Terminal Uplink Sharing via Short-Range Coordination for 6G Quality

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Solution Overview

Problem

The technical specifications do not specify a technique for using short range communication to assist communication between a network (base station) and terminals, which is required for higher quality communication in NR successor systems like 6G.

Innovation Solution

A terminal is equipped with a transmission unit to share uplink signals with another terminal using short range communication and a communication unit to transmit these signals to a base station or network through coordination with the other terminal.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional communication methods are used between base station and terminals, then the communication quality meets current 5G standards, but the communication quality cannot achieve the higher requirements of 6G successor systems

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication qualityVSAvoidcapability to support higher quality communication
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The communication path is segmented into two parts: short-range communication between terminals and wide-area communication between terminals and base station. This allows the system to combine the high reliability of short-range communication with the broad coverage of cellular networks, achieving both current 5G standards and future 6G quality requirements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention merges short-range communication technology with cellular network communication to create a hybrid communication system. This combination leverages the strengths of both technologies to achieve higher communication quality that satisfies 6G requirements while maintaining compatibility with existing 5G infrastructure

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Productivity

If short range communication is introduced to assist network-terminal communication, then communication quality and system capacity are improved, but device complexity increases due to coordination requirements between terminals

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem capacityVSAvoidcoordination mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Terminals autonomously perform signal sharing and coordination functions without requiring complex centralized control. Each terminal independently manages its own short-range communication links and coordinates with neighboring terminals, reducing overall system complexity while improving capacity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The base station acts as an intermediary that receives and processes signals from multiple terminals. By centralizing the coordination function at the base station level rather than requiring complex peer-to-peer coordination between terminals, the system achieves high capacity with manageable complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4601382A1Terminal, base station, and communication method
Publication Date: 2025.08.13 NTT DOCOMO INC
  • EP4601382A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4601382A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4601382A1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A terminal includes: a transmission unit configured to transmit a signal for sharing an uplink signal to another terminal by using short range communication; and a communication unit configured to transmit the uplink signal to a base station or a network through coordination with the another terminal.