5G Control Channel Redundancy for URLLC Reliability

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current communication systems face challenges in achieving high reliability and low latency, particularly in ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) services, which require stringent latency requirements and burstiness, especially in 5G mobile communication systems.

Innovation Solution

The proposed solution involves a data sending and receiving method that utilizes a network device and terminal device with advanced signal transmission techniques, including beamforming and dynamic resource allocation, where control information is sent through multiple control channels to ensure reliable data transmission across overlapping time-frequency resources, allowing for redundant data blocks to be transmitted and received across multiple time units.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If data is transmitted through a single control channel, then the system complexity is low, but the transmission reliability is insufficient for URLLC services

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission reliabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of control channels and data channels. Control channels are transmitted through multiple diverse paths (different time units, frequency resources, or spatial beams) with enhanced redundancy, while data channels use standard transmission. This localized enhancement of reliability for control information without uniformly increasing complexity across all transmissions resolves the contradiction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements beforehand cushioning by transmitting control information through multiple redundant channels in advance before data transmission. If any control channel is lost, the terminal can still receive control information through alternative channels, providing a buffer against transmission failures and ensuring reliable data reception without requiring complex retransmission protocols.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

2Reliability

If multiple control channels are used for data transmission, then the transmission reliability is improved, but the latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice transmission reliabilityVSAvoidtransmission latency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-transmitting control information through multiple channels before the actual data transmission begins. This ensures that the terminal device has already received and processed control information, so when data arrives, it can be immediately processed without additional delay from control channel negotiations or retransmissions, thus maintaining low latency while improving reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses copying by creating multiple copies of control information and transmitting them through different channels simultaneously. Rather than sequentially sending control information through multiple channels (which would increase latency), all copies are sent in parallel, and the terminal receives the first available copy, thereby improving reliability without adding time overhead.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If redundant data blocks are transmitted across multiple time units, then the reliability is enhanced, but the time resources are consumed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata reception reliabilityVSAvoidtime resource efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by transmitting redundant control information rather than redundant data blocks. The control information is sent multiple times across different time units with different time-domain resource allocation information, ensuring that at least one instance is received successfully. This approach enhances reliability for control signaling without unnecessarily duplicating the entire data payload, thus improving time resource efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3592072B1Method for receiving data and apparatus thereof, and method for sending data and apparatus thereof
Publication Date: 2024.02.14 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3592072B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3592072B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3592072B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The present application provides a data sending method and an apparatus thereof. The method includes: receiving, by a terminal device, first control information in a first time unit, where the first control information indicates a first time domain resource used to send a first information block; receiving, by the terminal device, the first information block on at least a part of the first time domain resource based on the first control information; receiving, by the terminal device, second control information in a second time unit, where the second control information indicates a second time domain resource used to send the first information block; and receiving, by the terminal device, the first information block on the second time domain resource based on the second control information, where the first time unit is different from the second time unit, and the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource have an overlapping time domain resource. Therefore, according to the method provided in embodiments of the present application, service transmission reliability can be improved.