Method and apparatus for utilizing a plurality of uplink carriers and a plurality of downlink carriers

Abstract

A method and apparatus for utilizing a plurality of uplink carriers and downlink carriers are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) activates a primary uplink carrier and a primary downlink carrier and activates or deactivates a secondary uplink carrier based on a signal from a network or upon detection of a pre-configured condition. The WTRU may deactivate the secondary uplink carrier based on inactivity of the E-DCH transmission, a buffer status, a channel condition, or power constraints. When the secondary uplink carrier is activated, dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) transmission may be initiated predetermined time periods prior to initiating E-DCH transmissions. The initial DPCCH transmission power may be set based on a DPCCH transmission power on the primary uplink carrier or to a value signaled by a network. A default grant value may be used for initial E-DCH transmission upon activation of the secondary uplink carrier.

1 . A method for utilizing a plurality of uplink carriers for uplink transmission and a plurality of downlink carriers for downlink reception, the method comprising:
 activating a primary uplink carrier and a primary downlink carrier; and   activating or deactivating a secondary uplink carrier based on an order from a network or upon detection of a pre-configured condition.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the order is received via a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) order or an enhanced dedicated channel absolute grant channel (E-AGCH) message. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 stopping monitoring downlink control signaling associated with the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates deactivation of the secondary uplink carrier.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the downlink control signaling includes at least one of enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel (E-HICH), E-DCH relative grant channel (E-RGCH), or E-DCH absolute grant channel (E-AGCH) associated to the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 stopping transmission of a secondary uplink dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) and an uplink control signal used for the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates deactivation of the secondary uplink carrier.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 flushing a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) entity associated to the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates deactivation of the secondary uplink carrier.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 starting dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) transmissions starting from a predetermined period prior to initiating enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) transmissions on the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates activation of the secondary uplink carrier.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein an initial DPCCH transmission power on the secondary uplink carrier is set to a same value as a DPCCH transmission power on the primary uplink carrier a predetermined number of slots prior to an activation time of the secondary uplink carrier plus or minus an offset. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the offset is a fixed value or a value received from a network. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a default grant value is used for an initial enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) transmission on the secondary uplink carrier after activating the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 performing discontinuous transmission (DTX) on the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the secondary uplink carrier has been inactive for a configured amount of time.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein uplink dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) burst patterns for discontinuous transmission (DTX) are the same on the primary uplink carrier and the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         13 . A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) configured to utilize a plurality of uplink carriers for uplink transmission and a plurality of downlink carriers for downlink reception, the WTRU comprising:
 a transmitter configured to transmit on a primary uplink carrier and at least one secondary uplink carrier;   a receiver configured to receive on a primary downlink carrier and at least one secondary downlink carrier; and   a processor configured to activate or deactivate the secondary uplink carrier based on an order from a network or upon detection of a pre-configured condition.   
     
     
         14 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the order is received via a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) order or an enhanced dedicated channel absolute grant channel (E-AGCH) message. 
     
     
         15 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to stop monitoring downlink control signaling associated with the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates deactivation of the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         16 . The WTRU of  claim 15  wherein the downlink control signaling includes at least one of enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel (E-HICH), E-DCH relative grant channel (E-RGCH), or E-DCH absolute grant channel (E-AGCH) associated to the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         17 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to stop transmission of a secondary uplink dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) and an uplink control signal used for the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates deactivation of the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         18 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to flush a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) entity associated to the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates deactivation of the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         19 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to start dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) transmissions starting from a predetermined period prior to initiating enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) transmissions on the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the order indicates activation of the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         20 . The WTRU of  claim 19  wherein the processor is configured to set an initial DPCCH transmission power on the secondary uplink carrier to a same value as a DPCCH transmission power on the primary uplink carrier a predetermined number of slots prior to an activation time of the secondary uplink carrier plus or minus an offset. 
     
     
         21 . The WTRU of  claim 20  wherein the offset is a fixed value or a value received from a network. 
     
     
         22 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to use a default grant value for an initial enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) transmission on the secondary uplink carrier after activating the secondary uplink carrier. 
     
     
         23 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to perform discontinuous transmission (DTX) on the secondary uplink carrier on a condition that the secondary uplink carrier has been inactive for a configured amount of time. 
     
     
         24 . The WTRU of  claim 13  wherein the processor is configured to perform discontinuous transmission (DTX) using a same uplink dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) burst pattern on the primary uplink carrier and the secondary uplink carrier.