Uplink Link Quality Evaluation Using Network Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional link quality evaluations in cellular networks rely primarily on downlink measurements, which are inadequate for assessing uplink link quality, leading to inefficiencies in radio transmission time and battery life, and do not provide direct information to user equipment (UE) for optimizing communication.
Innovation Solution
The UE determines uplink link quality by analyzing allocation parameters such as modulation and coding scheme, resource block allocation, transmit power, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmissions, using a tiered approach to evaluate these parameters against thresholds to identify good or poor link quality and send appropriate feedback to the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If downlink measurements are used for link quality evaluation, then the evaluation can be performed using existing network infrastructure, but the accuracy of uplink link quality assessment is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the network evaluates uplink link quality using allocation parameters and transmits this evaluation back to the UE. This allows the UE to obtain accurate uplink quality information without needing to perform complex own-side measurements, resolving the contradiction between measurement accuracy and information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The network acts as an intermediary that performs the uplink quality evaluation on behalf of the UE. By using allocation parameters from the network's perspective and feeding back the results, the system achieves accurate uplink assessment without requiring the UE to directly measure or infer uplink conditions.
2Productivity
If conventional downlink-based link quality evaluation is used, then network infrastructure requirements are minimal, but radio transmission time efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By implementing feedback of network-evaluated link quality to the UE, the system enables more accurate and timely link quality awareness at the UE side. This allows for better transmission decisions, reducing wasted transmission time and improving overall radio efficiency.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If conventional link quality evaluation methods are used, then device complexity is low, but battery life consumption increases due to inefficient transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback mechanism provides the UE with accurate link quality information from the network, enabling more efficient transmission decisions. This reduces unnecessary transmissions and retransmissions, thereby conserving battery life without requiring complex UE-side measurement and evaluation mechanisms.
4Measurement precision
If UE performs own-side uplink quality measurements, then direct quality information is available at UE, but measurement accuracy is insufficient due to lack of network perspective
Solution Approach 1:
The network serves as an intermediary that performs the quality evaluation from its perspective using allocation parameters. This provides the UE with accurate quality information that reflects actual network conditions, combining the simplicity of UE operation with the accuracy of network-side assessment.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus, system and methods for evaluating link quality within a cellular system. A user equipment (“UE”) is connected to a network, wherein the UE communicates data to the network on an uplink (“UL”) link. The UE determines a requested buffer size for a UL communication, determines a transport block size for the UL communication based on a primary set of allocation parameters, and compares the requested buffer size to the transport block size to determine if a data rate for the UL communication satisfies a threshold. When the data rate satisfies the threshold, the UE identifies the UL link as a good quality link and sends acceptable link quality feedback to the network. When the data rate does not satisfy the threshold, the UE performs a further action to test a quality of the UL link.