Wireless communications based on identifying lower power nodes in heterogeneous network deployments

摘要

In a heterogeneous network deployment that includes one or more macro base stations and one or more low power nodes, a technique can be provided to encode network operational information using phase differences in synchronization signals transmitted by a network node. The synchronization signals may be one of the first signals that a user equipment (UE) attempts to locate when attempting to join a wireless network. The phase-encoded network operational information indicates to the UE where to locate a geometry indicator transmission from a low power node that is a part of the network, but is not the node that transmits the synchronization signals. The geometry indicator transmission may include identity information for the transmitting node and may be transmitted at a pre-determined nominal transmit power.

主权项

1. A method of operating a wireless device in a wireless network, comprising:
receiving a first synchronization signal from a first node; receiving a second synchronization signal from the first node; calculating a phase difference estimate between phases of the first synchronization signal and the second synchronization signal; determining a set of time-frequency resources based on the phase difference estimate; and configuring a geometry indicator receiver, when a magnitude of the phase difference estimate is greater than a first threshold, to receive a geometry indicator signal transmission that uses resources from the set of time-frequency resources.