Method to support an asymmetric time-division duplex (TDD) configuration in a heterogeneous network (HetNet)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9504084-B2
Application number	US-201113994108-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2011
Priority date	Jul 1, 2011
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

A method to support an asymmetric time-division duplex (TDD) configuration at a macro node in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) is disclosed. The method at the macro node comprises transmitting a half blank subframe (HBS) of a downlink subframe during an uplink subframe of a low power node in the HetNet. An effective transmission range of the macro node can overlap with an effective transmission range of the low power node. The downlink subframe and the uplink subframe can occur on a substantially same carrier frequency. The HBS can have a reduced transmission power during an uplink control channel or a random access channel of the uplink subframe of a mobile device transmission to the low power node.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method, the method comprising:
transmitting a half blank subframe (HBS) of a downlink subframe by a macro node in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) using an asymmetric time-division duplex (TDD) configuration at the macro node in the HetNet during a same time period of an uplink subframe of a low power node in the HetNet, wherein an effective transmission range of the macro node overlaps with an effective transmission range of the low power node, and the downlink subframe and the uplink subframe occur on a substantially same carrier frequency to reduce interference at the low power node caused by the macro node; and
wherein the HBS has a reduced transmission power during an uplink control channel or a random access channel of the uplink subframe of a mobile device transmission to the low power node.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the HBS includes reduced transmission power during a data section of the uplink subframe of the mobile device transmission to the low power node.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the reduced transmission power of the HBS transmitted by the macro node is reduced by at least a factor of ten using a transmission power backoff value.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the reduced transmission power of the HBS transmitted by the macro node has an approximately zero transmission power.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving measured interference information from the low power node by the macro node via X2 signaling; and
reducing the transmission power based on the received measured interference information prior to transmitting the HBS.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , further comprising receiving configuration information at the macro node about the uplink control channel or the random access channel, wherein the configuration information is transmitted from the low power node via X2 signaling prior to transmitting the HBS.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 , wherein the received configuration information for a low power node radio frame differs from configuration information for a macro node radio frame.

8. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the uplink control channel includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and the random access channel includes a physical random access channel (PRACH).

9. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein a majority of an effective area of a low power cell serviced by the low power node is within an effective area of a macro cell serviced by the macro node.

10. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the macro node includes a macro evolved Node B (macro-eNB) and the low power node includes a micro-eNB, a pico-eNB, a femto-eNB, or a home eNB (HeNB).

11. The method computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the macro node transmits downlink subframes to and receives uplink subframes from mobile devices within a macrocell, and the low power node transmits downlink subframes to and receives uplink subframes from mobile devices within a microcell, a picocell, or a femtocell.

12. A macro node in a heterogeneous network (HetNet), comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a half blank subframe (FIBS) of a downlink subframe using an asymmetric time-division duplex (TDD) configuration at the macro node in the HetNet during a same time period of an uplink subframe of a low power node in the HetNet; and
a transmission backoff power module configured to reduce transmission power of the transmitter for the FIBS during an uplink control channel or a random access channel of the uplink subframe of a mobile device transmission to the low power node,
wherein an effective transmission range of the macro node overlaps with the an effective transmission range of the low power node, and the downlink subframe and the uplink subframe occur on a substantially same carrier frequency to reduce interference at the low power node caused by the macro node.

13. The macro node of claim 12 , wherein the FIBS includes reduced transmission power during a data section of the uplink subframe of the mobile device transmission to the low power node.

14. The macro node of claim 12 , further comprising a transceiver configured to receive configuration information about the uplink control channel or the random access channel from the low power node via X2 signaling.

15. The macro node of claim 12 , wherein the macro node includes a macro evolved Node B (macro-eNB) and the low power node includes a micro-eNB, a pico-eNB, a femto-eNB, or a home eNB (HeNB).

16. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method, comprising:
measuring an uplink interference from a transmitted uplink subframe of a nearby mobile device on a downlink subframe at a receiving mobile device using an asymmetric time-division duplex (TDD) configuration at the receiving mobile device in a heterogeneous network (HetNet); and
generating a mixed uplink-downlink measurement report from the measurement of the uplink interference on the downlink subframe by the receiving mobile device,
wherein the receiving mobile device communicates with a serving node and the nearby mobile device communicates with a nearby node in the HetNet, and the downlink subframe and the uplink subframe occur on a substantially same carrier frequency and occur during a same time period for the asymmetric TDD configuration between the receiving node and the nearby mobile device.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the serving node includes a low power node and the nearby node includes a macro node, and a majority of an effective area of a microcell serviced by the low power node is within an effective area of a macrocell serviced by the macro node.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the nearby mobile device and receiving mobile device each include a user equipment (UE), the macro node includes a macro evolved Node B (macro-eNB), and the low power node includes a micro-eNB, a pico-eNB, a femto-eNB, or a home eNB (HeNB).

19. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the uplink interference is determined by interference measurement selected from the group consisting of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a channel quality indicator (CQI), and combinations thereof.

20. The computer program product of claim 16 , further comprising measuring a downlink interference on the downlink subframe from an interference node in the HetNet by the receiving mobile device.

21. The computer program product of claim 20 , further comprising:
sending the mixed uplink-downlink measurement report from the receiving mobile device to the serving node; and
receiving control information from the serving node to the receiving mobile device rescheduling subsequent downlink subframes on another carrier frequency.

22. The computer program product of claim 16 , further comprising sending the mixed uplink-downlink measurement report from the receiv

Assignees

• Niu Huaning
• Fwu Jong-Kae
• Yang Xiangying
• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Niu Huaning
• Fwu Jong-Kae
• Yang Xiangying

Classifications

• H04W72/20

  Control channels or signalling for resource management · CPC title

• H04W72/541

  using the level of interference · CPC title

• H04W72/23 Primary

  in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal · CPC title

• H04W52/325

  Power control of control or pilot channels · CPC title

• H04W8/02 Primary

  Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks · CPC title