Wireless Network Node Interference Management via Cell-Specific Offsets

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless telecommunications networks face significant co-channel interference issues, particularly in two-tier networks with macro and small cells, leading to handover failures and reduced network capacity, which existing solutions like non-overlapping frequency bands or coordinated multipoint transmission techniques either reduce spectral efficiency or increase complexity.

Innovation Solution

A method that dynamically allocates user equipment identifiers to relocate control messages within resources, minimizing interference by identifying and utilizing interference-free physical resources, either idle or reserved, during handovers and cell transitions, ensuring seamless coexistence of macro and small-cell tiers without significantly reducing network capacity or spectral efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If small cells are deployed within macro cells to increase network capacity, then network capacity is improved, but co-channel interference increases leading to handover failures

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork capacityVSAvoidhandover success rate
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The invention segments the control message resources by introducing a cell-specific offset parameter that distributes control messages from different cells into different time-frequency locations. This segmentation prevents co-channel interference between macro and small cells by ensuring that control messages from interfering cells do not overlap in the same resource locations, thereby maintaining handover reliability while preserving network capacity enhancement from small cell deployment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention adds a new dimension to resource allocation by introducing a cell-specific offset parameter that operates in addition to the existing time-frequency resource dimensions. This additional dimension allows control messages from different cells to be separated in the resource space, enabling interference avoidance without sacrificing the spectral efficiency gains from small cell deployment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If non-overlapping frequency bands are used for macro and small cells, then co-channel interference is reduced, but spectral efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinterference reductionVSAvoidspectral efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention applies local quality by allowing macro and small cells to use the same frequency band (co-channel) for data transmission while applying different resource offsets for control messages in specific locations. This enables interference reduction for control messages while maintaining spectral efficiency for data transmission, achieving both goals simultaneously through location-specific resource differentiation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If coordinated multipoint transmission techniques are used, then interference is reduced, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinterference managementVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the interference management function from complex coordinated multipoint transmission techniques and implements it through a simple cell-specific offset parameter. By separating the control message resource allocation from the data transmission coordination, the invention achieves interference reduction without requiring complex coordinated transmission mechanisms, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining interference management effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP2809122B1Wireless Telecommunications Network Node and Method
Publication Date: 2019.07.10 ALCATEL LUCENT SA
  • EP2809122B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP2809122B1 patent drawingFigure 4~6
  • EP2809122B1 patent drawingFigure 7~8

AI summary

A wireless telecommunications network node, a method and a computer program product are disclosed. The wireless telecommunications network node method comprises: defining a set of neighbouring co-channel cells comprising a plurality of cells; determining that an event has occurred relating to user equipment being supported by at least two cells of the set; and allocating a user equipment identifier to the user equipment being supported by the at least two cells of the set to locate corresponding messages for the user equipment within a resource at locations which reduce interference between those messages. Hence, rather than randomly allocating user equipment identifiers, by using specific user equipment identifiers, it is possible to locate messages at locations within the resource which obviates or reduces interference between those messages.