TURBO HSDPA SYSTEM
A method of power saving for a wireless transceiver (FIGS. 1 and 2) is disclosed. The transceiver has an active power mode (504) and a reduced power mode (510). The transceiver is operated in the reduced power mode (510) and monitors transmissions from a remote wireless transmitter while in the reduced power mode. The transceiver identifies a transmission from the remote wireless transmitter by a transceiver identity included in the transmission (FIG. 6, UE identification). The transceiver transitions to the active power mode (512) in response to identifying the transmission.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/463,422 filed Aug. 19, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/360,654 filed Feb. 22, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,811,273 issued on Aug. 19, 2014), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/655,590 (TI-60022PS), filed Feb. 22, 2005, and of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/733,333 (TI-60022PS1), filed Nov. 3, 2005, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present embodiments relate to wireless communications systems and, more particularly, to the Long Term Evolution of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) for a wireless communication system.
Wireless communications are prevalent in business, personal, and other applications, and as a result the technology for such communications continues to advance in various areas. One such advancement includes the use of spread spectrum communications, including that of code division multiple access (CDMA) which includes wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) cellular communications. In CDMA communications, user equipment (UE) (e.g., a hand held cellular phone, personal digital assistant, or other) communicates with a base station, where typically the base station corresponds to a “cell.” CDMA communications are by way of transmitting symbols from a transmitter to a receiver, and the symbols are modulated using a spreading code which consists of a series of binary pulses. The code runs at a higher rate than the symbol rate and determines the actual transmission bandwidth. In the current industry, each piece of CDMA signal transmitted according to this code is said to be a “chip,” where each chip corresponds to an element in the CDMA code. Thus, the chip frequency defines the rate of the CDMA code. WCDMA includes alternative methods of data transfer, one being frequency division duplex (FDD) and another being time division duplex (TDD, where the uplink and downlink channels are asymmetric for FDD and symmetric for TDD. Another wireless standard involves time division multiple access (TDMA) apparatus, which also communicate symbols and are used by way of example in cellular systems. TDMA communications are transmitted as a group of packets in a time period, where the time period is divided into time slots so that multiple receivers may each access meaningful information during a different part of that time period. In other words, in a group of TDMA receivers, each receiver is designated a time slot in the time period, and that time slot repeats for each group of successive packets transmitted to the receiver. Accordingly, each receiver is able to identify the information intended for it by synchronizing to the group of packets and then deciphering the time slot corresponding to the given receiver. Given the preceding, CDMA transmissions are receiver-distinguished in response to codes, while TDMA transmissions are receiver-distinguished in response to time slots.
Since CDMA and TDMA communications are along wireless media, then the travel of those communications can be affected in many ways, and generally these effects are referred to as the channel effect on the communication. For example, consider a transmitter with a single antenna transmitting to a receiver with a single antenna. The transmitted signal is likely reflected by objects such as the ground, mountains, buildings, and other things that it contacts. In addition, there may be other signals that interfere with the transmitted signal. Thus, when the transmitted communication arrives at the receiver, it has been affected by the channel effect. Consequently, the originally-transmitted data is more difficult to decipher due to the added channel effect. Various approaches have been developed in an effort to reduce or remove the channel effect from the received signal so that the originally-transmitted data is properly recognized. In other words, these approaches endeavor to improve signal-to-interference+noise ratio (SINR), thereby improving other data accuracy measures (e.g., bit error rate (BER), frame error rate (FER), and symbol error rate (SER)).
One approach to improve SINR is referred to in the art as antenna diversity, which refers to using multiple antennas at the transmitter, receiver, or both. For example, in the prior art, a multiple-antenna transmitter is used to transmit the same data on each antenna where the data is manipulated in some manner differently for each antenna. One example of such an approach is space-time transmit diversity (“STTD”). In STTD, a first antenna transmits a block of two input symbols over a corresponding two symbol intervals in a first order while at the same time a second antenna transmits, by way of example, the complex conjugates of the same block of two symbols and wherein those conjugates are output in a reversed order relative to how they are transmitted by the first antenna and the second symbol is a negative value relative to its value as an input.
Another approach to improve SINR combines antenna diversity with the need for higher data rate. Specifically, a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with transmit diversity has been devised, where each transmit antenna transmits a distinct and respective data stream. In other words, in a MIMO system, each transmit antenna transmits symbols that are independent from the symbols transmitted by any other transmit antennas for the transmitter and, thus, there is no redundancy either along a single or with respect to multiple of the transmit antennas. The advantage of a MIMO scheme using distinct and non-redundant streams is that it can achieve higher data rates as compared to a transmit diversity system.
Communication system performance demands in user equipment, however, are often dictated by web access. Applications such as news, stock quotes, video, and music require substantially higher performance in downlink transmission than in uplink transmission. Thus, MIMO system performance may be further improved for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) by Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) transmission. With OFDM, multiple symbols are transmitted on multiple carriers that are spaced apart to provide orthogonality. An OFDM modulator typically takes data symbols into a serial-to-parallel converter, and the output of the serial-to-parallel converter is considered as frequency domain data symbols. The frequency domain tones at either edge of the band may be set to zero and are called guard tones. These guard tones allow the OFDM signal to fit into an appropriate spectral mask. Some of the frequency domain tones are set to values which will be known at the receiver, and these tones are termed pilot tones or symbols. These pilot symbols can be useful for channel estimation at the receiver. An inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) converts the frequency domain data symbols into a time domain waveform. The IFFT structure allows the frequency tones to be orthogonal. A cyclic prefix is formed by copying the tail samples from the time domain waveform and appending them to the front of the waveform. The time domain waveform with cyclic prefix is termed an OFDM symbol, and this OFDM symbol may be upconverted to an RF frequency and transmitted. An OFDM receiver may recover the timing and carrier frequency and then process the received samples through a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The cyclic prefix may be discarded and after the FFT, frequency domain information is recovered. The pilot symbols may be recovered to aid in channel estimation so that the data sent on the frequency tones can be recovered. A parallel-to-serial converter is applied, and the data is sent to the channel decoder. Just as with HSDPA, OFDM communications may be performed in an FDD mode or in a TDD mode.
While the preceding approaches provide steady improvements in wireless communications, the present inventors recognize that still further improvements may be made, including by addressing some of the drawbacks of the prior art. Examples of these improvements addressed by embodiments of the present invention include improved frequency diversity to reduce inter-cell interference, improved power control, and improved control information. Indeed, to address some of these issues, the present inventors described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/230,003 (docket: TI-33494), filed Aug. 28, 2002, entitled, “MIMO HYBRID-ARQ USING BASIS HOPPING”, and hereby incorporated herein by reference. In this referenced application, multiple independent streams of data are adaptively transmitted with a variable basis selected to improve signal quality. Further, a receiver is provided that decodes the transmitted signals including the multipaths therein. While this improvement therefore provides various benefits as discussed in the referenced application, the inventors also recognize still additional benefits that may be achieved with such systems. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments described below are directed toward these benefits as well as improving upon the prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn a first preferred embodiment, a transceiver saves power during a transmit time interval. The transmit time interval includes a plurality of OFDM symbols transmitted sequentially in time. The transceiver receives a first OFDM symbol in the transmit time interval in an active power mode. The transceiver determines if there are other OFDM symbols from the plurality of OFDM symbols for the transceiver in response to the control and pilot channels within the first OFDM symbol. The transceiver operates in the active power mode for the remainder of the transmit time interval if there are other OFDM symbols for the transceiver. The transceiver operates in a reduced power mode for a remainder of the transmit time interval if there are no other OFDM symbols for the transceiver.
In a second preferred embodiment, the transmitter forms a plurality of symbols in a packet with pilot and control signals in a first symbol of the plurality of symbols. Pilot signals are excluded from at least another symbol of the plurality of symbols. The packet is then transmitted to remote user equipment (UE).
According to a third preferred embodiment, the transmitter transmits a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) control channels during a transmit time interval. The control channels may have different structures as defined by their size and corresponding modulation and coding scheme. The transmitter also transmits a counter during the transmit time interval to indicate a number of control channels for each structure in the transmit time interval.
According to a fourth preferred embodiment, the transmitter transmits a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) control channels during a transmit time interval. The transmitter also transmits a counter to indicate a data block size associated with each control channel during the transmit time interval.
In a fifth preferred embodiment, the transmitter transmits a broadcast orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) signal over a plurality of broadcast channels during a transmit time interval. The transmitter also transmits a broadcast channel bitmap to indicate which channels are active.
According to a sixth preferred embodiment, a transceiver operates in an active power mode and in a reduced power mode during a communications session. The transceiver transitions to the active power mode only at predefined time intervals of the communications session. The transceiver operates at the reduced power mode for the remainder of the communications session. This may be useful and applicable for a service such as voice over internet protocol (VoIP) in which there may be periodic communication of small packets, and the control overhead can be reduced by scheduling the transmission intervals in advance. Moreover, the UE needs to monitor transmissions only at predetermined time intervals thereby conserving power for the remainder of the communications session by reverting to the reduced power mode.
Other devices, systems, and methods are also disclosed and claimed.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention provide interference reduction and power savings for a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system preferably provides for the Long Term Evolution of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) as will be explained in detail. A simplified block diagram of a wireless transmitter of the present invention for such a system is shown in
Referring to
Referring now to
Recall from the discussion of
Because there are a limited number of tones available in the first OFDM symbol, the shared control channel may be split into two parts. In one embodiment, the UE identities may be transmitted as part of the shared control channel in a common part and transmitted in the first OFDM symbol. The UE dedicated scheduling information may be transmitted in a dedicated part of the shared control channel and transmitted in the first and second OFDM symbols or, alternatively, throughout the TTI. UE dedicated scheduling information may contain information related to the Hybrid-ARQ process, the modulation and coding scheme, the transport format, or other features. This split of the SCCH into common and dedicated parts allows the UE to save power. The common and dedicated parts of the SCCH preferably have different code rates. The UE may monitor the first OFDM symbol. If the UE identity is not contained in the first OFDM symbol, the UE does not need to process the rest of the OFDM symbols in the TTI. With reference to
The foregoing discussion with regard to
Given the above,
In an alternative embodiment of
In an embodiment of the present invention, the base station transmits a counter during each TTI to indicate a number of shared control channels (SCCH) in the TTI. There is generally one SCCH for each UE. The UE depends on a UE identification field in the OFDM SCCH for identification. The counter may have several values. Each value is associated with a particular shared control channel size. For example, a first counter value of two may indicate two shared control channels of a first size. A second counter value of three may indicate three shared control channels of a second size. In another embodiment of the present invention the base station transmits a power control counter during each TTI to indicate a number of power control bits in the TTI.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the base station transmits a block size designator during each TTI. The block size designator advantageously provides flexible block sizes to accommodate a variable number of shared control channels and other control information in each TTI.
Turning now to
Referring now to
Still further, while numerous examples have thus been provided, one skilled in the art should recognize that various modifications, substitutions, or alterations may be made to to the described embodiments while still falling with the inventive scope as defined by the following claims.
Claims
1. A method of power saving in a transceiver during a time interval, the time interval having a plurality of signals, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a first signal of the plurality of signals in an active power mode;
- determining if there are other signals of the plurality of signals for the transceiver in response to the first signal;
- operating the transceiver in the active power mode when there are other signals of the plurality of signals for the transceiver; and
- operating the transceiver in a reduced power mode when there are no other signals of the plurality of signals for the transceiver.
2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the first signal is transmitted from a remote transmitter in a shared control channel.
3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of signals comprises at least three orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbols, and wherein the first signal is included in one of a first and second OFDM symbols in time.
4. A method as in claim 3, wherein the first signal comprises an identity of the transceiver.
5. A method of transmitting symbols, comprising the steps of:
- forming a plurality of symbols in a packet;
- forming pilot and control signals in a first symbol of the plurality of symbols;
- excluding pilot signals from at least another symbol of the plurality of symbols; and
- transmitting the packet.
6. A method as in claim 5, comprising the step of forming pilot and control signals in a second symbol of the plurality of symbols, wherein the second symbol is adjacent in time to the first symbol.
7. A method as in claim 5, wherein the step of transmitting comprises transmitting the packet during a transmit time interval (TTI).
8. A method as in claim 5, wherein each symbol of the plurality of symbols is an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbol.
9. A method as in claim 5, wherein a transmit power for the pilot signals is greater than a transmit power for the control signals.
10. A method of transmitting an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) signal, comprising the steps of:
- transmitting on a plurality of control channels during a transmit time interval; and
- transmitting a counter during the transmit time interval to indicate a number of the plurality of control channels in the transmit time interval.
11. A method as in claim 10, wherein each control channel corresponds to a respective user in a wireless cell.
12. A method as in claim 10, wherein the counter value specifies a number of the plurality of control channels with a specific coding and modulation scheme.
13. A method of transmitting an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) signal during a transmit time interval (TTI), comprising the steps of:
- transmitting a plurality of control channels during a transmit time interval, each control channel corresponding to a respective user; and
- transmitting a counter associated with each respective control channel to indicate a size of said each respective control channel of the plurality of control channels.
14. A method as in claim 13, wherein the size of said each respective control channel is variable.
15. A method of transmitting a broadcast orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) signal, comprising the steps of:
- determining a plurality of broadcast channels;
- transmitting on a set of broadcast channels within the plurality of broadcast channels during a transmit time interval (TTI); and
- transmitting a broadcast channel bitmap to indicate the set of broadcast channels are active during the transmit time interval.
16. A method as in claim 15, wherein a number of the set of broadcast channels is less than a number of the plurality of broadcast channels.
17. A method as in claim 15, wherein broadcast channels of the plurality of broadcast channels other than the set of broadcast channels are inactive during the transmit time interval.
18. A method for power saving during a communications session in which packet transmission is scheduled at predetermined time intervals, comprising the steps of:
- operating a transceiver having an active power mode and a reduced power mode;
- operating the transceiver in the active power mode at the predetermined time intervals of the communications session; and
- operating the transceiver in the reduced power mode during remaining time intervals of the communications session.
19. A method as in claim 18, wherein the transceiver sends a remote wireless transmitter an acknowledge (ACK) signal from the active power mode.
20. A method as in claim 18, wherein the transceiver returns to the reduced power mode at a first time after receiving a most recent transmission from the remote wireless transmitter.
21. A method as in claim 20, wherein the transceiver has a second reduced power mode, comprising the step of operating in the second reduced power mode at an end of the communication session.
22. A method as in claim 18, wherein the transceiver determines the predetermined time intervals in response to information in a shared control channel.
23. A method as in claim 18, wherein the transceiver determines the predetermined time intervals in response to information in a common control channel.
24. A method of transmitting a control channel, comprising the steps of:
- transmitting a first part of the control channel that is encoded; and
- transmitting a second part of the control channel that is encoded differently than the first part.
25. A method as in claim 24, wherein the control channel is an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) control channel.
26. A method as in claim 24, wherein the first part is a common part comprising user equipment (UE) identities, and wherein the second part is a UE dedicated part.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2022
Publication Date: Jul 7, 2022
Inventors: Timothy Mark Schmidl (Dallas, TX), Eko Nugroho Onggosanusi (Allen, TX), Anand Ganesh Dabak (Plano, TX), Aris Papasakellariou (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 17/699,826