Method and wireless device for providing device-to-device communication

1. A method, performed in a radio node of assigning resources for direct control signalling, the method comprising:

receiving, from at least one further radio node, an indication of a window comprising subframe resources in the window for direct control signalling in a respective cell or cluster, wherein the further radio node controls resource allocation for direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster;

assigning one or more subframe resources from the subframe resources in the window for multiplexing direct control signalling transmissions from:

wireless devices within a coverage area controlled by the radio node, and

wireless devices within the respective cell or cluster; and

transmitting, to wireless devices controlled by the radio node, a message indicating the one or more subframe resources assigned in the window for direct control signalling; and

wherein the multiplexing comprises synchronized sending of the direct control signalling transmissions based at least on the one or more subframe resources;

wherein the coverage area controlled by the radio node defines a geographic area that does not overlap with a geographic coverage area associated with the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the direct control signalling is Device-to-Device (D2D) signalling in a cellular or an ad-hoc network;

wherein a subframe in the sub-frame resources in the window is a cellular subframe or an ad-hoc subframe; and

wherein the coverage area is a cellular or an ad-hoc coverage area.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving comprises negotiating with at least one other radio node, resources for direct control signalling, thereby increasing an overlap in time and/or frequency of resources for direct control signalling in different cells or clusters.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving comprises negotiating with at least one other radio node, resources for direct control signalling, thereby decreasing an overlap in time and/or frequency of resources for direct control signalling in different cells or clusters.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the assigning comprises assigning resources for Device-to-Device (D2D) discovery signalling.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the message comprises at least one identifier for a cell or cluster defined by the radio node.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the radio node is a wireless device with authority to control one or more other wireless devices in Device-to-Device (D2D) communication and wherein the method further comprises sending to a wireless device, a second direct control message using the one or more subframe resources.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the assigning comprises assigning resources that occur periodically on a per radio frame basis.

8. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory, computer readable medium and comprising computer program code which, when executed by at least one processor in a radio node, causes the radio node to:

receive, from at least one further radio node, an indication of a window comprising subframe resources in the window for direct control signalling in a respective cell or cluster, wherein the further radio node controls resource allocation for direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster;

assign one or more subframe resources from the subframe resources in the window for multiplexing direct control signalling transmissions from:

wireless devices within a coverage area controlled by the radio node, and

wireless devices within the respective cell or cluster; and

transmit, to wireless devices controlled by the radio node, a message indicating resources assigned in the window for direct control signalling; and

wherein the multiplexing comprises synchronizing sending the direct control signalling transmissions based at least on the one or more subframe resources;

wherein the coverage area controlled by the radio node defines a geographic area that does not overlap with a geographic coverage area associated with the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the direct control signalling is Device-to-Device (D2D) signalling in a cellular or an ad-hoc network;

wherein a subframe in the sub-frame resources in the window is a cellular subframe or an ad-hoc subframe; and

wherein the coverage area is a cellular or an ad-hoc coverage area.

9. A radio node configured to assign resources for direct control signalling in Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, the radio node comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver; and

processing circuit configured to cause radio node:

to receive using the receiver, from at least one further radio node, an indication of a window comprising subframe resources in the window for direct control signalling in a respective cell or cluster, wherein the further radio node controls resource allocation for direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster;

to assign one or more subframe resources from the subframe resources in the window for multiplexing direct control signalling transmissions from:

wireless devices within a coverage area controlled by the radio node, and

wireless devices within the respective cell or cluster; and

to transmit, using the transmitter, to wireless devices controlled by the radio node, a message indicating the one or more subframe resources assigned in the window for direct control signalling; and

wherein the multiplexing comprises synchronizing sending the direct control signalling transmissions based at least on the one or more subframe resources;

wherein the coverage area controlled by the radio node defines a geographic area that does not overlap with a geographic coverage area associated with the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the direct control signalling is Device-to-Device (D2D) signalling in a cellular or an ad-hoc network;

wherein a subframe in the sub-frame resources in the window is a cellular subframe or an ad-hoc subframe; and

wherein the coverage area is a cellular or an ad-hoc coverage area.

10. The radio node of claim 9 , wherein the radio node is a radio network node.

11. The radio node of claim 9 , wherein the radio node is a wireless device with authority to control one or more other wireless devices in direct control communication.

12. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster is between wireless devices, in the respective cell or cluster, configured for device-to-device (D2D) communication; and

wherein the direct control signalling transmission is sent or received by a wireless device, in the area controlled by the radio node, configured for D2D communication.

13. A method, performed in a Device-to-Device (D2D) device of obtaining resources for direct control signalling in D2D communication, the method comprising:

receiving, by the D2D device, from a radio node, a message indicating one or more subframe resources assigned in a window for direct control signalling in a respective cell or cluster,

wherein the radio node controls the D2D device and wireless devices with a coverage area;

wherein the radio node received from a further radio node an indication of the window comprising subframe resources assigned for direct control signaling in the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the one or more subframe resources are assigned from the window for multiplexing direct control signalling transmissions from:

wireless devices within the coverage area controlled by the radio node; and

wireless devices within the respective cell or cluster; and

wherein the further radio node controls resource allocation for direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster; and

utilising, by the D2D device, the one or more subframe resources for direct control signalling; and

wherein the multiplexing comprises synchronized sending of the direct control signalling transmissions based at least on the one or more subframe resources;

wherein the coverage area controlled by the radio node defines a geographic area that does not overlap with a geographic coverage area associated with the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the direct control signalling is Device-to-Device (D2D) signalling in a cellular or an ad-hoc network;

wherein a subframe in the sub-frame resources in the window is a cellular subframe or an ad-hoc subframe; and

wherein the coverage area is a cellular or an ad-hoc coverage area.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the utilising further comprises receiving a second message, using the one or more subframe resources.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the utilising further comprises transmitting a third message, using resources provided in the second message.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the second and third messages are separated by Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA).

17. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising selecting at least one indicated resource for monitoring.

18. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising determining discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles of the wireless device using information comprised in the received message.

19. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory, computer readable medium and comprising computer program code which, when executed by at least one processor in a Device-to-Device (D2D) device causes the D2D device to:

receive from a radio node a message indicating one or more subframe resources assigned in a window for direct control signalling in a respective cell or cluster,

wherein the radio node controls the D2D device and wireless devices with a coverage area;

wherein the radio node received from a further radio node an indication of the window comprising subframe resources assigned for direct control signaling in the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the one or more subframe resources are assigned from the window for multiplexing direct control signalling transmissions from:

wireless devices within the coverage area controlled by the radio node; and

wireless devices within the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the further radio node controls resource allocation for direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster; and

utilise the one or more subframe resources for direct control signalling; and

wherein the multiplexing comprises synchronized sending of the direct control signalling transmissions based at least on the one or more subframe resources;

wherein the coverage area controlled by the radio node defines a geographic area that does not overlap with a geographic coverage area associated with the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the direct control signalling is Device-to-Device (D2D) signalling in a cellular or an ad-hoc network;

wherein a subframe in the sub-frame resources in the window is a cellular subframe or an ad-hoc subframe; and

wherein the coverage area is a cellular or an ad-hoc coverage area.

20. A wireless device configured to obtain resources for direct control signalling, the wireless device comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver; and

processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless device:

to receive, using the receiver, from a radio node, a message indicating one or more subframe resources assigned in a window for direct control signalling in a respective cell or cluster,

wherein the radio node controls the D2D device and wireless devices with a coverage area;

wherein the radio node received from a further radio node an indication of the window comprising subframe resources assigned for direct control signaling in the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the one or more subframe resources are assigned from the window for multiplexing direct control signalling transmissions from:

wireless devices within the coverage area controlled by the radio node; and

wireless devices within the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the further radio node controls resource allocation for direct control signalling in the respective cell or cluster; and

to utilise, using the receiver and/or the transmitter, the one or more subframe resources for direct control signalling; and

wherein the multiplexing comprises synchronized sending of the direct control signalling transmissions based at least on the one or more subframe resources;

wherein the coverage area controlled by the radio node defines a geographic area that does not overlap with a geographic coverage area associated with the respective cell or cluster;

wherein the direct control signalling is Device-to-Device (D2D) signalling in a cellular or an ad-hoc network;

wherein a subframe in the sub-frame resources in the window is a cellular subframe or an ad-hoc subframe; and

wherein the coverage area is a cellular or an ad-hoc coverage area.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the synchronized sending the direct control signaling transmissions comprises accessing a channel according to a multiplexing scheme based on time, frequency and/or code synchronization.

22. The method of claim 13 , wherein the utilising, by the D2D device, the subframe resources for direct control signalling comprises accessing a channel according to a multiplexing scheme based on time, frequency and/or code synchronization.