Relay Node Feedback Deferral and Skipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face inefficiencies in acknowledgment processes, particularly in relay nodes, where significant network resources are consumed by explicit feedback signaling, leading to reduced throughput and increased latency.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of techniques that allow relay nodes to defer or skip the transmission of feedback until successful reception of a communication, or to implicitly provide acknowledgment through the absence of negative feedback, thereby reducing overhead and conserving network resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If relay nodes transmit explicit feedback acknowledgments for each received communication, then the first wireless node can confirm successful reception, but network overhead increases and throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the explicit feedback transmission step from the traditional acknowledgment process. Instead of always transmitting feedback messages, the system removes this step when the relay node successfully receives the communication, keeping it only when necessary (upon detection of transmission errors). This selective extraction reduces overhead while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional feedback mechanism by using the absence of feedback to indicate successful reception. Instead of sending an acknowledgment message to confirm successful receipt, the relay node remains silent, and the first wireless node interprets this silence as positive confirmation. Feedback is only transmitted when an error is detected, effectively inverting the normal acknowledgment pattern.
2Loss of information
If relay nodes transmit feedback for every communication, then reception status is clearly indicated, but network latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the skipping principle by allowing the feedback transmission step to be omitted entirely when the relay node successfully receives the communication. The system rushes through the acknowledgment process by using implicit confirmation (absence of feedback) rather than explicit messaging, thereby eliminating the time delay associated with feedback transmission while still conveying reception status information.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple relay nodes are included in relaying operations, then network coverage is extended, but overhead from feedback signaling increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the feedback signaling approach across multiple relay nodes by implementing a unified implicit acknowledgment mechanism. Instead of each relay node independently transmitting detailed feedback messages (which would compound overhead linearly with the number of nodes), the system combines their acknowledgment states through the collective absence or presence of feedback signals, reducing the scaling impact of feedback overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatuses for efficient signaling of feedback regarding communications of a relaying operation. In some aspects, a relay node may defer feedback regarding reception of a first communication until relaying feedback regarding the payload of the first communication, thereby reducing overhead and signaling burden. In some aspects, a relay node may skip the transmission of feedback regarding the first communication altogether, either on the assumption that the link between the relay node and the first wireless node is reliable, or on the basis of the first wireless node being able to infer the reception of the first communication based on subsequent communications. In some aspects, a relay node may be enabled to skip forwarding of feedback from a second wireless node, such that the first wireless node can infer that the payload was received if no negative feedback associated with the payload is received.