DCI Candidate Selection via Scrambling Sequence Correlation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In New Radio (NR) networks, user equipment (UE) expends significant resources to monitor and detect multiple downlink control information (DCI) candidates across search spaces, leading to inefficient resource utilization due to the need for channel estimation and decoding of all candidates, even when only a subset is relevant.

Innovation Solution

The UE identifies and selects a subset of DCI candidates using a scrambling sequence and correlation sequence comparison, allowing for efficient channel estimation and decoding only on selected candidates, thereby reducing processing and memory resources.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the UE monitors and detects all DCI candidates across search spaces, then the reliability of control information reception is improved, but the processing resources and time consumed increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol information reception reliabilityVSAvoidprocessing time for channel estimation and decoding

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing correlation sequence comparison before channel estimation and decoding. The UE first compares correlation sequences of received signals with stored reference correlation sequences to identify candidate DCIs, then performs channel estimation and decoding only on the identified candidates. This preliminary identification step filters out irrelevant candidates and focuses processing resources on promising signals, reducing overall processing time while maintaining reception reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts the correlation sequence comparison step as a separate preliminary operation from the full channel estimation and decoding process. By extracting this identification function, the system can quickly determine which DCI candidates are relevant without committing to the more resource-intensive decoding process for all candidates, thus reducing processing time while maintaining reliability through targeted decoding of only identified candidates.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Reliability

If the UE performs channel estimation and decoding on all DCI candidates, then the completeness of control information detection is improved, but the processing resources consumed increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol information detection completenessVSAvoidprocessing resources (computational burden)

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the DCI detection process into two distinct stages: (1) correlation sequence comparison stage for identifying candidate DCIs, and (2) channel estimation and decoding stage for processing only identified candidates. This segmentation allows the system to apply different processing depths to different candidates based on their identification status, reducing overall processing resources while maintaining completeness by ensuring all identified candidates receive full processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The correlation sequence comparison serves as a preliminary action that pre-sorts DCI candidates before full processing. By performing this preliminary identification, the system can allocate processing resources more efficiently, ensuring complete detection of relevant control information while avoiding the computational burden of processing all candidates uniformly, thus reducing total processing resources consumed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If the UE monitors all DCI candidates in the search space, then the adaptability to different scheduling scenarios is improved, but the memory resources required for storing and processing increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadaptability to scheduling scenariosVSAvoidmemory resources for storing correlation sequences and processing data

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by storing and processing correlation sequences only for identified candidate DCIs rather than all possible DCI candidates. The UE maintains adaptability by still monitoring the full search space for new candidates, but reduces memory consumption by only retaining correlation sequence data for candidates that pass the initial correlation comparison, thus balancing adaptability with reduced memory requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3846374B1Systems and methods for identification and selection of downlink control information (DCI) candidates

Publication Date: 2023.10.25 VIAVI SOLUTIONS INC(US)

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AI summary

A device determines a scrambling sequence for a control channel, wherein the scrambling sequence includes a first set of bit string values for a set of downlink control information (DCI) candidates associated with the control channel, and wherein the scrambling sequence is determined based on an identifier that is exclusive to the device. The device determines, based on the scrambling sequence, a correlation sequence that includes a second set of bit string values. The device identifies, based on the correlation sequence, a subset of DCI candidates of the set of DCI candidates. The device selects at least a portion of the subset of DCI candidates. The device performs one or more actions based on one or more selected DCI candidates.