Uplink Control Channel Sub-channelization for Reduced Cubic Metric

The patent segments the uplink control channel transmission by dividing the control information into multiple parts and transmitting them on different SC-FDMA sequences within the same resource block. This segmentation allows the system to achieve higher payload capacity without concentrating all control information on a single sequence, thereby avoiding the cubic metric increase that would result from multi-sequence transmission.

The patent transitions from the traditional dimension of using multiple separate PUCCH resources to a new dimension of encoding multiple control information bits within a single SC-FDMA sequence using different cyclic shifts and orthogonal covers. This dimensional change allows multiple control channels to share the same time-frequency resources without increasing the cubic metric, as the transmission remains single-sequence rather than multi-sequence.

The patent makes a single PUCCH resource block universal by enabling it to carry multiple control information payloads through different SC-FDMA sequences. Instead of requiring separate dedicated resources for each control channel, the same resource block can accommodate multiple ACK/NAK reports, channel quality indicators, and scheduling requests by varying the cyclic shift and orthogonal cover code, thereby reducing overall system complexity.

The patent changes the parameters of the SC-FDMA sequence (cyclic shift value, orthogonal cover code index) to encode different control information on the same physical resource. By modifying these sequence parameters rather than allocating separate physical resources, the system achieves higher ACK/NAK capacity while keeping the resource management complexity low, as the eNodeB can differentiate channels through parameter detection rather than resource tracking.

The patent segments control information into multiple bits that are encoded within a single SC-FDMA sequence using different cyclic shifts and orthogonal covers, rather than transmitting multiple separate sequences. This segmentation approach maintains single-sequence transmission which keeps the cubic metric low, thereby preserving power amplifier efficiency while still achieving high control information capacity.

The patent converts the potential harm of needing to transmit multiple control channels into a benefit by using the cyclic shift and orthogonal cover code variations as encoding mechanisms. Instead of treating the need for multiple control channels as a reason to allocate multiple separate resources (which would increase cubic metric), the invention uses parameter variations within a single sequence to carry multiple channels, turning a constraint into an efficient encoding scheme that preserves power amplifier efficiency.