Restarting A Deactivation Timer Of A Secondary Cell In A Wireless Network

What is this patent about?

’810 is related to the field of multicarrier communication systems , specifically addressing control signaling in carrier aggregation (CA) within wireless networks. Modern wireless communication standards like LTE-Advanced employ CA to increase data throughput by aggregating multiple component carriers. Efficient management of these carriers, including their activation and deactivation, is crucial for optimizing resource utilization and power consumption in user equipment (UE).

The underlying idea behind ’810 is to optimize the deactivation timer mechanism for secondary cells (SCells) in a carrier aggregation system. Instead of restarting the deactivation timer only upon receiving a scheduling grant, the timer is restarted whenever an uplink or downlink packet is communicated on the SCell during an assigned time interval. This ensures that the SCell remains active as long as there is ongoing data exchange, preventing premature deactivation and reducing signaling overhead.

The claims of ’810 focus on a method, a wireless device, and a base station that implement a modified deactivation timer behavior. Specifically, the claims cover receiving a resource assignment indicating multiple time intervals for communication on a secondary cell, and then restarting the deactivation timer associated with that secondary cell whenever an uplink or downlink packet is communicated during any of those assigned time intervals.

In practice, this means that a base station transmits a schedule to a wireless device, allocating specific time slots on a secondary carrier for data transmission. The wireless device, upon transmitting or receiving data during one of these allocated slots, restarts the deactivation timer. This ensures that the secondary carrier remains active as long as the device is actively using it, avoiding unnecessary activation/deactivation cycles that consume power and introduce latency.

This approach differs from prior solutions where the deactivation timer might only be restarted upon receiving a new scheduling grant. By tying the timer to actual data communication, ’810 provides a more responsive and efficient mechanism for managing secondary cell activity, particularly in scenarios with bursty traffic patterns or when a single scheduling grant covers multiple time intervals. This leads to improved resource utilization and reduced power consumption for the wireless device.