Carrier Aggregation Timing Advance Group Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In carrier aggregation systems, managing multiple uplink transmission timings efficiently is challenging, particularly in scenarios where antennas for primary and secondary carriers are located at different sites, leading to potential interference and decoding failures due to mismatched uplink symbol reception timings.

Innovation Solution

The method involves sorting carriers with the same uplink timings into Timing Advance Groups (TAGs) and using explicit signaling to manage uplink transmission timing synchronization, where the terminal either maintains synchronization or suspends transmissions until synchronization is achieved through a random access procedure, ensuring orthogonal uplink symbol reception.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If multiple carriers are aggregated with different uplink transmission timings, then data rate is improved, but interference and decoding failures occur due to mismatched uplink symbol reception timings

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata rateVSAvoiddecoding success
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments carriers with different uplink transmission timings into separate Timing Advance Groups (TAGs). Each TAG manages a specific group of carriers with identical uplink timing, preventing interference between carriers with different timings while maintaining the benefits of carrier aggregation for improved data rate.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Area of stationary object

If antennas for primary and secondary carriers are located at different sites, then coverage is improved, but managing multiple uplink transmission timings becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecoverage areaVSAvoidtiming management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides carriers into separate TAGs based on their uplink timing characteristics. This segmentation simplifies timing management by organizing carriers with identical timing into groups, reducing the complexity of managing multiple uplink transmission timings while enabling distributed antenna deployment for extended coverage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces TAG identifiers as an intermediary mechanism to manage timing relationships between carriers. The TAG ID serves as a mediator that associates carriers with specific uplink timing configurations, simplifying the management of multiple timing scenarios in distributed antenna deployments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If uplink transmission timing is not synchronized, then transmission flexibility is improved, but interference occurs and uplink symbols cannot be decoded correctly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission flexibilityVSAvoidinterference
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments carriers into TAGs where each TAG maintains synchronized uplink timing for its member carriers. This segmentation allows the system to maintain transmission flexibility across different carrier groups while ensuring that carriers within each group remain synchronized, preventing interference and enabling correct decoding.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3598688B1Carrier activation in carrier aggregation based wireless communication systems
Publication Date: 2021.09.08 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP3598688B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3598688B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3598688B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method for establishing time alignment by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system. The method comprises: receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including information on a timing advance group (TAG); determining whether a timer associated with the TAG to which a serving cell belongs is running; and performing an uplink transmission on the serving cell according to whether the timer associated with the TAG is running. A corresponding method for the base station is provided.