Aggregated Slot Formats for Wireless Data Transmission

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing wireless communication systems face inefficiencies in transmitting data and training sequences due to overhead, which reduces system performance and data capacity.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of new slot formats and block formats that allow for the sharing or removal of overhead fields such as training sequence fields, guard periods, and tail bit fields, enabling increased data capacity by aggregating multiple time slots and bursts, and optimizing the placement of overhead fields within bursts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If training sequence is included in each burst to assist channel estimation, then channel estimation accuracy is improved, but overhead increases and data capacity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvechannel estimation accuracyVSAvoiddata capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple time slots into aggregated slots and merges the training sequences across these slots. Instead of including training sequences in every burst, the training sequences are shared across multiple bursts within aggregated slots, reducing overall overhead while maintaining channel estimation accuracy through the combined training data from multiple slots.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Reliability

If overhead fields (training sequence, guard period, tail bit) are included in each burst, then signal integrity and synchronization are improved, but data capacity and transmission efficiency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesignal integrityVSAvoiddata transmission efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent aggregates multiple time slots and shares overhead fields across the aggregated slots. Training sequences, guard periods, and tail bits are not repeated in every burst but are instead shared across multiple bursts within the aggregated slot structure, reducing overhead while maintaining signal integrity through the aggregated transmission framework.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The overhead fields in the aggregated slot structure serve multiple functions across multiple bursts simultaneously. A single training sequence in an aggregated slot provides channel estimation for multiple bursts, and guard periods serve synchronization functions for the entire aggregated slot, making the overhead fields multi-functional and reducing redundant overhead.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If traditional slot formats with separate overhead fields in each time slot are used, then each slot can be independently processed, but data capacity is reduced due to repeated overhead

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveindependent slot processingVSAvoiddata capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple independent time slots into aggregated slots where overhead fields are shared. While individual slot independence is reduced, the aggregation allows overhead to be transmitted once and shared across multiple slots, significantly increasing data capacity by eliminating repeated overhead fields while maintaining structured processing through the aggregated slot framework.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2624480B1Data transmission with efficient slot and block formats in a wireless communication system
Publication Date: 2020.08.12 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP2624480B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2624480B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2624480B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Techniques for transmitting data and training sequence efficiently using new slot and block formats are described. A transmitter (110) processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and partitions) a data block to obtain multiple output blocks. For each output block, the transmitter (110) generates multiple bursts having a training sequence that is shared by these bursts. The transmitter (110) sends the multiple bursts for each output block in multiple time slots, e.g., consecutive time slots in one frame. The multiple bursts for each output block may (1) include one or more short training sequences, (2) omit guard periods between adjacent bursts, (3) include a first tail bit field at the start of the first burst and a second tail bit field at the end of the last burst, (4) include at least one stealing flag field, or (5) have any combination of the above.