Uplink Scheduling Circuitry Fair Resource Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communication networks, the limited number of beams and regulatory constraints lead to an unfair distribution of uplink resources among terminals, as only terminals capable of receiving uplink control information during downlink time slots can be allocated resources, resulting in disproportionate resource allocation.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a base station with separate downlink and uplink scheduling circuitry, where the uplink scheduling circuitry provides a control signal to influence the downlink scheduling process, ensuring that uplink data allocations are determined so that terminals can receive uplink control information, and the uplink scheduling circuitry is configured to adjust resource distribution fairly by considering uplink priority orders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If uplink resource information is transmitted as part of downlink data using downlink resources, then the base station can inform terminals of their allocated uplink resources, but this limits which terminals can receive the uplink resource information in a given downlink time slot, resulting in unfair distribution of uplink resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scheduling control information into two separate parts: downlink scheduling information transmitted in downlink time slots, and uplink scheduling information transmitted in uplink time slots. This segmentation allows terminals to receive uplink resource allocations through dedicated uplink control channels rather than competing for downlink resources, thereby improving uplink resource distribution fairness while preserving downlink throughput capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a separate uplink control channel as an intermediary mechanism for transmitting uplink scheduling information. This intermediary channel decouples the transmission of uplink resource allocations from downlink data transmissions, allowing terminals to reliably receive uplink resource information without consuming downlink resources that would otherwise be available for downlink data throughput.
2Device complexity
If the number of beams is limited due to regulatory and hardware constraints, then the base station structure remains manageable, but the number of terminals with which the base station can communicate at a given point in time is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic beam switching and time-varying beam assignments where the base station can change active beams between time slots and adapt beam directions based on terminal positions and traffic demands. This dynamic approach allows the limited number of physical beams to serve a larger number of terminals over time by rotating beam assignments, effectively increasing terminal communication capacity without adding more physical beam hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic beam sweeping and systematic beam assignment cycles where each terminal is served by different beams at different time intervals. This periodic rotation of beam assignments ensures that all terminals receive fair access to the limited beam resources over time, increasing overall system capacity while maintaining simple base station hardware architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A base station for wireless communication with a plurality of terminals and a method of operating a base station are described. The base station comprises downlink scheduling circuitry to perform a downlink scheduling process and uplink scheduling circuitry to perform a corresponding uplink scheduling process, the uplink scheduling process being constrained based on results of the downlink scheduling process. In addition, the uplink scheduling circuitry is configured to provide, to the downlink scheduling circuitry, a control signal to influence the downlink scheduling process.