Quick Uplink Control Channel for Low Latency Wireless
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems, particularly LTE, face challenges in reducing latency for uplink transmissions, which hinders low latency communications and machine type communications, as they rely on longer transmission time intervals (TTIs) that can be inefficient and incompatible with legacy systems.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of quick uplink channels with reduced TTIs, such as Quick Physical Uplink Control Channel (QPUCCH), Quick Enhanced Physical Uplink Control Channel (QEPUCCH), and Quick Physical Uplink Shared Channel (QPUSCH), which allow for transmission time intervals of 0.5ms, enabling faster communication rates and reducing round-trip times associated with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If legacy LTE uplink channels are used, then system compatibility is maintained, but transmission latency remains high (8ms round-trip time)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the uplink channel into two distinct types: legacy PUCCH/PUSCH channels for backward compatibility and new quick uplink channels (QPUCCH/QPUSCH) for low latency communication. This segmentation allows the system to simultaneously support both legacy devices and low latency applications without requiring a complete system overhaul.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces quick uplink channels as an intermediary solution between legacy LTE infrastructure and low latency requirements. These intermediate channels with 0.5ms TTI provide a transition path that maintains compatibility with existing systems while enabling reduced latency communication for specific applications.
2Productivity
If transmission time interval is reduced to 0.5ms, then communication rate increases and round-trip time decreases, but compatibility with legacy LTE systems deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing reduced TTI (0.5ms) only in specific quick uplink channel instances rather than system-wide. This allows high-speed communication where needed while legacy channels maintain their original 1ms TTI for broad compatibility, creating localized performance enhancement without global disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects between legacy and quick uplink channels based on service requirements. The eNodeB can configure and activate quick channels with 0.5ms TTI for low latency applications while maintaining legacy channel operation for other traffic, enabling adaptive performance optimization.
3Loss of time
If quick uplink channels with 0.5ms TTI are implemented, then round-trip time is reduced to 4ms or less, but system complexity increases due to dual channel management
Solution Approach 1:
The quick uplink channels reuse existing LTE physical layer structures and protocols, making them multi-functional with legacy infrastructure. The same eNodeB and UE that handle legacy channels can also manage quick channels using extended configuration parameters, reducing the need for entirely new system components and simplifying implementation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for wireless communications by a user equipment, UE, comprising: providing, to a base station, an indication that the UE is capable of supporting communications according to a first uplink control channel having a shorter transmission time interval, TTI, wherein the shorter TTI includes less time slots than a longer TTI of a second uplink control channel; and transmitting the first uplink control channel, wherein the first uplink control channel has a bandwidth narrower than a system bandwidth, wherein the first uplink control channel having a first format and the second uplink control channel having a second format, wherein the first uplink control channel and the second uplink control channel use a same frequency location, and wherein at least a first portion of the first uplink control channel and at least a second portion of the second uplink control channel overlap in time as well as a corresponding apparatus and a non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communications by a UE comprising corresponding instructions.