RAT Identifier Signaling for Shared Multi-RAT Air Interface Resources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Evolving wireless communication systems supporting multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) face challenges such as increased cost and size due to separate radios for different frequency bands and signal configurations, leading to spectral inefficiency and recovery errors.
Innovation Solution
Implementing sharable air interface resources and communicating RAT identifiers to enable a single transceiver to process signals from multiple RATs, reducing cost and size by apportioning common resources and indicating RAT presence using indicators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a UE supports multiple RATs with dedicated transceivers, then the data capacity and wireless link reliability are improved, but the cost and size of the UE increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal transceiver that can operate across multiple RATs (e.g., 5G NR and 6G) by dynamically configuring its operation based on received RAT identifiers. Instead of requiring separate dedicated transceivers for each RAT, a single transceiver is designed to handle multiple RATs through software-defined radio architecture and dynamic parameter adjustment, thereby reducing UE size and cost while maintaining multi-RAT support capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The transceiver dynamically changes its operational parameters (frequency bands, timing relationships, modulation schemes, coding schemes) based on the received RAT identifier. This allows the same hardware to adapt to different RAT requirements by adjusting parameters rather than requiring separate hardware for each RAT, resolving the contradiction between multi-RAT support and device complexity
2Reliability
If different RATs use different frequency bands and air interface resources, then the RAT-specific performance is optimized, but the spectral efficiency decreases due to unused resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the air interface resources of multiple RATs into a shared resource pool. By allowing different RATs to share the same frequency bands and time resources dynamically, the system eliminates the waste of dedicated resources that remain unused when a particular RAT is not active. The base station coordinates resource sharing between RATs, ensuring that resources are efficiently utilized regardless of which RAT is currently serving UEs
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically allocates and shares air interface resources between different RATs based on real-time demand. Instead of static, dedicated resource allocation that leads to inefficiency, the patent implements dynamic resource sharing where the same resources can be flexibly assigned to different RATs as needed, thereby improving spectral efficiency while maintaining the ability to optimize for RAT-specific performance when required
3Device complexity
If a UE uses a single transceiver for multiple RATs, then the cost and size are reduced, but the complexity of identifying and processing different RAT signals increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs preliminary action by transmitting RAT identifiers before the actual data transmission. These identifiers are sent in advance through downlink control information or reference signals, allowing the UE to pre-configure its receiver parameters and identify which RAT is being used before processing the main signal. This preliminary indication simplifies the detection process at the UE side despite using a single transceiver for multiple RATs
Solution Approach 2:
The RAT identifier acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between the single transceiver and multiple RATs. This identifier provides explicit information about the current RAT being transmitted, allowing the UE to correctly interpret and process the signal without having to perform complex blind detection or analysis. The intermediary identifier simplifies the detection and processing complexity while enabling single-transceiver multi-RAT operation
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques and apparatuses are described for radio access technology identifiers. In aspects, a base station receives air interface resource prospective usage information associated with communications over a first wireless link of at least two wireless links that use different Radio Access Technologies (RATs). The base station then allocates the sharable air interface resource between the at least two wireless links by analyzing the air interface resource prospective usage information. In aspects, the base station transmits a RAT-identifier-presence indicator that communicates a presence of a RAT identifier by indicating one or more downlink air interface resources used to transmit the RAT identifier, where the RAT identifier indicates the allocation of the sharable air interface resource between the at least two wireless links. The base station then transmits the RAT identifier using the one or more downlink air interface resources indicated by the RAT-identifier-presence indicator.