AUTONOMOUS DENIAL

TECHNICAL FIELD:

[0001] The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of this invention relate generally to wireless communication systems, methods, devices and computer programs, and more specifically relate to what is termed in the art as autonomous denial for controlling interference among components of a multi-radio device.

BACKGROUND:

[0002] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:

3 GPP third generation partnership project

BT bluetooth

CA carrier aggregation

CC component carrier

CRS common reference signal

DCI downlink control information

DDI dynamic denial indicator

DL downlink

eNB node B base station in an E-UTRAN system

E-UTRAN evolved UTRAN (LTE)

GNSS global navigation satellite system

GPS global positioning system

LTE long term evolution (E-UTRAN)

LTE-A long term evolution-advanced (of E-UTRAN)

MAC medium access control

PCC primary component carrier (also termed PCell)

PDCCH physical downlink control channel

PUCCH physical uplink control channel

PUSCH physical uplink shared channel

RAT radio access technology

RF radio frequency

RRC radio resource control

see secondary component carrier (also termed SCell)

SR scheduling request

UE user equipment

UL uplink

UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network

WLAN wireless local area network (IEEE 802.11 , also termed WiFi)

[0003] The advent of smartphones have resulted in the widespread capacity of handheld mobile stations to access multiple different radio technologies and the varied services they offer. While some of this multi-RAT capacity may be handled by a single RF chain in the UE (termed a software defined radio), in other cases such as GNSS and WLAN there is a RF chain separate from that used for the cellular system RAT(s). Other UEs may have different RF chains for 3G and 4G cellular systems, with or without GNSS and/or WLAN capability. Due to the different antenna architectures for these different frequencies and the compact space a UE offers to enclose all of this various hardware, engineering a UE often includes designing to mitigate the interference these various closely-packed radios might cause to one another while in operation. In the radio arts this is generally termed coexistence interference.

[0004] Figure 1 illustrates schematically a RF front end of a UE which carries multiple radio transceivers. In this example there are three distinct RF transceivers, each shown as RF and baseband components in a chain with the related antenna; one for the LTE system, one for GNSS (specifically global positioning system GPS) and one for WLAN which functions also for the Bluetooth BT protocols. Transmissions from the LTE radio may interfere with the GPS receiver and with the WLAN/BT receiver, while transmissions from the WLAN/BT transceiver may cause interference to the LTE receiver,

[0005] More specifically, due to extreme proximity of multiple radio transceivers within the same UE the transmit power of one transmitter may be much higher than the received power level of another receiver. By means of filter technologies and sufficient frequency separation, the transmit signal may not result in significant coexistence interference. But for some coexistence scenarios, such as different RATs within the same UE operating on adjacent frequencies, current state-of-the-art filter technology might not provide sufficient rejection of the signals that are spurious to that RF chain. For this reason solving the problem of coexistence interference by a single generic RF design for use in multiple UE models may not always be possible.

[0006] To this end the 3 GPP group has established an ongoing study item in RAN2 on this topic, notably at 3GPP TR 36.816, "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Study on signaling and procedure for interference avoidance for in-device coexistence". Among the several solutions proposed there is one termed autonomous denial, which is analyzed to be effective to remove the in-device interference for rare but critical WLAN/BT signaling events. Such events are typically short, for example during BT and WLAN connection-setup and WLAN beacon reception in general. Autonomous denial concerns the device itself, the UE in the above examples, suspending its transmission or reception on one radio while another radio is transmitting or receiving, for the purpose of mitigating interference that is otherwise expected to occur if both radios were in active transmit or receive operation simultaneously. [0007] Some of the signaling events that have traditionally been the source of high coexistence interference include the Bluetooth connection setup messages Inquiry Scan followed by Inquiry Response if the inquiry scan is successful, Page Scan followed by Page Response if the page scan is successful, and BT SNIFF events which is used to maintain a connection during the BT idle mode. In the WLAN system the connection setup messages which have demonstrated high coexistence interference include Active Scanning, Beacon reception, and Beacon transmission.

[0008] For the case the UE autonomously denies itself operation on the LTE cellular system in order to transmit or receive any of the above very short signaling events without corruption due to coexistence interference from the LTE system, the adverse results have quite a large impact on the LTE system itself as detailed at document Tdoc R2-1 14323 by Ericsson and ST-Ericsson entitled AUTONOMOUS DENIAL AND WIFI BEACON HANDLING (3 GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #75; Athens, Greece; 22-26 August 2011). For example, the eNB might take such denial as PDCCH failure, which might then impact on PDCCH aggregation level or the wrong link adaptation. Eventually these can adversely impact the throughput capacity of the LTE system. But these signaling events are difficult for the LTE system to predict so autonomous denial seems the only valid option to deal with coexistence interference, but this unpredictability means it will be difficult to control the overall impact to the LTE system when multiple UEs engage in autonomous denial.

[0009] Further research in this area may be seen at document R2- 1 14440 by Qualcomm entitled LTE AUTONOMOUS DENIALS FOR ISM CONNECTION-SETUP EVENTS (3 GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #75; Athens, Greece; 22-26 August 2011). This document proposed limiting the denial rate to mitigate the impact of the autonomous denial to other parts of the system, with the LTE eNB having the capacity to adjust the rate loop thresholds for coexistence scenarios. The inventors consider this less than ideal in that different products use different link adaptation algorithms and so in a practical system there would be dramatically different levels of impact with the same denial rate, resulting in overall unreliable system performance. Document R2-114440 also considers that the UE can provide assistance information to the network to keep the link adaptation working, such as signaling the eNB afterwards that an autonomous denial took place. But since the duration of the various interrupts are not alike it is uncertain how much impact there has already been to the LTE system performance, and additionally the UE may experience poor channel conditions at the time of its autonomous denial and the network will not take action to address the poor channel, thinking the sole problem was autonomous denial.

SUMMARY:

[001 0] In a first exemplary embodiment of the invention there is an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. In this embodiment the at least one memory and the computer program code is configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: receive an allocation for a uplink resource for a denial indication; autonomously deny operation of a cellular radio temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio; and send an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format on the allocated uplink resource to indicate the denied operation.

[001 1] In a second exemplary embodiment of the invention there is a method comprising: receiving at a user equipment an allocation for a uplink resource for a denial indication; autonomously denying operation of a cellular radio of the user equipment temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio; and sending from the user equipment an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format on the allocated uplink resource to indicate the denied operation.

[0012] In a third exemplary embodiment of the invention there is a computer readable memory tangibly storing a computer program that is executable by at least one processor. In this embodiment the computer program comprises: code for receiving an allocation for a uplink resource for a denial indication; code for autonomously denying operation of a cellular radio temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio; and code for sending an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format on the allocated uplink resource to indicate the denied operation.

[0013] In a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention there is an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. In this embodiment the at least one memory and the computer program code is configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: allocate to a user equipment a uplink resource for a denial indication; receive from the user equipment an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format on the allocated uplink resource; and determine from the uplink signal received on the allocated uplink resource that the user equipment has autonomously denied operation of a cellular radio temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio of the user equipment. [0014] In a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention there is a method comprising: allocating to a user equipment a uplink resource for a denial indication; receiving from the user equipment an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format on the allocated uplink resource; and determining from the uplink signal received on the allocated uplink resource that the user equipment has autonomously denied operation of a cellular radio temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio of the user equipment.

[0015] In a sixth exemplary embodiment of the invention there is a computer readable memory tangibly storing a computer program that is executable by at least one processor. In this embodiment the computer program comprises: code for allocating to a user equipment a uplink resource for a denial indication; code for receiving from the user equipment an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format on the allocated uplink resource; and code for determining from the uplink signal received on the allocate uplink resource that the user equipment has autonomously denied operation of a cellular radio temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio of the user equipment.

[0016] These and other aspects of the invention are detailed below with particularity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS :

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a RF front end chip in a user device having RF chains for three radios and related antennas attached thereto, and is an example of the multi-radio interference problem mitigated by the autonomous denial relevant to these teachings.

[0018] Figure 2 A is a frequency diagram across one sub frame showing UE signaling of a dynamic denial indicator in a reserved PUCCH resource for the case in which the UE is configured with two or more component carriers, according to an exemplary embodiment of these teachings.

[0019] Figure 2B is similar to Figure 2A but for the case in which the UE is operating on only one component carrier and there is a reserved PUCCH resource, according to an exemplary embodiment of these teachings.

[0020] Figure 2C is similar to Figure 2B but for the case in which there is no reserved PUCCH resource, according to an exemplary embodiment of these teachings. [0021] Figure 3A is a logic flow diagram from the perspective of the user device that illustrates the operation of a method, and a result of execution by an apparatus of a set of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this invention. [0022] Figure 3B is a logic flow diagram from the perspective of the network or network access node that illustrates the operation of a method, and a result of execution by an apparatus of a set of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this invention [0023] Figure 4 is a simplified block diagram of a user device in a radio environment with a cellular base station/eNB and a local WLAN access point and illustrates an exemplary user device suitable for use in practicing the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

[0024] Before detailing the exemplary embodiments, first is a review of conventional LTE protocol concerning the PUCCH. The PUCCH carries from the UE to the eNB various uplink control information, and the specific types of information govern which format of the PUCCH the UE is to use. For sending to the eNB only a SR with nothing else, the UE will use PUCCH format 1. For sending to the eNB an ACK or a NACK concerning downlink packets the UE received or expected, with or without a SR, the UE will use PUCCH format la or lb, the choice depending on what modulation the UE uses. The UE may also include a SR in the PUCCH format la or lb transmission. PUCCH formats 2, 2a and 2b cannot be used for sending SRs, but instead the UE uses those to send precoding matrix information, or channel quality indications, or its rank indicator for MIMO operation. By the above it is clear that the PUCCH format 1 is the format for sending only a SR, as this is the only use LTE makes for format 1; all other formats include something in addition to the SR. The PUCCH is transmitted on a reserved frequency region in the uplink which is configured by higher layers, and the PUCCH resource blocks are typically located at the edges of the uplink bandwidth.

[0025] Further in conventional LTE, the UE will only use the PUCCH when it has no data to transmit; for the case in which the UE has data in addition to any of the above control information the standard practice is for the UE to multiplex that control information with the data and send it on the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH,

[0026] When a UE has a SR or CQI to send, it is conventional that higher layers will configure the exact PUCCH resource. PUCCH formats 1 , la, and lb are based on cyclic shifts from a Zadoff-Chu type of sequence, and in the UE's transmission that cyclically shifted sequence is multiplied with the modulated data symbol and orthogonally spread. PUCCH formats 1 , la, and lb carry three reference symbols per slot for the case of a normal cyclic prefix. [0027] With this review of how the PUCCH is conventionally used in LTE, now are described how the exemplary embodiments of this invention use it for indicating in-device autonomous denial. Note that these are exemplary only, while the examples are in the context of the LTE system these teachings are more broadly applicable for other RATs which may or may not have a distinct logical UL control channel.

[0028] Assume initially that a multi-radio UE has temporarily suspended operation of an LTE or other cellular radio (transmitter, receiver or both) under autonomous denial to mitigate coexistence interference with transmission or reception on another radio operating according to another RAT. According to an exemplary embodiment the UE signals to the network a dynamic denial indictor DDI using some predetermined physical uplink control channel format. In the specific examples below that format is the PUCCH format 1, but this is not limiting to the broader teachings herein; other of the various PUCCH formats summarized above may be used so long as the uplink resource on which it is sent discriminates it as a denial indicator. For adoption in other RATs apart from LTE/LTE-A the format may be some other uplink control format used to signal the denial indicator. In the examples below the PUCCH format 1 is re-used from its conventional meaning of SR only to also indicate DDI. In these non-limiting examples it is the radio resource on which the UE signals the PUCCH format 1 which tells the eNB that it is a DDI rather than only a SR; when signaling it conventionally on a resource reserved for SR the eNB will still interpret the presence of PUCCH format 1 as a SR and will attempt to allocate to the UE in the next PDCCH the resources it requested as with conventional LTE (see for example section 5.4.1 of 3GPP TS 36.21 1 vl O.3.0 (201 1-09).

[0029] So when the UE signals the PUCCH format 1 in the conventional way, on the UL resource that is reserved for SR, the eNB will interpret the presence of that PUCCH as a SR-only and the absence of the PUCCH as the absence of any SR. When the UE signals the PUCCH format 1 or other predetermined PUCCH format in the new manner as is detailed further below (that is, on the different radio resource other than that allocated by the network for the SR), the eNB will interpret the presence of PUCCH format 1 or other pre-determined PUCCH format as a DDI meaning that auto denial happened in this same subframe or during these subframes between two configured DDI resources over time, and will interpret the absence of the predetermined PUCCCH format in the DDI-resource as an indication that auto-denial did not happen in this subframe, or alternatively did not happen in these subframes between two configured DDI resources over time. Unlike conventional LTE, for certain embodiments of these teachings the UE will be able to multiplex an AC and/or NACK with the PUCCH format 1 sent in the new manner (but not in the conventional manner when sent on the SR-resource), so with one predefined/predetermined PUCCH format 1 resource the UE can signal both a DDI and an ACK or NACK. [0030] Below are three different LTE radio scenarios for explaining how the UE transmits the PUCCH format 1 on a radio resource other than the one reserved for SR by the network in order to indicate DDI. Figure 2A illustrates a carrier aggregation scenario, in which the UE is configured with two or more component carriers (a PCC and one or more SCCs) which are frequency-distinct from one another. For simplicity assume there is only the PCC and one SCC. For more generic explanation term these carrier A and carrier B, in which carrier A is the one that is frequency adjacent (or closer in frequency) to the WLAN or other RAT radio for which the coexistence interference is a concern and carrier B is spaced further in frequency from that other RAT than is carrier A. Carriers A and B refer to component carriers of a CA system, not OFDMA subcarriers. Figures 2B-C illustrates scenarios with only one carrier, which may be realized by a LTE-capable UE being configured with only one carrier which is the PCC, or by a legacy UE (E-UTRAN Release 8/9) which is capable of operation on only one carrier. In the latter case that PCC is backward-compatible with Release 8/9.

[0031] Figure 2B assumes the resources for using the PUCCH format 1 to indicate DDI are explicitly reserved in the PUCCH region, and Figure 2C assumes the resources for the using PUCCH format 1 to indicate DDI are not explicitly reserved. In all cases, there are still radio resources reserved by the network for the UE to send a SR (PUCCH format 1) in case the UE still needs to request uplink resources for its UL data. This is because the network does not know in advance when the UE might send a DDI, and so it will configure the reserved SR resources as in conventional LTE. For the case as in Figures 2A and 2B that the network also explicitly configures resources for the UE to signal a DDI, these embodiments may be contingent on the UE first indicating to the network that it anticipates that autonomous denial is possible. Absent this indication the network will not explicitly configure resources for DDI,

[0032] Now consider Figure 2A which illustrates _j an exemplary embodiment for a CA environment in which the UE is configured with both a PCC and at least one SCC. In the Figure 2A CA scenario, assume carrier A is the one which the UE autonomously denies operation in favor of some signaling on a WLAN or BT system since as shown there carrier A is the one which is frequency adjacent to the WLAN or BT spectrum (or frequency nearer as compared to carrier B). In the CA environment the DDI resource on which the PUCCH format 1 signal is sent to indicate DDI for carrier A lies on carrier B. In the CA scenario of Figure 2 A, one PUCCH resource in carrier B can be explicitly configured by the LTE eNB when one UE claims it might have in-device interference issue on one configured carrier A. Carrier B is the carrier enough far from WLAN spectrum.

[0033] There are two embodiments for the CA radio resource on which the UE sends this DDI. In a first embodiment for CA the denial indicator mapping is on one PUCCH resource on both slots of the subframe, same as normal PUCCH mapping for indicating SR. which also uses both slots of the subframe. In a second embodiment for CA the UE sends the denial indicator on some predefined PUSCH resource(s). Since PUSCH resources are always explicitly configured in a PDCCH by the network for a given UE, this means that for the CA environment the DDI resources are explicitly configured in both embodiments. In the first embodiment the SR resources are explicitly configured for carrier A, which by extension for the condition that the UE has indicated to the network that autonomous denial is possible, means the network's configuring of a SR resource on carrier A means that the same resource on carrier B is configured for DDI. The exact DDI resource mapping of DDI on carrier B in this case can be adjusted based on the original physical signal on carrier A (for both the first and second embodiments), and also on the UE's capability of multiplex PUCCH and PUSCH on carrier B (for the second embodiment).

[0034] From the perspective of the UE for the CA embodiments, it transmits the denial indicator in another carrier (carrier B) which is configured with the PUCCH resource for the denial indicator when the UE makes an autonomous denial due to in-device interference. If the UE is not capable of simultaneous PUCCH+PUSCH transmission on carrier B, the UE can piggyback the DDI to the PUSCH or the UE can instead drop the PUSCH and only transmit the DDI in the PUCCH resource. Which of these for any given embodiment can be predefined or configured by the eNB on a per UE basis.

[0035] From the perspective of the network/eNB for the CA embodiments, the eNB will make the detection of PUSCH presence according to the UL grant it send on the PDCCH. If a PUSCH is present, then the eNB performs its normal PUSCH decoding procedure. If the PUSCH is not present, the eNB checks the denial indication in the reserved PUCCH resource in the non-interfered carrier (carrier B). If the eNB finds the denial indication, it concludes the UE made an autonomous denial due to in-device interference in this subframe. If there is no denial indicator, the eNB confirms that the UE had a PDCCH failure. [0036] For the non-CA scenarios of Figures 2B and 2C, the UE transmits the denial indicator in only one slot of the subframe that is reserved for SR by the network, and transmits nothing in the other slot reserved for SR. Since the network has reserved two subframe slots for a single SR, transmitting on only one but not the other of these reserved slots is a different resource than what is reserved for SR and so the network understands the distinction between the UE sending a SR and the UE sending a DDI. If it detects the PUCCH format 1 in both slots the network recognizes it is a SR and if it detects the PUCCH format 1 in only one slot the network recognizes it as a DDI. In a preferred embodiment this one slot used for DDI is defined as the channel edge which is far away frequency-wise from the WLAN or BT spectrum, as illustrated at Figure 2B.

[0037] In the alternative non-CA environment of Figure 2C, the DDI is still transmitted in only one slot of a subframe but the slot is not one of the two reserved for SR. Instead it is transmitted inside the PUSCH on the first resource block (PRB in Figures 2A-C represents physical resource block) that is scheduled for this UE and that is also farthest in frequency from the WLAN or BT spectrum. As with the Figure 2B non-CA embodiment, the UE transmits nothing in the other slot of that resource block.

[0038] It is notable that because of the network's configuration of the DDI resource, it may not be possible for the UE to transmit the PUCCH format 1 to indicate DDI right after its autonomous denial. But since the denial indicator is not urgent, it is still feasible to let the UE indicate this to the eNB several milliseconds (ms) later. For example, when the eNB detects a denial of an UL transmission, and then after n ms it detects a DDI, the eNB knows that the previous denial is due to in-device interference. In this case n is a maximum time (preferably an integer) which the eNB uses to confirm the DDI it received relates to a specific past denial that the eNB detected through the UE's lack of response , since the UE denied operation on the LTE system in favor of some signaling on the WLAN/BT system. In this manner the DDI and confirmation via the maximum time n will help the eNB make its subsequent decisions.

[0039] In the non-CA environment for either Figures 2B or 2C, one PUCCH resource in the carrier (which may be the PCC in a CA system in which the UE is configured with only one carrier) can be explicitly configured by the LTE eNB. The slot for use is in one embodiment implicitly defined as the slot where the PUCCH resource is farther away from WLAN/BT spectrum, or in another embodiment the slot is explicitly indicated by the LTE eNB. In the latter embodiment of explicit indication of the slot the eNB is able to re-use the SR PUCCH resource which the UE did not use (since it sent the denial indicator). [0040] From the perspective of the UE for the non-CA embodiments, in the Figure 2B embodiment the UE transmits the denial indicator signal in the configured PUCCH resource in one implicitly or explicitly configured slot only. This includes dedicated reserved resources for the denial indicator, or reuse the SR resource. In the Figure 2C embodiment the UE transmits the denial indicator, still with PUCCH format 1 , in the first resource block farthest in frequency from the WLAN/BT inside the PUSCH resource which is scheduled for this UE. While in some cases this might be closer in frequency to the WLAN/BT spectrum than the Figure 2B embodiment, the advantage is that there is no need for the eNB to explicitly configure the DDI resource. [0041] In another non-CA embodiment the configured DDI resources can be multiple PUCCH resources which are distributed in the frequency domain, in order to achieve frequency diversity. In a further non-CA embodiment the configured DDI resources can be some predefined PUSCH resources or some subset of physical resource blocks for the same UE's PUSCH in the carrier. For example, the first physical resource block in the carrier for the UE's PUSCH which is farthest in frequency from the WLAN/BT spectrum is used for the DDI, in order to lower the interference.

[0042] From the perspective of the eNB for the non-CA embodiments, the eNB makes detection of PUSCH presence according to the UL grant the eNB sent on the PDCCH. If the PUSCH is present, then the eNB performs its normal PUSCH decoding procedure. If the PUSCH is not present, the eNB checks the denial indication in one slot of the reserved PUCCH resource (or the defined resource block in the reserved PUSCH resource) depending on whether the embodiment is Figure 2B or 2C. In both cases the UE sends the PUCCH format 1. If the eNB sees that it is a denial indication, it concludes the UE made a denial due to in-device interference in this subframe. If the eNB sees that it is not a denial indication, the eNB confirms that the UE had a PDCCH failure.

10043] The UE can receive its resource allocation for the DDI either explicitly or implicitly. In the former the eNB will explicitly signal to the UE which resource it has reserved for this UE's DDI, if the UE needs to send a DDI. In the latter the DDI resource maps from the SR resource, which the eNB signals to the UE in conventional LTE procedures. For example, in the Figure 2A embodiment the SR resources on carrier A are explicitly signaled to the UE and the implicit DDI resources may be identically disposed in carrier B, and so there is no need for the eNB to explicitly signal the carrier B DDI resource since it maps implicitly from the carrier A SR resources which are signaled too the UE. Or for example in the Figure 2B embodiment the one slot which is further in frequency from the WLAN spectrum is implicit from the signaled two-slot SR resources which the eNB does signal to the UE. The DDI resource in the PUSCH region for the Figure 2C embodiment may similarly be implicit by some pre-arranged rule that maps the DDI resource from the explicitly allocated SR resource.

[0044] Embodiments of the invention detailed above provide certain technical effects such as for example enabling the LTE eNB to unambiguously identify the potential autonomous denial which is made by the UE, from which it can then perform corresponding algorithms correctly. In the above examples the UE failed to receive a PDCCH due to its autonomous denial, and so does not know of a PUSCH that the network configured for it. The failure of the UE to transmit on its scheduled PUSCH due to the UE's conventional failure to receive or properly decode the PDCCH it was listening for can thus be clearly differentiated from the case in which the UE did not receive the PDCCH due to its autonomous denial in favor of a WLAN/BT signaling event. The LTE system performance is thereby maximally protected, while the autonomous denial which can be used to protect the critical WLAN/BT signaling from same UE is being used.

[0045] Figure 3A is a logic flow diagram which summarizes the various exemplary embodiments of the invention from the perspective of the UE (or certain components thereof if not performed by the entire UE), and may be considered to illustrate the operation of a method, and a result of execution of a computer program stored in a computer readable memory, and a specific manner in which components of an electronic device are configured to cause that electronic device to operate, whether such an electronic device is the access node in full or one or more components thereof such as a modem, chipset, or the like.

[0046] At block 302 the UE receives an allocation for an uplink resource for a denial indicator. This is similar to conventional LTE in that the network schedules SR resources for the UE to use in case it needs to request UL resources, but as detailed above the DDI allocation which the UE receives may be explicit, or it may be implicit such as the examples above in which the DDI resource maps from the SR resource. Then at block 304 the UE autonomously denies operation of a cellular radio (e.g., LTE/E-UTRAN) temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio (e.g., WLAN or BT). At block 306 the UE sends an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format, on the allocated uplink resource to indicate the denied operation. In the above non-limiting examples, that predetermined PUCCH format is a PUCCH format 1 , meaning the denial indictor signaling by the UE is identical to its scheduling request but sent on a different uplink radio resource.

[0047] Further portions of Figure 3 A illustrate various of the above exemplary embodiments. Block 308 reflects the Figure 2A embodiment; the operation of the cellular radio that is temporarily suspended is on a first component carrier of a carrier aggregation system, and the uplink resource for denial indicator is on a second component carrier of the carrier aggregation system.

[0048] Block 310 reflects the Figure 2B and 2C embodiments; where there is further allocated to the UE one or multiple PUCCH resources (or alternatively one PRB of a PUSCH resource) which comprises two slots of a radio subframe, and the allocated uplink resource for the denial indicator comprises only one of the two slots of the radio subframe. More particular for the Figure 2B embodiment is block 312, in which the further allocated resource comprises the PUCCH, and the allocated uplink resource for the denial indicator that the UE receives at block 302 comprises the one slot of the PUCCH which is farther in frequency from a spectrum on which the different radio operates than the other of the two slots.

[0049] Block 314 summarizes embodiments in which there is further allocate to the UE a PUCCH, and the allocated uplink resource for the denial indicator that the UE receives at block 302 comprises a PUSCH. Applying block 314 to the Figure 2C embodiment, the further allocated PUCCH comprises two slots of a subframe, and the uplink resource for the denial indicator comprises one slot of a PRB which is farther in frequency from a spectrum on which the different radio operates than any other PRB in a same subframe of the PUSCH.

[0050] Figure 3B is a logic flow diagram which summarizes the various exemplary embodiments of the invention from the perspective of the eNB (or certain components thereof if not performed by the entire eNB or other access node if different from the LTE system), and may be considered to illustrate the operation of a method, and a result of execution of a computer program stored in a computer readable memory, and a specific manner in which components of an electronic device are configured to cause that electronic device to operate, whether such an electronic device is the access node in full or one or more components thereof such as a modem, chipset, or the like. [0051] At block 352 the eNB allocates to a UE an uplink resource for a denial indicator. At block 654 the eNB receives from the UE an uplink control signal, comprising a predetermined physical uplink control channel format, on the allocated uplink resource. In the above non-limiting examples, the predetermined PUCCH format is a PUCCH format 1, meaning the denial indictor signal is identical to a SR but sent by the UE and received by the eNB on a different uplink radio resource than the one allocated for the SR. The eNB then at block 356 determines from the uplink signal received on the allocated uplink resource that the UE has autonomously denied operation of a cellular radio (for example, its LTE radio) temporarily to avoid coexistence interference with a different radio (for example, its WLAN or BT radio) of the UE.

[0052] The further portions of Figure 3 A which summarize some of the more particular embodiments above apply also to Figure 3B.

[0053] The various blocks shown in each of Figures 3A-B may also be considered as a plurality of coupled logic circuit elements constructed to carry out the associated function(s), or specific result of strings of computer program code or instructions stored in a memory. Such blocks and the functions they represent are non-limiting examples, and may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules, and that the exemplary embodiments of this invention may be realized in an apparatus that is embodied as an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit, or circuits, may comprise circuitry (as well as possibly firmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor or data processors, a digital signal processor or processors, baseband circuitry and radio frequency circuitry that are configurable so as to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this invention.

[0054] Reference is now made to Figure 4 for illustrating a simplified block diagram of various electronic devices and apparatus that are suitable for use in practicing the exemplary embodiments of this invention. In Figure 4 an eNB 22 is adapted for communication over a wireless link 10 with an apparatus, such as a mobile terminal or UE 20. While there are typically several UEs under control of the eNB 22, for simplicity only one UE 20 is shown at Figure 4. The eNB 22 may be any access node (including frequency selective repeaters) of any wireless network such as LTE, LTE-A, GSM, GERAN, WCDMA, and the like, The operator network of which the eNB 22 is a part may also include a network control element such as a mobility management entity MME and/or serving gateway SGW 24 or radio network controller RNC which provides connectivity with further networks (e.g., a publicly switched telephone network and/or a data communications network/Internet).

[0055] The UE 20 includes processing means such as at least one data processor (DP) 20A, storing means such as at least one computer-readable memory (MEM) 20B storing at least one computer program (PROG) 20C or other set of executable instructions, communicating means such as an LTE transmitter TX 20D-1 an a WLAN transmitter 20D-2 as well as a LTE receiver RX 20E-1 and a WLAN receiver 20E-2 for bidirectional wireless communications with the eNB 22 and with the WLAN access point 21 via one or more antennas 20F. Also stored in the MEM 20B at reference number 20G is the UE's algorithm for mapping to the resource which indicates a denial indication if the PUCCH format 1 is sent on it, as noted in the examples above. [0056] The eNB 22 also includes processing means such as at least one data processor (DP) 22A, storing means such as at least one computer-readable memory (MEM) 22B storing at least one computer program (PROG) 22C or other set of executable instructions, and communicating means such as a transmitter TX 22D and a receiver RX 22E for bidirectional wireless communications with the UE 20 (or UEs) via one or more antennas 22F. The eNB 22 stores at block 22G the DDI resource algorithm similar to that for the UE 20, using the various embodiments detailed more particularly above.

[0057] For completeness, also shown at Figure 4 is the access point AP 21 of a WLAN network which the UE 20 gives priority to a signaling event on the WLAN over some signaling on the LTE system. The AP 21 includes a processor DP 21 A configured to execute a program PROG 21 C stored on a MEM 21B, and also a transmitter TX 21D and receiver RX 21E for operation on the WLAN system. [0058] While not particularly illustrated for the UE 20 or eNB 22 or AP 21 , those devices are also assumed to include as part of their wireless communicating means a modem and/or a chipset which may or may not be inbuilt onto an RF front end chip within those devices 20, 21, 22 and which at least for the eNB 22 also operates to weight the UL and DL traffic according to class/priority/QCI and select a dynamic UL-DL configuration based on the weighted traffic profile according to these teachings.

[0059] At least one of the PROGs 22C in the eNB 22 is assumed to include a set of program instructions that, when executed by the associated DP 22A, enable the device to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this invention, as detailed above. The UE 20 may also have software stored in its MEM 20B to implement certain aspects of these teachings. In these regards the exemplary embodiments of this invention may be implemented at least in part by computer software stored on the MEM 20B, 22B which is executable by the DP 20 A of the UE 20 and/or by the DP 22 A of the eNB 22, or by hardware, or by a combination of tangibly stored software and hardware (and tangibly stored firmware). Electronic devices implementing these aspects of the invention need not be the entire devices as depicted at Figure 4 or maybe one or more components of same such as the above described tangibly stored software, hardware, firmware and DP, or a system on a chip SOC or an application specific integrated circuit ASIC.

[0060] In general, the various embodiments of the UE 20 can include, but are not limited to personal portable digital devices having wireless communication capabilities, including but not limited to cellular telephones, navigation devices, laptop/palmtop/tablet computers, digital cameras and music devices, and Internet appliances.

[0061] Various embodiments of the computer readable MEMs 20B, 22B include any data storage technology type which is suitable to the local technical environment, including but not limited to semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, removable memory, disc memory, flash memory, DRAM, SRAM, EEPROM and the like. Various embodiments of the DPs 20A, 22A include but are not limited to general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and multi-core processors.

[0062] Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this invention may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description. While the exemplary embodiments have been described above in the context of the LTE and LTE-A system, as noted above the exemplary embodiments of this invention may be used with various other types of wireless communication systems. [0063] Further, some of the various features of the above non-limiting embodiments may be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other described features. The foregoing description should therefore be considered as merely illustrative of the principles, teachings and exemplary embodiments of this invention, and not in limitation thereof.