# US 9,521,667 B2 · Wireless communication base station equipment, wireless communication terminal device and search space setting method

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- Number: US 9,521,667 B2
- Document ID: US9521667B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/179,748
- Filed: 2016-06-10
- Published: 2016-09-29
- Granted: 2016-12-13
- Earliest claimed: 2008-10-31
- Assignees: Sun Patent Trust
- Applicants: Sun Patent Trust
- Inventors: Akihiko Nishio; Seigo Nakao; Daichi Imamura; Masayuki Hoshino
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9521667B2

## CPC

- H04W 72/23: in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
- H04L 1/0025: {Transmission of mode-switching indication}
- H04L 1/0027: {Scheduling of signalling, e.g. occurrence thereof}
- H04L 1/0046: {Code rate detection or code type detection (H04L1/0038 takes precedence; detection of the data rate H04L25/0262; for packet format H04L1/0091)}
- H04L 1/0072: {Error control for data other than payload data, e.g. control data}
- H04L 1/1854: {Scheduling and prioritising arrangements}
- H04L 1/1861: {Physical mapping arrangements (for ACK signaling see also H04L5/0053)}
- H04L 5/001: {the frequencies being arranged in component carriers}
- H04L 5/0042: {Intra-user or intra-terminal allocation}
- H04L 5/0053: {Allocation of signalling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals}
- H04L 5/0055: {Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK (for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861)}
- H04L 5/0092: {Indication of how the channel is divided}
- H04L 5/0094: {Indication of how sub-channels of the path are allocated}
- H04W 28/04: Error control
- H04W 72/0453: Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
- H04W 72/20: Control channels or signalling for resource management
- H04W 72/21: in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
- H04W 72/29: between an access point and the access point controlling device
- H04W 74/085: {collision avoidance}
- H04L 1/0038: {Blind format detection (for detection of modulation format H04L27/0012)}
- H04L 5/0044: {Allocation of payload; Allocation of data channels, e.g. PDSCH or PUSCH}
- 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

Disclosed is wireless communication base station equipment in which CCE allocation can be flexibly performed without collision of ACK/NACK signals between a plurality of unit bands, even when wideband transmission is performed exclusively on a downlink circuit. In this equipment, an allocation unit (105) sets up mutually different search spaces for each of a plurality of downlink unit bands, with respect to wireless communication terminal devices that communicate using a plurality of downlink unit bands, and allocates resource allocation information of downlink circuit data destined for the wireless communication terminal devices to CCEs in mutually different search spaces for each of the plurality of downlink unit bands, and an ACK/NACK reception unit (119); extracts a response signal in respect of the downlink circuit data from the uplink control channel associated with the CCE to which the resource allocation information of this downlink circuit data was allocated.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A terminal apparatus comprising:
a receiver, which, in operation, receives a first downlink control channel transmitted on one or more control channel element(s) (CCE(s)) in a first search space that is comprised of a first plurality of CCEs, the first downlink control channel including resource assignment information, which indicates a resource allocated to the terminal apparatus in a component carrier n (CCn) out of one or more CC(s), and which, in operation, receives a second downlink control channel transmitted on one or more CCE(s) in a second search space that is comprised of a second plurality of CCE(s), the second downlink control channel including resource assignment information, which indicates a resource allocated to the terminal apparatus in a component carrier n+1 (CCn+1) out of said one or more CC(s), the first plurality of CCEs and the second plurality of CCEs are consecutive; and
a transmitter, which, in operation, transmits an ACK/NACK signal on an uplink control channel, an resource index of the uplink control channel being associated with a CCE number of said one or more CCE(s) in the first search space.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a number of CC(s) configured for downlink is greater than a number of CC(s) configured for uplink.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more CC(s) configured for downlink is also configured for uplink.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first search spaces and the second search space neighbor each other.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a CCE number Sn+1, which defines a start position of the second search space, is set as (Sn+L)mod NCCE, where a CCE number Sn defines a start position of the first search space, L is a number of the first plurality of CCEs, and NCCE is a total number of CCEs within the CCn.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a difference between CCE numbers that respectively define start positions of the first search space and the second search space, varies among a plurality of terminals.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first search space and the second search space are set independently of each other.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting section is configured to transmit multiple ACK/NACK signals, which are for the CC and the CCn+1, in one of the CC and the CCn+1.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first plurality of CCEs and the second plurality of CCEs correspond to downlink control channel candidates to be decoded by the terminal apparatus.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first search space and the second search space is comprised of a plurality of CCEs having consecutive CCE numbers.

### Claim 11

A communication method comprising:
receiving a first downlink control channel transmitted on one or more control channel element(s) (CCE(s)) in a first search space that is comprised of a first plurality of CCEs, the first downlink control channel including resource assignment information, which indicates a resource allocated to a terminal in a component carrier n (CCn) out of one or more CC(s), and receiving a second downlink control channel transmitted on one or more CCE(s) in a second search space that is comprised of a second plurality of CCE(s), the second downlink control channel including resource assignment information, which indicates a resource allocated to the terminal apparatus in a component carrier n+1 (CCn+1) out of said one or more CC(s), the first plurality of CCEs and the second plurality of CCEs are consecutive; and
transmitting an ACK/NACK signal on an uplink control channel, an resource index of the uplink control channel being associated with a CCE number of said one or more CCE(s) in the first search space.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein a number of CC(s) configured for downlink is greater than a number of CC(s) configured for uplink.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the one or more CC(s) configured for downlink is also configured for uplink.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein the first search spaces and the second search space neighbor each other.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein a CCE number Sn+1, which defines a start position of the second search space, is set as (Sn+L) mod NCCE, where a CCE number Sn defines a start position of the first search space, L is a number of the first plurality of CCEs, and NCCE is a total number of CCEs within the CCn.

### Claim 16 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein a difference between CCE numbers that respectively define start positions of the first search space and the second search space, varies among a plurality of terminals.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein the first search space and the second search space are set independently of each other.

### Claim 18 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein said transmitting includes transmitting of multiple ACK/NACK signals, which are for the CC and the CCn+1, in one of the CC and the CCn+1.

### Claim 19 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein the first plurality of CCEs and the second plurality of CCEs correspond to downlink control channel candidates to be decoded by the terminal.

### Claim 20 (depends on 11)

The communication method according to claim 11, wherein each of the first search space and the second search space is comprised of a plurality of CCEs having consecutive CCE numbers.