Separate Control Channels for Downlink and Uplink Grants

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless communication systems, particularly in LTE technology, face challenges in efficiently managing control channels for downlink and uplink grant information, leading to increased complexity and resource utilization inefficiencies, especially in multi-user environments.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of separate control channels for downlink and uplink grant information, encoded with identifiers known only to receiving nodes, allows for blind hypothesis testing to determine control channel spans and aggregation levels, optimizing resource allocation and reducing search burdens for wireless terminals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If separate control channels are provided for downlink and uplink grant information, then control channel management efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontrol channel management efficiencyVSAvoidcontrol channel structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the control channel into separate downlink grant channels and uplink grant channels, allowing independent management and optimization of each channel type. This segmentation enables receiving nodes to process downlink and uplink grants separately, improving overall control channel management efficiency while maintaining organized complexity through functional separation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If control channels are encoded with identifiers known only to receiving nodes, then communication reliability is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontrol channel decoding reliabilityVSAvoididentifier detection complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements blind hypothesis testing where receiving nodes autonomously test multiple identifier hypotheses without requiring explicit identifier signaling from transmitting nodes. The receiving node independently determines which identifier was used by testing against its locally stored identifiers, thereby improving reliability through secure identifier-based encoding while avoiding the overhead and complexity of explicit identifier transmission and detection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If blind hypothesis testing is used to determine control channel spans and aggregation levels, then resource allocation efficiency is improved, but the use of energy by receiving nodes increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource allocation efficiencyVSAvoidreceiving node energy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a tiered blind hypothesis testing approach where receiving nodes perform testing at multiple aggregation levels and span configurations, but can stop early when successful decoding is achieved. This allows the system to allocate resources efficiently by testing only as much as necessary - performing partial searches rather than exhaustive testing of all possible configurations, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining effective resource allocation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP2569996B1System, apparatus and method for control channel configuration in wireless communication systems
Publication Date: 2019.06.19 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP2569996B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1B
  • EP2569996B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2569996B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for wireless communication. The method, apparatus, and computer program product, in an implementation, may be configured to provide separate control channels for each of downlink grant information and uplink grant information, encode the control channels with an identifier known only to receiving nodes that are configured to decode the control channels with the identifier, and convey information to the receiving nodes that the identifier is known to the receiving nodes. The method, apparatus, and computer program product, in an implementation, may be configured to determine an aggregation level of a common search space related to common control resources, wherein the aggregation level is less than four, and receive control data from one or more candidates in the common search space that include contiguous control channel elements according to the aggregation level.