US 12,192,935 B2
Infrastructure equipment, wireless communications network, communication device and methods
Shin Horng Wong, Basingstoke (GB); and Martin Warwick Beale, Basingstoke (GB)
Assigned to SONY GROUP CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Sony Group Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Jun. 16, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/336,226.
Application 18/336,226 is a continuation of application No. 17/047,394, granted, now 11,683,769, previously published as PCT/EP2019/059554, filed on Apr. 12, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18167615 (EP), filed on Apr. 16, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2024/0031958 A1, Jan. 25, 2024
Int. Cl. H04W 56/00 (2009.01); H04W 52/02 (2009.01)
CPC H04W 56/0015 (2013.01) [H04W 52/0216 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of operating a communications device to transmit data to or to receive data from a wireless communications network, the method comprising:
detecting a first synchronisation signal at the communications device received via a wireless access interface of a cell of the wireless communications network, the first synchronisation signal being transmitted with a first periodicity with respect to a time divided structure of the wireless access interface, the first synchronisation signal being to carry an indication of an identifier of the cell,
generating a first estimate of the cell identifier carried by the first synchronisation signal, configuring a transmitter of the communications device to transmit data to the wireless communications network, and configuring a receiver of the communications device to receive data from the wireless communications network based on the first estimate of the cell identifier,
detecting an enhanced synchronisation signal received via the wireless access interface with a second periodicity with respect to the time divided structure of the wireless access interface, the enhanced synchronisation signal being formed from one of a set of detectable sequences, each detectable sequence of the set representing one of a set of possible values or one or more other signalling indications for the communications device,
detecting, from the enhanced synchronisation signal, one of the detectable sequences from which the enhanced synchronisation signal has been formed, and
using said one detected sequence from the enhanced synchronisation signal to re-configure one or both of the transmitter and the receiver of the communications device to transmit the data to the wireless communications network or to receive the data from the wireless communications network, respectively,
wherein the one or more other signalling indications for the communications device provided by one or more of the detectable sequences of the set includes an indication as to whether or not system information for the cell has changed with respect to a previous transmission of the system information, the system information being transmitted periodically by the infrastructure equipment via the wireless access interface for the cell, and the re-configuring one or both of the transmitter and the receiver of the communications device includes:
using said one detected sequence from which the enhanced synchronisation signal has been formed to detect that the system information for the cell has changed to new system information,
detecting one or more system information blocks carrying the new system information transmitted by the infrastructure equipment,
determining the new system information from the one or more detected system information blocks, and
re-configuring the transmitter or the receiver based on the new system information to transmit the data to the wireless communications network or to receive the data from the wireless communications network.