DL transmissions. For example, a network may use a fixed number of predefined TDD UL / DL configurations, each of which may include a different ratio of the number of UL subframes to the number of DL subframes in a radio frame. For example, an eNB (e.g., eNB 110) may configure a UE (e.g., UE 120) in a cell for a particular TDD UL / DL configuration based on the type of UL and DL traffic in that cell.

[0040] In some embodiments, subframes 320 for DL ​​transmission and subframes 320 for UL transmission may be grouped together and separated by specific subframes 320, which may be referred to as special subframes. The special subframes may include a DL pilot time slot (DwPTS) for DL ​​transmission, a guard period (GP), and an UL pilot time slot (UpPTS) for UL transmission. The GP may enable switching between DL reception and UL transmission at the UE. The special subframes may also enable coexistence with other TDD systems, such as 3GPP LTE systems and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0041] In one embodiment, each subframe 320 may include multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, which may be approximately 12 or 14 OFDM symbols depending on the cyclic prefix (CP) mode (e.g., extended CP mode or normal CP mode). Each OFDM symbol may span multiple OFDM subcarriers, which may be divided into multiple resource blocks (RBs). For example, an RB may include approximately 12 OFDM frequency subcarriers. Each DL subframe 320 may include a variable downlink control region at the beginning (e.g., 1 to 4 symbols) of the subframe 320 to carry DL data packets from the eNB to the UE, and a variable data region in the remaining symbols. When allocated for UL transmission, the subframe 320 may carry UL data packets and / or uplink control signaling from the UE to the eNB.

[0042] The downlink control region may be referred to as a PDCCH and may include a CSS and / or a UESS. The CSS may carry common control information and may be monitored by all UEs or a group of UEs in a cell. The UESS may carry control information specific to a particular UE and may be monitored by at least one UE in a cell. The downlink control region may carry PDCCH data encoded according to a predetermined downlink control information (DCI) format, such as DCI format 1A, 1C, or 2D, as described in 3GPP LTE specifications Rel-8 to Rel-11. The PDCCH data may carry UL scheduling information (e.g., RBs in the data region for a particular UE to send UL data), DL scheduling information (e.g., RBs in the data region carrying data for a particular UE), system information messages, paging messages, transmit power control (TPC) commands, etc.

[0043] Each type of PDCCH data may be encoded according to one of the predetermined DCI formats. For example, common or group control information in the PDCCH CSS may be encoded in DCI format 1A or 1C. The common control information may be differentiated by the payload size of the DCI format and / or the 16-bit RNTI used to scramble the CRC of the DCI-encoded common control information message. Here, each type of common control information may include a different RNTI. For example, a System Information-RNTI (SI-RNTI) may be used to indicate RBs for system information (SI), a Paging Information-RNTI (P-RNTI) may be used to indicate RBs for paging messages, a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) may be used to indicate RBs for a specific UE, a Random Access-RNTI (RA-RNTI) may be used to indicate RBs for random access response messages, etc.

[0044] Thus, when the UE receives PDCCH data from the PDCCH CSS, the UE may perform blind decoding to detect the correct payload size. For example, the UE may perform one set of blind decoding operations to detect DCI format 1A and another set of blind decoding operations to detect DCI format 1C. After detecting the correct DCI format, the UE may determine the type of control information by properly scrambling the CRC of the received PDCCH data with the RNTI corresponding to the common control information type.

[0045] In some embodiments, the downlink control region may include an additional region spanning multiple frequency subcarriers across the data region, as described in the 3GPP LTE specification Release 11 (Rel-11). The additional downlink control region may be referred to as an Enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH) in the 3GPP LTE specification Rel-11. As used herein, the term PDCCH may be used to refer generally to the downlink control region and may include a 3GPP LTE PDCCH, a 3GPP LTE EPDCCH, or a combination thereof.

[0046] FIG. 4 is a table 400 of TDD UL / DL configurations for radio frames, such as radio frame 310. In table 400, column 410 indicates indexes for multiple TDD UL / DL configurations, and column 430 indicates the TDD UL / DL configurations, each of which may include approximately 10 subframes (such as subframe 320). In column 430, subframes assigned to UL transmission are indicated by "U," subframes assigned to DL transmission are indicated by "D," and subframes assigned for switching from DL to UL are indicated by "S." The time at which DL transmission is switched to UL transmission or the time at which UL transmission is switched to DL transmission may be referred to as a switch point. Switch point periodicity may refer to the period at which the same switching pattern is repeated between UL and DL. The switch points for the TDD UL / DL configurations in table 400 may include a switch point periodicity of approximately 5 ms or approximately 10 ms, as shown in column 420. Each TDD UL / DL configuration in column 430 may include a different UL to DL ratio (e.g., for serving different UL / DL traffic patterns). Also, the transmission direction for subframes 0, 1, 2, and 5 (such as those shown shaded in table 400) may be fixed for all TDD UL / DL configurations, while the transmission direction for subframes 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 (such as those shown unshaded in table 400) may be variable, in which case any two TDD UL / DL configurations may have different transmission directions.

[0047] 5 is a table 500 of RNTI values. For example, the RNTI values ​​may be used to scramble the CRC of a DCI message transmitted on the PDCCH. Here, each RNTI value may correspond to a downlink control type. As shown in table 500, the RNTI value range in hexadecimal format from 0001 to 0003C may be used to indicate RBs in the data region of a subframe carrying a random access response message (e.g., RA-RNTI), a UE-specific message (e.g., C-RNTI), a semi-persistent scheduling message for a specific UE (e.g., semi-persistent scheduling C-RNTI), a random access message during a random access procedure (e.g., temporary C-RNTI), a TPC command for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (e.g., TPC-PUCCH-RNTI), a TPC command for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (e.g., TPC-PUSCH-RNTI), etc.

[0048] The RNTI value range of 003D to FFF3 in hexadecimal format may be used to indicate RBs in the data region of a subframe that carry UE-specific messages (such as C-RNTI), semi-persistent schedule messages for a specific UE (such as Semi-Persistent Scheduling C-RNTI), random access messages during random access procedures (such as Temporary C-RNTI), TPC commands for PUCCH (such as TPC-PUCCH-RNTI), TPC commands for PUSCH (such as TPC-PUSCH-RNTI), etc.

[0049] The RNTI value range from FFF4 to FFFC in hexadecimal format may be reserved. The RNTI values ​​FFFD, FFFE, and FFFF may be used to indicate RBs in the data region of a subframe for multicast control information (e.g., Multicast-RNTI (M-RNTI)), paging messages (e.g., P-RNTI), and system information (e.g., SI-RNTI), respectively.

[0050] In one embodiment, the TDD UL / DL data traffic pattern in a homogeneous network may be substantially static and may remain unchanged for at least a time interval of several hundred milliseconds to several hundred seconds. Thus, an eNB (e.g., eNB 110) in a homogeneous network may select an appropriate TDD UL / DL configuration (such as that shown in Table 400) according to the UL / DL traffic pattern and may not frequently change and / or reconfigure the TDD UL / DL configuration. Therefore, a homogeneous network may allow for some reconfiguration latency without substantial performance impact, in which case the eNB may send the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration via a MAC layer message (e.g., a system information (SI) message). Conversely, the TDD UL / DL data traffic pattern or interference profile in a heterogeneous network may be dynamic (e.g., rapidly changing) in nature, and thus, fast TDD UL / DL reconfiguration with minimal latency may provide a significant improvement in system capacity.

[0051] In a heterogeneous network, the proximity of neighboring small cells can introduce greater dynamics into inter-cell interference. For example, the adoption of different TDD UL / DL configurations across neighboring cells can lead to two additional types of interference compared to a homogeneous network: DL-UL interference and UL-DL interference. DL-UL interference may refer to interference at a UE (such as UE 120) caused by DL transmissions from an eNB (such as eNB 110) of a neighboring cell. UL-DL interference may refer to interference at an eNB caused by UL transmissions from UEs of a neighboring cell.

[0052] As described herein above in table 400, the transmission direction in some subframes (e.g., subframes 0, 1, 2, and 5 in table 400) may be fixed for all TDD UL / DL configurations and may be referred to as fixed subframes. Conversely, other subframes (e.g., subframes 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in table 400) may include different transmission directions between any two TDD UL / DL configurations and may be referred to as flexible subframes. In this manner, eNBs (e.g., eNB 110) and / or UEs (e.g., UE 120) in neighboring cells may not experience UL-DL or DL-UL inter-cell interference in fixed subframes, but may experience UD-DL and / or DL-UL inter-cell interference in flexible subframes.

[0053] 6 is a timing diagram of a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration method 600. Method 600 may be implemented in an eNB (such as eNB 110), a UE (such as UE 120), and / or a wireless communication device (such as device 200). Method 600 may use a physical layer signaling mechanism to signal the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Using physical layer signaling instead of MAC layer signaling may provide faster TDD UL / DL reconfiguration and / or minimal latency. In one embodiment, the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration may be signaled via PDCCH common signaling (such as in the PDCCH CCS of subframe 320), and the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration may be applied in a future radio frame (such as radio frame 310). Before the eNB uses method 600 to dynamically signal TDD UL / DL assignments, the UE may be configured for dynamic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration (such as an enabling command).

[0054] The method 600 may define time intervals for periodic reconfiguration windows m, m+1, m+2 630, which may be an integer number of radio frames (such as radio frames 310). For example, the method 600 may send a first TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command 610 including a first TDD UL / DL configuration (e.g., one shown in table 400) in reconfiguration window m 630 at time 621, which may start at the boundary of the next reconfiguration window m+1 630 at time 622 and remain for the duration of reconfiguration window m+1 630. Similarly, the method 600 may send a second TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command 610 including a second TDD UL / DL configuration at time 623 in reconfiguration window m+1 630, which may start at the boundary of the next reconfiguration window m+2 630 at time 624 and remain in effect for the duration of reconfiguration window m+2 630. When the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command is signaled via PDCCH common signaling, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) may not be applied, in which case the eNB may not receive HARQ acknowledgment feedback regarding the reception status of the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command.

[0055] 7 is a timing diagram of another TDD UL / DL reconfiguration method 700. Method 700 may be substantially similar to method 600. However, method 700 may improve transmission reliability by repeatedly sending the same TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command 710 in a reconfiguration window 730, which may be substantially similar to the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command 610 and the reconfiguration window 630, respectively. The reconfiguration window 630 and / or 730 may comprise a time interval of one or more radio frames. Additionally, the latency between when the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command 610 and / or 710 is detected at the UE and when the reconfiguration is applied may be determined by the eNB (e.g., eNB 110) according to various network factors (e.g., network conditions, deployment scenario, etc.).

[0056] In one embodiment, an eNB (e.g., 110) may transmit a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command (e.g., command 610 and / or 710) over a PDCCH to provide fast reconfiguration (e.g., minimal configuration change latency). The eNB may encode the reconfiguration command in a physical layer DCI message, which may be placed in the PDCCH CSS and / or PDCCH UESS. In one embodiment, the eNB may define a TDD-RNTI and indicate a PDCCH CCS DCI message carrying a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration by scrambling the CRC of the DCI message with the TDD-RNTI.

[0057] In one embodiment, the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command (such as command 610 and / or 710) may be indicated in terms of a configuration index. For example, a 3-bit data field may be used to indicate up to about seven different TDD UL / DL configurations (e.g., those shown in table 400). The TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command may be signaled over the PDCCH to provide fast TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. In that case, the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command may be coded according to DCI format 1A or 1C.

[0058] FIG. 8 is a table 800 of DCI Format 1C payload sizes and DCI Format 1A payload sizes for various bandwidths. As shown in table 800, as the system bandwidth varies between 6 RBs (e.g., 1.4 MHz) and 100 RBs (e.g., 20 MHz), DCI Format 1C may include a payload size of approximately 8 bits to approximately 15 bits, and DCI Format 1A may include a payload size of approximately 23 bits to approximately 31 bits. As shown in table 800, DCI Format 1C may include a smaller payload size than DCI Format 1A. In this manner, for the same amount of transmission resources, DCI Format 1C payloads may provide better transmission and / or reception reliability because smaller payload sizes may be coded at a lower coding rate, thereby providing higher protection against channel errors. For example, when the payload size of DCI Format 1C in the system operating bandwidth is insufficient to carry a requested TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command, the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command may be coded with a payload size matching DCI Format 1C. Otherwise, a payload size matching DCI format 1A may be used to encode the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command.

[0059] When a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command is indicated via a PDCCH CCS, to differentiate the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command from other control messages (SI, paging, etc.) on the PDCCH CCS, a unique TDD-RNTI may be used to scramble the CRC of the control information when the DCI payload size matches DCI Format 1A or DCI Format 1C. For example, the TDD-RNTI may include one of the reserved RNTI values ​​(e.g., FFF4 to FFFC in hexadecimal format) as shown in Table 500 described hereinabove. Alternatively, the TDD-RNTI may be selected from some other range of values ​​in Table 500 (e.g., 0001 to 003C). To reduce false detection of TDD UL / DL reconfiguration, the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command may be transmitted with a different schedule (e.g., radio frame periodicity and / or subframe offset relative to the radio frame). For example, in 3GPP LTE, SI messages may be transmitted in non-overlapping SI windows, and SI messages may be transmitted in any DL subframe other than multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) subframes and subframes carrying system information block type 1 (SIBl) (such as subframe 5 of a radio frame with subframe number (SFN) modulo 2=0). By defining an appropriate SI window and SI periodicity, the eNB can ensure that a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command indicated by a TDD-RNTI cannot collide with an SI message indicated by an SI-RNTI. For example, the SI window length may be in the range of {1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40} ms. Therefore, by configuring the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window (reconfiguration window 630 and / or 730) to be at least approximately 20 ms, the collision probability may be further reduced.A similar mechanism may be applied between the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window and other control information change windows such as paging, multicast control channel (MCCH) changes, etc.

[0060] 9 is a block diagram of a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration data structure 900. In one embodiment, an eNB (such as eNB 110) may serve a UE (such as UE 120) via one PCell and up to approximately four SCells. The eNB may indicate a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration to the UE by using data structure 900, such as by sending a DCI payload including data structure 900 in a PDCCH CCS on the PCell. Data structure 900 may include a PCell field 910, an SCell Index 1 field 920, an SCell Index 2 field 930, an SCell Index 3 field 940, and an SCell Index 4 field 950. PCell field 910 may indicate the TDD UL / DL configuration for the PCell via a configuration index (as shown in column 410 of table 400) and may include a length of approximately 3 bits (corresponding to approximately seven predetermined TDD UL / DL configurations). Similarly, the SCell Index 1 field 920, the SCell Index 2 field 930, the SCell Index 3 field 940, and the SCell Index 4 field 950 may indicate TDD UL / DL configuration indices for the first SCell, the second SCell, the third SCell, and the fourth SCell, respectively, and each configuration index may correspond to one of the predetermined TDD UL / DL configurations.

[0061] 10 is a block diagram of another TDD UL / DL reconfiguration data structure 1000. Data structure 1000 may be used by an eNB (e.g., eNB 110) to indicate TDD UL / DL reconfiguration to a UE (e.g., UE 120). Data structure 1000 may be substantially similar to data structure 900. However, data structure 1000 may indicate TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for multiple CCs sent by an eNB (e.g., serving multiple serving cells) instead of a specific SCell for a specific UE in data structure 900. Data structure 1000 may include multiple Reconfiguration fields 1010 (e.g., Reconfig 1-N). Each Reconfig field 1010 may indicate a TDD UL / DL configuration for a specific serving cell via a configuration index (e.g., as shown in column 410 of table 400) and may include a length of approximately 3 bits. The number (e.g., N) of Reconfig fields 1010 may vary according to the number of CCs (or serving cells controlled) used by the eNB. For example, the eNB may assign one or more Reconfig fields 1010 to a UE (e.g., corresponding to configured serving cells) to indicate TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. The data structure 1000 may further include a padding field 1020 with a padding length corresponding to the number of bits remaining for a particular DCI format size (e.g., DCI format 1A or 1C) after assigning all N Reconfig fields 1010, which are of fixed bit width.

[0062] 11 is a table 1100 of mappings between serving cells and TDD UL / DL reconfiguration indices. For example, an eNB (such as eNB 110) may serve multiple UEs (such as UE 120) via multiple CCs. As shown in table 1100, the eNB may serve UE1 on the PCell via CC1, so the eNB may assign Reconfig 1 (such as Reconfig field 1010) to UE1 via RRC signaling and indicate TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for the PCell using CC1 via Reconfig 1 on the PDCCH CSS. The eNB may serve UE2 on the PCell via CC1 and on the SCell via CC3. Thus, the eNB may assign Reconfig 1 and Reconfig 3 (e.g., Reconfig field 1010) to UE2 via RRC signaling and indicate TDD UL / DL reconfiguration on the PDCCH CSS for the PCell using CC1 and for the SCell using CC3 via Reconfig 1 and Reconfig 3, respectively. The eNB may serve UE3 with the PCell via CC1, SCell1 via CC2, and SCell2 via CC4. Thus, the eNB may assign Reconfig 1, 2, and 4 to UE3 via RRC signaling and indicate TDD UL / DL reconfiguration on the PDCCH CSS for the PCell, SCell1, and SCell2 via Reconfig 1, 2, and 4, respectively.

[0063] 12 is a flowchart of a method 1200 for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Method 1200 may be implemented for an eNB, such as eNB 110, and / or a wireless communication device, such as device 200, and may be substantially similar to methods 600 and / or 700 as described above herein. Method 1200 begins with a predetermined TDD UL / DL configuration (such as that shown in table 400) and a set of one or more predetermined TDD UL / DL reconfiguration windows (such as reconfiguration windows 630 and / or 730). For example, the reconfiguration windows may span a time interval of at least one radio frame (such as radio frame 310) and may be periodic.

[0064] At step 1210, method 1200 may operate according to a first TDD UL / DL configuration (e.g., pre-configured by RRC signaling). At step 1220, method 1200 may monitor changes in UL / DL traffic patterns (e.g., by tracking some static UL / DL packet measurements). At step 1230, method 1200 may determine whether to reconfigure the UL / DL assignment. For example, at step 1230, method 1200 may determine to reconfigure the UL / DL assignment if the UL / DL traffic pattern has changed a significant amount, and UL / DL re-assignment may increase system capacity. If method 1200 determines to reconfigure the UL / DL assignment, method 1200 may proceed to step 1240. Otherwise, method 1200 may return to step 1220. At step 1240, method 1200 may select a second TDD UL / DL configuration from a set of pre-defined TDD UL / DL configurations according to a UL / DL traffic pattern (e.g., recent).

[0065] At step 1250, method 1200 may generate a DCI message including a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command. For example, the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command may provide a second TDD UL / DL configuration. Methods 1300, 1400, 1500, and / or 1600 may illustrate various mechanisms for generating the DCI message, which are described in more detail below. After generating the DCI message, at step 1260, method 1200 may transmit the DCI message including the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command in a predetermined reconfiguration window.

[0066] At step 1270, method 1200 may apply the second TDD UL / DL configuration at the start or boundary of the next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window, where the boundary may correspond to the start of a radio frame. Method 1200 may repeat transmission of the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command within the reconfiguration window (e.g., according to some predetermined notification periodicity) at step 1260, as shown in method 800, to improve reception reliability of the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command at the UE.

[0067] 13 is a flowchart of another method 1300 for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Method 1300 may be implemented in an eNB, such as eNB 110, and / or a wireless communication device, such as device 200. When an eNB serves a UE with or without CA, it may use method 1300 to signal a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for a PCell to a UE (such as UE 120). Method 1300 may start after determining TDD UL / DL reconfiguration and selecting a TDD UL / DL configuration for the next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window.

[0068] At step 1310, method 1300 may generate a DCI message including the selected TDD UL / DL configuration. For example, method 1300 may encode the selected TDD UL / DL configuration (e.g., a 3-bit field representing a configuration index as shown in column 410 of table 400) into a DCI message with a payload size matching the payload size of a predetermined DCI format (e.g., DCI format 1C). After encoding the selected TDD UL / DL configuration into the DCI message, method 1300 may generate a CRC for the DCI message, scramble the CRC with a TDD UL / DL configuration-specific RNTI (e.g., TDD-RNTI) value, and append the scrambled CRC to the DCI message.

[0069] After generating the DCI message, method 1300 may send the DCI message in a common control portion (e.g., CCS) of the PDCCH of the PCell at step 1320. The common control portion of the PDCCH may carry physical layer control that is common to all UEs, and each type of common control may be differentiated by a unique RNTI value.

[0070] 14 is a flowchart of another method 1400 for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Method 1400 may be implemented in an eNB, such as eNB 110, and / or a wireless communication device, such as device 200. Method 1400 may be used to signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for multiple serving cells to a UE (such as UE 120) when the UE is served by multiple serving cells, such as a PCell served by a first CC and an SCell served by a second CC. Method 1400 may begin after determining TDD UL / DL reconfiguration and selecting a TDD UL / DL configuration for each serving cell for the next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window.

[0071] At step 1410, method 1400 may determine a first TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule for the PCell and a second TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule for the SCell. For example, the first reconfiguration schedule and the second reconfiguration schedule may include different periodicities, different subframe offsets with respect to the start of a radio frame, or a combination thereof.

[0072] At step 1420, method 1400 may generate a first DCI message including the selected TDD UL / DL configuration for the PCell. At step 1430, method 1400 may generate a second DCI message including the selected TDD UL / DL configuration for the SCell. For example, method 1400 may use a mechanism substantially similar to that at step 1310 to generate the first and second DCI messages.

[0073] At step 1440, method 1400 may transmit a first DCI message in a common control portion or CCS of a PDCCH for the PCell according to a first schedule. At step 1450, method 1400 may transmit a second DCI message in the common control portion of a PDCCH for the PCell according to a second schedule. Method 1400 may be suitable for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for one or more SCells, such as by using a different TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule for each serving cell and transmitting a DCI message including the corresponding TDD UL / DL configuration according to the corresponding schedule.

[0074] 15 is a flowchart of another method 1500 for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Method 1500 may be implemented in an eNB, such as eNB 110, and / or a wireless communication device, such as device 200. Method 1500 may be used to signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for multiple serving cells to a UE (such as UE 120) when the UE is served by multiple serving cells, such as a PCell served by a first CC and an SCell served by a second CC. Method 1500 may be referred to as a cross-scheduling method, in which TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for all serving cells may be transmitted on the PCell. Method 1500 may also be used to signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration to multiple serving cells controlled by an eNB, where subsets of multiple serving cells may be configured for two or more UEs connected to the eNB. Method 1500 may begin after determining a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration and selecting a TDD UL / DL configuration for each serving cell for the next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window.

[0075] At step 1510, method 1500 may generate a DCI message including selected TDD UL / DL configurations for multiple serving cells controlled by the eNB. Method 1500 may use a mechanism substantially similar to that in step 1310 of method 1300 to generate the DCI message, but may encode selected TDD UL / DL configuration indexes for multiple serving cells into a single DCI message. For example, method 1500 may encode the selected TDD UL / DL configurations into a DCI message having the same payload size as DCI format 1C or 1A. In that case, each TDD UL / DL configuration may be represented by a 3-bit field (such as the configuration index shown in column 410 of table 400). After generating the DCI message, method 1500 may generate a CRC for the DCI message, scramble the CRC with the TDD-RNTI value, and append the scrambled CRC to the DCI message. The DCI message may include a data structure substantially similar to data structure 900 (e.g., referencing a configuration according to a serving cell index of the UE) or 1000 (e.g., referencing a configuration according to a CC or serving cell index controlled by the eNB).

[0076] At step 1520, after generating the DCI message, method 1500 may transmit the DCI message in a common control portion (e.g., CCS) of a PDCCH of the PCell. The common control portion of the PDCCH may carry physical layer control that is common to all UEs, and each type of common control may be differentiated by a unique RNTI value.

[0077] 16 is a flowchart of another method 1600 for dynamically signaling TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Method 1600 may be implemented in an eNB, such as eNB 110, and / or a wireless communication device, such as device 200. Method 1600 may be used to signal TDD UL / DL reconfiguration for multiple serving cells to a UE (such as UE 120) when the UE is served by multiple serving cells, such as a PCell served by a first CC and an SCell served by a second CC. Method 1600 may be referred to as a hybrid signaling method, in which PCell TDD UL / DL reconfiguration may be sent on the PCell via common physical layer signaling and SCell TDD UL / DL reconfiguration may be sent on the SCell via dedicated physical layer signaling. The method 1600 may begin after determining a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration and selecting a TDD UL / DL configuration for each serving cell for the next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window.

[0078] At step 1610, method 1600 may generate a first DCI message including the selected TDD UL / DL configuration for the PCell. For example, method 1600 may use a mechanism substantially similar to that at step 1310 of method 1300 to generate the first DCI message, in which case the TDD-RNTI may be used for CRC scrambling and DCI format 1A or 1C may be used for DCI encoding.

[0079] At step 1620, method 1600 may generate a second DCI message including the selected TDD UL / DL configuration for the SCell. For example, method 1600 may use a mechanism substantially similar to that in step 1310 of method 1300 to generate the second DCI message, but may use a UE-specific RNTI (such as a C-RNTI) for CRC scrambling and DCI format 1A or 2D for DCI encoding.

[0080] At step 1630, method 1600 may transmit a first DCI message in a common control portion (e.g., CSS) of a PDCCH for the PCell. At step 1640, method 1600 may transmit a second DCI message in a UE-specific control portion (e.g., UESS) of a PDCCH for the SCell. Alternatively, method 1600 may transmit the second DCI message in the UE-specific control portion of the PDCCH for the PCell. The TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedules for the PCell and SCell may or may not be the same.

[0081] 17 is a flowchart of a method 1700 for dynamically detecting TDD UL / DL reconfiguration. Method 1700 may be implemented for a UE, such as UE 120, and / or a wireless communication device, such as device 200, and may be substantially similar to methods 600 and / or 700 as described above. Method 1700 may begin with a set of configuration parameters, such as those received from an eNB (such as eNB 110) via RRC signaling during an initialization phase. The set of configuration parameters may include a reconfiguration window (e.g., a subframe offset in radio frames and / or periodicity), a payload size of a DCI message carrying the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command, a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window size, a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration-specific RNTI, a dynamic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration enabling command, and / or a CA enabling command. The dynamic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration enabling command may be signaled per serving cell for the UE.

[0082] At step 1710, method 1700 may monitor the PDCCH for transmitted PDCCH data including a UL / DL reconfiguration command. For example, method 1700 may monitor the PDCCH CSS of the PCell. Upon receiving the PDCCH data, method 1700 may determine at step 1720 whether the received PDCCH data payload matches a configured size (e.g., for DCI format 1A or 1C for the PDCCH CSS). For example, method 1700 may perform one set of blind decoding to detect DCI format 1A and another set of blind decoding to detect DCI format 1C (e.g., differentiated by payload size). If method 1700 determines that the PDCCH data payload size matches the configured payload size (e.g., the size of either DCI format 1A or 1C), method 1700 may proceed to step 1730. Otherwise, method 1700 may return to step 1710.

[0083] After determining that the DCI payload size matches the configured size at step 1730, method 1700 may determine whether the PDCCH data carries a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command. For example, method 1700 may descramble the CRC of the PDCCH data with a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration specific RNTI (such as TDD-RNTI). When the descrambled CRC is correct (e.g., matches the CRC calculated for the received PDCCH data), method 1700 may determine that the PDCCH data carries a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command. When the PDCCH data carries a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command, method 1700 may proceed to step 1740. Otherwise, method 1700 may return to step 1710. Method 1700 may additionally check that the PDCCH data was received on a schedule corresponding to the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule.

[0084] At step 1740, method 1700 may determine a TDD UL / DL configuration from the received PDCCH data. The received PDCCH data may include one or more TDD UL / DL configuration indices. The location of the UL / DL reconfiguration field in the DCI payload for the serving cell is pre-configured by RRC signaling. In one embodiment, the received PDCCH data may include a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command including a 3-bit field indicating a TDD UL / DL configuration for the PCell (such as that shown in column 410 of table 400), such as when the UE is served only by the PCell (such as without CA). Alternatively, multiple 3-bit fields may indicate TDD UL / DL configurations for the PCell and one or more SCells (such as with CA, hybrid scheduling, etc.).

[0085] Method 1700 may also determine a schedule on which PDCCH data is received. For example, when PDCCH data is received on a PCell TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule, the PDCCH data may include a TDD UL / DL configuration for the PCell. Conversely, when PDCCH data is received on a SCell TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule, the PDCCH data may include a TDD UL / DL configuration for the corresponding SCell. In some embodiments, the PCell TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule and the SCell TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule have different periodicities, different subframe offsets with respect to the start of a radio frame. It may include a set, or a combination thereof.

[0086] In one embodiment of CA using a cross-scheduling scheme, the received PDCCH data may include TDD UL / DL configurations for multiple serving cells. For example, a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command may include a data structure substantially equivalent to data structure 900 or 1000 indicating the TDD UL / DL configuration for each serving cell.

[0087] In some embodiments, method 1700 may receive multiple TDD UL / DL reconfiguration commands within a reconfiguration window (such as reconfiguration windows 630 and / or 730), thereby improving reliability in receiving TDD UL / DL reconfiguration commands.

[0088] After determining the TDD UL / DL configuration from the TDD UL / DL reconfiguration command, in step 1750, method 1700 may apply the TDD UL / DL configuration at the start or boundary of the next reconfiguration window (e.g., in the corresponding serving cell), where the boundary may correspond to the start of a radio frame.

[0089] A UE may use method 1700 when communicating with an eNB on an SCell (e.g., dedicated signaling). However, method 1700 may monitor the PDCCH UESS of the SCell instead of the PDCCH CSS of the PCell as shown in step 1710, and may check for DCI format 1A or 2D instead of DCI format 1A or 1C as shown in step 1720. Also, at step 1740, method 1700 may receive a TDD UL / DL configuration for the SCell instead of a TDD UL / DL configuration for the PCell.

[0090] Accordingly, in one embodiment, a method for signaling dynamic TDD UL / DL allocation changes in a wireless communications network includes determining a time interval for a periodic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window. The method also includes generating a UL / DL reconfiguration command to indicate the dynamic TDD UL / DL allocation change. The method also includes encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration in PDCCH data. The method also includes transmitting the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command to a first wireless UE of a plurality of wireless UEs in a first UL / DL reconfiguration window of the UL / DL reconfiguration windows via the PDCCH to provide fast TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

[0091] In another embodiment, in a wireless communications network, a receiver is configured to receive a TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule including a periodic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window. The receiver is further configured to receive a plurality of physical layer downlink control information (DCI) messages from a wireless BS via a PDCCH. A processing resource is coupled to the receiver, the processing resource configured to determine that a first one of the received DCI messages includes a UL / DL reconfiguration command indicating a TDD UL / DL allocation change. The processing resource is further configured to apply the UL / DL allocation change at a next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window boundary.

[0092] Changes may be made to the described embodiments and other implementations may be made within the scope of the claims of the present invention. Forms are possible.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for use in a wireless communications network, comprising: a processing resource, configuring, for each of a plurality of serving cells, a different reconfiguration schedule, each specifying a subframe periodicity and a subframe offset for time division duplexing (TDD) uplink / downlink (UL / DL) reconfiguration; transmitting a plurality of reconfiguration indices, each corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of component carriers; determining a time interval for a periodic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window; generating a UL / DL reconfiguration command including a plurality of reconfiguration fields to indicate a dynamic TDD UL / DL allocation change; encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration command in physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) data; wherein each of the reconstruction indexes corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of reconstruction fields; a radio frequency (RF) interface coupled to the processing resource, the RF interface configured to cause a first wireless user equipment (UE) of a plurality of wireless UEs to transmit the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command in a first UL / DL reconfiguration window of the UL / DL reconfiguration windows; and Including, The apparatus, wherein the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command is transmitted via a PDCCH to provide fast TDD UL / DL reconfiguration.

2. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, The apparatus, wherein each UL / DL reconfiguration window includes at least one radio frame.

3. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, The apparatus, wherein the RF interface is further configured to repeat transmission of the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command in the first UL / DL reconfiguration window to improve transmission reliability.

4. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, the UL / DL reconfiguration command includes a configuration value indicating a TDD UL / DL configuration for a second UL / DL reconfiguration window of the UL / DL reconfiguration window subsequent to the first UL / DL reconfiguration window; the TDD UL / DL configuration provides a transmission direction for each subframe in a radio frame; The apparatus, wherein the processing resource is further configured to apply the TDD UL / DL assignment at a start of the second UL / DL reconfiguration window.

5. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, To encode the UL / DL reconfiguration command, the processing resource encoding the configuration value in a downlink control information (DCI) message according to a DCI format; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for the DCI message; scrambling the CRC with a TDD UL / DL Reconfiguration Specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TDD-RNTI) value; further configured as follows: the PDCCH includes a common control part that carries physical layer control signals common to the plurality of wireless UEs; the RF interface is further configured to transmit the DCI message in a common control part of the PDCCH to transmit the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command; The apparatus, wherein the TDD-RNTI differentiates the UL / DL reconfiguration command from other control signals in a common control portion of the PDCCH.

6. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, the DCI format comprises a payload size equal to a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) DCI Format 1A payload size or a 3GPP LTE DCI Format 1C payload size; The apparatus, wherein the configuration value comprises a length of approximately 3 bits.

7. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, the RF interface is further configured to communicate with the first wireless UE on a first component carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs and a second CC of the plurality of CCs; the first CC is associated with a primary serving cell (PCell), and the second CC is associated with a secondary serving cell (SCell); the UL / DL reconfiguration command includes a first UL / DL configuration for the PCell and a second UL / DL configuration for the SCell; The apparatus, wherein the PDCCH is associated with the PCell.

8. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, To encode the UL / DL reconfiguration command, the processing resource encoding the first UL / DL configuration in a first downlink control information (DCI) message according to a DCI format; encoding the second UL / DL configuration in a second DCI message according to the DCI format; further configured as follows: the RF interface is further configured to cause the first DCI message and the second DCI message to be transmitted in a common control portion of the PDCCH on different UL / DL reconfiguration schedules to transmit the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command.

9. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, To encode the UL / DL reconfiguration command, the processing resource encoding the first UL / DL configuration in a first field of a downlink control information (DCI) message corresponding to the PCell; encoding the second UL / DL configuration in a second field of the DCI message corresponding to the SCell; further configured as follows: The apparatus, wherein the RF interface is further configured to cause the DCI message to be transmitted in a common control portion of the PDCCH to transmit the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command.

10. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, To encode the UL / DL reconfiguration command, the processing resource encoding the first UL / DL configuration in a first field of a downlink control information (DCI) message corresponding to the first CC; encoding the second UL / DL reconfiguration in a second field of the DCI message corresponding to the second CC; further configured as follows: The apparatus, wherein the RF interface is further configured to cause the DCI message to be transmitted in a common control portion of the PDCCH to transmit the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command.

11. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, the UL / DL allocation change is associated with a secondary serving cell (SCell) serving the first wireless UE; the PDCCH is associated with the SCell, and the PDCCH includes a UE-specific control part that carries physical layer control for a specific UE; The apparatus, wherein the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command is transmitted in a UE-specific control portion of the PDCCH.

12. 1. A method for signaling dynamic time division duplex (TDD) uplink / downlink (UL / DL) allocation changes in a wireless communications network, comprising: configuring a different reconfiguration schedule for each of a plurality of serving cells, each reconfiguration schedule specifying a subframe periodicity and a subframe offset for TDD UL / DL reconfiguration; transmitting a plurality of reconfiguration indexes, each of the reconfiguration indexes corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of component carriers; determining a time interval for a periodic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window; generating a UL / DL reconfiguration command to indicate the dynamic TDD UL / DL allocation change, the UL / DL reconfiguration command including a plurality of reconfiguration fields, each of the reconfiguration indexes corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of reconfiguration fields; encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration in physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) data; transmitting the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command via a PDCCH to a first wireless UE of a plurality of wireless user equipments (UEs) in a first UL / DL reconfiguration window of the UL / DL reconfiguration windows to provide fast TDD UL / DL reconfiguration; A method comprising:

13. 13. The method of claim 12, each TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window includes at least one radio frame; the UL / DL reconfiguration command includes a configuration value indicating a TDD UL / DL configuration including a transmission direction for each subframe in a radio frame; The method comprises: The method further includes applying the TDD UL / DL configuration in a second UL / DL reconfiguration window of the UL / DL reconfiguration windows subsequent to the first UL / DL reconfiguration window.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration command, encoding the configuration value in a downlink control information (DCI) message according to a DCI format; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for the DCI message; scrambling the CRC with a TDD UL / DL Reconfiguration Specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TDD-RNTI) value; Including, the PDCCH includes a common control part that carries physical layer control signals common to the plurality of wireless UEs; transmitting the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command includes transmitting the DCI message in a common control portion of the PDCCH; The method, wherein the TDD-RNTI differentiates the UL / DL reconfiguration command from other common control signals in the common control part.

15. 13. The method of claim 12, The UL / DL reconfiguration command a first UL / DL configuration for a first component carrier (CC) of a primary serving cell (PCell) serving the first wireless UE; a second UL / DL configuration for a second CC in a secondary serving cell (SCell) serving the first wireless UE; and Including, The method, wherein the PDCCH is associated with the PCell.

16. 16. The method of claim 15, encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration command, encoding the first UL / DL configuration in a first downlink control information (DCI) message according to a DCI format; encoding the second UL / DL configuration in a second DCI message according to the DCI format; Including, transmitting the encoded UL / DL reconfiguration command; transmitting the first DCI message according to a first schedule in a common control portion of the PDCCH; transmitting the second DCI message according to a second schedule in the common control portion of the PDCCH; Including, The method, wherein the first schedule and the second schedule include different periodicities, different subframe offsets relative to a start of a radio frame, or a combination thereof.

17. 16. The method of claim 15, encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration command, encoding the first UL / DL configuration in a first field of a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, the first field corresponding to the PCell; encoding the second UL / DL configuration in a second field of the DCI message, the second field corresponding to the SCell; Including, 4. The method of claim 3, wherein transmitting the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command comprises transmitting the DCI message in a common control portion of the PDCCH.

18. 16. The method of claim 15, encoding the UL / DL reconfiguration command, encoding the first UL / DL configuration in a first field of a downlink control information (DCI) message, the first field corresponding to the first CC; encoding the second UL / DL reconfiguration in a second field of the DCI message, the second field corresponding to the second CC; and Including, transmitting the UL / DL reconfiguration command includes transmitting the DCI message in a common control portion of the PDCCH; The method, wherein the PDCCH is associated with the first CC or the second CC.

19. 13. The method of claim 12, the UL / DL allocation change is associated with a secondary serving cell (SCell) serving the first wireless UE; the PDCCH is in the SCell, and the PDCCH includes a UE-specific control part that carries physical layer control for a specific UE; The method, wherein the coded UL / DL reconfiguration command is transmitted in a UE-specific control portion of the PDCCH.

20. 1. An apparatus for use in a wireless communications network, comprising: a receiver, receiving different reconfiguration schedules for a plurality of serving cells, each schedule specifying a subframe periodicity and a subframe offset for time division duplexing (TDD) uplink / downlink (UL / DL) reconfiguration; receiving a first TDD UL / DL reconfiguration schedule including a first periodic TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window; receiving a plurality of reconfiguration indices, each corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of component carriers; receiving a plurality of physical layer downlink control information (DCI) messages over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a wireless base station; the receiver configured as follows: a processing resource coupled to the receiver, the processing resource comprising: determining that a first one of the received DCI messages includes a UL / DL reconfiguration command indicating a first TDD UL / DL allocation change; applying the first TDD UL / DL allocation change at a next TDD UL / DL reconfiguration window boundary; the processing resource configured to:

1. An apparatus comprising:

Images