Antenna Selection for UE PDCCH Monitoring Power Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communication networks, particularly in 5G NR systems, user equipment (UE) experiences high power consumption when monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH due to the need to decode multiple PDCCH candidates, leading to increased energy expenditure and potential performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that allows UE to selectively use a reduced number of antennas and receive chains for PDCCH reception, based on configuration parameters such as DCI formats, search space configurations, and slot offsets, to minimize power consumption while ensuring reliable PDCCH decoding and subsequent PDSCH transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If UE uses multiple antennas and receive chains for PDCCH monitoring to ensure reliable decoding, then reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic antenna selection where the UE adaptively adjusts the number of antennas and receive chains used for PDCCH monitoring based on current channel conditions, traffic requirements, and power state. The system transitions between different antenna configurations (e.g., full antenna set for high reliability needs, reduced set for power saving) allowing flexible trade-off between reliability and power consumption rather than using a fixed configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the PDCCH monitoring system by adjusting the number of active antennas and receive chains based on configurable parameters such as search space configurations, DCI formats, and slot offsets. This parameter adjustment allows the system to optimize the balance between decoding reliability and power consumption for different operating scenarios
2Reliability
If UE monitors multiple PDCCH candidates to ensure reliable reception, then reliability is improved, but processing complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and processes only the most relevant PDCCH candidates based on configured search spaces and DCI formats. Instead of uniformly processing all possible PDCCH candidates, the system identifies and focuses computational resources on the subset of candidates that are most likely to contain relevant control information, thereby reducing processing complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by monitoring a configured number of PDCCH candidates that is sufficient for reliable reception but not necessarily the maximum possible number. The system uses configuration parameters to determine an appropriate subset of candidates to monitor, avoiding the excessive processing that would result from monitoring all possible candidates while still achieving the required reliability
Data Source
AI summary
Exemplary embodiments include methods for receiving one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) using a selectable number of available antennas and receive chains. Embodiments can include receiving a configuration associated with one or more PDCCHs, wherein the configuration includes, for each PDCCH, a search space comprising a plurality of PDCCH candidate. Embodiments can include selecting a first number of antennas and receive chains for PDCCH reception, wherein the first number comprises the minimum number of the available antennas and receive chains needed to meet one or more PDCCH performance metrics. Embodiments can include selecting, for PDCCH reception, either the first number of antennas and receive chains, or a greater second number of antennas and receive chains. Embodiments can include receiving the PDCCH using the selected number of antennas and receive chains, Other embodiments include UEs configured to perform operations corresponding to the exemplary methods.