(12) United States Patent
`US 10,454,655 B2
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Oct. 22, 2019
`Tan Bergstrfim et al.
`
`US010454655B2
`
`WIRELESS TERMINALS, NODES OF
`WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS,
`AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(54)
`
`(71)
`
`(72)
`
`Applicant: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
`(publ), Stockholm (SE)
`
`Inventors: Mattias Tan Bergstrom, Stockholm
`(SE); Riikka Susitaival, Helsinki (FI);
`Magnus Stattin, Upplands vasby (SE)
`
`EP
`EP
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
`(publ), Stockholm (SE)
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.: 16/203,450
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Nov. 28, 2018
`
`(65)
`
`(63)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2019/0097783 A1
`
`Mar. 28, 2019
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`Continuation of application No. 15/678,199, filed on
`Aug. 16, 2017, now Pat. No. 10,177,892, which is a
`(Continued)
`
`Int. Cl.
`
`(51)
`
`H04L 5/00
`H04W 52/36
`
`US. Cl.
`
`(52)
`
`(2006.01)
`(2009.01)
`(Continued)
`
`CPC .......... H04L 5/0098 (2013.01); H04L 1/1614
`(2013.01); H04L 5/001 (2013.01);
`(Continued)
`Field of Classification Search
`CPC
`H04L 5/001; H04L 1/1614; H04W 72/0413
`(Continued)
`
`(58)
`
`8,730,829 B2
`8,798,663 B2
`
`5/2014 Hwang et a1.
`8/2014 Wang et a1.
`(Continued)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2317815
`2693820
`
`5/2011
`2/2014
`
`(Continued)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Nokia Siemens Networks et a1., “PHR remaining issues”, Agenda
`Item 7.1.1.6, Document for: Discussion and Decision, 3GPP TSG-
`RAN WG2 Meeting #71 bis, R2-105379, Xian, China, Oct. 11-15,
`2010, 8 pp.
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner 7 Kiet M Doan
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm 7 Sage Patent Group
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`According to one embodiment, a method of operating a
`wireless terminal may include configuring a first group of
`component carriers, and while configured with the first
`group of component carriers, communicating a first MAC
`CE including a first bit map having a first bit map size with
`bits of the first bit map corresponding to respective compo-
`nent carriers of the first group of component carriers. The
`method may also include configuring a second group of
`component carriers wherein the first and second groups of
`component carriers are different. While configured with the
`second group of component carriers, a second MAC CE may
`be communicated, wherein the second MAC CE includes a
`second bit map having a second bit map size with bits of the
`second bit map corresponding to respective component
`carriers of the second group of component carriers. More-
`over, the first and second bit map sizes may be different.
`
`40 Claims, 17 Drawing Sheets
`
`N0
` Change in 00
`
`Configuration ’?
`
`
`
`
`Configure CCs
`
`Communicate
`MAC CE for
`Configured CCs
`
`Transmit Power
`Headroom Report
`for at least one
`
`Configured CC 1505
`
`1505'
`
`
`
`1
`
`SAMSUNG 1001
`
`SAMSUNG 1001
`
`1
`
`

`

`US 10,454,655 B2
`Page 2
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`continuation of application No. 14/911,875, filed as
`application No. PCT/SE2015/051191 on Nov. 10,
`2015, now Pat. No. 9,787,456.
`
`W0
`W0
`W0
`
`WO 2012/165821
`WO 2013/025547
`WO 2013/115263
`
`12/2012
`2/2013
`8/2013
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`(60) Provisional application No. 62/149,899, filed on Apr.
`20, 2015, provisional application No. 62/102,685,
`filed on Jan. 13, 2015.
`
`(51)
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H04L 1/16
`H04L 12/26
`H04L 29/12
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC .......... H04L 43/16 (2013.01); H04L 61/6022
`(2013.01); H04W 52/365 (2013.01)
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`USPC ..... 370/329, 336, 252; 455/509, 522, 422.1,
`455/501, 450
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`8,811,322 B2
`9,210,671 B2
`9,402,255 B2
`9,642,161 B2
`2012/0083308 A1
`2012/0224552 A1
`2013/0114576 A1
`2013/0215866 A1
`2013/0242790 A1*
`
`2016/0127107 A1*
`
`8/2014 Feuersanger et al.
`12/2015 Bostrom et al.
`7/2016 Lohr et al.
`5/2017 Wu et al.
`4/20 12 Wang
`9/2012 Feuersanger
`5/2013 Kwon et al.
`8/2013 Ahn et al.
`9/2013 Kwon ................... H04W28/06
`370/252
`5/2016 Zhang ..................... H04L 5/001
`370/329
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`JP
`JP
`RU
`RU
`W0
`W0
`
`A 2013-179551
`A 2015-516695
`2510595 C2
`2013102306 A
`WO 2011/159222
`WO 2012/111980
`
`9/2013
`6/2015
`3/2014
`7/2014
`12/2011
`8/2012
`
`International Search Report and Written Opinion of the Interna-
`tional Searching Authority, Application No. PCT/SE2015/051191,
`dated Feb. 25, 2016.
`Ericsson, “Running MAC CR for Carrier Aggregation enhance-
`ments”, Change Request, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #91 bis,
`R2-154910, Malmo, Sweden, Oct. 5-9, 2015, 75 pp.
`3GPP, Technical Specificationi“3rd Generation Partnership Proj-
`ect; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved
`Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource
`Control (RRC); Protocol specification (Release 12)”, 3GPP TS
`36.331 V12.4.1 (Dec. 2014), 410 pp.
`3GPP, Technical Specificationi“3rd Generation Partnership Proj-
`ect; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved
`Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Medium Access
`Control (MAC) protocol specification (Release 12)”, 3GPP TS
`36.321 V12.3.0 (Sep. 2014), 57 pp.
`3GPP, Technical Specificationi“3rd Generation Partnership Proj-
`ect; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved
`Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical layer pro-
`cedures (Release 12)”, 3GPP TS 36.213 V12.4.0 (Dec. 2014), 225
`PP
`3GPP, Technical Specificationi“3rd Generation Partnership Proj-
`ect; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved
`Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Requirements for
`support of radio resource management (Release 12)”, 3GPP TS
`36.133 V12.6.0 (Dec. 2014), 992 pp.
`3GPP, Technical Specificationi“3rd Generation Partnership Proj-
`ect; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved
`Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); User Equipment
`(UE) radio transmission and reception (Release 12)”, 3GPP TS
`36.101 V12.6.0 (Dec. 2014), 589 pp.
`“MAC CE impact due to CA enhancements,” 3GPP TSG-RAN
`WG2 #89bis, Bratislava, Slovakia, Apr. 20-24, 2015, Agenda Item
`7.2.3, Ericsson (Tdoc R2-151506) 6 pages.
`“New format for Activation/Deactivation MAC Control Element,”
`3GPP TSG RAN WG2 #89bis, Apr. 20-24, 2015, Bratislava, Slo-
`vakia, Agenda Item 7.2.3, Samsung (R2-151620) 2 pages.
`Japanese Office Action dated Oct. 5, 2018, Application No. 2017-
`535645 (Japanese-language document, 3 pages) and English-
`language Summary of the Office Action, 2 pages.
`Search Report (English-Language Translation) Russian Patent Appli-
`cation No. 20171284585/07 (049226) dated Mar. 6, 2018, 2 pages.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
`
`Sheet 1 of 17
`
`US 10,454,655 B2
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
`
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 3 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 4 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 5 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 22, 2019
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 22, 2019
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 8 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
`
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 9 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
`
`Sheet 10 of 17
`
`US 10,454,655 B2
`
`Figure 15A
`
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
`
`Sheetll of17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 12 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 22, 2019
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 14 of 17
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 15 of 17
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
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`Sheet 16 of 17
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 22, 2019
`
`Sheet 17 of 17
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`US 10,454,655 B2
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`

`US 10,454,655 B2
`
`1
`WIRELESS TERMINALS, NODES OF
`WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS,
`AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a Continuation of US. application Ser.
`No. 15/678,199, filed on Aug. 16, 2017, which is a Con-
`tinuation of US. application Ser. No. 14/911,875, filed on
`Feb. 12, 2016, which is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage
`application of PCT International Application No. PCT/
`SE2015/051191, filed on Nov. 10, 2015, which itself claims
`priority to US. provisional Application No. 62/102,685,
`filed Jan. 13, 2015 and US. provisional Application No.
`62/149,899, filed Apr. 20, 2015, the disclosure and content
`of all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their
`entireties.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`Embodiments disclosed herein may be generally directed
`to wireless communications and more particularly, directed
`to medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) for
`wireless communications and related wireless terminals and
`wireless communication network nodes.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`The Long Term Evolution (LTE) specifications have been
`standardized to support Component Carrier (CC) band-
`widths up to 20 MHZ (which may be the maximal LTE Rel-8
`carrier bandwidth). Accordingly, LTE operation with band-
`widths wider than 20 MHZ may be possible and may appear
`as a number of LTE carriers to an LTE terminal.
`
`A straightforward way to provide such operation could be
`by means of Carrier Aggregation (CA). CA implies that an
`LTE Rel-10 terminal can receive multiple Component Car-
`riers CCs (also referred to as carriers), where each CC has
`(or at least has the possibility to have) the same structure as
`a Rel-8 carrier. An example of Carrier Aggregation CA is
`illustrated in FIG. 1.
`
`The LTE standard may support up to 5 aggregated carriers
`where each carrier is limited in the Radio Frequency RF
`specifications to have one of six bandwidths, i.e., 6, 15, 25,
`50, 75, or 100 Resource Blocks RB (corresponding to 1.4, 3,
`5, 10, 15, and 20 MHZ respectively).
`The number of aggregated Component Carriers CCs as
`well as the bandwidth of each individual CC may be
`different for uplink and downlink (generically referred to as
`wireless communication links, communication links, or sim-
`ply links). A symmetric configuration refers to the case
`where the number of CCs in downlink and uplink is the same
`whereas an asymmetric configuration refers to the case that
`the numbers of CCs in downlink and uplink are different. A
`number of CCs configured in the network may be different
`from a number of CCs seen by a terminal. A terminal may,
`for example, support and/or be configured with more down-
`link CCs than uplink CCs, even though the network offers
`the same number of uplink and downlink CCs.
`During initial access, an LTE CA-capable terminal may
`behave in a manner similar to a terminal not capable of CA.
`Upon successful connection to the network, a terminal may
`(depending on its own capabilities and the network) be
`configured with additional CCs in the UL and DL. Configu-
`ration may be based on Radio Resource Control RRC. Due
`to the heavy signaling and rather slow speed of RRC
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`
`signaling, it is envisioned that a terminal may be configured
`with multiple CCs even though not all of them are currently
`used. If a terminal is activated on multiple CCs, this would
`imply that it has to monitor all DownLink DL CCs for
`PDCCH (Physical DownLink Control CHannel)
`and
`PDSCH (Physical DownLink Shared CHannel). This opera-
`tion may require a wider receiver bandwidth, a higher
`sampling rate, etc., resulting in increased power consump-
`tion.
`
`In CA, the terminal is configured with a primary Com-
`ponent Carrier CC (or cell or Serving cell), which is referred
`to as the Primary Cell or PCell. The PCell may be particu-
`larly important, for example, because control signaling may
`be signaled on this cell and/or because the UE may perform
`monitoring of the radio quality on the PCell. A CA capable
`terminal can, as explained above, also be configured with
`additional component carriers (or cells or serving cells)
`which are referred to as Secondary Cells (SCells).
`The terms terminal, wireless terminal, UE (User Equip-
`ment), and User Equipment node will be used interchange-
`ably throughout this document.
`In LTE, the eNodeB (also referred to as a base station) and
`the UE use Medium Access (MAC) Control Elements (CE)
`to exchange information such as buffer status reports, power
`headroom reports, etc. A comprehensive list of MAC CEs is
`provided in section 6.1.3 of 3GPP TS 36.321 v12.3.0 (2014-
`09), “LTE; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
`(E-UTRA); Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol speci-
`fication.” Moreover, each MAC CE may be identified by a
`LCID (Logical Channel
`Identity) which is used as an
`identifier for the MAC CE so that the receiver interprets the
`MAC CE correctly. With the existing LTE specification,
`however, a number of component carriers may be limited.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`According to some embodiments of inventive concepts, a
`method of operating a wireless terminal in communication
`with a wireless communication network may include con-
`figuring a first group of component carriers for a commu-
`nication link between the wireless terminal and the commu-
`
`nication network, and while configured with the first group
`of component carriers, a first Medium Access Control
`(MAC) Control Element (CE) may be communicated. The
`first MAC CE may include a first bit map having a first bit
`map size with bits of the first bit map corresponding to
`respective component carriers of the first group of compo-
`nent carriers. A second group of component carriers may be
`configured for the communication link between the wireless
`terminal and the communication network with the first group
`of component carriers being different than the second group
`of component carriers. While configured with the second
`group of component carriers, a second MAC CE may be
`communicated. The second MAC CE may include a second
`bit map having a second bit map size with bits of the second
`bit map corresponding to respective component carriers of
`the second group of component carriers, and the first bit map
`size of the first bit map may be different than the second bit
`map size of the second bit map.
`According to some other embodiments of inventive con-
`cepts, a method of operating a node of a wireless commu-
`nication network may include configuring a first group of
`component carriers for a communication link between the
`node of the communication network and a wireless terminal.
`
`While configured with the first group of component carriers
`for the communication link, a first MAC CE may be
`communicated over the communication link, with the first
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`MAC CE including a first bit map having a first bit map size
`with bits of the first bit map corresponding to respective
`component carriers of the first group of component carriers.
`A second group of component carriers may be configured for
`the communication link between the node of the communi-
`
`cation network and the wireless terminal, and while config-
`ured with the second group of component carriers, a second
`MAC CE may be communicated over the communication
`link. The second MAC CE may include a second bit map
`having a second bit map size with bits of the second bit map
`corresponding to respective component carriers of the sec-
`ond group of component carriers, and the first bit map size
`of the first bit map may be different than the second bit map
`size of the second bit map.
`According to still other embodiments of inventive con-
`cepts, a wireless terminal may include a transceiver config-
`ured to provide radio communications with a wireless com-
`munication network over a radio interface, and a processor
`coupled with the transceiver. The processor may be config-
`ured to configure a first group of component carriers for a
`communication link between the wireless terminal and the
`communication network, and to communicate a first MAC
`CE through the transceiver while configured with the first
`group of component carriers. The first MAC CE may include
`a first bit map having a first bit map size with bits of the first
`bit map corresponding to respective component carriers of
`the first group of component carriers. The processor may be
`further configured to configure a second group of component
`carriers for the communication link between the wireless
`terminal and the communication network, and to commu-
`nicate a second MAC CE through the transceiver while
`configured with the second group of component carriers.
`The first group of component carriers may be different than
`the second group of component carriers, the second MAC
`CE may include a second bit map having a second bit map
`size with bits of the second bit map corresponding to
`respective component carriers of the second group of com-
`ponent carriers, and the first bit map size of the first bit map
`may be different than the second bit map size of the second
`bit map.
`According to yet other embodiments of inventive con-
`cepts, a wireless terminal may be adapted to configure a first
`group of component carriers for a communication link
`between the wireless terminal and the communication net-
`
`work, and to communicate a first MAC CE while configured
`with the first group of component carriers. The first MAC
`CE may include a first bit map having a first bit map size
`with bits of the first bit map corresponding to respective
`component carriers of the first group of component carriers.
`The wireless terminal may be further adapted to configure a
`second group of component carriers for the communication
`link between the wireless terminal and the communication
`network, and to communicate a second MAC CE while
`configured with the second group of component carriers.
`The first group of component carriers may be different than
`the second group of component carriers, the second MAC
`CE may include a second bit map having a second bit map
`size with bits of the second bit map corresponding to
`respective component carriers of the second group of com-
`ponent carriers, and the first bit map size of the first bit map
`may be different than the second bit map size of the second
`bit map.
`According to some more embodiments of inventive con-
`cepts, a node of a wireless communication network may
`include a transceiver configured to provide communications
`with one or more wireless terminals over a radio interface,
`and a processor coupled with the transceiver. The processor
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`may be configured to configure a first group of component
`carriers for a communication link between the node of the
`
`communication network and a wireless terminal, and to
`communicate a first MAC CE over the communication link
`
`while configured with the first group of component carriers
`for the communication link. The first MAC CE may include
`a first bit map having a first bit map size with bits of the first
`bit map corresponding to respective component carriers of
`the first group of component carriers. The processor may be
`further configured to configure a second group of component
`carriers for the communication link between the node of the
`
`communication network and the wireless terminal, and to
`communicate a second MAC CE over the communication
`
`link while configured with the second group of component
`carriers. The second MAC CE may include a second bit map
`having a second bit map size with bits of the second bit map
`corresponding to respective component carriers of the sec-
`ond group of component carriers. Moreover, the first bit map
`size of the first bit map may be different than the second bit
`map size of the second bit map.
`According to yet more embodiments of inventive con-
`cepts, a node of a wireless communication network may be
`adapted to configure a first group of component carriers for
`a communication link between the node of the communica-
`
`tion network and a wireless terminal. The node may be
`adapted to communicate a first MAC CE over the commu-
`nication link while configured with the first group of com-
`ponent carriers for the communication link, with the first
`MAC CE including a first bit map having a first bit map size
`with bits of the first bit map corresponding to respective
`component carriers of the first group of component carriers.
`The node may also be adapted to configure a second group
`of component carriers for the communication link between
`the node of the communication network and the wireless
`
`terminal, and to communicate a second MAC CE over the
`communication link while configured with the second group
`of component carriers. The second MAC CE may include a
`second bit map having a second bit map size with bits of the
`second bit map corresponding to respective component
`carriers of the second group of component carriers, and the
`first bit map size of the first bit map may be different than
`the second bit map size of the second bit map.
`By providing Medium Access Control Elements (MAC
`CEs) with bit maps of different sizes, an efficiency of control
`signaling may be improved while supporting dynamic con-
`figuration of different groups of component carriers for a
`wireless terminal. For example, bit map sizes of MAC CEs
`communicated between a wireless terminal and a network
`
`node may vary depending on the particular component
`carriers that are configured for the wireless terminal.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The accompanying drawings, which are included to pro-
`vide a further understanding of the disclosure and are
`incorporated in and constitute a part of the application,
`illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive
`concepts. In the drawings:
`FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating carrier aggregation with an
`aggregated bandwidth of 100 MHz;
`FIG. 2A is a table illustrating values of logical channel
`identifications (LCIDs) for an uplink shared channel (UL-
`SCH) taken from Table 6.2.1-2 of 3GPP TS 36.321 V12.3.0
`(2014-09);
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`FIG. 2B is a table illustrating values of logical channel
`identifications (LCIDs) for a downlink shared channel (DL-
`SCH) taken from Table 621-1 of 3GPP TS 36.321 V12.3.0
`(2014-09);
`FIG. 2C is a table illustrating power headroom levels for
`power headroom reports (PHRs) taken from Table 6.1 .3.6-1
`of 3GPP TS 36.321 V12.3.0 (2014-09);
`FIG. 3 is a table illustrating an extended power headroom
`report (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element
`(CE)
`taken from Table 6.1.3.6a-2 of 3GPP TS 36.321
`V12.3.0 (2014-09);
`FIG. 4 is a table illustrating an extended power headroom
`report (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element
`(CE) for 32 cells according to some embodiments of inven-
`tive concepts;
`FIG. 5 is a table illustrating nominal UE transmit power
`levels for an extended power headroom report (PHR) taken
`from Table 6.1.3.6a-1 of 3GPP TS 36.321 V12.3.0 (2014-
`09);
`FIG. 6 is a table illustrating an activation/deactivation
`medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) taken
`from Table 6.1.3.8-1 of3GPP TS 36.321V12.3.0(2014-09);
`FIG. 7 is a table illustrating an activation/deactivation
`medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for 32
`cells according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;
`FIG. 8 is a table illustrating an extended power headroom
`report (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element
`(CE) according to some embodiments of inventive concepts;
`FIG. 9 is a table illustrating nominal UE transmit power
`levels for an extended power headroom report (PHR) taken
`from Table 6.1.3.6a-1 of 3GPP TS 36.321 V12.3.0 (2014-
`09);
`FIG. 10 is a table illustrating an activation/deactivation
`medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) accord-
`ing to some embodiments of inventive concepts;
`FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating elements in a radio
`access network (RAN) communicating with wireless termi-
`nals (UEs) and with a core network node according to some
`embodiments of inventive concepts;
`FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a base station of
`FIG. 11 according to some embodiments of inventive con-
`cepts;
`FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless terminal
`(UE) of FIG. 11 according to some embodiments of inven-
`tive concepts;
`FIG. 14 a block diagram illustrating a core network node
`of FIG. 11 according to some embodiments of inventive
`concepts;
`FIGS. 15A, 15B, 15C, 16, 17, and 18 are flow charts
`illustrating operations of terminals/nodes according to some
`embodiments of inventive concepts;
`FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C are flow charts illustrating
`operations of wireless terminals (UEs) according to some
`embodiments of inventive concepts;
`FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a base
`station (eNB) according to some embodiments of inventive
`concepts; and
`FIGS. 21A and 21B are tables illustrating medium access
`control (MAC) control elements (CEs) according to some
`embodiments of inventive concepts.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`Inventive concepts will now be described more fully
`hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
`which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are
`shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in
`
`6
`many different forms and should not be construed as limited
`to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodi-
`ments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough
`and complete, and will fully convey the scope of inventive
`concepts to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted
`that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Com-
`ponents from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be
`present/used in another embodiment.
`For purposes of illustration and explanation only, these
`and other embodiments of inventive concepts are described
`herein in the context of operating in a RAN (Radio Access
`Network) that communicates over radio communication
`channels with wireless terminals (also referred to as UEs). It
`will be understood, however, that inventive concepts are not
`limited to such embodiments and may be embodied gener-
`ally in any type of communication network. As used herein,
`a legacy or non-legacy wireless terminal (also referred to as
`a UE, user equipment node, mobile terminal, wireless
`device, etc.) can include any device that receives data from
`and/or transmits data to a communication network, and may
`include, but is not limited to, a mobile telephone (“cellular”
`telephone),
`laptop/portable computer, pocket computer,
`hand-held computer, an M2M device,
`IoT (Internet of
`Things) device, and/or desktop computer.
`Note that although terminology from 3GPP (3rd Genera-
`tion Partnership Project) LTE (Long Term Evolution) has
`been used in this disclosure to provide examples of embodi-
`ments of inventive concepts,
`this should not be seen as
`limiting the scope of inventive concepts to only the afore-
`mentioned system. Other wireless
`systems,
`including
`WCDMA, WiMax, UMB and GSM, may also benefit from
`exploiting ideas/concepts covered within this disclosure.
`Also, note that terminology such as eNodeB (also referred
`to as a base station, eNB, etc.) and UE (also referred to as
`a wireless terminal, mobile terminal, etc.) should be con-
`sidering non-limiting.
`FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a Radio Access
`Network (RAN) according to some embodiments of present
`inventive concepts. As shown, communications between
`base stations and one or more core network nodes (e.g.,
`Mobility Management Entity MME or Service GPRS Sup-
`port Node SGSN) may be provided using respective Sl
`interfaces. Each base station BS may communicate over a
`radio interface (including uplinks and downlinks) with
`respective wireless terminals UEs in a respective cell or cells
`supported by the base station. By way of example, base
`station BS-l
`is shown in communication with wireless
`terminals UE-1 and UE-2, base station BS-2 is shown in
`communication with wireless terminals UE-3 and UE-4, and
`base station BS-n is shown in communication with wireless
`terminals UE-5 and UE-6.
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`FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a base
`station BS of FIG. 11. As shown, a base station BS may
`include a transceiver circuit 201 (also referred to as a
`transceiver or radio interface or a communication interface)
`configured to provide radio communications with a plurality
`of wireless terminals, a network interface circuit 205 (also
`referred to as a network interface) configured to provide
`communications with other base stations of the RAN (e.g.,
`over the X2 interface), and a processor circuit 203 (also
`referred to as a processor) coupled to the transceiver circuit
`and the network interface circuit, and a memory circuit 207
`coupled to the processor circuit. The memory circuit 207
`may include computer readable program code that when
`executed by the processor circuit 203 causes the processor
`circuit to perform operations according to embodiments
`disclosed herein. According to other embodiments, proces-
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`8
`(or a network), it should be appreciated that other embodi-
`ments may send MAC CEs between any types of nodes in
`the network (e.g., between two UEs in case of device-to-
`device communication). For the sake of simplicity, readabil-
`ity, and/or conciseness, however, transmission of MAC CEs
`between a UE and a network may be discussed by way of
`example without discussing transmission of such MAC CEs
`between other nodes in the network.
`
`Selection may be based on network configuration.
`The network may configure the version of the MAC CE
`to be applied (e.g., the network may indicate to the terminal
`which version of the MAC CE shall be applied).
`The transmitter (e.g., the UE or the network base station)
`may then select which version of the MAC CEs to transmit
`depending on what the netwo