PDCCH Decode Indicators for LTE UE Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
LTE user equipment (UE) experiences unnecessary power consumption and resource exhaustion while decoding the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for control information, especially in low-bandwidth communications like VoLTE, due to blind decoding requirements and wide-band channel monitoring.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves generating specific PDCCH decode indicators for different data types, such as VoLTE and high-bandwidth best effort data, and sending these indicators within the payload of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication, allowing the UE to selectively decode control information only when necessary, thereby reducing unnecessary decoding and conserving resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the UE performs blind decoding of the PDCCH to locate DCI control information, then the UE can acquire downlink resource assignments and uplink resource grants, but the UE experiences unnecessary power consumption and resource exhaustion
Solution Approach 1:
The network performs preliminary actions by sending PDCCH decode indicators to the UE in advance, informing the UE of specific subframes where PDCCH decoding should be performed. This allows the UE to prepare and activate its decoder only at predetermined times, avoiding continuous blind decoding and reducing power consumption while ensuring reliable DCI information acquisition when needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the UE monitors the wide-band PDCCH channel, then the UE can receive control information across the entire system bandwidth, but the UE consumes more power and processes unnecessary data
Solution Approach 1:
The PDCCH monitoring function is segmented into specific subframes rather than continuous monitoring. The network divides the time domain into discrete monitoring occasions and informs the UE which subframes contain PDCCH transmissions. This segmentation allows the UE to monitor only relevant portions of the wide-band channel, maintaining comprehensive control information reception capability while reducing overall power consumption and processing requirements.
3Loss of information
If the UE performs blind decoding without knowing the PDCCH control channel structure, then the UE can locate DCI information, but the UE exhausts device resources including battery power and processor resources
Solution Approach 1:
The network provides feedback to the UE by sending PDCCH decode indicators that contain information about upcoming PDCCH transmissions. This feedback mechanism allows the UE to adjust its decoding behavior based on network instructions, performing blind decoding only when and where indicated, thereby retrieving necessary DCI information while conserving device resources such as battery power and processor capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure describes procedures for allocating network resources for a mobile device communicating within a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The mobile device can be configured to decode a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), acquire first and second physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) decode indicators from a payload of the same PDSCH communication, decode a PDCCH for downlink control information (DCI) associated with a first application data type based on the first PDCCH decode indicator a second application data type based on the second PDCCH decode indicator. The first PDCCH decode indicator can identify an upcoming LTE subframe where the mobile device is required to decode the PDCCH for DCI associated VoLTE resource assignments and the second PDCCH decode indicator can identify an upcoming LTE subframe where the mobile device is required to decode the PDCCH for DCI associated with high bandwidth best effort (BE) data resource assignments.