HK1211776B - Supporting multiple access technologies in a wireless environment - Google Patents

Description

Support multiple access technologies in wireless environments

This application is a divisional application of an application filed on August 27, 2009, with application number 200980133264.1 and titled “Supporting Multiple Access Technologies in a Wireless Environment”.

Claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. §119

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/092,456, filed on August 28, 2008, entitled “RESERVING RESOURCES FOR TRANSMITTAL OF LTE-A RELATED INFORMATION,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The following description relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to facilitating implementation of multiple wireless access technologies over public terrestrial wireless access networks.

Background Art

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed today to provide various types of communication, such as voice, data, and the like. A typical wireless communication system or network can provide multiple users with access to one or more shared resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). For example, a system can utilize a variety of multiple access techniques, such as frequency division multiplexing (FDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and the like.

Generally speaking, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communications for multiple access terminals. Each access terminal can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward link and the reverse link. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base station to the access terminal, while the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the access terminal to the base station. This communication link can be established using single-input single-output, multiple-input single-output, or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems.

Wireless communication systems sometimes use one or more base stations, each of which provides coverage for a specific area. Generally, a base station can transmit multiple data streams for broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast services, where a data stream is a stream of data that an access terminal may be interested in receiving. An access terminal within the coverage area of a base station can receive one, more than one, or all of the data streams carried in the composite stream. Similarly, an access terminal can transmit data to either the base station or another access terminal.

Many advanced technologies are currently under consideration for Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced systems, such as multi-user MIMO, higher-order MIMO (with eight transmit and receive antennas), network MIMO, femtocells with restricted association, picocells with extended range, larger bandwidth, and more. LTE Advanced offers additional features for new UEs (and, when applicable, legacy UEs) while also supporting legacy UEs (e.g., LTE Release 8 UEs). However, supporting all of the features in LTE imposes some constraints on LTE Advanced design solutions, limiting potential benefits and impacting the user experience.

Summary of the Invention

To provide a basic understanding of one or more embodiments, a brief summary of these embodiments is provided below. This summary is not a comprehensive review of all contemplated embodiments, nor is it intended to identify key or essential elements of all embodiments, nor to delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the detailed description that follows.

According to one or more embodiments and corresponding contents thereof, various aspects are described herein in conjunction with the following: reserving frequency-time block radio resources for transmitting information to new user terminals (e.g., user terminals configured for or compatible with emerging access technologies such as LTE-A) while mitigating adverse effects on legacy user terminals (e.g., compatible with existing access technologies such as LTE). Information designated for emerging access technology terminals may be embedded in predetermined reserved locations, such as: a subset of PHICH resource groups; a predetermined number of control channel elements; a subset of resource elements or resource element groups in a control segment; some resources in a PDSCH region; one or more resources in an MBSFN subframe; a subset of resources in a specific subframe of a frame structure type 2 in a time division duplex (TDD) wireless system, and/or a combination thereof.

In one aspect, the reserved time-frequency resources can be used to transmit LTE-A signals, such as control signals or reference signals (e.g., for additional antenna ports for high-order MIMO or network MIMO applications). According to a related method, a determination is first made regarding the resources that need to be reserved, i.e., the resources that need to be reserved for transmitting information to LTE-A capable user terminals (e.g., user terminals configured for LTE or LTE-A access technology). This decision can be based on factors such as the number of LTE-A user terminals, the amount of control information that needs to be transmitted to LTE-A user terminals, the control resources to be used, and so on. These resources can then be reserved, and the necessary information can be subsequently transmitted to the new user terminals.

According to certain aspects, the resources reserved for LTE-A user terminals can be selected so as not to conflict with LTE control or data traffic. In this case, the LTE user terminal will ignore the LTE-A control or reference signals and treat them as traffic destined for other terminals. When LTE-A resources conflict with LTE resources, mitigation procedures can be used to reduce the performance loss of LTE resources. Suitable mitigation procedures may include: modifying the duty cycle of LTE-A resources, modifying the signal power or rate control of each LTE or LTE-A signal transmission, modifying resource scheduling, etc. or a combination thereof. Therefore, even when LTE-A resource allocations penetrate LTE resources, the associated performance loss of legacy user terminals can be mitigated or avoided.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for aggregating multiple radio access technologies in a wireless network. The method may include: using a data interface to obtain a radio resource schedule for radio resources of a wireless network; using a data processor to analyze the radio resource schedule and identify radio signal resources used by a baseline radio access technology. The method may also include: using the data processor to reserve a subset of radio resources of the wireless network for control or reference signals of a second radio access technology; and using a wireless transmitter to transmit the resource schedule for the control or reference signals to an access terminal configured for the second radio access technology.

In other aspects, the present invention relates to an apparatus for aggregating multiple wireless access technologies. The apparatus includes a memory storing a set of modules for providing wireless access to access terminals implementing legacy wireless access technologies and access terminals implementing advanced wireless access technologies. Furthermore, the apparatus may include a data processor for executing the set of modules. Specifically, the set of modules may include a signal parsing module for analyzing wireless network resource scheduling to identify wireless resources scheduled for the legacy wireless access technology; and a selection module for allocating control or reference signal (RS) resources to the advanced wireless access technology based on a performance loss mitigation strategy. The loss mitigation strategy specifies control or RS resources that do not conflict with resource scheduling for the legacy wireless access technology, or specifies the execution of an arbitration procedure for control or RS resources that conflict with the resource scheduling.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to an apparatus for facilitating wireless communications for multiple radio access technologies. The apparatus may include: means for obtaining, using a data interface, a radio resource schedule for radio resources of a wireless network; and means for identifying, using a data processor, radio signal resources used by a baseline radio access technology based on the radio resource schedule. Furthermore, the apparatus may include means for reserving, using the data processor, a subset of the radio resources of the wireless network for control or reference signals of a second radio access technology. Furthermore, the apparatus may include means for transmitting, using a wireless transmitter, the resource schedule for the control or reference signals to an access terminal implementing the second radio access technology.

Another aspect relates to a processor configured to facilitate wireless communications for multiple radio access technologies. The processor may include a first module configured to identify radio signal resources of a wireless network utilized by a baseline radio access technology. The processor may also include a second module configured to reserve a subset of the radio signal resources for control or reference signals of a second radio access technology. The processor may also include a third module configured to send a resource schedule for the control or reference signals to an access terminal configured to implement the second radio access technology.

Other aspects relate to a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium comprising: a first set of codes for causing a computer to identify radio signal resources of a wireless network utilized by a baseline radio access technology; a second set of codes for causing the computer to reserve a subset of the radio signal resources for control or reference signals of a second radio access technology; and a third set of codes for causing the computer to send a resource schedule for the control or reference signals to an access terminal implementing the second radio access technology.

According to other aspects disclosed herein, when a user terminal interacts with a wireless base station, the user terminal can be configured to use multiple types of radio access technologies (e.g., LTE and LTE-A access technologies). Such a terminal can identify existing access protocols used by baseline access technologies and, if supported, supplementary protocols used by advanced access technologies. The terminal can use the supplementary protocols to decode downlink transmissions or simultaneously transmit signals on uplink channels to optimize wireless performance.

One such aspect relates to a method of wireless communication. The method may include: receiving, using a wireless receiver, a resource scheduling policy for a first radio access technology; and obtaining a supplemental resource scheduling policy for a second radio access technology. The method may also include: analyzing, using a data processor, the supplemental resource scheduling policy and decoding a control or RS transmission for the second radio access technology as specified by the supplemental resource scheduling policy.

Another aspect relates to an apparatus for using an advanced long-term evolution (LTE-A) access technology in a wireless network, wherein the wireless network supports long-term evolution (LTE) access technology and the LTE-A access technology. The apparatus may include: a wireless receiver for obtaining and decoding a scheduling policy for the LTE access technology. In addition, the apparatus may also include: a memory for storing a module set for using the LTE-A access technology of the wireless network; and a data processor for executing the module set. Specifically, the module set includes: a parsing module for extracting the LTE-A scheduling policy from a scheduling message provided by the wireless network; and an analysis module for examining the LTE-A scheduling policy and identifying resource scheduling for LTE-A services related to the apparatus.

Another aspect relates to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include: a wireless receiver utilizing module configured to utilize a wireless receiver to receive a resource scheduling policy for a first radio access technology. Furthermore, the apparatus may include: an obtaining module configured to obtain a supplementary resource scheduling policy for a second radio access technology. Furthermore, the apparatus may include: a data processor utilizing module configured to utilize a data processor to analyze the supplementary resource scheduling policy and decode a control or RS transmission for the second radio access technology as specified by the supplementary resource scheduling policy.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to at least one processor for wireless communications. The processor may include a first module configured to receive a resource scheduling policy for a first radio access technology; a second module configured to obtain a supplementary resource scheduling policy for a second radio access technology; and a third module configured to analyze the supplementary resource scheduling policy and decode control or RS transmissions for the second radio access technology as specified by the supplementary resource scheduling policy.

Other aspects relate to a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include a first set of codes for causing a computer to receive a resource scheduling policy for a first radio access technology. The computer-readable medium may also include a second set of codes for causing the computer to obtain a supplementary resource scheduling policy for a second radio access technology. The computer-readable medium may also include a third set of codes for causing the computer to analyze the supplementary resource scheduling policy and decode a control or RS transmission of the second radio access technology as specified by the supplementary resource scheduling policy.

To accomplish the foregoing and related ends, one or more aspects include the features described in detail below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the accompanying drawings detail certain illustrative aspects of one or more embodiments. However, these aspects are merely illustrative of some of the various ways in which the principles of these various embodiments may be employed, and the described embodiments are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

1 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus supporting multiple radio access technologies for a network base station.

2 illustrates an example time-frequency resource scheduling enabling multiple radio access technologies according to one aspect.

3 illustrates an example time-frequency resource scheduling enabling multiple radio access technologies according to another aspect.

4 illustrates example time-frequency resource scheduling enabling multiple radio access technologies according to another aspect.

5 depicts a block diagram of an example system that provides dynamic and adaptive resource scheduling for multiple access technologies.

6 illustrates a block diagram of an example system including a base station configured to support multiple radio access technologies.

7 illustrates a block diagram of an example system including a user terminal (UT) capable of utilizing multiple access technologies in wireless communications.

8 illustrates a flowchart of an example methodology for supporting multiple access technologies in a wireless communication environment.

9 depicts a flow diagram of an example methodology for providing adaptive resource scheduling to support LTE and LTE-A terminals.

10 depicts a flow chart of an example methodology for utilizing advanced wireless access technologies in an environment supporting legacy terminals.

11 and 12 depict block diagrams of example systems for providing and facilitating multiple wireless access technologies, respectively.

13 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless transmit-receive chain that facilitates wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects.

14 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary cellular communication environment that can be employed to support various other disclosed aspects.

15 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication environment according to at least one other disclosed aspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout to denote like elements. In the following description, for purposes of illustration, numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it will be apparent that these aspects may be implemented without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are presented in block diagram form to facilitate description of one or more aspects.

In addition, it is obvious that the content of this application can be implemented in various forms, and any specific structure and/or function disclosed in this application is merely illustrative. Based on the content of this application, those skilled in the art will understand that the aspects disclosed in this application can be implemented independently of any other aspects, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus and/or method can be implemented using any number of aspects described in this application. In addition, an apparatus or method can be implemented using other structures and/or functions other than one or more aspects described in this application or structures and/or functions different from one or more aspects described in this application. For example, many of the methods, devices, systems, and apparatuses described in this application are described in the following context, namely, supporting terminals configured for different radio access technologies in a public wireless communication environment. Those skilled in the art will understand that similar techniques can be applied to other communication environments.

Wireless communication technology has advanced in many areas in recent years. Some advances have impacted handheld devices, enabling them to support greater processing power and storage capacity, more powerful and diverse applications, multiple antennas or antenna types, and more. Other advances have impacted access network technology, enabling higher-bandwidth communications, more reliable data rates, multi-user support, and more. Regardless of the type or nature of these advances, new software and communication protocols are often required to fully utilize the additional capabilities. For example, if a base station is equipped with multiple physical antennas and improved signal processing enables reduced interference and diversity transmission/reception, multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology can be used to achieve significantly higher data rates. However, implementing MIMO technology may require new software, for example, to allocate time-frequency resources to MIMO-capable user terminals (UTs). Furthermore, this software can distinguish between MIMO-capable UTs and legacy (non-MIMO) UTs, allowing for continued support of legacy UTs in MIMO-capable wireless environments.

Typically, resource reservation can be performed without impacting legacy terminals at the reserved locations, so the performance of legacy terminals is generally not compromised. However, in at least one aspect, the present invention leverages the behavior of legacy user terminals when expecting information at specific locations in an OFDM symbol set. Thus, information can be provided to other user terminals at different resource locations, enabling implementation of new standards or protocols at these different resource locations while mitigating performance degradation for legacy terminals. Therefore, the wireless communication apparatus described herein can accommodate multiple radio access technologies simultaneously.

As a specific example, consider the following scenario: a legacy terminal is configured for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) access technology (or LTE access technology), while a new terminal is configured for the LTE-Advanced (or LTE-A) access technology. In this case, the LTE-A UT may be notified of control, reference signal (RS), or traffic resources reserved for the LTE-A UT via various mechanisms (e.g., transmission of a new SIB, a new common channel (e.g., BCH) that the LTE-A terminal can monitor, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, a specific LTE-A UT or a group of such LTE-A UTs may be notified of the reserved resources via unicast transmission.

According to certain aspects, the pattern used for the reserved resources can be different within a frequency-time block, or it can be adaptive and change over time. The pattern can be changed based on the number of LTE-A UTs and legacy UTs in the system and their needs. In addition, the pattern can be designed based on different criteria that are considered important for the specific signals carried on these resources.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG1 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 that facilitates multiple radio access technologies for a public wireless network (e.g., a terrestrial radio access network). The system 100 can facilitate wireless communications according to different access technologies, depending on the capabilities of the access terminals served by the system (100). In one example, the system 100 can be used to implement a baseline radio access technology for a group of legacy access terminals that implement the baseline radio access technology, and to implement an advanced radio access technology for a second group of access terminals that implement an advanced radio access technology. In a specific example, the system 100 can provide LTE services to a group of LTE terminals, reserving resources for LTE-A communications for LTE-A terminals. Generally, the terms LTE-A and LTE access are not used interchangeably within a single radio access network because LTE-A specifies higher bandwidth, data rates, antenna diversity, etc., compared to LTE. Furthermore, resource specifications for LTE-A are incompatible with resource specifications for LTE. The system 100 can alleviate many of these issues, enabling LTE and LTE-A activities to be implemented on a single radio access network, as described in detail below.

The system 100 includes a resource scheduling apparatus 102 coupled to a base station 104. In some aspects, the resource scheduling apparatus 102 and the base station 104 are a single physical entity. For example, the resource scheduling apparatus 102 can be installed as a hardware and software component of the base station 104. In other aspects, the resource scheduling apparatus 102 can be physically remote from the base station 104, but can optionally be located at a central server to operate several base stations (104) (e.g., as part of a system controller 1430, see FIG. 14 below).

The resource scheduling apparatus 102 includes a memory 112 storing a set of modules 108 and 110 for providing wireless access to access terminals (ATs) implementing legacy wireless access technologies (e.g., LTE) and ATs implementing advanced wireless access technologies (e.g., LTE-A). Furthermore, the resource scheduling apparatus 106 may include a data processor for executing the set of modules 108 and 110. The signal parsing module 108 analyzes resource scheduling for legacy wireless access technologies. Thus, the signal parsing module 108 may be configured to identify the mapping of resource blocks in wireless signal frames, the mapping of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols to various control channels, reference channels, or traffic channels, and the like. Furthermore, the signal parsing module 108 may identify idle resources not used for legacy wireless access signaling. These mappings may be output to a resource scheduling file 108A for legacy access technologies and provided to the resource selection module 110.

Resource selection module 110 allocates control or RS resources for advanced wireless access technologies. Typically, this allocation is performed based on a performance loss mitigation strategy 112A. Typically, strategy 112A is used to avoid resource conflicts between legacy and advanced access technologies. Where resource conflicts cannot be completely avoided, strategy 112A may specify an arbitration procedure 112B to mitigate the performance losses resulting from such conflicts. As used herein, the term "resource conflict" may include direct conflicts, where a single resource or resource group (e.g., a single channel allocated for both LTE and LTE-A functionality) is allocated to multiple access technologies simultaneously, or indirect conflicts, where resource allocation for one access technology limits the overall adaptability of resources desired by access terminals using different access technologies. As an example of the latter, also known as resource puncturing, reserving a shared channel resource group (RG) reserved for LTE-A terminals for LTE-A terminals suppresses the maximum data rate of LTE terminals using the shared channel resources, even if the shared channel resource group (RG) is not currently allocated for LTE signaling.

Various resource groups can be allocated or reserved for advanced wireless access technologies. The selection of resources depends, at least in part, on the resource schedule 108A used by legacy wireless access technologies. For example, it may be preferable for a mitigation strategy 112A to reserve a subset of resource blocks (e.g., a set of frequency subbands across a set of OFDM symbols within a single signal subframe (e.g., see Figures 2-4 below)) for the advanced access technology, which will not be used by legacy wireless access technology ATs. Within these reserved resource blocks, a subset of time-frequency resources can be allocated to the advanced access technology's control signals, RS, or data traffic. In this manner, resource conflicts between legacy and advanced wireless access technologies are less likely. Alternatively, resource blocks used by legacy wireless access technologies can be designated as multi-purpose blocks, with some of the time-frequency resources within these multi-purpose blocks allocated to advanced wireless access technology ATs. In the latter case, indirect resource conflicts (or direct resource conflicts) are more likely to occur. Therefore, the mitigation strategy 112A may specify an arbitration procedure 112B for this type of resource allocation.

The following description describes specific examples for resource selection and reservation according to various exemplary aspects. The time-frequency resources allocated for advanced access technology use can be located in the control field or the data field of one or more subframes of the wireless signal. In some aspects, the reserved time-frequency resources are located in the resource blocks allocated for the advanced access technology, but this is not required in all cases. For example, the reserved resources can be allocated to general-purpose resource blocks (usable by any AT served by the base station 104) or to control channel resources that are not reserved for any specific AT or type of AT.

In one aspect of the present invention, the resource selection module 110 may reserve a subset of the physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH) resources of the base station 104 as radio resources for advanced access technology ATs. The PHICH resources are used to send HARQ acknowledgments corresponding to the ATs' uplink transmissions. In this regard, potential performance impacts may occur for legacy ATs. The arbitration process 112B may be used to offset this performance impact. In one aspect, the arbitration process 112B may schedule additional PHICH resource groups for acknowledgments in addition to the PHICH resource groups used by legacy radio access technologies (and possibly advanced radio access technologies), as well as use these additional PHICH resource groups for control or RS resources for the advanced radio access technologies. In other words, one possible arbitration process (112B) may schedule a greater total number of PHICH resource groups than would be required to support acknowledgments for both advanced and legacy radio access technologies.

In an alternative aspect, arbitration process 112B can schedule AT uplink transmissions in a manner that avoids PHICH collisions between legacy and advanced radio access technologies. Typically, uplink transmissions are mapped to specific PHICH resources used to receive feedback related to those uplink transmissions. Thus, as an example, consider mapping an uplink resource (Resource A) used for data transmission to a downlink resource (Resource B) used for PHICH signaling. An AT assigned Resource A on the uplink will monitor Resource B on the downlink. Conversely, after receiving data from the AT on uplink Resource A, base station 104 will transmit a PHICH signal to the AT on downlink Resource B. However, it should be understood that in a multi-access technology system such as system 100, allocating PHICH groups to advanced radio access technologies can degrade performance for ATs implementing legacy radio access technologies. For example, reducing the number of PHICH groups available to legacy ATs can result in indirect resource collisions or resource punch-through. This type of collision can result in performance degradation for ATs using PHICH groups for acknowledgment.

To mitigate this issue, arbitration strategy 112B can combine the mapping of uplink transmissions to PHICH resources to mitigate the impact of conflicts between PHICH groups used by legacy radio access technologies (e.g., for acknowledgments) and PHICHs reserved for advanced radio access technologies. That is, a PHICH group mapped to uplink resources used by legacy ATs (ATs configured for legacy radio access technologies) will be less likely to conflict with a PHICH group reserved for advanced radio access technologies or a PHICH group used by advanced ATs (ATs configured for advanced radio access technologies). As a result, legacy ATs served by base station 104 transmit on uplink resources mapped to a PHICH group that is different from the PHICH resource group reserved for advanced radio access technologies. This is possible in LTE, for example, because the PHICH group used by an LTE AT depends on the uplink resources scheduled for that AT (as described above) and other AT-specific parameters that can be configured by base station 104. In the latter aspect, conflicts between the PHICH groups monitored by legacy ATs for acknowledgment and the PHICH groups reserved for advanced wireless access technologies (for acknowledgment, for control signal or RS transmission, for data transmission, etc.) can be mitigated or avoided through arbitration strategy 112B. Thus, in at least one aspect of the present invention, the arbitration procedure includes mapping access terminals configured for legacy wireless access technologies to uplink resources corresponding to a set of PHICH groups that are different from the set of PHICH resources reserved for advanced wireless access technologies.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the resource selection module 110 can allocate a subset of the control channel elements (CCEs) used by the wireless network (and base station 104) to the control or RS signals of the advanced wireless access technology. In at least one aspect, the resource selection module 110 ensures that these resources are not used for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions of the legacy wireless access technology (e.g., at least when these resources are reserved for the advanced wireless access technology). To illustrate the use of CCEs and PDCCHs, we consider an LTE system. In LTE, a CCE is a collection of nine resource element groups (REGs) in the control region of a radio subframe (e.g., see the control resources of FIG. 2 below). PDCCH signals are transmitted on a collection of 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs. In each subframe, the CCEs can be ordered as specified in the LTE standard (e.g., LTE Release 8), and the PDCCH is allocated to 1, 2, 4, or 8 consecutive CCEs having this order.

Based on the aforementioned structure, resource selection module 110 can select the first CCE and the overall size (e.g., 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs) to be used for the PDCCH of legacy ATs to avoid conflicts with the CCE group reserved for advanced radio access technologies. In this way, base station 104 can continue to serve the PDCCH of legacy ATs while providing some CCE resources for advanced radio access technologies. Therefore, in the context of an LTE system, a subset of CCEs can be reserved for LTE-A, and the remaining CCEs can be used to implement PDCCH signals for ATs of LTE Release 8 or some other LTE release. To LTE Release 8 ATs, the CCEs reserved for LTE-A appear as PDCCH resources allocated to other ATs (e.g., other LTE Release 8 ATs). Therefore, LTE Release 8 ATs are not affected by the CCEs reserved for LTE-A. It should be understood that this example is applicable to other combinations of legacy and advanced radio access technologies combined in a terrestrial radio access network.

While the resource selection module 110 may attempt to avoid collisions on CCE transmissions as described above, there may still be performance losses during, for example, peak traffic or high load periods. To mitigate the performance losses incurred by ATs configured for the baseline radio access technology due to CCEs reserved for advanced radio access technologies, an arbitration strategy 112B may be used. In this case, the arbitration strategy 112B may specify at least one of: modifying the PDCCH signal power of ATs configured for the baseline radio access technology; modifying the number of REs allocated for PDCCH transmissions by these terminals; or optimizing the PDCCH to CCE mapping for these access terminals. In the latter case, the arbitration strategy 112B specifies the organization of CCEs used to transmit PDCCHs to legacy ATs in a manner that optimizes performance (or avoids collisions with CCEs reserved for advanced radio technologies).

In another aspect, the resource selection module 110 may allocate control segment resource elements (REs) that are not used by legacy radio access technologies for RS, PHICH, or physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) transmissions to advanced radio access technology signals. In other words, the REs reserved for advanced radio access technology signals may be part of the CCEs. Furthermore, control symbol REs that are not part of the CCEs and not used for PHICH, PCFICH, or RS transmissions may also be used for this purpose.

If the PDCCH signal is mapped to a CCE that includes some reserved REs, then these reserved REs will penetrate the PDCCH used by the base station 104 (resulting in indirect resource conflicts). ATs that implement advanced wireless access technologies can be used to identify this type of PDCCH conflict and decode the PDCCH to compensate for the conflict. Traditional ATs are not able to identify this PDCCH conflict and thus observe performance loss. In this case, the arbitration procedure 112B can instruct the base station 104 to adjust the power control for the traditional AT to compensate for this performance loss. Alternatively or additionally, the arbitration procedure 112B can instruct the base station 104 to optimize the PDCCH to CCE mapping to minimize the performance loss. Alternatively or additionally, the arbitration procedure 112B can instruct the base station 104 to increase the overall PDCCH size to improve PDCCH performance or to reduce the overall PDCCH size to avoid conflicts with the reserved REs.

In other aspects, the resource selection module 110 can allocate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) resources to advanced wireless access technology ATs. In one example, the resource selection module 110 allocates control or RS resources to PDSCH REs that at least partially conflict with data allocations for legacy wireless access technologies. Similar to the control segment REs discussed above, the advanced access technology ATs can identify the conflict and decode the PDSCH in a manner that mitigates performance loss. For legacy ATs that are unable to identify the conflict, the arbitration procedure 112B can instruct the base station 104 to avoid scheduling ATs in a portion of the frequency band where the reserved REs are located. In addition, the arbitration procedure 112B can instruct the base station 104 to use power and rate control to compensate for the conflict, or to use appropriate resource scheduling to minimize the impact of the conflict.

As an alternative example, resource selection module 110 may allocate control or RS resources to PDSCH REs reserved for advanced radio access technologies. In this case, these PDSCH REs may be used, at least in part, for data transmission and control signals or RSs by ATs implementing advanced radio access technologies. Reserving PDSCH REs for advanced radio access technologies may impact legacy ATs. In this case, arbitration process 112B may specify a reduced duty cycle to reserve resources for advanced radio access technology purposes to offset the impact on legacy ATs.

According to at least one other aspect, resource selection module 110 can allocate advanced access technology control or RS resources to non-control symbols of one or more multicast/broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) subframes of a wireless signal. In LTE, for example, MBSFN subframes include one or more control symbols, while the remaining symbols of these subframes are not assigned delegated transmissions. Traditional ATs typically monitor only control symbols in MBSFN subframes. Therefore, non-control OFDM symbols of MBSFN subframes can be reserved for advanced access technology ATs without impacting traditional ATs.

In another aspect, the resource selection module 110 can identify other non-reserved radio resources specified by the resource schedule 108A and use these non-reserved radio resources for advanced access technology ATs. For example, a time division duplex (TDD) system includes a specific subframe with a frame structure type 2. Frame structure type 2 specifies a guard period (GP) field and a downlink portion (DwPTS) of the specific subframe. As an example, the resource selection module 110 can configure different specific subframe resource allocations for legacy ATs and advanced access technology ATs. As another example, the resource selection module 110 can specify a larger GP field for legacy ATs than for advanced access technology ATs. Because ATs typically ignore the GP field, the expanded portion of the GP field used for advanced access technology signaling has little or no performance impact on legacy ATs. Furthermore, advanced access technology ATs can be notified of the GP change by broadcasting a new system information block (SIB) for advanced radio access technology information that is ignored by legacy ATs. Therefore, the resource selection module 110 can allocate control or RS resources (or traffic resources) to specific downlink or GP field symbols ignored by ATs implementing conventional wireless access technology in TDD wireless systems or similarly ignored symbols in other systems.

It should be understood that the various REs, CCEs, channels, control symbols, and subframes that can be used to reserve radio resources for advanced radio access technologies are not exhaustive. Other resources not explicitly listed in this application may also be used. Furthermore, combinations of these resources may also be used consistent with the scope of protection of the present invention. Furthermore, the resource scheduling device 102 may employ a time-varying pattern of resource reservation, which will be discussed in more detail below. For example, a set of resources (e.g., a subset of CCEs) may be reserved for advanced radio access technology transmissions every N subframes, where N is an integer. As another example, the frequency locations of the reserved resources may be cycled through different frequency subbands (e.g., where a subband corresponds to a set of consecutive resource blocks [RBs]) within the subframe that includes the reserved resources. For example, odd and even indexes may be assigned to different RBs, reserving odd-indexed resource blocks (RBs) in one subframe for advanced radio access technology transmissions and reserving even-indexed RBs in a subsequent subframe (see FIG. 2 below). As another example, the reserved resources may be cycled through different subbands across different subframes. In another example, distributed virtual resource block mapping can be used in subframes used to transmit advanced access technology signals. This example can achieve good frequency sampling of RS symbols that can be used to transmit different antenna ports (while minimizing overhead). The latter example can also provide good frequency diversity for the transmission of control signals.

FIG2 illustrates an exemplary time-frequency resource schedule 200 that enables multiple radio access technologies, according to one aspect. Resource schedule 200 depicts segments of a radio signal that are partitioned horizontally by time and vertically by frequency. Each time-frequency partition is a single radio resource. Furthermore, blocks of consecutive time and frequency partitions are referred to as subframes (202A, 202B) and RBs (204A, 204B, 204C), respectively.

Specifically, resource schedule 200 includes two time subframes 202A and 202B. Each subframe 202A, 202B includes 14 OFDM symbols, the first three of which are control symbol resources (white blocks), and the remaining 11 are resources that can be used for control, reference, or traffic transmission (dotted or shaded blocks). In addition, each subframe 202A, 202B includes three RBs 204A, 204B, and 204C, each of which includes 12 consecutive frequency tones. RBs 204A, 204B, and 204C are numbered as follows: RB 204A has an index of 1, RB 204B has an index of 2, and RB 204C has an index of 3.

In one aspect of the present invention, subframes 202A and 202B may be dedicated to PDSCH signals, referred to as PDSCH subframes 202A and 202B. Furthermore, as shown, in the first PDSCH subframe 202A, odd-indexed RBs 204A and 204C are reserved for transmitting advanced radio access technology signals (e.g., LTE-A signals, as indicated by dark shading), while even-indexed RBs 204B may be used to transmit signals for ATs using any type of access technology (e.g., LTE or LTE-A, as indicated by light shading). In even-numbered subframes 202B, the opposite pattern is observed, with odd-numbered RBs 204A and 204C being available to any AT, while even-numbered RBs 204B are reserved for advanced radio access technology ATs.

In addition, four time-frequency resources reserved for advanced radio access technology signaling (e.g., odd-numbered RBs 204A, 204B in subframe 202A and even-numbered RBs 204B in subframe 202B) can be specifically selected for reference signals (RS). These RS resources are described using each time-frequency resource with an 'X' inside it. As shown in resource schedule 200, resources in the odd-indexed RBs 204A, 204B are selected at the same location (in the last non-control OFDM symbol) for RS transmission. However, resources in the even-numbered RB 204B of subframe 202B are located at a different location (in the first non-control OFDM symbol). However, this selection of RS resources is merely exemplary; other RS resource patterns can also be used, and different numbers of resources can be selected for RS transmission. However, this choice of RS transmission enables the advanced radio access technology RS signal to span the entire frequency range (all three RBs 204A, 204B, 204C), thus enabling legacy radio access technology transmissions to be scheduled on all subframes without direct collision with the advanced access technology RS signal.

FIG3 illustrates another exemplary resource schedule 300 for enabling multiple radio access technologies in a radio access network. Compared to resource schedule 200 of FIG2 above, resource schedule 300 includes a different time-frequency resource partitioning. Specifically, resource schedule 300 depicts a single time subframe 302A having 14 OFDM symbols and four frequency RBs 304A, 304B, 304C, and 304D, each of which includes 12 consecutive frequency tones. Furthermore, time subframe 302A is divided into three OFDM symbol groups: control resources (white blocks) in the first three OFDM symbols, and two general resource groups (shaded blocks, including light and dark colors) having 4 and 7 OFDM symbols, respectively. Furthermore, resource schedule 300 extends to a larger frequency band, including four RBs each with 12 frequency tones.

The non-control symbols of resource schedule 300 are numbered 1 through 4 along the RBs from top to bottom. Specifically, RB 204A has index 1, RB 204B has index 2, RB 204C has index 3, and RB 204D has index 4. Furthermore, a first set of odd-indexed RBs (including four non-control OFDM symbols) is reserved for advanced radio access technology ATs, while a second set of even-indexed RBs (including seven non-control OFDM symbols) is reserved for advanced radio access technology ATs. Within each of the RBs reserved for these ATs, a set of time-frequency symbols is also reserved for RS transmission. It should be noted that while these RS resources are located in consecutive OFDM symbols (the seventh and eighth symbols), they can also be located in non-contiguous OFDM symbols. As shown in FIG2 , the advanced access technology RS resources of resource schedule 300 span the entire frequency range of the wireless signal. When scheduled in frequency hopping mode, legacy ATs occupy odd (or even) RBs in the first half of subframe 302A and even (or odd) RBs in the second half of subframe 302A. Therefore, legacy ATs can be scheduled in frequency hopping mode in subframe 302A without experiencing resource puncturing of these RSs. In other words, resources for legacy ATs can also span the entire frequency range. This enables optimal performance and generally imposes little or no performance penalty on legacy ATs.

FIG4 illustrates another exemplary resource schedule 400 for enabling multiple radio access technologies according to another aspect. Resource schedule 400 depicts a single time subframe 402A comprising three frequency RBs 404A, 404B, and 404C. In this case, darker shaded time-frequency resource blocks are reserved for transmission of advanced radio access technology RSs (e.g., LTE-A RSs), while lighter shaded time-frequency resource blocks are reserved for transmission of legacy radio access technology RSs (e.g., LTE RSs). In this case, white blocks are time-frequency resources available to any AT.

Unlike resource scheduling 200 and 300, because these RS transmissions span the entire frequency band, advanced access technology RS transmissions puncture PDSCH transmissions for legacy access technologies. Non-legacy ATs can be configured to recognize this condition and decode the data transmission accordingly to mitigate performance loss. However, legacy ATs are typically not configured to recognize this condition and may experience significant performance loss. To mitigate this performance loss, an arbitration procedure can be performed (e.g., see 112B in FIG. 1 above). The arbitration procedure can include modifying (e.g., increasing) transmit power, modifying resource scheduling, modifying rate control for legacy access technology transmissions, modifying the duty cycle of advanced access technology resources, and so on, or a combination thereof. For example, due to the puncture, low-rate legacy ATs may experience less performance loss than high-rate legacy ATs. In this case, a scheduler (e.g., resource selection module 110, described above) can prioritize scheduling low-rate legacy ATs in subframes with the puncture and scheduling high-rate legacy ATs in other subframes where the puncture is not observed.

FIG5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 500 for implementing dynamic and adaptive resource scheduling according to aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically, system 500 can adapt to changing radio conditions and adjust resource scheduling patterns based on those conditions. Thus, system 500 can optimize AT performance over time in a variety of dynamic radio conditions.

The system 500 includes a group of ATs 502A, 502B wirelessly coupled to a base station 504. The group of ATs 502A, 502B includes an AT 502B implementing a baseline wireless access technology and an AT 502A implementing a second wireless access technology. Each AT 502A, 502B communicates with the base station 504 using protocols for the access technology used by the respective AT. These protocols instruct the ATs 502A, 502B which resources to use for various transmission signals (e.g., reference, control, or traffic signals).

Specifically, the base station 504 may include a selection module 506 that allocates resources among the various types of ATs 502A, 502B in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the resource selection module 110 of FIG. 1 . In at least one aspect of the present invention, resource allocation may be based at least in part on existing wireless conditions observed by the ATs and reported to the base station 504. These conditions may be stored in a wireless condition file 514B in a database 512 communicatively coupled to the base station 504.

Depending on the type of resource allocation used by selection module 506, performance loss may occur for baseline access technology AT 502B. For example, this performance loss may occur if selection module 506 reserves RS signals for the second radio access technology in PDSCH subframes across the entire frequency band used by base station 504 (e.g., see resource schedule 400 above). While AT 502A may be capable of detecting this type of resource allocation and modifying signal decoding to compensate, AT 502B may not have this capability. Consequently, AT 502B may observe some performance loss due to this resource scheduling. To mitigate or avoid this performance loss, base station 504 may include compensation module 508. Specifically, compensation module 508 may employ power control, rate control, or dynamic scheduling, based on an arbitration procedure, to mitigate this performance loss, as described herein. Furthermore, compensation module 508 may reference existing radio conditions 514B (or historical radio conditions derived from time-varying updates stored in database 512) to determine an appropriate manner to apply the arbitration procedure to optimize performance loss mitigation.

According to other aspects of the present invention, the base station 504 can include an adaptation module 510 that dynamically modifies the allocation of resources or resource patterns based on network load or prevailing wireless conditions. For example, the adaptation module 510 can reference the schedule and rules 514A of the reservation pattern 514C to implement different resource patterns. Exemplary resource reservation patterns can include alternating reserved resource blocks every N subframes (e.g., see FIG. 2 above) or segments of subframes (e.g., see FIG. 3 above), cycling through different frequency bands of reserved RBs, cycling reserved resources through different subframes, using virtual resource block mapping within reserved subframes (e.g., see FIG. 4 above), and the like, or any suitable combination thereof. The rules 514A used to implement various resource reservation patterns 514C can be based on network load conditions, such as the number of advanced access technology ATs (502A) served by the base station 504, the traffic demands of these ATs (502A), the resources available to these ATs (502A), and the like. Alternatively or additionally, the rules 514A may specify a specific resource reservation pattern 514C based on wireless conditions 514B, which may include the amount of channel interference, throughput or data rate, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other measurement of wireless channel strength or quality reported by the ATs 502A, 502B. Based on the current load or wireless conditions, the adaptation module 510 may modify or maintain the resource schedule.

In addition, the adaptive module 510 can dynamically monitor network load or radio conditions (514B) to identify changes over time. Once a threshold change specified by the rule 514A occurs, a new resource reservation pattern can be implemented. In this way, the adaptive module 510 can provide an optimized dynamic resource environment based on the needs of the existing ATs 502A, 502B and the prevailing radio conditions.

FIG6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 600 including a wireless base station 602 configured for aspects of the present invention. In one example, system 600 can include base station 602 supporting ATs 604 using different radio access technologies. In another example, base station 602 can be configured to provide dynamic and adaptive resource reservation based on changing load or radio conditions to accommodate these radio access technologies, as described herein.

Base station 602 (e.g., access point, etc.) may include a receiver 610 that obtains wireless signals from one or more ATs 604 via one or more receive antennas 606, and a transmitter 630 that transmits coded/modulated wireless signals provided by a modulator 628 to the ATs 604 via a transmit antenna 608. Receiver 610 may obtain information from receive antenna 606 and may also include a signal receiver (not shown) that receives uplink data transmitted by the ATs 604. Receiver 610 is also operatively associated with a demodulator 612 that demodulates received signals. The demodulated symbols are analyzed by a data processor 614. Data processor 614 is coupled to a memory 616 that stores information related to functionality provided or implemented by base station 602. In one example, the stored information may include a preconfigured pattern for reserving a subset of wireless resources between different radio access technologies. In addition to the foregoing, the memory 616 may also include rules or protocols for selecting between these pre-configured modes. The selection may be made based on network load or the current traffic needs of the AT 604.

In one particular aspect, the base station 602 can include a parsing module 618 that analyzes resource scheduling for legacy radio access technologies. Furthermore, the base station 602 can include a selection module 620 that allocates control or RS resources to the advanced radio access technology based on a performance loss mitigation strategy (not shown). In one aspect, the performance loss mitigation strategy specifies control or RS resources that do not conflict with the resource scheduling for the legacy radio access technology (e.g., based on the analyzed resource scheduling), or specifies the performance of an arbitration procedure for control or RS resources that conflict with such resource scheduling. The arbitration procedure can be performed by a compensation module 624 that uses power control, rate control, or dynamic scheduling to mitigate the performance loss incurred by the AT 604 due to the resource scheduling. In at least one particular aspect, the performance loss mitigation strategy specifies an adaptive resource allocation pattern to mitigate performance loss for the legacy AT when resources reserved for the advanced radio access technology pierce the resource expectations of the legacy AT. The adaptive resource allocation mode may include at least one of: reserving control or RS resources (for advanced wireless access technologies) every N subframes (where N is an integer); cycling the reservation of control or RS resources across different parts of a frequency band; cycling the reservation of control or RS resources across different subbands on different subframes; or using distributed virtual resource block mapping in subframes used for control or RS resources.

In another aspect, the base station 602 includes a scheduling module 622 that sends a message to the ATs 604 implementing the advanced wireless access technology specifying the location of the control or RS resources allocated by the selection module 620. In one configuration, the scheduling module 622 broadcasts the message via a SIB dedicated to the ATs 604 implementing the advanced wireless access technology. In another configuration, the scheduling module 622 broadcasts the message via a common channel dedicated to the ATs 604. However, in an alternative configuration, the scheduling module 622 unicasts the message to one or more ATs 604. In another alternative configuration, the scheduling module 622 broadcasts or unicasts the message on resources used by legacy wireless access technologies.

According to at least one aspect, base station 602 can include an adaptation module 626. In one example, adaptation module 626 can dynamically modify the allocation of control or RS resources provided by selection module 620 based on network load or prevailing radio conditions. As a specific example, network load for resource modification can include the number of access terminals served by base station 602 or the amount of control information to be transmitted to AT 604. As another specific example, radio conditions for resource modification can include channel performance estimates submitted by AT 604 (which can include ATs implementing legacy radio access technologies or ATs implementing advanced radio access technologies). Furthermore, adaptation module 626 can monitor network load or radio conditions and update the allocation of control or RS resources based on threshold changes in these conditions.

FIG7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 700 including an AT 702 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present invention. AT 702 can be configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more base stations 704 (e.g., access points) of a wireless network. Depending on the configuration, AT 702 can receive wireless signals from base stations (704) on a forward link (or downlink) channel and respond to wireless signals on a reverse link (or uplink) channel. Furthermore, AT 702 can include instructions stored in memory 714 to analyze received wireless signals, specifically, identify resource conflicts in wireless resource allocations, decode signals in a manner that mitigates performance losses due to resource conflicts, sample existing wireless conditions, and submit reports on the sampled conditions, among other things, as described in detail below.

AT 702 includes at least one antenna 706 for receiving signals (e.g., a wireless transmit/receive interface including an input/output interface or a set of such interfaces) and a receiver 708, wherein the receiver 708 performs typical actions on the received signal (e.g., filtering, amplifying, down-converting, etc.). Generally, antenna 706, modulator 724, and transmitter 726 can be used to transmit wireless data to base station 704.

Antenna 706 and receiver 708 may also be coupled to a demodulator 710, which may demodulate received symbols and provide these signals to a data processor 712 for evaluation. It should be understood that data processor 712 may control and/or invoke one or more components (706, 708, 710, 714, 716, 718, 720, 722) of AT 702. Furthermore, data processor 712 may execute one or more modules, applications, engines, etc. (716, 718, 720, 722) that include information or control commands related to performing functions of AT 702. For example, these functions may include receiving and decoding wireless signals, identifying resource allocations from these signals, analyzing observed wireless channel conditions, submitting channel information to base station 704, implementing resource optimization based on these statistics, and the like.

In addition, the memory 714 of the AT 702 is operatively coupled to the data processor 712. The memory 714 can store data to be transmitted, received, etc., as well as instructions suitable for wireless communication with the remote device (804). Specifically, these instructions can be used to implement various functions described above or elsewhere in this application. In addition, the memory 714 can store the modules, applications, engines, etc. (716, 718, 720, 722) executed by the data processor 712.

According to an exemplary operation of AT 702, wireless receiver 708 obtains a scheduling policy for an LTE access technology, and demodulator 710 decodes the scheduling policy for data processor 712. Furthermore, data processor 712 may execute a set of modules (716, 718, 720, 722) for implementing an LTE-A access technology and an LTE technology. Specifically, parsing module 716 may be executed to extract the LTE-A scheduling policy from a scheduling message provided by base station 704. Furthermore, analysis module 718 may be executed to examine the LTE-A scheduling policy. Furthermore, analysis module 718 may identify resource scheduling for LTE-A traffic associated with AT 702.

The LTE-A scheduling policy may utilize one of a set of resource reservation patterns for control or RS resources. In one example, the LTE-A scheduling policy includes allocating LTE-A control or RS resources to at least one of: every N subframes of a wireless signal, a series of different frequency subbands within different signal subframes containing LTE-A transmissions, a series of different portions of a frequency subband, or a distributed virtual resource block within at least one subframe within different signal subframes containing LTE-A transmissions. It should be understood that combinations of the aforementioned resource reservation patterns may also be utilized.

In one aspect of the present invention, the parsing module 716 obtains a scheduling message from a unicast message sent by the base station 704 to the AT 702. In another aspect, the scheduling message is sent on a SIB or control channel dedicated to LTE-A services, or alternatively, the scheduling message can be sent on at least one resource used for LTE services. In an alternative aspect, the AT 702 is pre-loaded with an LTE-A scheduling policy, and the parsing module 716 obtains the LTE-A scheduling policy from a pre-configured memory setting (714). In another aspect, the parsing module 716 also obtains periodic or triggered updates to the LTE-A scheduling policy. These updates can be based on the current network load or prevailing wireless conditions. In addition, the data processor 712 updates the LTE-A scheduling policy to coordinate resource scheduling between the AT 702 and the base station 704, thereby taking full advantage of resource optimization generated based on the current network load and prevailing wireless conditions.

AT 702 may also include a sampling module 720 that estimates radio conditions at wireless receiver 708. Based on the estimation, sampling module 720 submits radio condition estimates to base station 704 to facilitate dynamic and adaptive LTE-A scheduling. For example, the submission may be used to trigger an updated resource reservation pattern based on the radio conditions indicated by the estimation.

In at least one other aspect, AT 702 can include a compensation module 722. Compensation module 722 can be configured to identify resource allocation conflicts arising from the multiple access technology implementations used by base station 704. Upon identifying these conflicts, compensation module 722 can attempt to mitigate performance losses resulting from these conflicts. As an illustrative example, compensation module 722 can identify LTE-A control or RS transmissions that at least partially interfere with data traffic associated with AT 702. This interference can be identified by comparing LTE-A scheduling with LTE scheduling policies. Furthermore, compensation module 722 can adjust signal decoding to mitigate performance losses based on this partial interference.

The above-described system is described around the interaction between some components, modules and/or communication interfaces. It should be understood that these systems and components/modules/interfaces may include those components/modules or submodules described herein, some of the described components/modules or submodules and/or other modules. For example, the system may include AT 702, base station 602, resource scheduling device 102, or different combinations of these or other modules. Submodules can also be implemented as modules that are communicatively coupled to other modules, rather than being included in a parent module. In addition, it should be noted that one or more modules can be combined into a single module that provides all the functionality. For example, the signal analysis module 108 may include the selection module 110 (or vice versa) to help determine the baseline access technology schedule and establish the advanced access technology schedule in a single component manner. These components may also interact with one or more other components that are not described in detail in this application but are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Furthermore, it should be understood that various parts of the disclosed above systems and below methods may include or contain artificial intelligence or knowledge or rules based on components, subcomponents, processes, modules, methods or mechanisms (e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines, classifiers, etc.). In particular, such components and components other than those already described in this application may automate certain mechanisms or processes performed, thereby making a part of the system and method described in this application more adaptive, efficient, and intelligent.

After understanding the example systems described above, it will be helpful to better understand the methods implemented according to the invention disclosed herein with reference to the flowcharts of Figures 8-10. Although, for ease of explanation, these methods are shown and described as a series of modules, it should be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the order of these modules, and some modules may occur in different orders and/or occur simultaneously with other modules described and illustrated herein. In addition, not all of the modules described are required to implement the methods described below. In addition, it should also be understood that the methods disclosed below and throughout this specification can be stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transferring and transmitting these methods to a computer. As used herein, the term "article of manufacture" is intended to include a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, a device incorporating a carrier, or a storage medium.

FIG8 depicts a flow chart of an exemplary method for providing multiple access technologies on a public wireless access network. At 802, method 800 may utilize a data interface to obtain a radio resource schedule for radio resources of a wireless network. The data interface may be any suitable wired or wireless communication interface. The radio resources correspond to all wireless communication resources available to the wireless network. These resources may include time-frequency resources in an OFDM network, coding and spreading factor resources in a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, time slots and subslots in a time division duplex (TDD) network, and the like. The radio resource schedule corresponds to an existing allocation of resources for the wireless network. For example, the radio resource schedule may be for a baseline (or existing) radio access technology (e.g., LTE Release 8).

At 804, method 800 may include, using a data processor, analyzing the radio resource schedule and identifying radio signal resources used by the baseline radio access technology. Furthermore, at 806, method 800 may include, using a data processor, reserving a subset of the radio resources of the wireless network for control or reference signals (RS) of a second radio access technology (e.g., LTE-Advanced or LTE Release 8 or later). In one aspect, reserving resources may specifically include reserving all radio signal resources of the wireless network for the second radio access technology for a selected duration (e.g., a subframe) or a selected periodic duration (e.g., selected odd-numbered or even-numbered subframes, as shown in FIG. 3 above). In this aspect, method 800 may utilize the remaining radio signal resources (e.g., outside of the radio signal subframes or other even-numbered or odd-numbered subframes, etc.) to serve the baseline radio access technology.

Furthermore, using the data processor to reserve a subset of the radio resources may further include: using, for the reserved radio resources, at least one of: a subset of PHICH resource groups used by the wireless network; a subset of CCEs used by the wireless network; a subset of control segment REs used by the wireless network; a subset of PDSCH resources used by the wireless network; or a subset of MBSFN resources used by the wireless network (e.g., scheduling the subset of MBSFN resources to non-control symbols of an MBSFN subframe). In at least one alternative aspect, using the data processor to reserve a subset of the radio resources may further include: using, for the reserved subset of the radio resources, a GP field of a downlink portion or a specific TDD subframe. In this aspect, method 800 may further include: setting a GP field of a TDD subframe used by an access terminal implementing the baseline access technology to a larger value than a GP field of a TDD subframe used by an access terminal implementing the second radio access technology; and advertising a different number of GP symbols to access terminals implementing the baseline radio access technology and the second radio access technology. Subsequently, reserving the subset of radio resources may include reserving GP field symbols ignored by access terminals implementing the second radio access technology for access terminals implementing the second radio access technology by using additional GP field symbols configured for the baseline access technology as the subset of radio resources.

Regarding the reserved subset of PHICH resource groups, method 800 may also include mitigating performance losses for ATs implementing the baseline radio access technology. This performance loss can be mitigated by establishing different PHICH resource groups for ATs implementing the baseline radio access technology and ATs implementing the second radio access technology, or by scheduling ATs implementing the baseline access technology for uplink resources mapped to a PHICH group that is different from the reserved subset of PHICH resource groups. In other words, ATs implementing the baseline radio access technology are scheduled with uplink resources that have corresponding PHICH groups that do not conflict with PHICH groups reserved for the second radio access technology. This helps mitigate conflicts on PHICH groups, thereby mitigating performance losses caused by these conflicts.

Regarding the reserved CCE subset, method 800 may further include separating the CCE subset used for the reserved radio resource subset from the CCEs used for the PDCCH signal of the baseline radio access technology. This may also mitigate performance losses incurred by denying the CCE subset to ATs implementing the baseline radio access technology. As an alternative example, method 800 may include utilizing one or more REs reserved for PDCCH in the control segment for the radio resource subset. In this latter aspect, mitigating performance losses for access terminals implementing the baseline radio access technology may include at least one of: modifying the PDCCH signal power for these access terminals; or modifying the number of REs allocated for transmitting the PDCCH for these terminals.

Regarding the reserved PDSCH resource subset, method 800 may also include mitigating a performance penalty for ATs implementing the baseline access technology. For example, if the PDSCH resource subset is used for the reserved radio resource subset of the wireless network, resource conflicts may occur on the PDSCH, thereby degrading performance. Mitigating the performance penalty may include at least one of: increasing signal power; or modifying rate control for access terminals implementing the baseline access technology; making a scheduling decision for at least one access terminal implementing the baseline access technology based on an expected performance penalty for the at least one access terminal; or modifying a duty cycle of the PDSCH resource subset used as the radio resource subset.

In addition to the foregoing, at 808, method 800 may include transmitting, using a wireless transmitter, a resource schedule for a control or reference signal of a second radio access technology on a subset of other radio signal resources not used by an access terminal implementing the baseline radio access technology. In one example, transmitting the resource schedule further includes establishing a SIB for the subset of other radio signal resources, and transmitting the resource schedule in the SIB. In another example, transmitting the resource schedule further includes at least one of: reserving a common channel of the wireless network for the second radio access technology; scheduling the subset of other radio signal resources on the common channel; or transmitting the resource schedule on at least one resource used by the baseline radio access technology. In at least one other example, transmitting the resource schedule further includes reserving the subset of radio resources in a different radio signal subframe from the radio signal resources.

FIG9 depicts a flow chart of an exemplary method 900 for enabling multiple radio access technologies for a common radio access network. At 902, method 900 may include obtaining a radio resource schedule for a baseline radio access technology. At 904, method 900 may identify resources used by the baseline access technology based on the radio resource schedule. Furthermore, at 906, method 900 may obtain prevailing radio condition or network load data for the radio access network. At 908, method 900 may access a resource scheduling policy. At 910, using the resource scheduling policy and prevailing radio condition or network load data, method 900 may reserve a subset of radio resources of the wireless network for a second radio access technology, as described herein.

According to one aspect, reserving a subset of radio resources may further include dynamically adjusting a scheduling pattern for reserving the subset of radio resources. In one aspect, the dynamically adjusted scheduling pattern may be based on the number of access terminals implementing the second radio access technology. In another aspect, the scheduling pattern may be based on the amount of control information to be transmitted to the access terminals. In another aspect, the scheduling pattern may be based on a specific control resource used to transmit the control information.

In another aspect, method 900 may further include using a scheduling pattern to reserve resources for the second radio access technology. For example, at least one of the following scheduling patterns may be used: scheduling the subset of radio resources every N subframes; cycling through different portions of the frequency band across subframes used for the second radio access technology; cycling through different subbands across different subframes; or using distributed virtual resource block mapping across subframes used for the second radio access technology.

At 912, method 900 may determine whether there is a resource conflict that would result in a performance loss for one or more AT sets. If there is a resource conflict, method 900 may proceed to 914; otherwise, method 900 may proceed to 918.

At 914, method 900 can determine an appropriate arbitration procedure for mitigating performance losses due to resource contention. At 916, method 900 can execute the determined procedure. For example, an appropriate arbitration procedure can include modifying signal power; scheduling rate control for ATs implementing the baseline radio access technology; or modifying the duty cycle of resources used for the second radio access technology. Other arbitration procedure examples (e.g., those described above for method 800) can also be used for various resource types or scheduling modes, either individually or in appropriate combinations.

At 918, method 900 can generate a transmission message for the resources selected by marker 910. Furthermore, at 920, method 900 can send the transmission message to ATs implementing the second radio access technology. The message can be broadcast on a dedicated channel or SIB, or can be unicast to one such AT or a group of such ATs.

FIG10 depicts a flow diagram of an example method 1000 for participating in a multi-access technology wireless network. At 1002, method 1000 may include, using a wireless receiver, receiving a resource scheduling policy for a first radio access technology. Furthermore, at 1004, method 1000 may include obtaining a supplemental resource scheduling policy for a second radio access technology. In some aspects, obtaining the supplemental resource scheduling policy further comprises obtaining a unicast message specifying the scheduling policy or receiving the policy on a SIB or control channel dedicated to the second radio access technology. In other aspects, obtaining the supplemental resource scheduling policy further comprises obtaining the supplemental resource scheduling policy from preconfigured settings stored in a memory.

At 1006, method 1000 may include analyzing, with a data processor, a supplemental resource scheduling policy, and decoding control or RS transmissions for the second radio access technology as specified by the supplemental resource scheduling. In at least one aspect, the supplemental scheduling policy may decode data transmissions and control or RS transmissions based at least in part on resources specified by the supplemental resource scheduling.

At 1008, method 1000 may include generating an estimate of radio conditions measured by a wireless receiver; and submitting the estimate to a serving base station to trigger an update to a supplemental resource scheduling policy. In at least one specific aspect, at 1010, method 1000 may include obtaining periodic or triggered updates to the supplemental resource scheduling policy (e.g., as a result of multiple estimate submissions); and updating control or RS transmission decoding for the second radio access technology accordingly. This latter aspect facilitates dynamic and adaptive resource provisioning, optionally based on the submitted radio conditions. At 1012, method 1000 may also optionally include identifying control or RS allocations that at least partially interfere with data traffic scheduling. Furthermore, method 1000 may also include adjusting signal decoding to mitigate performance loss due to the interference.

Figures 11 and 12 are block diagrams of exemplary systems 1100 and 1200, respectively, for providing and facilitating multiple wireless access technologies. For example, systems 1100 and 1200 may reside at least partially within a wireless communication network and/or within a transmitter such as a node, base station, access point, user terminal, a personal computer coupled to a mobile interface card, and the like. It should be understood that systems 1100 and 1200 are represented as including functional modules, which represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or a combination thereof (e.g., firmware).

System 1100 may include a module 1102 for obtaining a radio resource schedule using a data interface. Module 1102 may include software or hardware controls or drivers for the data interface, where the data interface may include any suitable wired or wireless communication interface. Furthermore, system 1100 may include a module 1104 for identifying, using a data processor, radio signal resources used by a baseline radio access technology based on the radio resource schedule. In at least one aspect, system 1100 may include a module 1106 for reserving, using the data processor, a subset of radio signal resources of the wireless network for a control or RS of a second radio access technology. In some aspects, the subset of radio resources may be selected from a specific type of resource (e.g., PHICH resources, a subset of CCEs, a subset of control segment REs, a subset of PDCCH resources, a subset of PDSCH resources, a subset of MBSFN subframes, specific TDD resources, etc.). Furthermore, the radio resources may be reserved according to a specific resource pattern (e.g., every Nth subframe, cycling through different subbands or subframes, according to a distributed virtual resource block mapping, etc.).

Furthermore, system 1100 can include a module 1108 for transmitting, using a wireless transmitter, a resource schedule for a control or RS for a second radio access technology on a subset of the wireless signal resource subset. Specifically, the subset can include resources not used by ATs of the baseline access technology to avoid conflicts between these ATs.

System 1200 may include a module 1202 that utilizes a wireless receiver to receive a resource scheduling policy for a first radio access technology. Furthermore, system 1200 may include a module 1204 that is configured to obtain a supplementary resource scheduling policy for a second radio access technology. Furthermore, system 1200 may include a module 1206 that utilizes a data processor to analyze the supplementary resource scheduling policy and decode control or RS transmissions for the second radio access technology as specified in the supplementary resource scheduling policy.

FIG13 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 1300 that can facilitate wireless communication according to aspects disclosed herein. On the downlink, at access point 1305, a transmit (TX) data processor 1310 receives, formats, encodes, interleaves, and modulates (or symbol maps) traffic data, providing modulation symbols ("data symbols"). A symbol modulator 1313 receives and processes these data symbols and pilot symbols, providing a stream of symbols. A symbol modulator 1320 multiplexes the data and pilot symbols and provides them to a transmitter unit (TMTR) 1320. Each transmit symbol can be a data symbol, a pilot symbol, or a zero value. Pilot symbols can be sent continuously in each symbol period. These pilot symbols can be frequency division multiplexed (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM), time division multiplexed (TDM), code division multiplexed (CDM), or a suitable combination thereof, or having a similar modulation and/or transmission technique.

TMTR 1320 receives symbol streams and converts them into one or more analog signals, further conditioning (e.g., amplifying, filtering, and frequency upconverting) these analog signals to generate downlink signals suitable for transmission over a wireless channel. The downlink signals are then transmitted to the terminals via antenna 1325. At terminal 1330, antenna 1335 receives the downlink signals and provides the received signals to receiver unit (RCVR) 1340. Receiver unit 1340 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and frequency downconverts) the received signals and digitizes the conditioned signals to obtain samples. Symbol demodulator 1345 demodulates received pilot symbols and provides them to processor 1350 for channel estimation. The symbol demodulator 1345 also receives a frequency response estimate for the downlink from the processor 1350, performs data demodulation on the received data symbols to obtain data symbol estimates (which are estimates of the transmitted data symbols), and provides the data symbol estimates to the RX data processor 1355. The RX data processor 1355 demodulates (i.e., symbol demaps), deinterleaves, and decodes the data symbol estimates to recover the transmitted traffic data. The processing performed by the symbol demodulator 1345 and the RX data processor 1355 is complementary to the processing performed by the symbol modulator 1313 and the TX data processor 1310 of the access point 1305, respectively.

On the uplink, TX data processor 1360 processes traffic data and provides data symbols. Symbol modulator 1365 receives the data symbols, multiplexes them with pilot symbols, performs modulation, and provides a symbol stream. Transmitter unit 1370 then receives and processes these symbol streams to generate uplink signals, which are transmitted by antenna 1335 to access point 1305. Specifically, the uplink signals may be SC-FDMA compliant, which may include frequency hopping mechanisms as described herein.

At access point 1305, an uplink signal from terminal 1330 is received by antenna 1325 and processed by receiver unit 1375 to obtain samples. A symbol demodulator 1380 then processes the samples to provide received pilot symbols and data symbol estimates for the uplink. An RX data processor 1385 processes these data symbol estimates to recover the traffic data transmitted by terminal 1330. A processor 1390 performs channel estimation for each active terminal transmitting on the uplink. Multiple terminals can simultaneously transmit pilots on their respective assigned sets of pilot subbands on the uplink, where the pilot subband sets can be interlaced.

Processors 1390 and 1350 direct (e.g., control, coordinate, manage, etc.) the operation of access point 1305 and terminal 1330, respectively. Each processor 1390 and 1350 is associated with a memory unit (not shown) that stores program codes and data. Processors 1390 and 1350 can also perform computations to derive frequency and impulse response estimates for the uplink and downlink, respectively.

For multiple access systems (e.g., SC-FDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, CDMA, TDMA, etc.), multiple terminals can transmit simultaneously on the uplink. For such systems, pilot subbands can be shared between different terminals. Channel estimation techniques can be used when the pilot subbands for each terminal span the entire operating band (possibly excluding the band edges). It is desirable to use this pilot subband structure to achieve frequency diversity for each terminal. The techniques described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For hardware implementations that can be digital, analog, or both, the processing unit for channel estimation can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units for performing the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For software implementations, implementation can be through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. These software codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors 1390 and 1350 .

FIG14 illustrates a wireless communication system 1400 having multiple base stations (BSs) 1410 (e.g., wireless access points, wireless communication devices) and multiple terminals 1420 (e.g., ATs), such as may be used in conjunction with one or more aspects. A BS (1410) is typically a fixed station that communicates with the terminals and may also be referred to as an access point, a Node B, or some other terminology. Each BS 1410 provides communication coverage for a specific geographic area or coverage area (as shown by the three geographic areas labeled 1402a, 1402b, and 1402c in FIG14). The term "cell" can refer to a BS or its coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. To increase system capacity, the BS geographic area/coverage area can be divided into multiple smaller areas (e.g., the three smaller areas according to cell 1402a in FIG14), 1404a, 1404b, and 1404c). Each smaller area (1404a, 1404b, 1404c) can be served by a respective base transceiver subsystem (BTS). Depending on the context in which the term "sector" is used, the term "sector" can refer to a BTS or its coverage area. For a sectorized cell, the BTSs for all sectors of the cell are typically located within the range of the cell's base station. The transmission techniques described herein can be used in systems with sectorized cells as well as systems with non-sectorized cells. For simplicity, in this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the term "base station" generally refers to a fixed station serving a sector as well as a fixed station serving a cell.

Typically, terminals 1420 are dispersed throughout the system, and each terminal 1420 can be fixed or mobile. Terminals 1420 may also be referred to as mobile stations, user equipment, user devices, wireless communication devices, access terminals, user terminals, or some other terminology. Terminals 1420 may be wireless devices, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modem cards, and the like. Each terminal 1420 can communicate with zero, one, or multiple BSs 1410 at any given moment on downlinks (e.g., FL) and uplinks (e.g., RL). A downlink is the communication link from a base station to a terminal, and an uplink is the communication link from a terminal to a base station.

For a centralized architecture, a system controller 1430 is coupled to base stations 1410 and coordinates and controls BSs 1410. For a distributed architecture, BSs 1410 can communicate with each other as needed (e.g., via a wired or wireless backhaul network communicatively coupled to BSs 1410). Data transmission on the forward link typically occurs from one access point to one access terminal at a rate equal to or close to the maximum data rate supported by the forward link or communication system. Other channels of the forward link (e.g., control channels) can be transmitted from multiple access points to one access terminal. Reverse link data communication can occur from one access terminal to one or more access points.

FIG15 illustrates a planned or semi-planned wireless communication environment 1500 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. System 1500 may include one or more base stations (BSs) 1502 in one or more cells and/or sectors, which receive, transmit, and relay wireless communication signals to each other and/or to one or more mobile devices 1504. As shown, each BS 1502 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area (as indicated by the four geographic areas labeled 1506a, 1506b, 1506c, and 1506d). Each BS 1502 may include a transmitter chain and a receiver chain, each of which may include multiple components associated with signal transmission and reception (e.g., processors, modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, antennas, etc., see FIG7 above), as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Mobile device 1504 can be, for example, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a laptop, a handheld communication device, a handheld computing device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a PDA, or any other suitable device for communicating in wireless communication environment 1500. System 1500 can be employed in conjunction with various aspects described herein to facilitate improved resource management in wireless communications, as described herein.

As used herein, the terms "component," "system," "module," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, which can be hardware, software, software in execution, firmware, middleware, microcode, and/or any combination thereof. For example, a module can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, a program, a device, and/or a computer. One or more modules can exist in a process or thread of execution; a module can be located in one electronic device or distributed between two or more electronic devices. In addition, these modules can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures thereon. These modules can communicate in a local and/or remote process manner, such as based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component interacting with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and/or interacting with other systems in the form of signals over a network such as the Internet). In addition, the components or modules of the system described in the present application can be rearranged, or other components/modules/systems can supplement the components or modules of the system described in the present application to facilitate achieving the various aspects, objectives, advantages, etc. described therein, and the components or modules of the system described in the present application are not limited to the precise configuration described in the given figures, which are all understood by ordinary technicians in this field.

In addition, the present application describes various aspects in conjunction with user equipment (UE).UE can also be referred to as system, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, mobile communication device, mobile device, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal (AT), user agent (UA), user equipment or user equipment (UE).User station can be a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless connection capability or other processing equipment connected to a wireless modem or similar device that promotes wireless communication with a processing equipment.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described herein can be implemented with hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media and communication media, wherein the communication media includes any medium that is convenient for transmitting a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any physical medium that a computer can access. By way of example and not by way of limitation, this computer storage medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, smart card and flash memory device (for example, card, stick, key drive etc.) or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the program code of desired instruction or data structure form, and these media can be accessed by a computer. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser video disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of protection of computer-readable media.

For hardware implementation, the various exemplary logic, logic block diagrams, modules, and circuits of the processing unit described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed in one or more ASICs, DSPs, DSPDs, PLDs, FPGAs, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, general-purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units for performing the functions described herein, or combinations thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In addition, at least one processor includes one or more modules that can be used to perform one or more steps and/or actions described herein.

In addition, the various aspects or features described in this application can be implemented as methods, devices, or products using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. In addition, the steps and/or actions of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed in this application can be directly implemented in hardware, software modules executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. In addition, in some aspects, the steps or actions of the methods or algorithms can be located on a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium as at least one or any combination of a code set or an instruction set, wherein the machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium can be incorporated into a computer program product. The term "product" as used in this application is intended to cover a computer program accessible from any appropriate computer-readable device or medium.

In addition, the word "exemplary" as used in this application means serving as an example, illustration or description. Any aspect or design described in this application as "exemplary" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, the use of the word exemplary is intended to give a concept a concrete form. As used in this application, the term "or" means an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X uses A or B" means any normal or arrangement. That is, if X uses A; X uses B; or X uses A and B, then "X uses A or B" is satisfied in any of the above examples. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clear from the context that they are directed to the singular form.

The foregoing description includes examples of some aspects of the present invention. Of course, it is not possible to describe all possible combinations of components or methods for the purpose of describing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the disclosed content may be further combined and transformed. Therefore, the disclosure of this application is intended to cover all changes, modifications and variations that come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the words "comprises," "has," or "has" are used in the specification or claims, these words are intended to be encompassed in a manner similar to the word "comprises," as explained by the word "comprises" when used as a transitional word in a claim.

Claims (21)

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: If the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, then the PDSCH is mapped to at least one resource element, wherein the at least one resource element carries a Reference Signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies. If the PDSCH is for a user equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technology, then the PDSCH is not mapped to the at least one resource element; and The PDSCH is sent at least in part based on the mapping. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: mitigating performance loss of user equipment (UE) configured for the conventional wireless technology by at least one of the following: Increase the transmit power of the PDSCH; Change the rate control of the UE; The UE is scheduled based on the determination of the mapping; or Reduce the duty cycle of the RS. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the conventional wireless technology includes Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the advanced wireless technology includes Advanced LTE (LTE-A). 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: mapping the PDSCH to one or more resource units that do not overlap with the at least one resource unit used for the RS. 5. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: A module for mapping the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to at least one resource element if the PDSCH is for a user equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, wherein the at least one resource element carries a reference signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies. A module for not mapping the PDSCH to the at least one resource element if the PDSCH is for a user equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technology; and A module for sending the PDSCH based at least in part on the mapping. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: a module for mitigating performance loss of user equipment (UE) configured for said conventional wireless technology by at least one of the following: A module for increasing the transmit power of the PDSCH; A module for changing the rate control of the UE; A module for scheduling the UE based on the determination of the mapping; or A module for reducing the duty cycle of the RS. 7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: a module for mapping the PDSCH to one or more resource units that do not overlap with the at least one resource unit used for the RS. 8. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one processor, configured as follows: If the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is for User Equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, then the PDSCH is mapped to at least one resource element, wherein the at least one resource element carries a Reference Signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies. If the PDSCH is for a user equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technology, then the PDSCH is not mapped to the at least one resource element, and The PDSCH is transmitted at least in part based on the mapping; and The memory coupled to the at least one processor. 9. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: mitigate performance loss of user equipment (UE) configured for the conventional wireless technology by at least one of the following: Increase the transmit power of the PDSCH; Change the rate control of the UE; The UE is scheduled based on the determination of the mapping; or Reduce the duty cycle of the RS. 10. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: map the PDSCH to one or more resource units that do not overlap with the at least one resource unit used for the RS. 11. A computer-readable medium comprising: Code for enabling at least one computer to map the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to at least one resource element if the PDSCH is for a user equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, wherein the at least one resource element carries a reference signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies. Code for preventing the at least one computer from mapping the PDSCH to the at least one resource unit if the PDSCH is for a user equipment (UE) configured for the advanced wireless technology; and Code for enabling the at least one computer to send the PDSCH at least in part based on the mapping. 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises: code for causing the at least one computer to map the PDSCH to one or more resource units that do not overlap with the at least one resource unit for the RS. 13. A method for wireless communication, comprising: Receive a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, the PDSCH is mapped to at least one resource element, and wherein the at least one resource element carries a Reference Signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies; and wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technologies, the PDSCH is not mapped to the at least one resource element; and The RS is received in at least one resource unit. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the PDSCH is mapped to one or more resource units that do not overlap with the at least one resource unit used for the RS. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the conventional wireless technology includes Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the advanced wireless technology includes Advanced LTE (LTE-A). 16. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: A module for receiving a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, the PDSCH is mapped to at least one resource element, and wherein the at least one resource element carries a Reference Signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies; and wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technologies, the PDSCH is not mapped to the at least one resource element; and A module for receiving the RS in the at least one resource unit. 17. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one processor, configured as follows: Receive a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, the PDSCH is mapped to at least one resource element, and wherein the at least one resource element carries a Reference Signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies; and wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technologies, the PDSCH is not mapped to the at least one resource element. The RS is received in the at least one resource unit; and The memory coupled to the at least one processor. 18. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein the PDSCH is mapped to one or more resource elements that do not overlap with the at least one resource element used for the RS. 19. A computer-readable medium comprising: Code for enabling at least one computer to receive a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for legacy radio technologies, the PDSCH is mapped to at least one resource element, and wherein the at least one resource element carries a Reference Signal (RS) for advanced radio technologies, and wherein if the PDSCH is for a User Equipment (UE) configured for the advanced radio technologies, the PDSCH is not mapped to the at least one resource element. Code for enabling the at least one computer to receive the RS in the at least one resource unit. 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the PDSCH is mapped to one or more resource units that do not overlap with the at least one resource unit used for the RS. 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the conventional wireless technology includes Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the advanced wireless technology includes Advanced LTE (LTE-A).