PDCCH Resource Determination in Overlapping Carrier Deployments

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless communications systems face deployment waste of frequency band resources due to fixed bandwidth carriers and lack of efficient methods to determine physical downlink control channel time-frequency resources, especially in scenarios where carriers partially or completely overlap.

Innovation Solution

A downlink control channel indication method that allows partial or complete overlapping of carriers, enabling terminal devices to determine the location of PDCCH time-frequency resources using indication information sent by network devices on preset frequency bands, such as guard bands or PBCH, to flexibly deploy carriers and avoid interference.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If carriers are deployed with fixed bandwidth and guard bands between them, then frequency band overlapping and interference are avoided, but deployment waste of frequency band resources occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefrequency band interference avoidanceVSAvoidfrequency band resource waste
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the guard band resources with data transmission resources, allowing the guard band to serve dual purposes: preventing interference between overlapping carriers and transmitting data. This is achieved by configuring the guard band as a resource that can be used for both interference protection and data transmission, thereby eliminating the waste of frequency band resources while maintaining reliable communication between overlapping carriers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Loss of substance

If direct overlapping between two carriers is allowed to resolve deployment waste, then frequency band resource utilization improves, but determination of PDCCH time-frequency resource location becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefrequency band resource wasteVSAvoidPDCCH resource determination complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the time-frequency resources by introducing the concept of resource sets and resource candidates. The PDCCH resources are divided into multiple resource sets, each containing multiple resource candidates. This segmentation allows the terminal to determine PDCCH resources in a structured manner, reducing the complexity of resource determination while enabling flexible carrier overlapping deployment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the PDCCH resource sets and resource candidates through higher layer signaling before actual data transmission. The network device pre-allocates and indicates the resource sets and candidates to the terminal, so that when carrier overlapping occurs, the terminal can directly use the pre-configured resources without complex real-time determination, thereby reducing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of manufacture

If carrier bandwidth is fixed in standard, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but flexibility in deploying carriers on irregular frequency bands is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimplementation simplicityVSAvoidcarrier deployment flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dynamic resource configuration within the fixed carrier bandwidth framework. While the carrier bandwidth remains fixed for implementation simplicity, the resource allocation within the carrier can be dynamically adjusted through higher layer signaling. This allows the system to adapt to irregular frequency bands by flexibly configuring resource sets and candidates, achieving both implementation simplicity and deployment flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3534659B1Downlink control channel indication method, terminal device and network device
Publication Date: 2021.05.05 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3534659B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3534659B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3534659B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

Embodiments of this application disclose a downlink control channel indication method, a terminal device, and a network device. The method includes: receiving, by a terminal device, indication information sent by a network device on a preset frequency band of a first time frequency resource, where the first time frequency resource partially or completely overlaps with a second time frequency resource; and determining, by the terminal device, a location of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH time frequency resource of the first time frequency resource according to the indication information. In the technical solutions of this application, the terminal device of the first time frequency resource can determine the location of the physical downlink control channel PDCCH time frequency resource.