Carrier Aggregation Common Control Deactivation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In carrier aggregation, secondary carriers in heterogeneous network environments face reliability issues due to high and unpredictable interference, affecting common physical control channels and signals, which conventional methods fail to adequately address, leading to problems in synchronization, cell search, radio resource management, and data channel demodulation.

Innovation Solution

The method involves deactivating common control for secondary carriers and transmitting an indication of this deactivation via the primary carrier, along with signaling of control information to facilitate selection or operation on the secondary carrier without relying on the deactivated common control, using the primary carrier to provide necessary information for synchronization, radio resource management, and radio link failure recovery.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If common physical control channels and signals are used for secondary carriers, then carrier aggregation can be established, but reliability deteriorates due to high and unpredictable interference

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereliability of common physical control channelsVSAvoidinterference on common physical control channels

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the problematic common physical control channels (PBCH, PSS, SSS) from the secondary carrier operation by deactivating them. The control information that was previously transmitted on these unreliable channels is instead extracted and transmitted via the primary carrier, separating the control function from the interfered physical channels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The primary carrier acts as an intermediary to transmit control information that would otherwise be unavailable on the secondary carrier. By using the primary carrier as a mediator, the system can provide necessary control signals without relying on the interfered common physical control channels of the secondary carrier.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If common physical control channels are deactivated for secondary carriers, then interference management is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional signaling requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterference on common physical control channelsVSAvoidsignaling complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The network performs preliminary action by pre-configuring the UE with the necessary control information for the secondary carrier before actual operation begins. The eNB prepares and transmits all required control parameters in advance, so that when the secondary carrier is activated, the UE already has the information needed to operate without the common physical control channels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The primary carrier is given a multi-functional role, serving both its original purpose of carrying control information for its own carriers and the additional function of carrying control information for the secondary carrier. This universal approach allows one carrier to fulfill multiple control functions, reducing the need for separate dedicated channels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Reliability

If control information is transmitted via primary carrier for secondary carrier operation, then reliability is improved under heavy interference, but loss of information may occur due to substitution requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol information reliabilityVSAvoidcontrol information loss

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the transmission parameters of control information by altering the carrier frequency and channel type. Instead of transmitting control information on the secondary carrier's common physical control channels, the system changes the transmission location to the primary carrier, using different physical parameters (carrier frequency, channel type) to avoid interference while maintaining information integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS9603126B2Common control deactivation in carrier aggregation

Publication Date: 2017.03.21 WSOU INVESTMENTS LLC

AI summary

There are provided measures for common control deactivation in carrier aggregation, said measures exemplarily including a configuration of a secondary carrier for carrier aggregation with a primary carrier of a terminal, including a deactivation of a common control for the secondary carrier, an indication of the deactivation of the common control for the secondary carrier via the primary carrier, and a signaling of control information, substituting control information of the deactivated common control, for facilitating selection of or operation on the secondary carrier without the deactivated common control via the primary carrier from a base station to the terminal. Said measures may exemplarily be applied for common control deactivation in carrier aggregation in heterogeneous network environments based on LTE, LTE-Advanced, HSPA and/or UMTS radio access systems.