# US 2017/0290001 A1 · Uplink Transmission Timing Control > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2017/0290001 A1 - Document ID: US20170290001A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/253,318 - Filed: 2016-08-31 - Published: 2017-10-05 - Earliest claimed: 2016-03-31 - Assignees: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) - Applicants: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) - Inventors: Joakim Axmon; Dandan Hao; Muhammad Kazmi; Santhan Thangarasa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20170290001A1 ## CPC - H04W 72/0446: Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames - H04W 4/70: Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] - H04W 56/0045: {compensating for timing error by altering transmission time} - H04W 72/21: in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network - H04W 72/23: in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract One or more embodiments herein relate to a method for an uplink transmission timing adjustment in a wireless communication device served by a network node and configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode. The coverage enhancement mode comprises a repetitive transmission of a first uplink signal during a first repetition period. The method comprises determining a change in a downlink timing (210), determining whether the first repetition period is ongoing (240); and in response to the change in the downlink timing and the first repetition period being ongoing, performing an adjustment of an uplink transmission timing outside the first repetition period (260). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A wireless communication system comprising: a wireless communication device configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode comprising a repetitive transmission of a first uplink signal during a first repetition period; and a network node serving the wireless communication device, the network node comprising a transmitter configured to transmit a reference signal to the wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device comprises a processing circuit configured to: determine a change in a downlink timing based on the reference signal; determine whether the first repetition period is ongoing; and, in response to the change in the downlink timing and the first repetition period being ongoing, perform an adjustment of an uplink transmission timing outside the first repetition period. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the network node comprises a processing circuit configured to: determine that the wireless communication device to be configured to transmit a second uplink signal during a second repetition period at least partly overlapping the first repetition period; and enable the wireless communication device to align the first repetition period and the second repetition period according to a predetermined rule, such that an overlap time of the first repetition period and the second repetition period is maximized or single transmission of the multiple uplink signals is minimized. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The wireless communication system of claim 2, wherein the predetermined rule comprises one of: the first repetition period and the second repetition period to start at a same time; the first repetition period and the second repetition period to end at a same time; the first repetition period and the second repetition period to start within a first time duration; and the first repetition period and the second repetition period to end within a second time duration. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The wireless communication system of claim 1, where the processing circuit of the wireless communication device is configured to determine whether the first repetition period is longer than one radio resource time unit, based on one of: downlink control information (DCI) transmitted by the network node, wherein the DCI contains explicit or implicit information on a number of repetitions to use for the repetitive transmission of the first uplink signals, and radio resource control (RRC) configuration provided by the network node, wherein the RRC configuration contains a number of resources for the wireless communication device in a radio resource time unit, and wherein the number of resources explicitly or implicitly indicates the number of repetitions. ### Claim 5 A method for an uplink transmission timing adjustment in a wireless communication device served by a network node and configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode, wherein the coverage enhancement mode comprises a repetitive transmission of a first uplink signal during a first repetition period, the method comprising: determining a change in a downlink timing; determining whether the first repetition period is ongoing; and in response to the change in the downlink timing and the first repetition period being ongoing, performing an adjustment of an uplink transmission timing outside the first repetition period. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein determining a change in a downlink timing comprises: determining a change in a downlink timing of a reference signal received at the wireless communication device from the network node with respect to a reference time. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein determining a change in a downlink timing comprises: determining a relative change of timing of one or more reference signals broadcasted by the network node on the downlink, to a timing predicted for the reference signals by the wireless communication device based on one or more previous reference signals. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the uplink transmission timing is adjusted to within ±Te seconds before a next uplink transmission begins and after the ongoing uplink transmission period has ended, and wherein Te is indicative of a timing error limit value and depends upon downlink and uplink characteristics. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the coverage enhancement mode further comprises a transmission of a second uplink signal without a repetition, and wherein the step of performing further comprises: configuring the second uplink signal with a same uplink transmission timing as that of the first uplink signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the coverage enhancement mode further comprises a repetitive transmission of a second uplink signal with a second repetition period at least partly overlapped with the first repetition period, and wherein the step of performing further comprises: in response to the change in the downlink timing, performing the adjustment of the uplink transmission timing outside both of the first and second repetition periods. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein if the first repetition period is not ongoing, the uplink transmission timing is adjusted to within ±Te seconds before the first repetition period begins, and wherein Te is indicative of a timing error limit value and depends upon downlink and uplink characteristics. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the uplink characteristics comprises any or a combination of uplink system bandwidth, subcarrier distance, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, and wherein the downlink characteristics comprises any or a combination of downlink system bandwidth, and an operation mode of repetition. ### Claim 13 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising determining whether the first repetition period is longer than one radio resource time unit, based on one of: downlink control information (DCI) transmitted by the network node, wherein the DCI contains explicit or implicit information on a number of repetitions to use for the repetitive transmission of the first uplink signals, and radio resource control (RRC) configuration provided by the network node, wherein the RRC configuration contains a number of resources for the wireless communication device in a radio resource time unit, and wherein the number of resources explicitly or implicitly indicates the number of repetitions. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein if the first repetition period is not longer than one radio resource time unit, the uplink transmission timing is adjusted according to a rule comprising the following conditions: a. a maximum amount of a magnitude of a timing change in one adjustment shall be Tq seconds; b. a minimum aggregate adjustment rate shall be 7*Ts per second, wherein Ts is a basic timing unit; and c. the maximum aggregate adjustment rate shall be Tq per 200 ms, wherein Tq is depending on downlink and uplink characteristics. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein Tq is mapped on a downlink bandwidth according to a table of: Downlink Bandwidth (MHz) Tq 1.4 17.5 Ts 3 9.5 Ts 5 5.5 Ts ≧10 3.5 Ts ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the one radio resource time unit corresponds to one Evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) subframe or two EUTRAN subframes. ### Claim 17 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the wireless communication device comprises at least one of: an Evolved Machine-type communication (eMTC) device; and a Narrowband Internet-of-things (NB-IoT) device. ### Claim 18 A method for an uplink transmission timing adjustment in a wireless communication device served by a network node and configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode, wherein the coverage enhancement mode comprises repetitive transmissions of multiple uplink signals with respective repetition periods, the method comprising: aligning the respective repetition periods by shifting in time at least one of start or end points of the respective repetition periods according to a predetermined rule, such that an overlap time of the respective repetition periods is maximized or single transmission of the multiple uplink signals is minimized. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined rule comprises one of: the respective repetition periods to start at the same time; the respective repetition periods to end at the same time; the respective repetition periods to start within a first time duration; and the respective repetition periods to end within a second time duration. ### Claim 20 A wireless communication device served by a network node and configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode, wherein the coverage enhancement mode comprises a repetitive transmission of a first uplink signal during a first repetition period, the wireless communication device comprising a processing circuit configured to: determine a change in a downlink timing; determine whether the first repetition period is ongoing; and, in response to the change in the downlink timing and the first repetition period being ongoing, perform an adjustment of an uplink transmission timing outside the first repetition period. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: determine a change in a downlink timing of a reference signal received at the wireless communication device from the network node with respect to a reference time. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The wireless communication device of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: determine a relative change of timing of one or more reference signals broadcasted by the network node on the downlink, to a timing predicted for the reference signals by the wireless communication device based on one or more previous reference signals. ### Claim 23 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the uplink transmission timing is adjusted to within ±Te seconds before a next uplink transmission begins and after the ongoing uplink transmission period has ended, and wherein Te is indicative of a timing error limit value and depends upon downlink and uplink characteristics. ### Claim 24 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the coverage enhancement mode further comprises a transmission of a second uplink signal without a repetition, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: configure the second uplink signal with a same uplink transmission timing as that of the first uplink signal. ### Claim 25 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the coverage enhancement mode further comprises a repetitive transmission of a second uplink signal with a second repetition period at least partly overlapped with the first repetition period, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: in response to the change in the downlink timing, perform the adjustment of the uplink transmission timing outside both of the first and second repetition periods. ### Claim 26 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: if the first repetition period is not ongoing, adjust the uplink transmission timing to within ±Te seconds before the first repetition period begins, wherein Te is indicative of a timing error limit value and depends upon downlink and uplink characteristics. ### Claim 27 (depends on 23) The wireless communication device of claim 23, wherein the uplink characteristics comprises any or a combination of uplink system bandwidth, subcarrier spacing, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, and wherein the downlink characteristics comprises any or a combination of downlink system bandwidth, and an operation mode of repetition. ### Claim 28 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine whether the first repetition period is longer than one radio resource time unit, based on one of: downlink control information (DCI) transmitted by the network node, wherein the DCI contains explicit or implicit information on a number of repetitions to use for the repetitive transmission of the first uplink signals, and radio resource control (RRC) configuration provided by the network node, wherein the RRC configuration contains a number of resources for the wireless communication device in a radio resource time unit, and wherein the number of resources explicitly or implicitly indicates the number of repetitions. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) The wireless communication device of claim 28, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to, if the first repetition period is not longer than one radio resource time unit, adjust the uplink transmission timing according to a rule comprising the following conditions: a. a maximum amount of a magnitude of a timing change in one adjustment shall be Tq seconds; b. a minimum aggregate adjustment rate shall be 7*Ts per second, wherein Ts is a basic timing unit; and c. the maximum aggregate adjustment rate shall be Tq per 200 ms, wherein Tq depends on downlink and uplink characteristics. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The wireless communication device of claim 29, wherein Tq is mapped on a downlink bandwidth according to a table of: Downlink Bandwidth (MHz) Tq 1.4 17.5 Ts 3 9.5 Ts 5 5.5 Ts ≧10 3.5 Ts ### Claim 31 (depends on 28) The wireless communication device of claim 28, wherein the one radio resource time unit corresponds to one Evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) subframe or two EUTRAN subframes. ### Claim 32 (depends on 20) The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the wireless communication device comprises at least one of: an Evolved Machine-type communication (eMTC) device; and a Narrowband Internet-of-things (NB-IoT) device. ### Claim 33 A method for enhancing an uplink transmission timing adjustment procedure for a wireless communication device, the method comprising: determining that the wireless communication device is to be configured to transmit at least two uplink signals over at least partly overlapping repetition periods; and enabling the wireless communication device to align the respective repetition periods of the at least two uplink signals. ### Claim 34 (depends on 33) The method of claim 33, wherein the step of enabling the wireless communication device to align the respective repetition periods of the at least two uplink signals comprises: enabling the wireless communication device to align the respective repetition periods by shifting in time at least one of start or end points of the respective repetition periods according to a predetermined rule, such that an overlap time of the respective repetition periods is maximized or single transmission of the multiple uplink signals is minimized. ### Claim 35 (depends on 34) The method of claim 34, wherein the predetermined rule comprises one of: the respective repetition periods to start at a same time; the respective repetition periods to end at a same time; the respective repetition periods to start within a first time duration; and the respective repetition periods to end within a second time duration. ### Claim 36 (depends on 33) The method of claim 33, wherein the method is performed in a network node serving the wireless communication device. ### Claim 37 (depends on 33) The method of claim 33, wherein the wireless communication device is configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode comprising repetitive transmissions of at least two uplink signals. ### Claim 38 A network node configured to enhance an uplink transmission timing adjustment procedure for a wireless communication device, the network node comprising a processing circuit configured to: determine that the wireless communication device is to be configured to transmit at least two uplink signals over at least partly overlapping repetition periods; and enable the wireless communication device to align the respective repetition periods of the at least two uplink signals. ### Claim 39 (depends on 38) The network node of claim 38, wherein the processing circuit is configured to enable the wireless communication device to align the respective repetition periods by shifting in time at least one of start or end points of the respective repetition periods according to a predetermined rule, such that an overlap time of the respective repetition periods is maximized or single transmission of the multiple uplink signals is minimized. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The network node of claim 39, wherein the predetermined rule comprises one of: the respective repetition periods to start at a same time; the respective repetition periods to end at a same time; the respective repetition periods to start within a first time duration; and the respective repetition periods to end within a second time duration. ### Claim 41 (depends on 38) The network node of claim 38, wherein the wireless communication device is configured to operate in a coverage enhancement mode comprising repetitive transmissions of at least two uplink signals.