# US 2019/0174480 A1 · Communications device, infrastructure equipment, communications system and methods for downlink data transmission and acknowledgement

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- Number: US 2019/0174480 A1
- Document ID: US20190174480A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/324,574
- Filed: 2017-07-27
- Published: 2019-06-06
- Earliest claimed: 2016-08-11
- Assignees: Sony Corporation; Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
- Applicants: Sony Corporation
- Inventors: Shin Horng WONG; Brian Alexander MARTIN; Martin Warwick BEALE; Yuxin WEI; Anders BERGGREN; Lars NORD
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190174480A1

## CPC

- H04W 72/20: Control channels or signalling for resource management
- H04L 5/0055: {Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK (for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861)}
- H04W 72/23: in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
- H04W 36/0033: {with transfer of context information}
- H04W 74/0833: Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access
- H04W 76/25: Maintenance of established connections
- H04W 76/27: Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

An infrastructure equipment that transmits a radio network identifier to a communications device for identifying the communications device when allocating communications resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting downlink data to the communications device. After the communications device has entered an inactive connected state, the infrastructure equipment transmits control signals including the radio network identifier for allocating communications resources of the wireless access interface for the communications device to receive downlink data, determine whether the communications device is still within a radio coverage area of the infrastructure equipment, and if the communications device has left the coverage area, transmit an indication to the one or more other infrastructure equipment via the inter-connecting interface to trigger a process for transmitting downlink data to the communications device from the one or more other infrastructure equipment.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An infrastructure equipment for forming part of a radio access network of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising
a transmitter configured to transmit signals to one or more communications devices via a wireless access interface,
a receiver configured to receive signals from the one or more communications devices via the wireless access interface,
an inter-connecting interface for communicating with one or more other infrastructure equipment forming the radio access network of the wireless communications network, and
a controller configured with the transmitter
to transmit a radio network identifier to a communications device, which is allocated by the infrastructure equipment for identifying the communications device when allocating communications resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting downlink data to the communications device, and
after the communications device has entered an inactive connected state, in which the communications device monitors for signals transmitted from the infrastructure equipment,
to transmit control signals including the radio network identifier for allocating communications resources of the wireless access interface for the communications device to receive downlink data,
to determine whether the communications device is still within a radio coverage area for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from the infrastructure equipment, and if the communications device has left the coverage area, to transmit an indication to the one or more other infrastructure equipment forming part of the radio access network via the inter-connecting interface to trigger a process for transmitting downlink data to the communications device from the one or more other infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to determine whether the communications device is still within the radio coverage area of the infrastructure equipment by
transmitting the control signals to the communications device, which include the radio network identifier for allocating downlink communications resources to the communications device for receiving the downlink data from the infrastructure equipment, and
if the infrastructure equipment does not receive a response to the control signals from the communications device, determining that the communications device has left the coverage area of the infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 2, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to determine that the communications device has left the radio coverage area, if the infrastructure equipment does not receive a response to the control signals from the communications device within a predetermined time.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 3, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to determine that the communications device has left the radio coverage area, if the infrastructure equipment does not receive a response to the control signals from the communications device after the infrastructure equipment has transmitted the control signals a predetermined number of times without receiving a response from the communications device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the process for transmitting downlink data to the communications device from the one or more other infrastructure equipment includes transmitting a paging radio network identifier from the one or more other infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein infrastructure equipment and the one or more other infrastructure equipment to which the infrastructure equipment is connected via the inter-connecting interface form a local tracking area, and the process for transmitting downlink data to the communications device from the one or more other communications devices includes transmitting a local tracking area identifier from the one or more other infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

An infrastructure equipment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the local tracking area identifier is formed from the radio network identifier allocated by the infrastructure equipment.

### Claim at position 8

8-13. (canceled)

### Claim 14

A communications device for transmitting data to or receiving data from a wireless communications network, the communications device comprising
a transmitter configured to transmit signals to one or more infrastructure equipment of the wireless communications network via a wireless access interface,
a receiver configured to receive signals from one or more of the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communications network via the wireless access interface, the one or more infrastructure equipment forming, with the wireless access interface, a radio access network for transmitting data to and receiving the data from the communications device, and a controller configured with the receiver
to receive, from a first of the one or more infrastructure equipment, a radio network identifier allocated for identifying the communications device when allocating communications resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting data to or receiving data from the infrastructure equipment, and
to control the transmitter and the receiver to enter an inactive connected state in which the receiver monitors signals representing downlink data transmitted from the first infrastructure equipment, the signals including the radio network identifier allocated by the first infrastructure equipment and to monitor signals transmitted from one or more other infrastructure equipment for determining whether the communications device should select a second of the one or more infrastructure equipment for receiving downlink data from the second of the one or more infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

A communications device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the controller is configured with the receiver subsequently
to receive an allocation of communications resources for receiving data from the first infrastructure equipment using the radio network identifier.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

A communications device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the controller is configured with the receiver, after determining that the communications device should transmit signals to and receive signals from a second of the one or more infrastructure equipment
to receive signals from the second infrastructure equipment, and
to detect from the received signals a second identifier, which identifies the communications device for receiving data from the second infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

A communications device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second identifier is a paging radio network identifier, which has been allocated to the communications device for receiving the signals from the second infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

A communications device as claimed in claim 17, wherein, the controller is configured to retain the radio network identifier allocated by the first infrastructure equipment for receiving an allocation of communications resources from the first infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

A communications device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the second identifier is a local tracking area identifier allocated to the communications device by the first infrastructure equipment, which identifies the communications device for the communications device to determine an allocation of communications resource from the second infrastructure equipment and one or more other infrastructure equipment within an area determined by the wireless communications network.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

A communications device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the second identifier is formed from a combination of the radio network identifier allocated by the first infrastructure equipment and a code identifying the communications device within a predetermined number of one or more neighbouring infrastructure equipment.

### Claim 21

A communications device for transmitting data to or receiving data from a wireless communications network, the communications device comprising
a transmitter configured to transmit signals to one or more infrastructure equipment of the wireless communications network via a wireless access interface,
a receiver configured to receive signals from one or more of the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communications network via the wireless access interface, the one or more infrastructure equipment forming with the wireless access interface a radio access network, and a controller configured with the receiver
to receive, from a first of the one or more infrastructure equipment, a radio network identifier allocated for identifying the communications device when allocating communications resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting data to or receiving data from the infrastructure equipment,
to receive one or both of an indication of an acknowledgement preamble indicating an acknowledgement of a received data transmission when the communications device is in an inactive-connected state, or
an indication of a negative acknowledgement preamble indicating a negative acknowledgement if a data transmission is not received when the communications device is in an inactive-connected state,
to control the transmitter and the receiver to enter the inactive connected state in which the receiver monitors signals representing downlink data transmitted from the first infrastructure equipment and one or more other infrastructure equipment to determine whether the communications device should select one of the other infrastructure equipment or the first infrastructure equipment from which the communications device should receive the downlink data, and
to transmit the acknowledgement preamble or the negative acknowledgement preamble after receiving control signals which include an identifier of the communication device.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

A communications device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the receiver
to receive the indication of one or both of the acknowledgement preamble or the negative acknowledgement preamble from the first infrastructure equipment when the communications device enters the connected idle state.

### Claim at position 18

23-28. (canceled)