Uplink Primary Carrier Control for Multicarrier Aggregation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multicarrier communication systems, such as LTE, lack efficient techniques for reporting control information on the uplink for multiple concurrent downlink carriers, particularly in LTE-A with carrier aggregation, which limits throughput and flexibility in dynamic traffic conditions.
Innovation Solution
A method where a single uplink primary carrier is used to provide control information for multiple concurrent downlink carriers, allowing for flexible pairing and switching of UL and DL carriers, including anchor and non-anchor carriers, to support efficient CQI and SR reporting with minimal impact from discontinuous reception cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single uplink carrier is used to report control information for one downlink carrier at a time, then the system maintains simple carrier configuration, but it cannot efficiently support multiple concurrent downlink carriers in carrier aggregation scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The single uplink primary carrier is configured to serve multiple downlink carriers simultaneously by carrying control information (CQI, SR, ACK/NACK) for multiple DL carriers. This makes the uplink carrier universal, allowing it to handle control reporting for any combination of aggregated DL carriers rather than being dedicated to a single DL carrier.
Solution Approach 2:
Control information reporting for multiple downlink carriers is merged into a single uplink primary carrier. Instead of having separate uplink carriers or reporting mechanisms for each DL carrier, the patent combines all control reporting functions into one uplink carrier, reducing uplink resource usage and simplifying carrier configuration.
2Ease of operation
If separate uplink carriers are allocated for each downlink carrier, then control information reporting is straightforward, but uplink resource consumption increases and system complexity grows
Solution Approach 1:
The primary uplink carrier is designed with multi-functionality to handle control reporting for multiple downlink carriers. It can dynamically report control information for different DL carriers based on configuration and current transmission needs, eliminating the need for separate dedicated uplink carriers for each DL carrier.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple control reporting functions that would traditionally require separate uplink carriers are merged into a single uplink primary carrier. This consolidation reduces the number of active carriers, simplifies carrier aggregation configuration, and decreases uplink resource consumption while maintaining reporting capability for all DL carriers.
3Productivity
If carrier aggregation is implemented to increase bandwidth, then data throughput improves, but control information management becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The primary uplink carrier serves as a universal control reporting channel for all aggregated downlink carriers. It can report CQI, scheduling requests, and acknowledgments for any combination of DL carriers in the aggregation, simplifying control management despite increased bandwidth and multiple carriers.
Solution Approach 2:
Control information management for multiple aggregated carriers is merged into a unified reporting mechanism on the primary uplink carrier. This consolidation manages the complexity of controlling multiple carriers by centralizing control reporting, making the system easier to manage while maintaining high throughput benefits of carrier aggregation.
Data Source
AI summary
As part of carrier assignment and configuration for multicarrier wireless communications, a single uplink (UL) primary carrier may provide control information for multiple concurrent downlink (DL) carriers. Optionally, control information for each DL carrier may be transmitted over paired UL carriers. Carrier switching of UL and/or carriers, including primary and anchor carriers, may occur during normal operation or during handover, and may occur in only the UL or only the DL direction. A unidirectional handover is performed when only an UL carrier or only a DL carrier is switched as part of a handover. Switching of UL and/or DL carriers may be from one component carrier or a subset of carriers to another component carrier, another subset of carriers, or all carriers in the same direction.