Beam-Specific Rate Matching for Control Channel Robustness

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing LTE system does not adequately account for the impact of beams during the rate matching process of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), leading to suboptimal robustness of the control channel, especially when multiple beams are used for communication.

Innovation Solution

The proposed method takes into account the effect of beams during the rate matching process, resulting in different bit sequences for PDCCHs transmitted on different beams, which can be used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reduce the code rate, thereby enhancing the robustness of the control channel by performing soft combination on the user equipment (UE) side.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the same bit sequence is used for PDCCH transmission on multiple beams, then the transmission process is simple, but the control channel robustness is poor

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontrol channel robustnessVSAvoidrate matching process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by making the bit sequence beam-specific. Different beams use different bit sequences generated through beam-specific rate matching processes. This ensures that each beam has optimized local characteristics for its specific transmission conditions, improving overall control channel robustness while maintaining manageable complexity through standardized beam-specific processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the bit sequence parameter based on beam identification. By introducing beam-specific parameters in the rate matching process, the system generates distinct bit sequences for different beams. This parameter change approach improves reliability by ensuring diverse transmission sequences while keeping the complexity controlled through systematic parameter management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If beam-specific bit sequences are generated through rate matching, then the control channel robustness is improved, but the processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontrol channel robustnessVSAvoidrate matching process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent systematically changes rate matching parameters based on beam identification information. By introducing beam-specific parameters into the existing rate matching framework, the system generates distinct bit sequences for different beams without fundamentally altering the rate matching architecture. This approach improves reliability while controlling complexity through parameter-based differentiation rather than process redesign.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal beam-specific rate matching framework that can handle multiple beams through a standardized process. The same rate matching algorithm is applied universally across different beams, with beam-specific parameters guiding the process. This multi-functional approach improves control channel robustness for all beams while avoiding the complexity of implementing separate processing for each beam.

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

3Reliability

If different bit sequences are used for different beams, then the SNR is improved through soft combination, but the UE processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesignal-to-noise ratioVSAvoidUE processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses beam identification parameters to generate distinct bit sequences for different beams. This parameter-based approach allows the UE to differentiate between beam-specific sequences using simple beam ID comparisons, improving SNR through soft combination while keeping UE processing complexity low through efficient parameter-based sequence generation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3591867B1Information transmission method and apparatus
Publication Date: 2021.11.10 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3591867B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3591867B1 patent drawingFigure 1a
  • EP3591867B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

Embodiments of this application disclose an information transmission method and apparatus, and relate to the field of communications technologies. In this technical solution, impact of a beam on information transmission is taken into account, thereby improving robustness of a control channel. The method may include: performing rate matching on a first bit sequence based on beam indication information, to obtain a second bit sequence, where the first bit sequence is a bit sequence obtained by performing channel coding on an original bit sequence; mapping the second bit sequence onto a time-frequency resource; and sending, to a receive end by using a beam indicated by the beam indication information, the second bit sequence that is mapped onto the time-frequency resource.