Scheduling Data Transmissions Between a Mobile Terminal and a Base Station in a Wireless Communications Network Using Component Carriers

Abstract

A method of scheduling wireless data transmissions between a mobile terminal ( 701 ) and a base station using multiple component carrier signals is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: receiving in the mobile terminal information from the base station indicating available component carriers; detecting in the mobile terminal at least one dynamic parameter indicative of the mobile terminal's current ability to handle component carriers having non-contiguous bandwidths; determining in the mobile terminal in dependence of the at least one dynamic parameter which of the available component carriers to utilize; and transmitting from the mobile terminal to the base station information indicating the component carriers determined to utilize. By doing this the mobile terminal may choose to limit the number of component carriers used in situations where it is disadvantageous, such as situations where the power consumption of supporting multiple component carriers is high or situations where complex hardware is needed.

1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A method of scheduling data transmissions between a mobile terminal and a base station in a wireless communications network, the base station configured to transmit multiple component carrier signals, each component carrier configured to carry transmitted signals in a predetermined bandwidth around the carrier, the method comprising:
 receiving, at the mobile terminal, information from said base station indicating available component carriers;   detecting, at the mobile terminal, at least one dynamic parameter indicating the mobile terminal's current ability to handle component carriers having non-contiguous bandwidths;   determining, at the mobile terminal, which of said available component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions based on said at least one dynamic parameter; and   transmitting, from said mobile terminal to said base station, information indicating the determined component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising selecting said at least one dynamic parameter from a group of parameters consisting of:
 a parameter indicating a charging level of a battery in the mobile terminal; 
 a parameter indicating a level of transmission power from the mobile terminal required to achieve a predetermined quality level of data transfer from the mobile terminal; and 
 a parameter indicating a level of base band processing capability in the mobile terminal. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 detecting an occurrence of a component carrier event triggered by one of said parameters in the group of parameters passing a predefined threshold; and 
 determining which component carriers to utilize when the component carrier event is detected. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  wherein transmitting the information indicating the determined component carriers comprises transmitting the information using a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling protocol. 
     
     
         18 . of the method of  claim 14  wherein transmitting the information indicating the determined component carriers comprises transmitting the information using a Medium Access Control (MAC) signalling protocol. 
     
     
         19 . A mobile terminal configured to schedule data transmissions between the mobile terminal and a base station in a wireless communications network, the base station configured to transmit multiple component carrier signals, each component carrier configured to carry transmitted signals in a predetermined bandwidth around the carrier, the mobile terminal configured to:
 receive information from said base station indicating available component carriers;   detect at least one dynamic parameter indicating the mobile terminal's current ability to handle component carriers having non-contiguous bandwidths;   determine which of said available component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions based on said at least one dynamic parameter; and   transmit information indicating the determined component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions to said base station.   
     
     
         20 . The mobile terminal of  claim 19  further configured to select said at least one dynamic parameter from a group of parameters consisting of:
 a parameter indicating a charging level of a battery in the mobile terminal; 
 a parameter indicating a level of transmission power from the mobile terminal required to achieve a predetermined quality level of data transfer from the mobile terminal; and 
 a parameter indicating a level of base band processing capability in the mobile terminal. 
 
     
     
         21 . The mobile terminal of  claim 20  further configured to:
 detect an occurrence of a component carrier event triggered by one of said parameters in the group of parameters passing a predefined threshold; and 
 determine which component carriers to utilize when the component carrier event is detected. 
 
     
     
         22 . The mobile terminal of  claim 19  further configured to transmit the information indicating the determined component carriers using a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling protocol. 
     
     
         23 . The mobile terminal of  claim 19  further configured to transmit the information indicating the determined component carriers using a Medium Access Control (MAC) signalling protocol. 
     
     
         24 . The mobile terminal of  claim 19  further configured to communicate data in a Third Generation Long Term Evolution system. 
     
     
         25 . A mobile terminal having a computer program comprising program code that, when executed at the mobile terminal, configures the mobile terminal to:
 receive information from a base station indicating available component carriers;   detect at least one dynamic parameter indicating the mobile terminal's current ability to handle component carriers having non-contiguous bandwidths;   determine which of said available component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions based on said at least one dynamic parameter; and   transmit, to said base station, information indicating the determined component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions.   
     
     
         26 . A mobile terminal comprising:
 a non-transitory computer readable medium having program code stored thereon, the program code configured to cause the mobile terminal to:
 receive information from a base station indicating available component carriers; 
 detect at least one dynamic parameter indicating the mobile terminal's current ability to handle component carriers having non-contiguous bandwidths; 
 determine which of said available component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions based on said at least one dynamic parameter; and 
 transmit, to said base station, information indicating the determined component carriers to utilize for said data transmissions.