Network Node Grant-Free Grouping for Uplink Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless network solutions for uplink data transmission face inefficiencies due to high signalling overhead, latency, and collision risks, particularly in high-traffic scenarios, where scheduling-based mechanisms waste resources and contention-based methods are unsuitable for delay-sensitive communications.
Innovation Solution
A network node and user device system that groups user devices based on reference signals to assign radio resources for grant-free data transmission, computing a receiver filter to minimize collisions and optimize spectral efficiency, thereby reducing latency and improving resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If scheduling-based mechanisms are used for uplink data transmission, then resource allocation control is achieved, but signalling overhead increases and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments users into different groups (first group and second group) with different access mechanisms. The first group uses scheduling-based access while the second group uses contention-based access, allowing the system to balance control and latency requirements across different user scenarios
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the access mechanism parameter from unified scheduling-based to a hybrid approach where different groups use different mechanisms. This parameter change allows the system to reduce signalling overhead for users who can tolerate some collision risk while maintaining control for users who require reliable resource allocation
2Loss of time
If contention based access schemes are used for grant-free uplink data transmission, then signalling overhead is reduced, but collision probability increases and resource usage efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides users into two groups: a first group that uses scheduling-based uplink access and a second group that uses contention-based uplink access. This segmentation allows the system to reduce signalling overhead for the second group while limiting collision impact to only that group, rather than having all users subject to collisions
Solution Approach 2:
The network introduces an intermediary classification mechanism that assigns users to different access groups based on their traffic characteristics and collision tolerance. This intermediary layer mediates between the need for low signalling overhead and the need to avoid collisions by routing different user types to appropriate access mechanisms
3Reliability
If scheduling request mechanisms are used for small data packets, then resource allocation is controlled, but resource efficiency decreases due to high overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the access parameter from scheduling-based to contention-based for the second group of users, particularly suited for small data packets. This parameter change eliminates the need for scheduling requests and grants for these users, dramatically improving resource efficiency for small packet transmissions while accepting controlled collision risk
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a network node and a user device. The network node comprises a transceiver configured to receive a plurality of reference signals associated with a plurality of user devices; a processor configured to group the plurality of user devices into at least one group of user devices based on the plurality of received reference signals, assign radio resources for grant-free data transmission to the group of user devices, compute a receiver filter for the group of user devices based on the plurality of received reference signals and the assigned radio resources; wherein the transceiver is configured to receive a plurality of grant-free data transmissions from user devices in the group of user devices in the assigned radio resources, wherein the processor is configured to separate the grant-free data transmissions from the user devices in the group of user devices based on the computed receiver filter.