Interleaver Structure for Long Codewords With Lower Memory Load

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital transmission technologies face challenges in efficiently handling channels with slowly changing properties, particularly in mobile communications and broadcasting, where long interleavers are needed but come with high complexity and memory requirements, leading to increased costs and reduced receiver efficiency.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of an interleaver structure that processes data in interleaving units rather than symbols, allowing for scalable code word lengths without changing interleaver structures, combining block and convolution interleavers to reduce complexity and memory needs, and enabling efficient energy management and decoding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If long interleavers are used to handle channels with slowly changing properties, then the reliability of transmission is improved, but the device complexity and memory requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission reliabilityVSAvoidinterleaver complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the codeword into multiple interleaving units, where each unit contains multiple symbols. Instead of interleaving symbols individually, the system interleaves these larger units, effectively segmenting the interleaving process. This reduces the interleaver complexity from needing to handle each symbol separately to handling units of multiple symbols, while still achieving the necessary time spreading for slowly varying channels.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new dimension of organization by grouping symbols into interleaving units with a specific structure. The codeword is organized not just as a sequence of symbols but as a structured arrangement of interleaving units, each containing multiple symbols. This dimensional change allows the system to achieve long interleaver effects through unit permutation rather than symbol-by-symbol interleaving, reducing complexity.

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

2Reliability

If long interleavers are used to handle channels with slowly changing properties, then the reliability of transmission is improved, but the memory requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission reliabilityVSAvoidmemory requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the codeword into interleaving units of multiple symbols, the patent reduces the total number of interleaving operations needed. The memory requirement is reduced from storing and managing individual symbols to managing these larger units, decreasing the overall memory burden while maintaining the time-spreading effect necessary for reliably handling slowly varying channels.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If traditional symbol-by-symbol interleaving is used, then the handling of fast fading is effective, but the complexity increases for slowly varying channels

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefast fading handlingVSAvoidinterleaver complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple symbols into single interleaving units that are treated as atomic entities during interleaving operations. This combining approach maintains the error-distribution benefits of interleaving for fast fading while reducing the operational complexity for slowly varying channels, as the system now manages fewer, larger units rather than individual symbols.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

4Adaptability or versatility

If the interleaver structure is changed to handle different code word lengths, then the adaptability is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecode word length adaptabilityVSAvoidinterleaver structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal interleaver structure that can handle different codeword lengths by adjusting the number of interleaving units rather than changing the fundamental interleaving mechanism. Each interleaving unit consistently contains multiple symbols, and the system adapts to different code rates and lengths by varying the unit count and composition, maintaining structural simplicity while achieving versatility.

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

Data Source

PatentEP4224719B1Transmitter with an interleaver device
Publication Date: 2024.02.21 FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV
  • EP4224719B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4224719B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4224719B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

A transmitter for generating a transmit signal comprises a redundancy-adding encoder (22), an interleaver device for processing a sequence of codewords, wherein the interleaver device has a block interleaver (18) and a downstream interleaving device (10), and a modulator (26) for modulating a data stream output by the interleaving device (10) of the interleaver device onto a transmission channel.