RU2575395C2 - System and method of allocating transmission resources based on transmission rank - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: radio engineering, communication.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to wireless transmission of data by transmitter using a plurality of transmission layers. The method includes estimating the number of data vector symbols (124) to be allocated to one or more user data codewords (122) during a subframe; determining the number of bits in the one or more user data codewords (122); calculating the standard number of control vector symbols (124) to allocate to control information based, at least in part, on the estimated number of data vector symbols (124) and the determined number of bits in the one or more user data codewords (122); determining an offset value based, at least in part, on the number of layers through which the transmitter (100) will transmit during the subframe; and calculating the final number of control vector symbols (124).

EFFECT: allocating transmission resources between control signalling and user data.

20 cl, 11 dwg

Description

Priority claim under Section 119 (e) of Section 35 of the United States Code

This application claims advantage in provisional application US No. 61 / 330,454, filed May 3, 2010, entitled "Rank Dependent Offset for Multiplexing Control and Data in Multiple Antenna Transmissions", which is incorporated herein by reference in full.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to resource allocation for transmissions using multiple antennas.

The scope of the invention

Transmission techniques using many antennas can significantly increase the data transfer rates and reliability of wireless communication systems, especially in systems where both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas to allow the use of transmission techniques using multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO). Standards of advanced communications systems, such as LTE Advanced, utilize a MIMO transmission technique that can provide the ability to transmit data through multiple different spatially multiplexed channels simultaneously, thereby significantly increasing data throughput.

Although MIMO transmission techniques can significantly increase throughput, such techniques can significantly increase the complexity of managing radio channels. In addition, many advanced communication system techniques, such as LTE, rely on a significant amount of control signaling to optimize the configuration of transmitting devices and their use of a shared radio channel. Due to the increased amount of control signaling in advanced communication system techniques, it is often necessary to share resources for user data and control signaling. For example, in LTE systems, control signaling and user data, in certain situations, are multiplexed by user equipment (“UE”) for transmission over a physical uplink shared channel (“PUSCH”).

However, traditional transmission resource allocation solutions have been developed for use with single-level transmission schemes in which only one codeword of user data is transmitted at a time. As a result, such resource allocation solutions are not able to provide an optimal distribution of transmission resources between control information and user data when using MIMO techniques to transmit data across multiple layers at the same time. In addition, in MIMO systems, the suboptimal selection of a precoder may lead to poor performance for control signaling. This degradation can be especially significant when using low transmission grades. As a result, conventional solutions may be highly inadequate for low-level multi-level transmissions when a sub-optimal precoder is selected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, certain disadvantages and problems associated with wireless communication have been significantly reduced or eliminated. In particular, certain devices and techniques are described for allocating transmission resources between control information and user data.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for wirelessly transmitting data using a plurality of transmission layers includes estimating the number of vector data symbols for distributing one or more codewords of user data per subframe and determining the number of bits in one or more codewords user data. The method also includes calculating a nominal number of control vector symbols for distributing control information based at least in part on an estimated number of vector data symbols and a determined number of bits in one or more code words of user data. Furthermore, the method includes determining the offset value based at least in part on the number of levels through which the transmitter will transmit during the subframe, and calculating the total number of control vector characters by multiplying the nominal number of control vector characters by the offset value. The method also includes mapping one or more control codewords to a total number of control vector characters and transmitting vector characters carrying one or more codewords of user data and one or more control codewords through a plurality of transmission levels during a subframe.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for receiving user data and control information transmitted wirelessly through a plurality of transmission layers includes receiving a plurality of vector symbols from a wireless terminal through a plurality of transmission layers and estimating the number of vector symbols of user data allocated to one or more codewords of user data transmitted through a wireless terminal. The method also includes determining the number of bits in one or more codewords of user data and calculating a nominal number of control vector characters transmitted by the wireless terminal based at least in part on the estimated number of vector characters of user data and the determined number of bits in one or more user data codewords. Furthermore, the method includes determining an offset value based at least in part on the number of transmission levels through which the wireless terminal has transmitted a plurality of vector symbols, and calculating a total number of control vector symbols by multiplying the nominal number of control vector symbols by the offset value. The method further includes decoding the received vector symbols based on the total number of control vector symbols.

According to another embodiment, a method for scheduling wireless transmissions through a plurality of transmission layers includes receiving a scheduling request from a transmitter and determining a transmission rank, the total number of vector characters to be used, and the number of bits in one or more codewords of user data, taking into account at least partially, the estimated number of control vector characters. The estimated number of control vector characters is determined by estimating the number of vector characters of user data to be used, estimating the number of bits in one or more control code words for transmitting, determining an offset value associated with the transmission rank, and computing the estimated number of control vector characters, intended for use in transmitting one or more codewords of user data. The estimated number of control vector characters is based, at least in part, on the estimated number of user data vector characters intended for use in transmitting one or more codewords of user data, the estimated number of bits in one or more control codewords, the number of bits in one or more user data codewords and offset value. The method also includes generating a response to the scheduling request and transmitting the response to the transmitter.

Additional embodiments include devices capable of implementing the above methods and / or variations thereof.

Important technical advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention include reducing the costs associated with transmitting control signaling by matching the distribution with the channel quality indicated by the payloads of user data codewords. Other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawings, descriptions and claims. In addition, although specific advantages have been listed above, various embodiments may include all, some, or none of the advantages listed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its advantages, reference will now be made to the following description in combination with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a specific embodiment of a multi-antenna transmitter;

FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram illustrating a specific embodiment of a carrier modulator that may be used in the transmitter of FIG. one;

FIG. 2B-2E depict examples of transmissions by a particular embodiment of a transmitter;

FIG. 3 is a structural block diagram depicting the contents of a specific embodiment of a transmitter;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart detailing an example operation of a particular embodiment of a transmitter;

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram depicting the contents of a network node that is responsible for scheduling reception and / or transmission of a transmitter;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting an example of the operation of a particular embodiment of a network node. FIG. 5 when receiving transmissions from the transmitter; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting an example of the operation of a particular embodiment of a network node when scheduling transmitter transmissions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a specific embodiment of a multi-antenna transmitter 100. In particular, FIG. 1 shows a transmitter 100 configured to multiplex a specific control signaling with user data for transmission over a single radio channel. The illustrated embodiment of the transmitter 100 includes a splitter 102, a plurality of channel interleavers 104, a plurality of scramblers 106, a plurality of symbol modulators 108, a level display module 110, and a carrier modulator 112. The transmitter 100 allocates transmission resources for control signaling at a plurality of transmission levels based on an assessment of the quality of the radio channel through which the transmitter 100 will transmit. As described below, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 reduce the overhead of transmitted control information by using payload estimation of data of a plurality of levels and / or codewords as a measure of channel quality.

Control signaling can have a critical effect on the performance of wireless communication systems. As used herein, “control signaling” and “control information” refer to any information exchanged between components for communication purposes, any parameters intended for use by one or both components in communication with each other (for example, parameters, related to modulation, coding schemes, antenna configurations), any information indicating the receipt or non-receipt of transmissions, and / or any other form of control information. For example, in LTE systems, uplink control signaling includes, for example, Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) receipts / negative receipts (HARQs), precoding matrix indicators (PMIs), and rank indicators (RIs) and Channel Quality Indicators (CQIs), which are all used by the eNodeB (Evolved Node B) to obtain confirmation of successful reception of transport blocks or to improve the characteristics of downlink transmissions. Although control signaling is often transmitted on separate control channels, such as an uplink physical control channel (PUCCH) in LTE, it may be advantageous or necessary to transmit control signaling on the same channel as other data.

For example, in LTE systems, when the periodic PUCCH distribution is combined with the provision of scheduling for user equipment (UEs) to transmit user data, user data and control signaling share transmission resources to preserve the properties of a single carrier in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing technique with an extension of based on the discrete Fourier transform (DFTS-OFDM) used by the UE over LTE. In addition, when the UE receives the scheduling grant to transmit data on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), it usually receives information from the eNodeB related to the characteristics of the uplink propagation channel and other parameters that can be used to improve transmission efficiency PUSCH. Such information may include modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indicators, as well as for UEs capable of using multiple transmit antennas, PMI indicators, or RI indicators. As a result, UEs may be able to use this information to optimize PUSCH transmission for a radio channel, thereby increasing the amount of data that can be transmitted for a given set of transmission resources. Thus, by multiplexing the control signaling with user data transmitted over the PUSCH, the UE can support significantly more control payloads than transmitting the control signaling by itself on the PUCCH.

It is possible to multiplex the control signaling and user data by simply allocating the set amount of time domain transmission resources for control information and then performing carrier modulation and precoding of the control signaling along with the data. In this way, control information and data are multiplexed and transmitted in parallel on all subcarriers. For example, in LTE version 8, DFTS-OFDM symbols are generated from a predetermined number of information vector symbols. As used herein, a “vector symbol” may represent any set of information that includes an information element associated with each transmission layer through which information will be transmitted. Assuming a normal cyclic prefix length, fourteen of these DFTS-OFDM symbols may be transmitted in each uplink subframe. A predetermined number and distribution of these symbols is used to transmit various types of control signaling, and the remaining symbols can be used to transmit user data.

However, the amount of control signaling for multiplexing on data transmission is usually much less than the amount of user data. In addition, since both control signaling and user data may be associated with different requirements for the frequency of occurrence of erroneous blocks, control signaling is often encoded separately and using a coding scheme different from user data. For example, user data is often encoded using turbo codes or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, which are highly efficient for longer blocks (i.e. large blocks of information bits). Control signaling, which uses only a small amount of information bits, such as HARQ ACK / NACK signaling or rank indicators, is often more efficiently encoded using a block code. For medium-sized control signaling, such as large-sized CQI reports, a convolutional code (possibly with trailing bits) often provides better performance. Consequently, fixed or predefined distribution of transmission resources for control signaling and user data can lead to inefficient use of such resources, and the optimal allocation of resources will often depend on multiple factors, including channel quality, type of control signaling, and various other considerations.

The use of multiple transmit antennas can further complicate the distribution of transmission resources between control signaling and user data when two types of information are multiplexed together over a common channel. When MIMO techniques are used to simultaneously transmit multiple data codewords of data in parallel, control signaling may be transmitted across multiple different codewords and / or levels of a transmission scheme. The optimal allocation of resources in such situations may differ from the optimal distribution in the same circumstances when a single transmit antenna is used. In addition, the multiple antenna technique used for control signaling may differ from the technique used for user data. Control signaling is often coded for maximum reliability (for example, with maximum transmit diversity), and not for maximum throughput. In contrast, user data is often combined with a retransmission mechanism, which enables the use of more aggressive coding techniques with multiple antennas. Thus, if the transmitter 100 has information indicating the supported user data payload, then the transmitter 100 may not be able to assume that the supported payload for the control signaling is the same in determining the optimal transmission resource allocation for the control signaling. For example, the supported peak spectral efficiency of the encoded user data may be substantially greater than the supported peak spectral efficiency of the encoded control signaling.

Thus, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 determine the distribution of transmission resources through a plurality of codewords and / or transmission levels for control signaling over a channel in which the control signaling and user data are multiplexed. More specifically, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 utilize multiple layer data payloads or codewords to estimate the spectral efficiency supported by the multi-layer coding scheme currently used by the transmitter 100 for control signaling. Based on this estimated spectral efficiency, the transmitter 100 may then determine the amount of transmission resources (e.g., the number of vector symbols) to use for control signaling.

Turning to an exemplary embodiment illustrated by FIG. 1, the transmitter 100 during operation generates or receives control codewords and data codewords (represented in FIG. 1 by a control codeword 120 and user data codewords 122a and 122b, respectively) for transmission to a receiver via a radio channel. To allow multiplexing of the control codewords 120 and user data codewords 122 over a common channel, the splitter 102 splits the control codeword 120 for use by a plurality of channel interleavers 104. The splitter 102 may divide the control codeword 120 in any suitable way between the channel interleavers 104, outputting a full copy or some suitable part on each data path. As one example, a splitter 102 may share a control codeword 120 for use in multiple data paths by duplicating a control codeword 120 on both data paths, outputting a complete copy of the control codeword 120 to each channel interleaver 104. As another example, the splitter 102 can split control codeword 120 by performing a series-parallel conversion of the control codeword 120, outputting a unique portion of the control codeword 120 to each channel interleaver 104.

Each channel interleaver 104 interleaves the user data codeword 122 with the control codeword 120 (or a full copy of the control codeword 120, a specific part of the control codeword 120, or a combination of both, depending on the configuration of the splitter 102). The channel interleavers 104 may be configured to interleave the user data codewords 122 and the control codeword 120 so that the level mapper 110 will map them to vector symbols in the desired manner. The interleaved output signals of the channel interleavers 104 are then scrambled by means of scramblers 106 and modulated by symbol modulators 108.

Symbols from the outputs of the symbol modulators 108 are mapped to transmission levels by the level mapper 110. In specific embodiments, there is a relationship between the number of codewords of user data and / or control information transmitted and the number of transmission levels (“transmission rank”) to be used for transmission. For example, in specific embodiments where the transmitter 100 is an LTE UE, one transmission layer is used when one user data codeword 122 is for transmission, as shown by FIG. 2B, and the transmission has a rank of 1. However, when two user data codewords 122 are transmitted in such embodiments, the number of levels used may vary depending on the circumstances and capabilities of the devices involved, as shown by FIG. 2C-2E. FIG. 2C illustrates a situation in which each of the first user data codeword 120a and the second user data codeword 120b for transmission is mapped to one layer, whereby two layers are used for transmission. FIG. 2D illustrates a situation in which a user data codeword 120a is mapped to one layer, but a user data codeword 120b is mapped to two levels with all or part of a user data codeword 120b transmitted over each of two transmission layers. As a result, the transmission depicted in FIG. 2D, uses three levels. FIG. 2E illustrates a situation in which both the user data codeword 120a and the user data codeword 120b are mapped to two transmission layers. As a result, the transmission depicted in FIG. 2E, uses four transmission layers. A copy (or other part) of the user data codeword 120a is transmitted at each of the first and second levels, and a copy (or other part) of the user data codeword 120b is transmitted at each of the third and fourth levels.

Level display module 110 outputs sequences of vector symbols 124 that are provided to carrier modulator 112. As an example, for embodiments of a transmitter 100 that supports LTE, each vector symbol 124 may represent an associated group of modulation symbols that are intended to be transmitted simultaneously at different transmission levels. Each modulation symbol in a particular vector symbol 124 is associated with a particular level through which this modulation symbol will be transmitted.

After the level display module 110 maps the received symbols to vector symbols 124, the carrier modulator 112 modulates information from the resulting vector symbols 124 into a plurality of radio frequency (RF) subcarrier signals. Depending on the communication technologies supported by the transmitter 100, the carrier modulator 112 may also process the vector symbols 124 to prepare them for transmission, for example, by precoding the vector symbols 124. Operation according to an exemplary embodiment of the carrier modulator 112 for LTE implementations is discussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 2. After any appropriate processing, the carrier modulator 112 then transmits the modulated subcarriers through the plurality of transmit antennas 114.

When multiplexing control signals and data on a precoding system with many antennas, the multiplexed control signals experience the effective channel specified by Equation (1) (after taking into account the residual intersymbol interference):

, Уравнение (1) $$\widehat{s}(n)=H_{eff,W}\otimes s(n)+e(n)$$

, Equation (1)

, представляет собой предварительно кодированный сигнал временной области, $$s(n)$$

, который передается посредством передатчика 100, подвергаемый круговой свертке с помощью эффективной импульсной характеристики канала, $$H_{eff,w}$$

, и подвергаемый воздействию вектора шума/помех, $$e(n)$$

. В Уравнении (1) нижний индекс W в $$H_{eff,W}$$

указывает, что эффективный канал зависит от предварительного кодера, W.where is the received signal $$\widehat{s}(n)$$

is a precoded time domain signal, $$s(n)$$

which is transmitted by the transmitter 100, subjected to circular convolution using the effective impulse response of the channel, $$H_{eff,w}$$

, and exposed to the noise / interference vector, $$e(n)$$

. In Equation (1), the subscript W in $$H_{eff,W}$$

indicates that the effective channel depends on the precoder, W.

The transmission rank, and thus the number of spatially multiplexed levels, is reflected by the number of columns in the precoder, W. For efficient operation, the transmission rank, which is consistent with the channel properties, is usually selected. Often, a device that selects a pre-encoder is also responsible for selecting a transmission rank - one way is to simply evaluate the performance metric for each possible rank and choose a rank that optimizes the performance metric. For the LTE-Advanced uplink, the use of closed precoding leads to the selection in the eNodeB of the preliminary encoder (s) and transmission rank, and after that, the signaling of the selected preliminary encoder, which is supposed to be used by transmitter 100.

, зависит в значительной степени от выбранного предварительного кодера, управляющая сигнализация является чувствительной к характеристикам предварительного кодера. Предварительный кодер обычно оптимизируется, чтобы максимизировать пропускную способность данных, которые обычно имеют более свободные требования к частоте блоков с ошибками (BLER), чем управляющая сигнализация. Противоположно каналу данных управляющая сигнализация обычно не имеет механизма повторной передачи, и по этой причине имеет существенно более жесткие требования к надежности линии связи. Если передача управляющей сигнализации является безуспешной, то работа системы подвергается опасности.Since the effective channel, visible through the control signaling, $$H_{eff,w}$$

depends largely on the selected precoder, the control signaling is sensitive to the characteristics of the precoder. The precoder is typically optimized to maximize the throughput of data, which typically has looser block frequency (BLER) requirements than control signaling. Contrary to the data channel, control signaling usually does not have a retransmission mechanism, and for this reason it has substantially more stringent requirements for the reliability of the communication line. If the transmission of control signaling is unsuccessful, then the operation of the system is at risk.

One particular problem for multi-antenna precoding transmissions occurs when the preliminary encoder, W, is selected so that it is not well matched to the propagation radio channel, H _k , in this case the signal-to-noise plus noise ratio (SINR) on one or more threads will be significantly reduced. This may, for example, be due to estimation noise, which leads to suboptimal selection of the precoder. Pulsing inter-cell interference can likewise lead to the wrong choice of transmission rank. The effect of erroneous precoder selection is especially severe for low-rank channels where spatial directions of transmission that essentially do not transmit energy to the receiver (or “zero space”) are large and the corresponding low-rank precoder that has significant overlap with large zero space, may be mistakenly selected. This is a smaller problem, however, for high-rank channels that have a small zero space. Such high rank channels will most likely be matched with the high rank precoders. For this reason, it is much less likely that the erroneously selected high-rank precoder will be completely limited to the small zero space of the high-rank channels with which it will be used.

As a result of this contradiction between high-rank and low-rank transmissions, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 may consider the rank of the transmission when allocating transmission resources between the control signaling and user data to be transmitted. In particular embodiments, this distribution of transmission resources is reflected in the number of vector symbols 124 that the transmitter 100 uses to transmit a particular control codeword 120. Thus, the transmitter 100 can consider the transmission rank when determining the number of vector symbols 124 to use for transmitting user custom codewords data 122 and / or said number for use in transmitting control codewords 120.

) векторных символов 124 для распределения для управляющих кодовых слов 120 и регулировать это номинальное число с использованием характерного для ранга значения смещения ( $${\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

), связанного с рангом передачи соответствующей передачи для определения масштабированного числа ( $$Q\text{'}$$

) векторных символов 124 для распределения для управляющих кодовых слов 120.The transmitter 100 may use the transmission rank in any suitable way to determine the appropriate number of vector symbols 124 to distribute various types of information. As one specific example, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 may calculate a nominal number ( $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}$$

) vector symbols 124 for distribution for control codewords 120 and adjust this nominal number using the rank-specific offset value ( $${\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

) associated with the transmission rank of the corresponding transmission to determine the scaled number ( $$Q\text{'}\text{'}$$

) vector symbols 124 for distribution for control codewords 120.

The offset value may be any suitable value that can be used to control the amount of transmission resources used to transmit control information. As one example, in particular embodiments, lower rank transmissions are associated with larger bias values than higher rank transmissions. As a result, in such embodiments, the offset values for the low rank transmission can increase the nominal resource allocation more than the offset value of the high rank transmission. This leads to the fact that more transmission resources are allocated to control information for low rank transmissions and for such transmissions their reliability with respect to inconsistent precoders can increase.

Each possible transmission rank (i.e., the number of transmission layers used for transmission) for transmission is associated with an offset value. Depending on the configuration of a particular embodiment of the transmitter 100, each possible transmission rank may be associated with a different offset value, or multiple transmission ranks may be associated with the same offset value. For example, in specific embodiments, the transmission rank for transmission will depend in part on the number of user data codewords 122 for transmission, as explained above with respect to FIG. 2B-2E. As a result, the various possible transmission grades that the transmitter 100 can use to transmit a predetermined number of user data codewords 122 may all be associated with the same offset value. In such embodiments, the transmitter 100 may use a first size offset value for the transmission ranks associated with the transmission of one user data codeword 122 (for example, for rank one transmission, such as the transmission shown in FIG. 2B) and a second size offset value for all transmission ranks associated with the transmission of two data codewords 122 (for example, for transmission with rank two, for transmission with rank three, or transmission with rank four, such as those shown in Fig. 2C-2E, respectively). As a result, the transmitter 100 may use a larger offset value for distributing control signaling for transmissions including one user data codeword 122 than for transmissions including a plurality of user data codewords 122, since a transmission including one user codeword data 122 uses fewer transmission layers than a transmission including a plurality of user data codewords 122.

так, что:The transmitter 100 may use an appropriate offset value to determine the allocation of resources in any suitable manner. In specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 may determine $$Q\text{'}\text{'}$$

so that:

. $$Q\text{'}\text{'}=\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

.

может быть динамически меняющимся номинальным распределением ресурсов, которое определяется из полезных нагрузок кодовых слов 122 пользовательских данных и числа битов в управляющих кодовых словах 120. В конкретных вариантах осуществления передатчик 100 может вычислять $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}$$

так, что:This is the nominal number. $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}$$

may be a dynamically changing nominal resource allocation, which is determined from the payloads of user data codewords 122 and the number of bits in control codewords 120. In specific embodiments, transmitter 100 may calculate $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}$$

so that:

, Уравнение (2) $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}=O\cdot f\left({\widehat{Q}}_{data},{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_N-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{0r},...,}{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_N-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{N_{CW}-\mathrm{one,}r}}\right)$$

, Equation (2)

and thus:

, Уравнение (3) $$Q\text{'}\text{'}=O\cdot f\left({\widehat{Q}}_{data},{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_N-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{0r},...,}{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_N-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{N_{CW}-\mathrm{one,}r}}\right)\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

, Equation (3)

представляет собой функцию, которая дает оценку числа векторных символов 124, которые будут распределены передаваемым кодовым словам 122 пользовательских данных ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

) (такие векторные символы называются в настоящем документе как "векторные символы пользовательских данных"), отображает полезные нагрузки данных каждого из $$N_{CW}$$

кодовых слов 122 пользовательских данных на оценку числа векторных символов 124, предназначенных для использования для каждого бита управляющих кодовых слов 120, предназначенных для передачи в течение субкадра. В Уравнениях (2) и (3) $$K_{q,r}$$

представляет число битов в r-м кодовом блоке q-го кодового слова пользовательских данных, предназначенных для передачи в течение субкадра, с r≥1 и q≥1, $$C_{n,m}$$

является числом кодовых блоков в m-м кодовом слове пользовательских данных с m≥1, $$N_{CW}$$

является числом управляющих кодовых слов, предназначенных для передачи в течение субкадра, O является числом битов в управляющих кодовых словах 120. Если биты циклического контроля по избыточности (CRC) используются с управляющими кодовыми словами 120 и/или кодовыми словами 122 пользовательских данных, то соответствующие значения для $$K_{q,r}$$

и/или O могут включать в себя любые CRC биты в их суммах. Как предлагается посредством назначаемых диапазонов для r (r≥1) и для q (q≥1) для упомянутой выше формулы, передатчик 100 может выполнять это вычисление с использованием одного или более кодовых блоков из одного или более кодовых слов 122 пользовательских данных.Where $$f\left({\widehat{Q}}_{data},{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_N-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{0r},...,}{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_N-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{N_{CW}-\mathrm{one,}r}}\right)$$

is a function that gives an estimate of the number of vector symbols 124 that will be allocated to the transmitted codewords 122 of user data ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

) (such vector symbols are referred to herein as “user data vector symbols”), displays the data payloads of each of $$N_{CW}$$

user data codewords 122 for estimating the number of vector symbols 124 for use for each bit of control codewords 120 for transmission during a subframe. In Equations (2) and (3) $$K_{q,r}$$

represents the number of bits in the rth code block of the qth codeword of user data intended for transmission during a subframe, with r≥1 and q≥1, $$C_{n,m}$$

is the number of code blocks in the mth codeword of user data with m≥1, $$N_{CW}$$

is the number of control codewords intended to be transmitted during the subframe, O is the number of bits in the control codewords 120. If cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits are used with control codewords 120 and / or user data codewords 122, then the corresponding values for $$K_{q,r}$$

and / or O may include any CRC bits in their sums. As suggested by the assignable ranges for r (r≥1) and q (q≥1) for the above formula, the transmitter 100 can perform this calculation using one or more code blocks from one or more code words 122 of the user data.

) без учета результирующего числа векторных символов 124, которые будут распределяться управляющей информацией. Взамен, передатчик 100 может оценивать $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

на основе предположения того, что все ресурсы передачи, предоставляемые передатчику 100 для соответствующей передачи, будут использоваться, чтобы передавать пользовательские данные. Например, передатчик 100 может использовать значение $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}=M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}\cdot N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

, где $$M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

является общим числом поднесущих, планируемых для использования передатчиком 100 для соответствующей передачи, и $$N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

является общим числом векторных символов 124, предоставляемых передатчику 100 для передачи как управляющих, так и пользовательских данных в соответствующей передаче. В таких вариантах осуществления передатчик 100 переоценивает объем ресурсов, которые будут использоваться для передачи управляющих кодовых слов 120 как компромисс для упрощения принятия решения по распределению.In specific embodiments that use this formulation to determine the nominal number of control vector symbols, the transmitter 100 may estimate the number of vector symbols of user data ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

) without taking into account the resulting number of vector symbols 124, which will be distributed by the control information. In return, the transmitter 100 may evaluate $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

based on the assumption that all transmission resources provided to the transmitter 100 for appropriate transmission will be used to transmit user data. For example, the transmitter 100 may use the value $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}=M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}\cdot N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

where $$M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

is the total number of subcarriers planned for use by the transmitter 100 for the corresponding transmission, and $$N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

is the total number of vector symbols 124 provided to the transmitter 100 for transmitting both control and user data in the respective transmission. In such embodiments, the transmitter 100 overestimates the amount of resources that will be used to transmit control codewords 120 as a compromise to simplify distribution decisions.

при оценивании $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

. Например, передатчик 100 может использовать конкретную форму Уравнения (2), в соответствии с которой:In other embodiments that use this formulation to determine the nominal number, the transmitter 100 may take into account the number of control vector characters that will flow from the estimated number of vector characters of user data $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

when evaluating $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

. For example, the transmitter 100 may use a specific form of Equation (2), according to which:

, Уравнение (4) $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}=O\cdot f\left({\widehat{Q}}_{data}(Q\text{'}\text{'}),{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_{k0}-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{0r},...,}{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_{k,N_{CW}}-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{N_{CW}-\mathrm{one,}r}}\right)$$

, Equation (4)

and thus:

, Уравнение (5)

, Equation (5)

является функцией масштабированного числа Q' векторных символов 124, предназначенных для распределения для управляющей информации. Передатчик 100 может затем решать Q' рекуррентно или подставляя выражение для

и решая для Q' напрямую. Варианты осуществления передатчика 100, которые используют Уравнения (4) и (5) для распределения ресурсов передачи между пользовательскими данными и управляющей информации, могут уменьшать издержки, связанные с передачей управляющей информации, основывая распределения на более точной оценке $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

.where is the estimated number of vector characters of user data intended for use

is a function of the scaled number Q ′ of vector symbols 124 for distribution to control information. The transmitter 100 may then decide Q ′ recurrently or substituting an expression for

and deciding for Q 'directly. Embodiments of a transmitter 100 that use Equations (4) and (5) to allocate transmission resources between user data and control information can reduce the overhead associated with transmitting control information based on distributions based on a more accurate estimate. $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

.

As another example of how the transmitter 100 can take into account the rank of the transmission when allocating transmission resources, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 may determine the nominal number of control vector characters based on a configurable offset parameter that will be used to scale the nominal number of control vector characters. Thus, in specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 can calculate Q ′ such that:

. Уравнение (6) $$Q\text{'}\text{'}=\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}({\beta }_{offset}(r))\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

. Equation (6)

, в соответствии с которой:Such embodiments may use the language to

according to which:

, Уравнение (7) $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}({\beta }_{offset}(r))=\frac{O\cdot Q_{all}}{g\left({\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_{k0}-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{0r},...,}{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_{k,N_{CW}}-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{N_{CW}-\mathrm{one,}r}}\right)+O\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)}$$

, Equation (7)

and thus:

. Уравнение (8) $$Q\text{'}\text{'}=\frac{O\cdot Q_{all}}{g\left({\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_{k0}-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{0r},...,}{\displaystyle \sum _{r=0}^{C_{k,N_{CW}}-\mathrm{one}}{K}_{N_{CW}-\mathrm{one,}r}}\right)+O\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)}\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

. Equation (8)

представляет общее распределение ресурсов, гарантируемое передатчику 100 (или оценку из этого) для передачи как управляющей информации, так и пользовательских данных в соответствующей передаче. В конкретных вариантах осуществления передатчик может использовать значение

^, равное $$M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}\cdot N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

. Учитывая действие параметра смещения для конкретного ранга при определении номинального числа, передатчик 100 может быть способен оптимизировать объем издержек, используемых, чтобы передавать управляющую информацию.In Equations (7) and (8)

represents the total resource allocation guaranteed to transmitter 100 (or an estimate thereof) for transmitting both control information and user data in the corresponding transmission. In specific embodiments, the transmitter may use the value

^equal $$M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}\cdot N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

. Given the effect of the bias parameter for a particular rank in determining the nominal number, transmitter 100 may be able to optimize the amount of overhead used to transmit control information.

, для масштабирования номинального числа управляющих векторных символов, которые передатчик 100 определяет с использованием второго параметра смещения для конкретного ранга, $${\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}(r)$$

, так, чтоAs another example of how the transmitter 100 can take into account the rank of the transmission when allocating transmission resources, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 may use a different configurable offset parameter to determine the nominal number of control vector symbols. That is, the transmitter 100 may use a first bias parameter for a particular rank, $${\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

, to scale the nominal number of control vector characters that the transmitter 100 determines using the second offset parameter for a particular rank, $${\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}(r)$$

, so that

. Уравнение (9) $$Q\text{'}\text{'}=\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}({\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}(r))\cdot {\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

. Equation (9)

The use of various bias parameters can provide transmitter 100 with more control in optimizing the allocation of transmission resources.

After calculating the scaled number of control vector symbols 124 for distribution using any of the techniques described above, the transmitter 100 may process the scaled value appropriately to provide a certain type of total value or total value in a specific range. The transmitter 100 may then use a scaled number, or the result of any such processing, to determine the number of vector symbols 124 for distribution for control information. For example, the transmitter 100 can convert Q 'to an integer result (for example, using a ceiling function) or can set a minimum and / or maximum for Q' to ensure that the number of distributed control vector symbols 124 is within a specific range. Alternatively, transmitter 100 may process any of the individual input signals used by the above algorithms (e.g., estimated inverse spectral efficiency of user data) necessary to provide a suitable type or range for the resulting output. As one specific example, transmitter 100 may use a minimum threshold for the inverse spectral efficiency of user data to ensure that the total number of vector symbols 124 allocated for each control signal bit is greater than the minimum number.

After determining the number of vector symbols for distributing the control signaling for the respective transmission, the transmitter 100 can then map the control codewords 120 to the total number of symbol vectors 124. The transmitter 100 also maps user data codewords 122 to a specific number of user data symbol vectors. The transmitter 100 may then transmit the corresponding user data and control symbol vectors, as described above.

Thus, the transmitter 100 can provide improved techniques for allocating resources in various forms. Using these resource allocation techniques, specific embodiments of the transmitter 100 may be able to match the allocation of signaling control transmission resources to the transmission rank. As a result, such embodiments may be able to provide a more accurate control size distribution, resulting in lower uplink costs and / or improved reliability at the same costs. In particular, these embodiments may provide substantially improved performance for low rank transmissions when a suboptimal precoder is selected. Therefore, certain embodiments of the transmitter 100 may provide many functional advantages. Specific embodiments, however, may provide some, none of or all of these advantages.

Although the description above focuses on the implementation of the above resource allocation techniques in a transmitter, the above concepts can also be applied to a receiver. For example, when decoded transmissions are received from transmitter 100, the receiver may use certain aspects of the described techniques to estimate the amount of transmission resources that have been allocated to the control signaling. In addition, the described concepts can be applied to use transmission resource scheduling in wireless communication systems that utilize centralized resource management. For example, the eNode B may use certain aspects of the described techniques to estimate the amount of transmission resources of the UE, which includes the transmitter 100, will be allocated for control signaling for a given period of time or for a given amount of transmitted data. Based on this estimate, the eNode B may determine an appropriate number of transmission resources for scheduling for use by the corresponding UE. FIG. 5-7 describe in more detail the contents and operation of exemplary devices capable of performing such reception and / or scheduling. In addition, although the description herein focuses on the implementation of the described resource allocation techniques in wireless networks supporting LTE, the described resource allocation techniques can be used in conjunction with any appropriate communication technologies, including, but not limited to, LTE, High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA +) and Worldwide Compatibility for Microwave Access (WiMAX).

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram depicting in more detail the operation of a particular embodiment of a carrier modulator 112. In particular, FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a carrier modulator 112 that may be used by an embodiment of a transmitter 100 that utilizes DFTS-OFDM as required for uplink transmissions in LTE. Alternatively, embodiments may be configured to support any other appropriate type of carrier modulation. An illustrated embodiment of a carrier modulator 112 includes a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) module 202, a precoder 204, an inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) module 206, and a plurality of power amplifiers 208 (PA).

The carrier modulator 112 receives the vector symbols 124 coming from the output of the level display module 110. Received by the carrier modulator 112, the vector symbols 124 are values in the time domain. DFT module 202 maps vector symbols 124 to the frequency domain. The frequency domain version of the vector symbols 124 is then linearly pre-encoded by a pre-encoder 204 using a precoding matrix, W, i.e. a dimension (N _T × r), where N _T is the number of transmit antennas 114 to be used by the transmitter 100, and r is the number of transmission levels to be used by the transmitter 100. This precoding matrix combines and displays the information flows to r N _T subjected utyh precoding streams. The precoder 204 then generates a plurality of transmission vectors in the frequency domain by mapping these precoded symbols in the frequency domain to the plurality of subcarriers that have been allocated for transmission.

The transmission vectors in the frequency domain are then converted back to the time domain by means of IDFT module 206. In particular embodiments, the IDFT module 206 also applies a cyclic prefix (CP) to the resulting time domain transmission vectors. The transmission vectors in the time domain are then amplified by power amplifiers 208 and supplied from the output of the carrier modulator 112 to the antennas 114, which are used by the transmitter 100 to transmit the transmission vectors in the time domain through the radio channel to the receiver.

FIG. 3 is a structural block diagram depicting in more detail the contents of a particular embodiment of a transmitter 100. The transmitter 100 may be any suitable device capable of implementing the described resource allocation techniques in wireless communications. For example, in specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 represents a wireless terminal, such as user equipment (UE) over LTE. As depicted in FIG. 3, an illustrated embodiment of a transmitter 100 includes a processor 310, a memory 320, a transceiver 330, and multiple antennas 114.

The processor 310 may be or include any form of processing components including specialized microprocessors, general purpose computers, or other devices capable of processing electronic information. Examples of processor 310 include user-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), specialized integrated circuits (ASICs), and any other suitable specialized or general purpose processors. Although FIG. 3 illustrates, for simplicity's sake, an embodiment of a transmitter 100 that includes one processor 310, transmitter 100 may include any number of processors 310 configured to communicate in any suitable manner. In specific embodiments, some or all of the functionality described above with respect to FIG. 1 and 2 may be implemented by a processor 310 that executes instructions and / or operates in accordance with its hardware logic.

Memory 320 stores processor instructions, equation parameters, resource allocation, and / or any other data used by transmitter 320 during operation. Memory 320 may comprise any set and arrangement of volatile or nonvolatile, local or remote devices suitable for storing data, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, optical storage, or any other suitable type components for storing data. Although it is depicted as one element in FIG. 3, memory 320 may include one or more physical components, local or remote from transmitter 100.

The transceiver 330 transmits and receives radio frequency (RF) signals through antennas 340a-d. The transceiver 330 may be any suitable form of RF transceiver. Although the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 includes a certain number of antennas 340, alternative embodiments of the transmitter 100 may include any corresponding number of antennas 340. In addition, in specific embodiments, the transceiver 330 may represent, in whole or in part, part of a processor 310.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart detailing an example operation of a specific embodiment of a transmitter 100. In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of an embodiment of a transmitter 100 in allocating transmission resources for transmitting control codewords 120. The steps illustrated in FIG. 4, may be combined, changed, or deleted, where appropriate. Additional steps may also be added to the sample work. In addition, the steps described may be performed in any suitable order.

), на основании значения ( $$Q_{all}$$

), отражающего общий объем ресурсов передачи, распределяемых для передатчика 100. Размер и единицы $$Q_{all}$$

зависят от способа, по которому сеть доступа распределяет ресурсы передачи для передатчика 100. Например, передатчик 100 может использовать значение Q_all=N×M, где N является общим числом векторных символов, доступных для передатчика 100 для передачи управляющей информации и пользовательских данных в соответствующем субкадре (например, $$N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

в определенных вариантах осуществления для LTE), и M является общим числом поднесущих, доступных для передатчика 100 в течение соответствующего субкадра (например, $$M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

). Таким образом, как часть этапа 402, передатчик 100 может умножать общее число поднесущих, распределяемых для использования передатчиком 100 в соответствующем субкадре, на общее число векторных символов 124, распределяемых для передатчика 100, для определения общей емкости, распределяемой для передатчика 100 для соответствующего субкадра.In specific embodiments, operation may begin at step 402 with the transmitter 100 evaluating the number of vector symbols to be allocated for user data. As noted, the transmitter 100 may estimate the number of vector symbols of user data in any appropriate way. As one example, transmitter 100 may estimate the number of vector symbols of user data, assuming pessimistically that all transmission resources allocated to transmitter 100 for the corresponding subframe will be used to transmit user data. Thus, in such embodiments, the transmitter 100 can estimate the number of vector symbols to be allocated for user data codewords ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

), based on the value of ( $$Q_{all}$$

), reflecting the total amount of transmission resources allocated to the transmitter 100. Size and units $$Q_{all}$$

depend on the way in which the access network allocates transmission resources to the transmitter 100. For example, the transmitter 100 may use the value Q _all = N × M, where N is the total number of vector characters available for the transmitter 100 to transmit control information and user data in the corresponding subframe (e.g. $$N_{symb}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

in certain embodiments for LTE), and M is the total number of subcarriers available to transmitter 100 during the corresponding subframe (e.g., $$M_{SC}^{PUSCH-initial}$$

) Thus, as part of step 402, the transmitter 100 can multiply the total number of subcarriers allocated for use by the transmitter 100 in the corresponding subframe by the total number of vector symbols 124 allocated for the transmitter 100 to determine the total capacity allocated for the transmitter 100 for the corresponding subframe.

), предназначенных для распределения для пользовательских данных, которые зависят от числа управляющих векторных символов ( $$Q\text{'}$$

), которые будут следовать из этого распределения векторных символов 124 для пользовательских данных - то есть ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}={\widehat{Q}}_{data}(Q\text{'})$$

). В таких вариантах осуществления передатчик 100 может решать для $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

и/или Q' рекуррентно или решать для Q' напрямую с использованием уравнения в замкнутой форме для взаимосвязи между $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

и Q', таким образом как $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}=Q_{all}-\alpha \cdot Q\text{'}$$

(где α является предварительно определенной константой или конфигурируемым параметром).As another example, the transmitter 100 may consider using transmission resources to transmit control codewords 120 when estimating the number of vector characters of user data. Thus, in such embodiments, the transmitter 100 can estimate the number of vector symbols ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

) intended for distribution to user data, which depend on the number of control vector characters ( $$Q\text{'}\text{'}$$

) that will follow from this distribution of vector symbols 124 for user data - i.e. ( $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}={\widehat{Q}}_{data}(Q\text{'}\text{'})$$

) In such embodiments, the transmitter 100 may decide to $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

and / or Q 'recursively or solve for Q' directly using the closed-loop equation for the relationship between $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

and Q ', thus, as $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}=Q_{all}-\alpha \cdot Q\text{'}\text{'}$$

(where α is a predefined constant or configurable parameter).

At step 404, the transmitter 100 determines the number of bits in one or more codewords 122 of the user data to be transmitted. In specific embodiments, user data codewords 122 may include CRC bits, and transmitter 100 may consider these CRC bits when computing bits in corresponding user data codewords 122. In addition, in specific embodiments, the plurality of user data codewords 124 computed by the transmitter 100 may represent all of the user data codewords 122 for transmission during a subframe. In alternative embodiments, however, this plurality of user data codewords 122 represents only a subset of codewords 122 of the total number of user data to be transmitted during a subframe. For example, in certain embodiments, the transmitter 100 may determine the number of bits in step 404 based only on user code codewords 122 intended for transmission over certain transmission levels. Thus, in such embodiments, the transmitter 100 may, as part of step 404, determine transmission levels through which the transmitter 100 will transmit control codewords 120 during a subframe, and then determine the total number of bits in only those user data codewords 122 that Designed for transmission through identified transmission levels.

At some point during operation, the transmitter 100 determines one or a plurality of offset values based on the rank of the transmission to be made. As discussed above, the bias value (s) may depend in any suitable manner on the rank of the transmission. For example, in specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 may select the offset values for the transmission ranks associated with the transmissions for individual codewords that are greater than the offset value (s) that the transmitter 100 may select for the transmission ranks associated with the transmissions for the multiple codewords. In addition, in certain embodiments, the offset value (s) decreases with increasing transmission rank to account for the greater influence of mismatched precoders at low transmission ranks. This may result in transmitter 100 spending more overhead to transmit control information with low rank transmissions in an attempt to improve the reliability of such transmissions.

In addition, in certain embodiments, the transmitter 100 may use only one offset value when performing the allocation, and thus, it may be necessary to determine only one offset value. As explained below, however, the transmitter 100 may alternatively use a first offset value to scale the nominal number and a second offset value to determine the nominal number. Thus, in the illustrated example, the transmitter 100 determines one or more offset values in step 406.

) при вычислении номинального значения. В результате номинальное число управляющих векторных символов, вычисляемое посредством передатчика 100, может также зависеть от значения смещения. В некоторых вариантах осуществления это значение смещения является тем же, что и значение смещения, которое передатчик 100 использует, чтобы масштабировать номинальное значение (то есть β_offset). Например, в таких вариантах осуществления передатчик 100 может вычислять номинальное число управляющих векторных символов значение $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}$$

, где:The transmitter 100 calculates the nominal number of control vector symbols based at least in part on the estimated number of vector symbols of user data and the determined number of bits in the code words 122 of the user data. In specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 may take into account the fact that the nominal value will be scaled by the offset value ( $${\beta }_{offset}$$

) when calculating the nominal value. As a result, the nominal number of control vector symbols calculated by the transmitter 100 may also depend on the offset value. In some embodiments, this offset value is the same as the offset value that the transmitter 100 uses to scale the nominal value (i.e., β _offset ). For example, in such embodiments, the transmitter 100 may calculate a nominal number of control vector symbols value $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}$$

where:

, где O является числом битов кодовых слов 122 управляющих данных, предназначенных для передачи, $$g(\cdot )$$

является функцией числа битов кодовых слов 122 пользовательских данных, предназначенных для передачи, и $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

является оценкой ресурсов передачи, распределяемых для пользовательских данных для соответствующей передачи. $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}=\frac{O\times {\widehat{Q}}_{data}}{g(\cdot )+O\times {\beta }_{offset}}$$

where O is the number of bits of code words 122 of the control data intended for transmission, $$g(\cdot )$$

is a function of the number of bits of codewords 122 of user data to be transmitted, and $${\widehat{Q}}_{data}$$

is an estimate of the transmission resources allocated to user data for the corresponding transmission.

) для вычисления номинального числа, такое что $$Q\text{'}=\widehat{Q}\text{'}({\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}(r)){\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

. Например, в таких вариантах осуществления передатчик 100 может вычислять номинальное число управляющих векторных символов на основе значения $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}$$

, где:Instead of using the same offset value to calculate the nominal number, the transmitter 100 may use a second offset value ( $${\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}$$

) to calculate the nominal number such that $$Q\text{'}\text{'}=\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}({\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}(r)){\beta }_{offset}(r)$$

. For example, in such embodiments, the transmitter 100 may calculate a nominal number of control vector symbols based on the value $$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}$$

where:

$$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}=\frac{O\times {\widehat{Q}}_{data}}{g(\cdot )+O\times {\tilde{\beta }}_{offset}}$$

Thus, the illustrated embodiment of the transmitter 100 calculates the nominal number of control vector characters based at least in part on the estimated number of vector data characters and the determined number of bits in the code words of the user data and the offset value (i.e., the first offset value or the second value offsets) in step 408.

At step 410, the transmitter 100 calculates a scaled number of control vector characters by multiplying the nominal number of control vector characters by a rank-specific offset value (β _offset ). As noted above, if the offset value is used to calculate the nominal number of control vector characters, then the rank-specific offset value used in step 410 may represent the same or different offset value.

In specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 uses this scaled number of control vector symbols as the total number of control vector symbols. Alternatively, the transmitter 100 may process the scaled value to provide a total number of a certain type (e.g., an integer value), provide a total number in a specific range, or achieve some other purpose with respect to the total number of control vector symbols. Thus, in specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 can round or truncate a scaled number (for example, by applying an upper limit operation (ceiling operation) or a lower limit operation to a scaled number), adjust the scaled number based on the assigned minimum or maximum value, or perform any other appropriate processing relative to the scaled number to generate a total number of control vector characters, as shown in tape 412.

After determining the total number of vector symbols 124 for distribution for the control signaling, the transmitter 100 then maps the control codewords 120 that are available for transmission to the calculated number of vector symbols 124 in step 414. The transmitter 100 may perform any appropriate processing of the control vector symbols 124 to to enable transmission of control vector symbols 124 to a receiver in communication with transmitter 100, including, for example, the processing described above with respect to FIG. 2. After completing any appropriate processing of the vector symbols 124, the transmitter 100 then transmits the control vector symbols 124 through a plurality of transmission layers using a plurality of antennas 114 in step 416. The operation of the transmitter 100 with respect to the transmission of these specific control codewords 120 may then terminate as depicted in FIG. four.

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram depicting the contents of a network node 500 that can serve as a receiver for control codewords 120 transmitted by a transmitter 100, and / or can serve as a scheduler for scheduling transmission of control codewords 120 by a transmitter 100. As noted, the described resource allocation techniques can also be used by devices when decoding transmissions received from the transmitter 100, or when determining the appropriate amount of transmission resources for anirovaniya for use by the transmitter 100 in a given subframe. For example, in specific embodiments, the transmitter 100 may represent a wireless terminal (such as an LTE UE) and network node 500 may represent a radio access network element that receives uplink transmissions from a wireless terminal or that is responsible for planning the use of wireless transmission resources by the terminal ( such as eNodeB over LTE).

As depicted in FIG. 5, an illustrated embodiment of a network node 500 includes a processor 510, a memory 520, a transceiver 530, and multiple antennas 540a-d. Processor 510, memory 520, transceiver 530, and antennas 540 may be the same or similar elements with respect to the elements of FIG. 3 with similar names. In specific embodiments of the network node 500, some or all of the functionality of the network node 500 is described below with respect to FIG. 6 and 7 may be implemented by a processor 510 that executes instructions and / or operates in accordance with its hardware logic.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart detailing an example operation of a particular embodiment of a network node 500. In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of an embodiment of a network node 500 in receiving and decoding control codewords 120 received from the transmitter 100. The steps illustrated in FIG. 6, may be merged, modified, or deleted, where appropriate. Additional steps may also be added to the sample work. In addition, the steps described may be performed in any suitable order.

The operation of the network node 500 begins at block 602 with respect to the network node 500 receiving a plurality of vector symbols 124 from the transmitter 100. For the purpose of decoding the vector symbols 124, the network node 500 may need to determine the manner in which the transmitter 100 distributed these vector symbols 124 between the control alarm and user data. As a result, the network node 500 may determine the number of received vector symbols 124 that the transmitter 100 used to transmit control codewords 120.

For proper decoding of the received vector symbols 124, the network node 500 may need to follow the same or similar procedure that the transmitter 100 used to determine the allocation of resources on the transmitting side. Thus, depending on the configuration of the respective transmitter 100, the network node 500 may be configured to determine the number of vector symbols 124 allocated to control codewords 120 (referred to herein as “control vector symbols”) using any of the techniques described above. An example of this process for an exemplary embodiment is depicted in steps 604-614 of FIG. 6. In particular, FIG. 6 describes the operation of an embodiment of a network node 500 that communicates with a transmitter 100 described by FIG. 1-3. Thus, the network node 500 performs steps 604-614 in a similar form or similar form to the steps described above for the similarly signed steps in FIG. four.

After the network node 500 has determined the total number of vector symbols 124 that the transmitter 100 has allocated for the control code words 120, the network node 500 decodes the received vector symbols 124 based on this number in step 616. For example, the network node 500 can use this information to determine of which of the received vector symbols 124 carry control codewords 120 and which carry codewords 122 of user data. If the transmitter 100 has encoded the control signaling and user data using different encoding schemes, then the network node 500 may then apply a different decoding scheme to the two types of vector symbols 124. The operation of the network node 500 with respect to decoding the received symbol vectors can then be completed as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart detailing an example operation of a particular embodiment of a network node 500 responsible for scheduling the use of transmission resources by a transmitter 100. The steps illustrated in FIG. 7 may be combined, modified, or deleted, where appropriate. Additional steps may also be added to the sample work. In addition, the steps described may be performed in any suitable order.

In FIG. 7, the operation of the network node 500 begins at step 702 with respect to the network node 500 receiving a request for transmission resources from the transmitter 100. This request can be any relevant information indicating the network node 500 having information including one or both of the control signaling and user data for transmission in the geographical area served by the network node 500. In specific embodiments, the network node 500 may represent an eNodeB over LTE, and this request may represent a scheduling request, transmitted by the transmitter 100 on the PUCCH. In addition, the network node 500 may have information regarding the transmissions that the transmitter 100 is expected to make during the corresponding subframe. For example, in a corresponding subframe, the transmitter may wait for the HARQ ACK / NACK transmission from the transmitter 100 responding to the previous transmission from the network node 500. Alternatively or in addition, in specific embodiments, the scheduling request received by the network node 500 may indicate the amount and / or the type of information that the transmitter 100 intends to transmit.

In response to receiving the request, the network node 500 may determine the distribution of transmission resources to provide for the transmitter 100 to use in transmitting the requested transmission. To determine this distribution, the network node 500 may determine the amount of control information and user data that the network node 500 expects the transmitter 100 will transmit in connection with the request. The network node 500 may determine these volumes based on information that includes the request itself, information supported locally by the network node 500 itself (for example, information on expected transmissions of control information), and / or information received from any other suitable source.

In addition, in specific embodiments, the network node 500 determines this common distribution based on the assumption that the transmitter 100 will determine the distribution for the control vector symbols for the requested transmission based on the techniques described above. Thus, the network node 500 may also use the techniques mentioned above to provide an appropriate amount of transmission resources to the transmitter 100 for the requested transmission. Since the above techniques may employ a transmitter 100 to determine the distribution of control vector symbols, which depend in part on the distribution of vector symbols of user data, the network node 500 may similarly estimate the distribution of control based on the distribution estimate for the user data. This can lead the network node 500 to determine the overall distribution for the transmitter 100, including the distribution of user data and the distribution of control information, which in itself depends on the distribution of user data. Thus, in specific embodiments, the network node 500 may determine the total distribution recursively. An example of this is depicted by step 704 of FIG. 7.

At step 704, the network node determines the transmission rank, the total number of vector characters intended for use by the transmitter 100 for the requested transmission, and the number of user data bits to carry through each of the plurality of data code words for transmission, as part of the requested transmission. In specific embodiments, the determination of the transmission rank, the total number of vector characters and the number of bits carried by each data codeword takes into account the estimated number of control vector characters that will follow from this definition. Thus, as part of step 704, the network node 500 may determine the estimated number of control vector characters by estimating the number of vector characters of user data intended for use in transmitting code words of user data, estimating the number of bits in control code words 120 for transmission, determining one or more rank-specific bias values for this transmission, and computing the number of control vector characters based on the estimated number of vector characters of user data, an estimated number of bits in the control code words 120, the number of bits of user data to be transferred by each of the code words of user data, and offset value (s).

Depending on the configuration of the transmitter 100, the network node 500 may process the estimated number of control vector symbols in an appropriate manner as described above before using the value to determine step 704. For example, the network node 500 may calculate the nominal number of control vector symbols based on the estimated number of vector symbols data, the estimated number of bits in the control codewords 120 and the number of bits of user data for transfer by each of pa user data words. The network node 500 may then scale this nominal number by offset, increase the nominal number to match the minimum number, apply the ceiling operation to the nominal number and / or perform any other appropriate processing of the nominal number to calculate the final estimated number of control vector characters.

The network node 500 then uses this definition when responding to a request transmitted by the transmitter 100. In specific embodiments, if the network node 500 decides to provide a request, the network node 500 may report aspects of the determined distribution to the transmitter 100. For this reason, in specific embodiments, the network node 500 may respond to the request by generating a specific response (e.g., providing scheduling) to the request based on the determined distribution and transmitting the response to the transmitter 100, as shown by steps 706-708 of FIG. 7. For example, in certain embodiments for LTE, the network node 500 may generate a scheduling grant that includes information indicating the determined transmission rank, the determined total number of vector characters and the number of bits to be used for each data codeword, and transmit this is providing scheduling to the transmitter 100. Alternatively or in addition, the network node 500 may use the determined allocation when deciding whether to perform the provision on demand, and whether in deciding how to prioritize the request. The operation of the network node 500 with respect to scheduling the transmitter 100 for this subframe can then be completed, as shown in FIG. 7.

Although the present invention has been described using several embodiments, countless changes, variations, rearrangements, transformations and modifications may be proposed by those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present invention covers such changes, variations, rearrangements, transformations and modifications as occurring. within the scope of the attached claims.

Claims (20)

1. A method for wirelessly transmitting user data and control information using a transmitter (100) using a plurality of transmission layers, comprising the steps of:
estimating the number of vector symbols (124) of user data to be allocated for one or more codewords (122) of user data during a subframe;
determining the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data;
calculating a nominal number of control vector symbols (124) for distribution for control information based at least in part on an estimated number of vector symbols (124) of user data and a determined number of bits in one or more code words (122) of user data;
determining an offset value based at least in part on the number of levels through which the transmitter (100) will transmit during the subframe;
calculating the total number of control vector characters (124) by multiplying the nominal number of control vector characters (124) by the offset value;
display one or more control code words (120) on the total number of control vector characters (124), and the control code words (120) contain encoded control information; and
transmit vector symbols (124) of user data and control vector symbols (124) through a plurality of transmission layers during a subframe. 2. The method according to p. 1, in which the calculation of the nominal number of control vector characters (124) comprises calculating the nominal number of control vector characters (124) based, at least in part, on the estimated number of vector characters (124) of user data , the determined number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data and the offset value. 3. The method according to p. 2, in which the calculation of the nominal number of control vector characters (124) comprises the step of calculating the nominal number ( $$\widehat{Q}$$

) control vector symbols (124), moreover:
$$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}=\frac{O\times Q_{all}}{g(\cdot )+O\times {\beta }_{offset}}$$

and moreover $${\beta }_{offset}$$

is the determined offset, O is the number of bits in one or more control codewords (120), $$g(\cdot )$$

is a function of the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data and $$Q_{all}$$

is the total amount of transmission resources available to the transmitter (100). 4. The method according to p. 3, in which:
$$Q_{all}=N\times M$$

and wherein N is the total number of characters available to the transmitter (100) during the subframe for transmitting control information and user data, and M is the total number of subcarriers available to the transmitter (100) during the subframe. 5. The method according to p. 1, in which:
determining the offset value comprises the step of determining the first offset value and the second offset value based at least in part on the number of levels through which the transmitter (100) will transmit during the subframe, the second offset value being different from the first offset value;
calculating the nominal number of control vector symbols (124) comprises calculating the nominal number of control vector symbols (124) based, at least in part, on the estimated number of vector symbols of user data (124), the determined number of bits in one or more codewords (122) user data and a first offset value; and
the calculation of the total number of control vector symbols (124) comprises the step of multiplying the nominal number of control vector symbols (124) by the second offset value. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the number of bits in one or more codewords of user data (122) comprises determining the total number of bits in all of the plurality of codewords (122) of user data to be transmitted during subframe. 7. The method according to claim 6, in which the calculated number of control vector symbols (124) is inversely proportional to the total number of bits in all of the code words (122) of user data intended for transmission during the subframe. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the number of bits in one or more user data codewords (122) comprises the step of determining the total number of bits in a subset of the plurality of codewords (122) user data for transmission during a subframe . 9. A method for receiving user data and control information transmitted wirelessly through a plurality of transmission layers, comprising the steps of:
receiving a plurality of vector symbols (124) from a transmitter (100) through a plurality of transmission layers, wherein vector symbols (124) carry encoded user data and encoded control information;
estimating the number of vector symbols (124) of user data allocated to one or more codewords (122) of user data carried by vector symbols (124);
determining the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data;
calculating the nominal number of control vector characters (124) transmitted by the transmitter (100) based at least in part on the estimated number of vector characters (124) of user data and the determined number of bits in one or more code words (122) of user data;
determining an offset value based at least in part on the number of transmission levels through which the transmitter (100) has transmitted a plurality of vector symbols (124);
calculating the total number of control vector characters (124) by multiplying the nominal number of control vector characters (124) by the offset value; and
decode the received vector symbols (124) based on the total number of control vector symbols (124). 10. The method according to claim 9, in which the calculation of the nominal number of control vector characters (124) comprises calculating the nominal number of control vector characters (124) based at least in part on the estimated number of vector characters (124) of user data , the determined number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data and the offset value. 11. The method according to p. 10, in which the calculation of the nominal number of control vector characters (124) comprises the step of calculating the nominal number ( $$\widehat{Q}$$

) control vector symbols (124), moreover:
$$\widehat{Q}\text{'}\text{'}=\frac{O\times Q_{all}}{g(\cdot )+O\times {\beta }_{offset}}$$

and moreover $${\beta }_{offset}$$

is the determined offset, O is the number of bits in one or more control codewords (120) transmitted by the transmitter (100), $$g(\cdot )$$

is a function of the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data and $$Q_{all}$$

is the total number of transmission resources allocated to the transmitter (100) for transmitting a plurality of vector symbols (124). 12. The method according to p. 11, in which:
$$Q_{all}=N\times M$$

and in which N is the total number of vector symbols (124) allocated to the wireless terminal for transmitting the plurality of vector symbols (124), and M is the total number of subcarriers allocated to the transmitter (100) for transmitting the plurality of vector symbols (124). 13. The method according to p. 9, in which:
determining the offset value comprises the step of determining the first offset value and the second offset value based at least in part on the number of levels used by the transmitter (100) to transmit the plurality of vector symbols (124), the second offset value being different from the first value displacements;
computing the nominal number of control vector symbols (124) comprises calculating the nominal number of control vector symbols (124) based at least in part on the estimated number of vector symbols (124) of user data, the determined number of bits in one or more codewords (122) user data and a first offset value; and
the calculation of the total number of control vector symbols (124) comprises the step of multiplying the nominal number of control vector symbols (124) by the second offset value. 14. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the number of bits in one or more user data codewords (122) comprises the step of determining the total number of bits in all of the plurality of user data codewords (122) carried by vector symbols ( 124). 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the calculated number of control vector symbols (124) is inversely proportional to the total number of bits in all of the code words (122) of user data carried by the plurality of vector symbols (124). 16. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the number of bits in one or more user data codewords (122) comprises determining the total number of bits in a subset of the plurality of user data codewords (122) carried by vector symbols (124). 17. A method for scheduling wireless transmissions through multiple transmission layers, comprising the steps of:
receiving a scheduling request from a transmitter (100) requesting the use of transmission resources to transmit a plurality of vector symbols (124);
determine the transmission rank, the total number of vector symbols (124) intended for use for user data and control information, and the number of bits in one or more code words (122) of user data, taking into account at least partially the estimated number of control vector symbols ( 124), and the estimated number of control vector symbols (124) is determined by the steps in which:
estimating the number of vector characters (124) of user data intended for use in transmitting one or more codewords (122) of user data;
estimating the number of bits in one or more control codewords (120) for transmission, wherein one or more control codewords (120) contain encoded control information;
determining an offset value associated with the rank of the transmission; and
calculating an estimated number of control vector symbols (124) intended for use in transmitting one or more codewords (122) of user data, based at least in part on an estimated number of vector symbols (124) of user data intended for use in transmitting one or more code words (122) user data, estimated number of bits in one or more control code words (120), number of bits in one or more code words (122) user data and values see scheniya;
generating a response to the scheduling request based on the determined transmission rank, the total number of vector symbols (124) and the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data; and
transmit a response to the transmitter (100). 18. An apparatus (100) for wirelessly transmitting user data and control information using a plurality of transmission layers, the apparatus comprising:
multiple antennas (114);
a transceiver (330) configured to transmit vector symbols (124) through a plurality of transmission layers using a plurality of antennas (114); and
a processor (310) configured to:
estimate the number of vector symbols (124) of user data intended for distribution for one or more codewords (122) of user data during a subframe;
determine the number of bits in one or more codewords of user data (122);
calculate a nominal number of control vector symbols (124) for distribution for control information based at least in part on the estimated number of vector symbols (124) of user data and the determined number of bits in one or more code words of user data (124);
determine the offset value based at least in part on the number of levels through which the device will transmit during the subframe;
calculate the total number of control vector characters (124) by multiplying the nominal number of control vector characters (124) by the offset value;
display one or more control codewords (120) on the total number of control vector characters (124), and the control codewords (120) contain encoded control information; and
transmit vector symbols (124) carrying one or more codewords (122) of user data and one or more control codewords (120) through a plurality of transmission layers during a subframe using a transceiver (330). 19. A node (500) for receiving user data and control information transmitted wirelessly through a plurality of transmission layers, the node comprising:
multiple antennas (114);
a transceiver (530), configured to receive vector symbols (124) through multiple transmit layers using multiple antennas (114); and
a processor (510) configured to:
receive a variety of vector symbols (124) from a wireless terminal (100) through a plurality of transmission layers using a transceiver (330), the vector symbols (124) transferring encoded user data and encoded control information;
estimate the number of vector symbols (124) of user data allocated to one or more codewords (122) of user data carried by vector symbols (124);
determine the number of bits in one or more codewords of user data (122);
calculate the nominal number of control vector characters (124) transmitted by the wireless terminal (100) based at least in part on the estimated number of vector characters (124) of user data and the determined number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data ;
determine an offset value based at least in part on the number of transmission levels through which the wireless terminal (100) has transmitted a plurality of vector symbols (124);
calculate the total number of control vector characters (124) by multiplying the nominal number of control vector characters (124) by the offset value; and
decode the received vector symbols (124) based on the total number of control vector symbols (124). 20. A node (500) for scheduling wireless transmissions through a plurality of transmission layers, the node comprising:
a transceiver (530), configured to receive information from and transmit information to a wireless terminal;
a processor (510) configured to:
receive a scheduling request from a wireless terminal (100) using a transceiver (530), wherein the scheduling request requests the use of transmission resources to transmit a plurality of vector symbols (124);
determine the transmission rank, the total number of vector symbols (124) intended for use for user data and control information, and the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data, taking into account at least partially the estimated number of control vector symbols ( 124), and the estimated number of control vector symbols (124) is determined by:
estimating the number of vector symbols (124) of user data intended for use in transmitting one or more code words of user data (122);
estimating the number of bits in one or more control codewords (120) for transmission, wherein one or more control codewords (120) comprise encoded control information;
determining the offset value associated with the transmission rank; and
computing an estimated number of control vector characters (124) intended for use in transmitting one or more codewords (122) of user data based at least in part on an estimated number of vector characters (124) of user data intended for use in transmitting one or more codewords (122) of user data, estimated number of bits in one or more control codewords (120), number of bits in one or more codewords (122) user data and values with premises;
generate a response to the scheduling request based on the determined transmission rank, the total number of vector symbols (124) and the number of bits in one or more codewords (122) of user data; and
transmit said response to the wireless terminal (100) using a transceiver (530).

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