Terminal Device Scheduling Request Management in Carrier Aggregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing LTE communication systems lack an effective method for a terminal device to transmit a scheduling request to a base station device in a secondary cell, especially when a physical uplink control channel is transmitted, which hinders efficient communication using multiple cells.

Innovation Solution

A terminal device is designed to effectively communicate with a base station using multiple cells by configuring and managing physical uplink control channels across primary and secondary cells, allowing for simultaneous transmission and reception of scheduling requests through optimized resource management and cell aggregation techniques.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a terminal device transmits a scheduling request via physical uplink control channel in a secondary cell, then the communication efficiency is improved, but the complexity of resource management increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication efficiencyVSAvoidresource management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the carrier aggregation into multiple serving cells (primary cell and secondary cells) with distinct roles. The primary cell handles control plane functions while secondary cells handle user plane data transmission. This segmentation allows scheduling requests to be transmitted efficiently in secondary cells without overwhelming the resource management complexity, as each cell has predefined transmission rules and resource allocations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where the terminal device can adaptively select which secondary cell to use for scheduling request transmission based on current channel conditions, traffic requirements, and base station configurations. This dynamic approach optimizes communication efficiency while the base station dynamically manages the resources to handle the complexity of multiple active secondary cells.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Quantity of substance

If carrier aggregation with more than five serving cells is implemented, then the data transmission capacity is improved, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata transmission capacityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the carrier aggregation into a primary cell group and secondary cell groups, with each group having specific transmission characteristics. This segmentation allows the system to support more than five serving cells by organizing them into manageable groups with different resource allocation schemes, thereby increasing data transmission capacity while controlling system complexity through structured management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal resource allocation framework that can accommodate multiple serving cells beyond five by establishing common transmission rules and resource management mechanisms that apply across all cells. This multi-functional approach allows the same base station and terminal device to efficiently manage a larger number of cells without proportionally increasing complexity, as the universal framework handles resource coordination across all aggregated carriers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3253149B1Terminal device and communication method
Publication Date: 2020.09.16 SHARP KK
  • EP3253149B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3253149B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3253149B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

In a first case, in which a condition is satisfied that includes at least conditions that at least one scheduling request is pending in a certain TTI, there is no UL-SCH resource available for transmission in the certain TTI, the terminal device has a valid PUCCH resource for the scheduling request configured for the certain TTI, and a serving cell other than a primary cell is deactivated, the terminal device initiates a random access procedure on the primary cell.