Method For Transmitting And Receiving Random Access Request And Transmitting And Receiving Random Access Response
Patent No. US11051344 (titled "Method For Transmitting And Receiving Random Access Request And Transmitting And Receiving Random Access Response") was filed by Pantech Corp on Dec 11, 2019.
What is this patent about?
’344 is related to the field of wideband radio access systems, specifically addressing the problem of user equipment (UE) correctly identifying random access responses (RAR) from a base station (BS) following a random access request (random access preamble). In prior systems, multiple UEs transmitting the same preamble sequence could lead to a UE incorrectly interpreting another's RAR as its own, causing synchronization and resource allocation errors. This problem is exacerbated by propagation delays and the asynchronous nature of wideband systems.
The underlying idea behind ’344 is to embed timing information related to the random access preamble transmission within the RAR itself, allowing the UE to verify if the received RAR corresponds to its specific transmission. This is achieved by including information about the subframe number in which the preamble was transmitted. By comparing this information with the UE's own transmission timing, the UE can confidently determine if the RAR is intended for it, even in scenarios with multiple UEs using the same preamble sequence.
The claims of ’344 focus on a method and apparatus (UE and base station) for performing random access. The UE receives a RAR from the base station within a defined time period. The UE extracts information associated with the subframe number in which it transmitted the random access preamble. The UE then determines if the received RAR is the correct response based on this subframe number information. The base station generates the RAR including information associated with the subframe number and transmits the RAR to the UE within a specific time period.
In practice, the UE transmits a random access preamble. The base station, upon receiving this preamble, generates a random access response that includes information about the subframe in which the preamble was received. The UE then receives this response and checks if the subframe information in the response matches the subframe in which it sent the preamble. A match confirms that the response is indeed for the UE's initial request. The claims specify that the UE receives the RAR within a time period that starts after the end time of transmitting the random access preamble, with an offset of three subframes.
This approach differentiates itself from prior solutions by explicitly incorporating timing information into the RAR, enabling the UE to perform a validation check. This eliminates the ambiguity that arises when multiple UEs transmit the same preamble sequence, preventing erroneous time synchronization and resource collisions. The fixed offset of three subframes defines a specific window for the UE to expect the RAR, further refining the process and reducing the likelihood of misinterpretation.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the late 2000s when ’344 was filed, wireless communication systems commonly relied on specific timing and synchronization mechanisms for random access procedures. At a time when user equipment attempted to access the system with randomly selected sequences, hardware or software constraints made it non-trivial to prevent a user equipment from erroneously receiving a response intended for another user equipment using the same sequence.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the patent because claim 1 was considered novel over the closest prior art (Milladi et al.). Milladi does not teach or suggest determining that the received random access response is the response to the transmitted random access preamble based on certain information. Specifically, Milladi fails to disclose that the time period starts at a time point after an end time of transmitting the random access preamble, where the time point is obtained by adding an offset to a subframe number corresponding to the end time of transmitting the random access preamble and the offset equals three. Claims 9 and 13 were also allowable because they include similar limitations as claim 1.
Claims
This patent contains 16 claims, of which claims 1, 2, 9, and 13 are independent. The independent claims are directed to a method and apparatus (user equipment and base station) for performing a random access procedure. The dependent claims generally add detail to the independent claims, further defining the random access procedure and related parameters.
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Date
Description
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US11051344
- Application Number
- US16711269
- Filing Date
- Dec 11, 2019
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Dec 31, 2028
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents