Base Station Voice Quality Compensation via Packet Loss Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

In mobile communication networks, particularly in VoLTE services, packet loss during voice calls can lead to voice quality deterioration due to the lack of Hybrid Automatic Retransmit Request (HARQ) and buffering operations in the RLC Unacknowledged Mode, resulting in jitter and Mean Opinion Score (MOS) degradation.

Innovation Solution

A method and device that utilize Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets, where a base station detects packet loss by sequence numbers and generates comfort noise packets or packet loss indication information to compensate for lost packets, preventing voice quality deterioration by maintaining call continuity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If RLC Unacknowledged Mode is used for voice packet transmission, then transmission speed is improved, but voice quality deteriorates due to packet loss

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission speedVSAvoidvoice quality
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The base station acts as an intermediary by generating comfort noise packets to substitute for lost voice packets. When packet loss is detected through sequence number verification, the base station creates artificial comfort noise packets that mask the missing voice data, preventing audible gaps and maintaining voice quality despite the high-speed unacknowledged transmission mode.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Device complexity

If HARQ and buffering operations are disabled, then device complexity is reduced, but packet loss increases causing voice quality deterioration

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice complexityVSAvoidvoice quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the error correction function from the terminal device and relocates it to the base station. By removing HARQ and buffering operations from the terminal, device complexity is reduced. The base station compensates by implementing packet loss detection and comfort noise generation, centralizing the reliability maintenance function at the network side rather than requiring complex terminal-side error correction mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If packet loss compensation is implemented, then voice quality is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevoice qualityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The base station performs preliminary packet loss detection by verifying sequence numbers of received voice packets before forwarding them to the terminal. When loss is detected, comfort noise packets are generated and substituted in real-time, allowing immediate compensation without requiring post-processing or retrospective analysis, thus minimizing processing time delays.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3209055B1Method and device for improving voice quality in mobile communication network
Publication Date: 2023.03.15 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP3209055B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3209055B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3209055B1 patent drawingFigure 3<a>~3<b>

AI summary

An embodiment of the present invention may provide a method and a device for improving voice quality in a mobile communication network. An embodiment of the present invention may provide a method for improving communication quality by a base station and a device using the same, the method comprising the steps of receiving, from a terminal, at least one internet protocol (IP)-based voice packet; determining whether a packet loss exists, on the basis of the received packet; generating compensation information corresponding to a lost packet when it is determined that a packet loss exists; and transmitting the compensation information.