# US 2010/0165972 A1 · Physical structure and design of sounding channel in OFDMA systems > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2010/0165972 A1 - Document ID: US20100165972A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 12/655,523 - Filed: 2009-12-30 - Published: 2010-07-01 - Earliest claimed: 2008-12-31 - Assignees: Mediatek Inc. - Inventors: Chih-Yuan Lin; Pei-Kai Liao - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100165972A1 ## CPC - H04L 5/0051: {of dedicated pilots, i.e. pilots destined for a single user or terminal} - H04L 5/0007: {the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A) or DMT} - H04L 5/0062: {Avoidance of ingress interference, e.g. ham radio channels} - H04L 25/0226: {sounding signals per se} - H04L 2025/03796: {Location of reference signals} - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract In wireless OFDMA systems, sounding channels are allocated within predefined resource blocks. In a distributed sounding channel allocation scheme, a sounding channel is allocated to meet various design considerations. First, sounding signals do not collide with original pilots transmitted in the same resource block by other mobile stations to achieve good quality channel estimation. Second, sounding pattern does not affect data transmission behavior of other mobile stations in the same resource block. Third, sounding pattern consistency among multiple tiles within each resource block is maintained so that mobile stations do not need to implement additional data mapping rules. In a symbol-based sounding channel allocation scheme, a sounding channel is allocated in the first or the last OFDM symbol of a resource block, while the remaining consecutive OFDM symbols are used for data transmission. The symbol-based sound channel naturally satisfies all design considerations. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for providing a sounding pattern of a sounding channel in an OFDMA system, the method comprising: allocating the sounding channel in one or more resource blocks by a mobile station, wherein each of the one or more resource blocks spans over a two-dimensional radio resource region having an array of subcarriers along frequency domain and an array of OFDM symbols along time domain; and transmitting sounding signals via the sounding channel, wherein the sounding signals do not collide with pilot signals transmitted in the same resource blocks by other mobile stations, and wherein the sounding pattern does not affect data transmission behavior of other mobile stations in the same resource blocks. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the pilot signals are mapped onto pilot patterns predefined in IEEE 802.16m specification, and wherein the sounding pattern does not overlap with any of the predefined pilot patterns. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein Space Frequency Block Coding (SFBC) is applied in the same resource block for data transmission, and wherein the sounding pattern does not limit the SFBC-based data transmissions. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the resource block is partitioned into multiple tiles along frequency domain, and wherein the sounding pattern remains the same for each of the multiple tiles. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the resource block has eighteen subcarriers along frequency domain and six OFDM symbols along time domain. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the resource block is partitioned into three tiles along frequency domain, and wherein six sounding signals are pair-by-pair distributed such that each sounding signal pairs are non-overlapping in frequency domain. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding channel is shared among different transmit antennas of multiple mobile stations by at least one of code division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, and time division multiplexing. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding channel spans across multiple resource blocks, and wherein multiple sounding channels are allocated in multiple uplink subframes to provide multiple sounding opportunities for different transmit antennas of multiple mobile stations. ### Claim 9 A method for providing a sounding channel in an IEEE 802.16m system, the method comprising: allocating the sounding channel in one or more resource blocks by a mobile station, wherein each of the one or more resource blocks spans over a two-dimensional radio resource region having an array of subcarriers along frequency domain and an array of OFDM symbols along time domain; and transmitting sounding signals via the sounding channel such that the sounding signals occupy a single OFDM sounding symbol within the resource block, wherein the single OFDM sounding symbol is located either in the first OFDM symbol or in the last OFDM symbol within the resource block along the time domain. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the resource block is a six-symbol resource block, and wherein the remaining five consecutive symbols are formed to be a five-symbol resource block for data transmission. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the resource block is a seven-symbol resource block, and wherein the remaining six consecutive symbols are formed to be a six-symbol resource block for data transmission. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the sounding channel is shared among different transmit antennas of multiple mobile stations by at least one of code division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, and time division multiplexing. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the sounding channel spans across multiple resource blocks, and wherein multiple sounding channels are allocated in multiple uplink subframes to provide multiple sounding opportunities for different transmit antennas of mobile stations. ### Claim 14 A mobile station in an OFDMA system, the mobile station comprising: a transmitter that transmits sounding signals via a sounding channel having a sounding pattern; and a sounding channel allocation module for allocating the sounding channel in one or more resource blocks, wherein each of the one or more resource blocks spans over a two-dimensional radio resource region having an array of subcarriers along frequency domain and an array of OFDM symbols along time domain, wherein the sounding channel is allocated such that the sounding signals do not collide with pilot signals transmitted in the same resource blocks by other mobile stations, and wherein the sounding pattern does not affect data transmission behavior of other mobile stations in the same resource blocks. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the pilot signals are mapped onto pilot patterns predefined in IEEE 802.16m specification, and wherein the sounding pattern does not overlap with any of the predefined pilot patterns. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The mobile station of claim 14, wherein Space Frequency Block Coding (SFBC) is applied in the same resource block for data transmission, and wherein the sounding pattern does not limit the SFBC-based data transmissions. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the resource block is partitioned into multiple tiles along frequency domain, and wherein the sounding pattern remains the same for each of the multiple tiles. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the sounding channel is shared among different transmit antennas of multiple mobile stations by at least one of code division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, and time division multiplexing. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the sounding channel spans across multiple resource blocks, and wherein multiple sounding channels are allocated in multiple uplink subframes to provide multiple sounding opportunities for different transmit antennas of multiple mobile stations. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the sounding signals occupy a single OFDM sounding symbol within the resource block, and wherein the single OFDM sounding symbol is located either in the first OFDM symbol or in the last OFDM symbol within the resource block along the time domain. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The mobile station of claim 20, wherein the resource block is a six-symbol resource block, and wherein the remaining five consecutive symbols are formed to be a five-symbol resource block for data transmission. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The mobile station of claim 20, wherein the resource block is a seven-symbol resource block, and wherein the remaining six consecutive symbols are formed to be a six-symbol resource block for data transmission.