Multi-Channel Data Communication With Interleaved Error Correction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Data communication between devices is prone to failures such as intermittent or persistent high bit-error-rate (BER) channels and fully broken channels, which can lead to unsatisfactory bandwidth utilization and the need for system replacement, adversely affecting networking performance.

Innovation Solution

A method involving error correction coding blocks with interleaving across multiple channels and a backup-channel hot swapping mechanism, utilizing both time scheduling and spatial multiplexing to ensure reliable data transmission even in the presence of channel failures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If data is transmitted through multiple channels without reliability scheme, then bandwidth utilization is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to channel failures

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebandwidth utilizationVSAvoidcommunication reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the data transmission by dividing payload bits into multiple error correction coding blocks and further distributing bits from each block across multiple channel groups through interleaving. This segmentation ensures that channel failures affect only portions of the data, not the entire transmission, thereby maintaining reliability while utilizing multiple channels for high bandwidth.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new dimension of protection by creating channel groups and applying interleaving maps that distribute bits across spatial (different channels) and organizational (channel groups) dimensions. This multi-dimensional approach allows the system to tolerate channel failures while maintaining both reliability and bandwidth utilization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If error correction coding is applied to each channel independently, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror correction capabilityVSAvoidcoding complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the error correction coding operation across multiple channels by treating bits from the same error correction coding block as a unified group. Instead of independent coding per channel, the system applies a single interleaving map that distributes bits from each coding block across multiple channel groups, reducing overall coding complexity while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The interleaving map serves multiple functions: it distributes bits across channels, organizes channel groups, and enables error correction. This universal mechanism handles both the coding and channel allocation tasks, reducing the need for separate complex coding schemes for each channel.

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

3Reliability

If interleaving is applied across all channels, then reliability is improved, but chip implementation cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefault toleranceVSAvoidimplementation cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments channels into channel groups and applies interleaving at the block level rather than requiring complex per-bit interleaving across all channels. This segmented approach reduces implementation complexity while maintaining fault tolerance, as the interleaving logic operates on manageable blocks rather than individual bits across the entire channel set.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies interleaving selectively to error correction coding blocks rather than to all data uniformly. By focusing the interleaving operation on the coded portions and using channel groups, the system achieves sufficient fault tolerance without the excessive complexity of full-system interleaving, implementing just enough redundancy to handle channel failures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP4637060A1Error-resistant data communication using multiple channels
Publication Date: 2025.10.22 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP4637060A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4637060A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4637060A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A transmission method comprising: encoding a message into error correction coding blocks, each comprising a different portion of the payload bits of the message and a respective plurality of error correction bits; and applying an interleaving map to error correction coding blocks, such that for each error correction coding block, different bits of the error correction coding block are mapped to different channels, each channel thus being used to transmit bits from a respective selection of multiple of the error correction coding blocks. Thus, for at least one channel failure scenario in which at least one of the plurality of channel fails leaving a plurality of remaining channels, enough bits will remain on the remaining channels to enable correction of the message based on the error correction coding.