Control Channel Assignment in LTE-Advanced Base Stations

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Solution Overview

Problem

In the LTE-Advanced system, the increased amount of information in control channels reduces the usable data channel region, leading to decreased frequency use efficiency due to the need to indicate which component carriers correspond to the control channels.

Innovation Solution

A base station and terminal device configuration that assigns control channels within a control channel region based on the band corresponding to a data channel, allowing the terminal device to identify the correct component carrier without detecting all control channel regions, thereby reducing the amount of information in the control channel and enhancing frequency use efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If control channels include information indicating which component carriers they correspond to, then terminal devices can identify the correct component carriers, but the amount of information in control channels increases and the usable data channel region decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation amount in control channelVSAvoidusable data channel region

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the component carrier identification function from the control channel information payload by using the control channel's location within specific control channel regions of specific component carriers as the identification mechanism. This removes the need to include explicit component carrier identification information in the control channel data, thereby reducing the information amount in control channels and preserving the usable data channel region.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces control channel regions as an intermediary structure that mediates between the control channel and the component carrier identification requirement. By organizing control channels into distinct control channel regions associated with specific component carriers, the system enables implicit identification without adding information overhead to the control channels themselves.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If control channels include information indicating which component carriers they correspond to, then terminal devices can identify the correct component carriers, but frequency use efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation amount in control channelVSAvoidfrequency use efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter used for component carrier identification from explicit information content to implicit spatial positioning. By changing how identification is achieved (from information-based to location-based), the system reduces the information amount in control channels and improves frequency use efficiency without sacrificing identification capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Loss of information

If all control channel regions are detected to identify component carriers, then complete information is obtained, but the complexity of the terminal device increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidterminal device complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating distinct control channel regions with specific associations to component carriers. Instead of requiring terminal devices to analyze all control channel regions uniformly, the system enables terminal devices to focus on specific control channel regions based on their configured associations, reducing the search space and device complexity while maintaining complete information acquisition.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary action by pre-configuring the association between control channel regions and component carriers before the terminal device needs to identify component carriers. This pre-organization allows terminal devices to directly access relevant control channel regions without having to detect and analyze all control channel regions, thereby reducing device complexity while ensuring complete information is obtained from the appropriate regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8824388B2Base station, terminal device, control channel assignment method and region size determination method

Publication Date: 2014.09.02 1FINITY INC

AI summary

In a base station that performs radio data communication with terminal devices by using a plurality of bands of which each has a data channel region to which a data channel is assigned and a control channel region to which a control channel is assigned, the base station includes a control channel assigning unit that assigns a control channel for the terminal device at a location corresponding to a band to which a data channel assigned to the terminal device belongs, in the control channel region of any band of the plurality of bands, and a control channel transmitting unit that transmits the control channel to the terminal device at the location assigned by the control channel assigning unit.