Anchor Carrier Allocation in Multi-Carrier Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless communication systems face increased overhead and processing complexity due to the need for blind decoding of multiple component carriers, which reduces bandwidth gain and increases power consumption as the number of carriers increases, especially in multi-component carrier systems like LTE-Advanced.
Innovation Solution
The system designates an anchor carrier and non-anchor carriers, where the anchor carrier transmits information about the allocation of non-anchor carriers, reducing the need for blind decoding and minimizing control channel overhead, allowing for dynamic allocation and efficient resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple component carriers are allocated to user equipment to increase bandwidth, then bandwidth capacity is improved, but control channel overhead increases proportionally
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple component carriers are merged under a single anchor carrier that transmits control information for all carriers. The anchor carrier consolidates control channel functions that would otherwise be distributed across all component carriers, reducing total control overhead while maintaining support for multiple carriers to achieve 100 MHz bandwidth.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor carrier serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a control carrier transmitting PDCCH for the primary carrier, and also transmits control information for secondary component carriers. This multi-functionality allows a single carrier to manage the entire multi-carrier system, reducing the need for separate control channels on each carrier.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If user equipment performs blind decoding of all component carriers to determine allocated carriers, then carrier allocation detection is achieved, but processing power and time are significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor carrier performs preliminary action by transmitting control information indicating which secondary component carriers are allocated to the user equipment before the user equipment attempts to decode those carriers. This preliminary indication allows the user equipment to skip blind decoding of unallocated carriers, dramatically reducing processing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor carrier acts as an intermediary that provides information about secondary carrier allocations. Instead of user equipment directly searching all carriers, the anchor carrier mediates by conveying allocation status, enabling user equipment to efficiently identify allocated carriers without exhaustive blind decoding.
3Adaptability or versatility
If each component carrier has its own control channel to support independent allocation, then flexible carrier allocation is achieved, but signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
Control channel functions are merged into the anchor carrier, which transmits a single control message containing allocation information for multiple component carriers. This consolidation maintains allocation flexibility for each carrier while reducing total signaling overhead compared to having separate control channels on each carrier.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method involving an access network and user equipment that supports communication over an air interface using a plurality of component carriers. The method includes transmitting information indicating that a first component carrier is an anchor carrier for the user equipment. The information is transmitted from the access network in a first field of the first component carrier, which selected from the plurality of component carriers. The method also includes transmitting information indicating that one or more second component carriers is allocated as a non-anchor carrier for the user equipment.