BRPI0714676B1 - variable control channel for a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

variable control channel for a wireless communication system. Techniques for sending control information on a variable control channel are described. Different structures for mapping control information to control channel resources may be used depending on various factors such as operating configuration, resources available for the control channel, types of control information being sent, amount of control information being sent for each type, whether or not data is being sent, etc. In a drawing, at least one type of control information being sent may be determined and may comprise cqi information, ack information, and / or other types of control information. A control channel structure may be determined based on the operating configuration (e.g., system configuration such as downlink and uplink allocation asymmetry) and / or other factors. At least one type of control information can be mapped to the control channel based on the structure.

Description

VARIABLE CONTROL CHANNEL FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

FUNDAMENTALS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present description refers in general to communication, and more specifically to techniques for sending control information in a wireless communication system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE

Wireless communication systems are widely developed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, sending messages, broadcasting, etc. These wireless systems can be multiple access systems capable of supporting multiple users by sharing available system resources.

Examples in such systems in access multiple include systems in access multiple per division of code (CDMA), systems in access multiple per division of time (TDMA), systems in access i multiple by frequency division

(FDMA), orthogonal FDMA systems (OFDMA), and single-carrier FDMA systems (SC-FDMA).

In a wireless communication system, a Node B (or base station) can transmit data to user equipment (UE) in downlink and / or receive data from the UE in uplink. Downlink (or direct link) refers to the communication link from Node B to the UE, and uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to Node B. 0 Node B can also send control information (by example, system resource allocations) for the UE. Similarly, the UE can send control information to Node B to support downlink data transmission and / or for other purposes. It is desirable to send data and

2/36 control information as efficiently as possible in order to improve the performance of the system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Techniques for sending control information over a variable control channel are described here. The variable control channel can support the transmission of one or more types of control information with a varying amount of resources. Different structures for mapping control information to resources can be used depending on various factors such as operating configuration, resources available to the control channel, types of control information being sent, amount of control information being sent for each type , whether or not data is being sent, etc. The structure of the control channel can therefore vary depending on these various factors.

In a project, at least one type of control information being sent can be determined and can comprise only the channel quality indicator (CQI) information, only the confirmation information (ACK), both CQI and ACK information, and / or other types of control information. A control channel structure can be determined based on the operating configuration and / or other factors. The operating configuration can be determined based on the system configuration, UE configuration, etc. The system configuration can indicate the number of subframes allocated for downlink and the number of subframes allocated for uplink. The UE configuration can indicate the downlink and uplink subframes applicable to the UE among the allocated subframes. The control channel structure can be determined based on the asymmetry of the downlink and uplink allocations. In a project, the control channel can comprise (i) a

3/36 fixed amount of resources for a control segment if data is not being sent or (ii) a variable amount of resources for a data segment if data is being sent. At least one type of control information can be mapped in resources to the control channel based on the structure. Each type of control information can be mapped into a respective part of the control channel resources based on the structure.

Various aspects and characteristics of the description are described in greater detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 illustrates a wireless communication system.

Figure 2 illustrates illustrative downlink and uplink transmissions.

Figure 3 illustrates a structure for sending data and control information.

Figure 4a illustrates the transmission of control information only.

Figure 4b illustrates the transmission of data and control information.

Figure 5 illustrates a time frame for a time division duplexing (TDD) mode.

Figure 6 illustrates the transmission with allocations

asymmetrical downlink and uplink. At figures 7a and 7b illustrate structures in channel of control to send information CQI and / or ACK on a segment of control. At figures 7c and 7d illustrate structures in channel of control to send information CQI and / or ACK on a

data segment.

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Figure 8 illustrates a process for sending control information.

Figure 9 illustrates an equipment for sending control information.

Figure 10 illustrates a process for receiving control information.

Figure 11 illustrates an equipment for receiving control information.

THE figure 12 illustrates one diagram in blocks in one Node B and one HUH • THE figure 13 illustrates one diagram in blocks in one modulator for control information. THE figure 14 illustrates one diagram in blocks in one modulator for data and information of control. THE figure 15 illustrates one diagram in blocks in one

demodulator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 illustrates a wireless communication system 100 with multiple B Nodes 110 and multiple UEs 120. A Node B is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UEs and can also be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNode B), a base station, an access point, etc. Each Node B 110 provides communication coverage for a particular geographic area and supports communication for UEs located within the coverage area. The term cell refers to a Node B and / or its coverage area depending on the context in which the term is used. A system controller 130 can couple with Node B and provide coordination and control for those Nodes B. System controller 130 can be a single network entity or a collection of network entities, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / System Architecture Evolution Gateway (SAE), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), etc.

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UEs 120 can be dispersed throughout the system, and each UE can be stationary or mobile. A UE can also be referred to as a mobile station, mobile equipment, terminal, access terminal, subscriber unit, station, etc. An UE can be a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless communication device, a portable device, a wireless modem, a laptop computer, etc.

A Node B can transmit data to one or more UEs in downlink and / or receive data from one or more UEs in uplink at any given time. Node B can also send control information to the UEs and / or receive control information from the UEs. In figure 1, a solid line with double arrows (for example, between Node B 110a and UE 120b) represents data transmission in downlink and uplink, and the transmission of control information in uplink. A solid line with a single arrow pointing to a UE (for example, UE 120e) represents downlink data transmission, and uplink control information transmission. A solid line with a single arrow pointing from a UE (for example, UE 120c) represents the transmission of data and control information in uplink. A dashed line with a single arrow pointing from a UE (for example, UE 120a) represents the transmission of control information (but without data) in uplink. The transmission of downlink control information is not illustrated in Figure 1 for simplicity. A given UE can receive data in downlink, transmit data in uplink and / or transmit control information in uplink at any given time.

Figure 2 illustrates the illustrative downlink transmission by a Node B and the uplink transmission by a UE. The EU can periodically estimate channel quality

6/36 downlink to Node B and can send CQI information to Node B. Node B can use CQI information to select an appropriate rate (for example, a code rate and a modulation scheme) for transmitting data. downlink data (DL) for the UE. Node B can process and transmit data to the UE when there is data to be sent and system resources are available. The UE can process a downlink data transmission from Node B and can send an acknowledgment (ACK) if the data is decoded correctly or a negative acknowledgment (NAK) if the data is decoded in error. 0 Node B can relay data if a NAK is received and can transmit new data if an ACK is received. The UE can also transmit data in uplink (UL) to Node B when there is data to be transmitted and the UE receives the uplink resources.

As illustrated in figure 2, the UE can transmit data and / or control information, or neither, at any given time interval. Control information can also be referred to as control, overhead, signaling, etc. The control information can comprise ACK / NAK, CQI, other information, or any combination thereof. The type and amount of control information can depend on several factors such as the number of data strings being sent, whether multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO) are being used for transmission, etc. For the sake of simplicity, much of the description below considers that the control information comprises CQI and ACK information.

The system can support hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ), which can also be referred to as increased redundancy, chase combination, etc. For downlink HARQ, Node B can send a transmission to

7/36 a packet and can send one or more retransmissions until the packet is correctly decoded by the UE, or the maximum number of retransmissions has been sent, or some other termination condition is met. HARQ can improve the reliability of data transmission.

The Z HARQ interlaces can be defined, where Z can be any integer value. Each HARQ interlacing can include time intervals that are spaced by Z time intervals. For example, six HARQ interlaces can be defined, and z HARQ interlaces can include n + z, n + z + 6, n + z + 12, etc., with z and {1, ..., 6} .

A HARQ process can refer to all transmissions and retransmissions, if any, for a packet. An HARQ process can be started when resources are available and can end after the first transmission or after one or more subsequent retransmissions. A HARQ process can have a variable duration that may depend on the results of decoding at the receiver. Each HARQ process can be sent in an HARQ interlacing. In a project, up to Z HARQ processes can be sent in the Z HARQ interlaces. In another project, multiple HARQ processes can be sent on different resources (for example, on different sets of subcarriers or from different antennas) on the same HARQ interlacing.

The transmission techniques described here can be used for uplink transmission in addition to downlink transmission. The techniques can also be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, and SC-FDMA. The terms system and network are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement radio technology such as Terrestrial Radio Access

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Universal (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Broadband CDMA (W-CDMA) and Low Chip Rate (LCR). The cdma2000 covers the IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system can implement radio technology such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement radio technology such as UTRA Evolved (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. These various radio technologies and standards are known in the art. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a version that is about to be released from UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in the documents of an organization called 3a Partnership Project. generation (3GPP). Cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization called 3a partnership project. generation 2 (3GPP2). For the sake of clarity, certain aspects of the techniques are described below for LTE uplink transmission, and the 3GPP terminology is used in much of the description below.

LTE uses OFDM in downlink and SC-FDM in uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system's bandwidth into multiple (N) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bands, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, the modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. For LTE, the spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (N) may depend on the system's bandwidth. In a project, N = 512 for a system bandwidth of 5 MHz, N = 1024 for a system bandwidth of 10 MHz, and N = 2048 for a

9/36 system bandwidth of 20 MHz. In general, N can be any integer value.

Figure 3 illustrates a design of a structure 300 that can be used to send data and control information in uplink. The transmission timeline can be divided into subframes. A subframe can have a fixed duration, for example, a millisecond (ms), or a configurable duration. A subframe can be divided into two partitions, and each partition can include L symbol periods, where L can be any integer value, for example, L = 6 or 7. Each symbol period can be used for data, control information, pilot or any combination thereof.

In the drawing illustrated in figure 3, the total N subcarriers can be divided into a data section and a control section. The control section can be formed on one edge of the system bandwidth, as shown in figure 3. The control section can be a configurable size, which can be selected based on the amount of control information being sent in uplink by UEs. The data section can include all subcarriers not included in the control section. The drawing in figure 3 results in the data section including contiguous subcarriers, which allows a single UE to be assigned to all contiguous subcarriers in the data section.

A UE can receive a control segment from M contiguous subcarriers, where M can be a fixed or configurable value. A control segment can also be referred to as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). In a project, a control segment can include an entire multiple of 12 subcarriers. The UE can also receive a data segment from Q subcarriers

10/36 contiguous, where Q can be a fixed or configurable value. A data segment can also be referred to as a shared physical uplink channel (PUSCH). In a project, a data segment can include an entire multiple of 12 subcarriers. The UE can also receive no data segments or control segments in a given subframe.

It may be desirable for a UE to transmit on contiguous subcarriers using SC-FDM, which is referred to as localized frequency division multiplexing (LFDM). Transmission on contiguous subcarriers can result in a lower peak / average ratio (PAR). PAR is the ratio of the peak power of a waveform to the average power of the waveform. A low PAR is desirable since it can allow a power amplifier (PA) to be operated at an average output power closest to the peak output power. This, in turn, can improve the transmission capacity and / or the link margin for the UE.

UE can receive a control segment located near an edge of the system's bandwidth. The UE can also receive a data segment within the data section when there is data to be sent. The subcarriers for the control segment may not be adjacent to the subcarriers for the data segment. The UE can send control information in the control segment if there is no data to be sent in uplink. The UE can send data and control information in the data segment if there is data to be sent in uplink. This dynamic transmission of control information can allow the UE to transmit on contiguous subcarriers regardless of whether data is being sent or not, which can improve the PAR.

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Figure 4a illustrates the transmission of control information in a subframe when there is no data to be sent in uplink. The UE can receive a control segment, which can be mapped to different sets of subcarriers in two partitions of the subframe. The UE can send control information on the subcarriers assigned to the control segment in each symbol period. The remaining subcarriers can be used by other UEs for uplink transmission.

Figure 4b illustrates the transmission of data and control information when there is data to be sent in uplink. The UE can receive a data segment, which can be mapped to different sets of subcarriers in the two partitions of a subframe. The UE can send data and control information on the subcarriers assigned to the data segment in each symbol period. The remaining subcarriers can be used by other UEs for uplink transmission.

Figures 4a and 4b illustrate the frequency jump from partition to partition. The frequency jump can also be performed through other time intervals, for example, from symbol period to symbol period, from subframe to subframe, etc. The frequency jump can provide frequency diversity against the harmful effects of path and interference randomization.

The system can support an FDD mode and / or a TDD mode. In FDD mode, separate frequency channels can be used for downlink and uplink, and downlink and uplink transmissions can be sent simultaneously on their separate frequency channels. In TDD mode, a common frequency channel can be used for both downlink and uplink, downlink transmissions can be sent over a period of time, and

12/36 uplink transmissions can be sent at other times.

Figure 5 illustrates a time frame 500 that can be used for TDD mode. The transmission timeline can be divided into units of frames. Each frame can span a predetermined length of time, for example, 10 ms, and can be divided into a predetermined number of subframes. In each frame, N _D l subframes can be allocated for downlink, and N _UL subframes can be allocated for uplink. N _DL and N _UL can be any suitable values and can be configurable based on traffic loads for downlink and uplink and / or other considerations.

Downlink and uplink can have symmetric or asymmetric allocations depending on the system configuration. For symmetric downlink and uplink allocations, the number of downlink subframes is equal to the number of uplink subframes, or N _dl = N _0L . Each downlink subframe can be associated with a corresponding uplink subframe. For example, a data transmission can be sent in the downlink subframe n, and the control information for the data transmission can be sent in the corresponding uplink subframe n, where ne {1, ..., N _DL }. For asymmetric downlink and uplink allocations, the number of downlink subframes does not match the number of uplink subframes, or N _DL Φ N _ÜL . Thus, there may not be a one-to-one mapping between the downlink and uplink subframes. Asymmetric allocations can allow for more flexible allocation of system resources to match load conditions, but can complicate system operation.

Figure 6 illustrates an example of data transmission with asymmetric downlink and uplink allocations.

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In this example, M downlink subframes from 1 to M can be associated with a single uplink subframe, where M can be any integer value. A UE can receive resources in the downlink subframes from 1 to M in addition to the associated uplink subframes. M packets can be sent in the M HARQ processes in the M downlink subframes for the UE. The UE can decode each packet and determine the ACK information for the packet. ACK information can also be referred to as an ACK return and can comprise ACK or NAK. The UE can send the ACK information for the packet sent in the HARQ Hl process, and ACKM is the ACK information for the packet sent in the HARQ HM process, where Hl to HM can be any available HARQ processes. The ACK information can be used to control the transmission of new packets or retransmission of the decoded packets in error.

In one respect, a variable control channel can be used to support both symmetric and asymmetric downlink and uplink allocations. The control channel can receive different amounts of resources, for example, depending on whether data is to be sent or not. The control channel can be used to flexibly send different types of control information and / or different amounts of control information.

For the sake of clarity, specific designs of the variable control channel are described below. In these projects, the control channel can receive four units of resources in a control segment when data is not being sent and can receive a variable number of units of resources in a data segment when data is being sent. A resource unit can correspond to physical resources or logical resources. Physical resources can be resources used for transmission and can be defined by subcarriers,

14/36 symbol periods, etc. Logical resources can be used to simplify resource allocation and can be mapped to physical resources based on mapping, transformation, etc. A resource unit can be of any size and can be used to send one or more bits of control information. In the following drawings, the control channel can be used to send only CQI information, or just ACK information for up to three HARQ processes, or both CQI and ACK information, or no control information.

Figure 7a illustrates drawings of the control channel structures for sending ACK information for up to three HARQ processes in the control segment when CQI and data are not sent. In figure 7a, the four resource units for the control segment can be represented by a 2 x 2 matrix. The first and second lines of the matrix can correspond to two virtual frequency resources (VFR) SI and S2, respectively. A VFR can be a set of subcarriers, it can be mapped into a set of subcarriers, or it can correspond to some other logical or physical resource. The first and second columns of the matrix can correspond to two partitions TI and T2, respectively, of a subframe. The four blocks of the 2x2 matrix can correspond to four resource units for the control channel. In the following description, Hl, H2 and H3 can be any three different HARQ processes.

In a drawing, the ACK information for a HARQ Hl (ACK1) process can be sent in all four resource units to the control segment as illustrated by a 712 structure. For example, the ACK information can be repeated four times and sent across all four feature units to improve reliability.

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In a project, the ACK information for two HARQ Hl and H2 processes can be sent in four resource units to the control segment as illustrated by a 714 structure. In this project, the ACK information for the HARQ Hl (ACK1) process can be sent in two resource units occupying VER SI in the TI and T2 partitions. ACK information for the HARQ H2 (ACK2) process can be sent on the two resource units that occupy VFR S2 on the TI and T2 partitions.

In one project, ACK information for the three HARQ processes Hl, H2 and H3 can be sent in the four resource units to the control segment as illustrated by a 716 structure. In this project, the ACK information for the HARQ Hl process (ACK1 ) can be sent on a resource unit occupying VFR SI on the Tl partition. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 (ACK2) process can be sent on a resource unit occupying VFR S2 on the Tl partition. The ACK information for the HARQ H3 (ACK3) process can be sent in a resource unit occupying VFR SI in the T2 partition. The remaining resource unit can be shared by the three HARQ processes in a TDM fashion. For example, this resource unit can be used for the ACK information for the HARQ H1 process in one subframe, then for the ACK information for the HARQ H2 process in the next subframe, then for the ACK information for the HARQ H3 process in the next subframe. , etc. In another project, the ACK information for all three HARQ processes can be encoded with a block code (4, 3) and sent in all four resource units. ACK information for the three HARQ processes can also be sent in other ways.

Figure 7b illustrates designs of the control channel structures to send CQI and ACK information to up to

16/36 three HARQ processes in the control segment when data is not sent. In a project, CQI information can be sent in all four resource units to the control segment, as illustrated by a 720 structure, when no ACK information is sent.

In a project, the CQI and ACK information for a HARQ H1 process can be sent in the four resource units to the control segment as illustrated by a 722 structure. In this drawing, the CQI information can be sent in two resource units occupying VER SI on TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VER S2 in the TI and T2 partitions.

In one project, CQI and ACK information for two HARQ Hl and H2 processes can be sent in four resource units to the control segment as illustrated by a 724 structure. In this project, CQI information can be sent in two resource units occupying VER SI on the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent on a resource unit occupying VFR S2 on the Tl partition. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be sent on a resource unit occupying VFR S2 on partition T2.

In a project, CQI and ACK information for the three HARQ, Hl, H2 and H3 processes can be sent in the four resource units to the control segment as illustrated by a 726 structure. In this project, CQI information can be sent in a resource unit occupying VER SI on the Tl partition. The ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent on a resource unit occupying VFR S2 on the Tl partition. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be sent in a resource unit occupying VFR SI in the T2 partition. ACK information

17/36 for the HARQ H3 process can be sent on a resource unit occupying VFR S2 on partition T2.

Figure 7c illustrates control channel structure designs for sending ACK information to up to three HARQ processes in the data segment when data is being sent, but not CQI. The data segment can include 2K resource units and can be represented by a K x 2 matrix, where K can be any value. The K rows of the matrix may correspond to K VFRs SI 'to SK', where Sl 'may be the lowest index and SK' may be the highest index of K VFRs for the data segment. The first and second columns of the matrix can correspond to two partitions TI and T2, respectively, of a subframe. The 2K blocks of the K x 2 matrix can correspond to 2K resource units. A resource unit for the data segment can have the same or a different dimension than the resource unit for the control segment. As illustrated in figure 7c, different numbers of resource units can be collected from the data segment and used to send different amounts of control information. The remaining resource units in the data segment can be used to send data.

In a project, ACK information for a HARQ H1 process can be sent in two resource units for the data segment as illustrated by a 732 structure. The two resource units can occupy VFR Sl 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The remaining 2K - 2 resource units can be used for data.

In a project, the ACK information for two HARQ Hl and H2 processes can be sent in four resource units to the data segment as illustrated by a 734 structure. In this project, the ACK information for the

18/36 HARQ Hi process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR SI 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR S2 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The remaining 2K-4 resource units can be used for data.

In one project, the ACK information for three HARQ processes, Hl, H2 and H3 can be sent in six resource units for the data segment as illustrated by a 736 structure. In this project, the ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR Sl 'in the T1 and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR S2 ¹ in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H3 process can be sent in two resource units occupying S3 'VFRs for the data segment on the TI and T2 partitions. The remaining 2K-6 units of remaining resources can be used for data.

Figure 7d illustrates designs of the control channel structures to send CQI and ACK information to up to three HARQ processes in the data segment when data is being sent. In a project, CQI information can be sent in two resource units for the data segment as illustrated by a 740 structure. These two resource units can occupy VFR Sl 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The remaining 2K-2 resource units can be used for the data.

In a project, CQI and ACK information for a HARQ H1 process can be sent in four resource units for the data segment as illustrated by a 742 structure. In this project, CQI information can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR Sl 'nas

19/36 TI and T2 partitions. ACK information for the HARQ Hl process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR

S2 'on T1 and T2 partitions. The remaining 2K-4 resource units can be used for data.

In one project, CQI and ACK information for two HARQ Hl and H2 processes can be sent in six resource units for the data segment as illustrated by a 744 structure. In this project, CQI information can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR Sl 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR S2 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR S3 'in the T1 and T2 partitions. The remaining 2K-6 resource units can be used for data.

In one project, CQI and ACK information for three HARQ, Hl, H2 and H3 processes can be sent in eight resource units for the data segment as illustrated by structure 746. In this project, CQI information can be sent in two units of resources occupying VFR SI 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR S2 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be sent in two resource units occupying VFR S3 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The ACK information for the HARQ H3 process can be sent in the two resource units occupying VFR S4 'in the TI and T2 partitions. The remaining 2k-8 resource units can be used for data.

Figures 7a to 7d illustrate specific designs of control channel structures for sending CQI and ACK information in the control segment and data segment. These projects illustrate the specific mapping of the

20/36 CQI and / or ACK information for the resource units available to send control information. CQI and ACK information can also be mapped to available resource units in several other ways. As an example, instead of using structure 714 in figure 7a, the ACK information for the HARQ H1 process can be sent in (i) upper left and lower right resource units in the matrix, (ii) lower left and lower resource units upper right in the matrix, (iii) upper left and lower left resource units in the matrix, etc. As another example, a block code can be used for all control information being sent, and the resulting code word can be sent in all available resource units.

The CQI and ACK information can be multiplexed in several ways, for example, using TDM, FDM, CDM, etc., or a combination of them. In the designs illustrated in figures 7a to 7d, a combination of TDM and FDM can be used for the control channel. In these projects, each VFR can correspond to a set of subcarriers. For example, 12 subcarriers can be allocated to the control segment, each VFR can correspond to six subcarriers, and a resource unit can correspond to six subcarriers in the L symbol periods for a partition. The CQI or ACK information for each HARQ process can be sent in the assigned resource units, for example, as illustrated in figures 7a to 7d.

TDM can also be used for control information. In this case, all control information mapped on a given partition can be processed (for example, encoded together) and sent on all subcarriers to the control channel on that partition. As an example, for structure 726 in figure 7b, the information

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CQI and ACK for the HARQ Hl process can be processed and sent on all subcarriers in the Tl partition, and the ACK information for the HARQ H2 and H3 processes can be processed and sent on all subcarriers in the partition

T2.

FDM can also be used for control information. In this case, all control information mapped to a specific VFR can be processed (for example, encoded together) and sent to all subcarriers in that VFR via two partitions. As an example, for structure 726 in figure 7b, the CQI and ACK information for the HARQ H2 process can be processed and sent on the VFR SI subcarriers via both T1 and T2 partitions, and the ACK information for the HARQ Hl processes. and H3 can be processed and sent on all subcarriers in VFR S2 through both partitions T1 and T2.

CDM can also be used for control information. In this case, CQI and ACK information can be spread with orthogonal codes, combined and then mapped to all available resources to send the control information.

Control information can also be sent by varying the modulation order. For example, BPSK can be used to send a bit of control information, QPSK can be used to send two bits of information, 8-PSK can be used to send three bits of information, 16-QAM can be used to send four bits information, etc.

The projects in figures 7a to 7d consider two types of control information being sent - CQI and ACK information. In general, any number and any type of control information can be sent on the

22/36 control. For example, control information may comprise information that identifies one or more desired sub-bands among all sub-bands, information for one or more precoding / beam forming arrays or one or more antennas for MIMO transmission, a request for resource, etc. In general, a fixed or variable amount of control information can be sent for each type. The amount of ACK information can depend on the number of HARQ processes being confirmed. The amount of CQI information can be fixed (as shown in figures 7a to 7d) or variable (for example, depending on whether MIMO is used or not, the number of strings being sent using MIMO, etc.).

The designs in figures 7a to 7d consider that the control channel includes (i) a fixed number of resource units when data is not being sent and (ii) a variable number of resource units when data is being sent. In general, the control channel can include (i) a fixed or variable number of resource units when data is not being sent and (ii) a fixed or variable number of resource units when data is being sent. The number of resource units available for the control channel may differ from that shown in figures 7a to 7d.

In general, the variable control channel can have different structures depending on one or more of the following:

• System configuration, for example, allocations for downlink and uplink such as the number of downlink subframes and the number of uplink subframes;

• UE configuration, for example, downlink and uplink subframes applicable to UE;

23/36 • The amount of resources available for the control channel;

• The type (s) of control information being sent on the control channel, for example, CQI and / or ACK information;

• The amount of control information being sent for each type, for example, number of HARQ processes being confirmed;

• Whether data is being sent or not, it can determine the size and location of the control channel; and • The desired reliability for each type of control information.

The variable control channel can support the transmission of one or more types of control information with a varying amount of resources. Different structures for mapping control information to control channel resources can be used depending on several factors such as those provided above. The structure of the control channel can therefore vary depending on several factors.

Figure 8 illustrates a design of a process 800 for sending control information. The 800 process can be performed by a UE for uplink (for example, as described above) or by Node B for downlink. At least one type of control information being sent can be determined (block 812). The control information being sent can comprise only CQI information, only ACK information, both CQI and ACK information, and / or other types of control information. A control channel structure can be determined based on the operating configuration and / or factors noted above (block 814). THE

24/36 operation configuration can be determined based on the system configuration (for example, asymmetry of downlink and uplink allocations), UE configuration (for example, applicable downlink and uplink subframes), etc. A plurality of structures can be supported for the control channel, some examples of which are provided in figures 7a to 7d. One of the supported structures can be selected based on the operation configuration and / or other factors. The control channel can comprise (i) a fixed amount of resources from a control segment if data is not being sent or (ii) a variable amount of resources from a data segment if data is being sent . The control and data segments can occupy different frequency locations.

at least one type of control information can be mapped in resources to the control channel based on the structure (block 816). Control channel resources can comprise time resources, frequency resources, code resources, etc. or any combination thereof. Each type of control information can be mapped into a respective part of the control channel resources based on the structure. Only CQI information can be sent and can be mapped across all control channel resources, for example, as illustrated by structure 720 in figure 7b and structure 740 in figure 7d. Only ACK information can be sent and can be mapped across all control channel resources, for example, as illustrated by structures 712 to 716 in figure 7a and structures 732 to 736 in figure 7c. Both CQI and ACK information can be sent and can be mapped into resources for the control channel based on the structure, for example.

25/36 example, as illustrated by structures 722 to 726 in figure 7b and structures 742 to 746 in figure 7d.

Figure 9 illustrates a design of equipment 900 to send control information. Equipment 900 includes devices for determining at least one type of control information being sent (module 912), devices for determining a control channel structure based on the operating configuration (for example, asymmetry of downlink and uplink allocations) and / or other factors (module 914), and devices for mapping at least one type of control information into resources for the control channel based on the structure (module 916).

Figure 10 illustrates a design of a process 1000 to receive control information. Process 1000 can be performed by a Node B for uplink (for example, as described above) or by a UE for downlink. At least one type of control information being received can be determined (block 1012). A control channel structure can be determined based on the operation configuration, which can indicate the asymmetry of downlink and uplink allocations, and / or other factors (block 1014). At least one type of control information can be received from resources for the control channel based on the structure (block 1016). For example, CQI information or ACK information, or both CQI and ACK information can be received from resources for the control channel based on the structure.

Figure 11 illustrates a design of an 1100 device to receive control information. The 1100 equipment includes devices for determining at least one type of control information being received (module 1112), devices for determining a control channel structure based on the operating configuration and / or others

26/36 factors (module 1114), and devices for receiving at least one type of control information from the resources for the control channel based on the structure (module 1116).

The modules in figures 9 and 11 can comprise processors, electronic devices, hardware devices, electronic components, logic circuits, memories, etc., or any combination thereof.

Figure 12 illustrates a block diagram of a project of a Node B 110 and a UE 120, which are one of the Nodes B and one of the UEs of figure 1. In the UE 120, a transmission data processor (TX) and control 1210 can receive uplink (UL) data from a data source (not shown) and / or control information from a 1240 controller / processor. The 1210 processor can process (for example, format, encode, merge, and map into symbols ) control data and information and provide modulation symbols. A modulator (MOD) 1220 can process the modulation symbols as described below and provide output chips. A transmitter (TMTR) 1222 can process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter and upstream frequency) the output chips and generate an uplink signal, which can be transmitted via a 1224 antenna.

At node B 110, an antenna 1252 can receive uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs and can provide a received signal to a 1254 receiver (RCVR). Receiver 1254 can condition (for example, filter, amplify, downwardly convert to frequency, and digitize) the received signal and provide received samples. A demodulator (DEMOD) 1260 can process the samples received as described below and provide demodulated symbols. A control and receiving data processor

27/36 (RX) and 1270 can process (for example, demap into symbols, deinterleave, and decode) demodulated symbols to obtain decoded data and control information for UE 120 and other UEs.

In downlink, at Node B 110, the downlink data (DL) and control information to be sent to the UEs can be processed by a TX 1290 control and data processor, modulated by a 1292 modulator (for example, for OFDM) , conditioned by a 1294 transmitter, and transmitted through antenna 1252. In UE 120, downlink signals from Node B 110 and possibly other B Nodes, can be received by antenna 1224, conditioned by a receiver 1230, demodulated by a demodulator 1232 (for example, for OFDM), and processed by an RX 1234 control and data processor to retrieve the downlink data and control information sent by Node B 110 to UE 120. In general, processing for uplink transmission can be similar or different from processing for downlink transmission.

Controllers / processors 1240 and 1280 can direct operations on UE 120 and Node B 110, respectively. Memories 1242 and 1282 can store data and program codes for UE 120 and Node B 110, respectively. A 1284 programmer can program the UEs for downlink and / or uplink transmission and can provide system resource assignments (for example, downlink and / or uplink subcarrier assignments) for the programmed UEs.

Figure 13 illustrates a block diagram of a 1220a modulator design for control information. Modulator 1220a can be used for modulator 1220 on UE 120 in figure 12 when data is not sent.

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A TX 1310 control processor, which can be part of the TX 1210 control and data processor in figure 12, can receive and process CQI and / or ACK information to be sent in a subframe. In a project, if only ACK information is sent on a given partition, then the TX 1310 control processor can generate a modulation symbol for ACK / NAK for each HARQ process, for example, by mapping an ACK to a QPSK value (for example, 1 + j) and a NAK for another QPSK value (for example, -1-j). The 1310 processor can then repeat the QPSK symbol for each HARQ process to obtain L modulation symbols for L symbol periods in a partition and can provide a modulation symbol in each symbol period. If only CQI information is being sent on a given partition, then the TX 1310 control processor can encode CQI information based on a block code to obtain code bits, map the code bits into L modulation symbols and provide a modulation symbol in each symbol period. If both CQI and ACK information are sent on a partition, then the TX 1310 control processor can encode the CQI and ACK information together based on another block code to obtain code bits, map the code bits to the L symbols of modulation and provide a modulation symbol in each symbol period. In another design, the 1310 processor can process the CQI and ACK information separately and can provide two modulation symbols for CQI and ACK for the two VFRs SI and S2 in each symbol period, for example, as illustrated in figures 7a and 7b. The TX 1310 control processor can also generate modulation symbols for CQI and / or ACK in other ways.

Within the modulator 1220a, a 1322 unit can receive the modulation symbols for CQI and / or ACK from the

29/36 TX 1310 control processor, for example, one or two modulation symbols in each symbol period. For each modulation symbol, the unit 1322 can modulate a CAZAC sequence (zero constant auto-correlation) with that modulation symbol to obtain a corresponding modulated CAZAC sequence with the modulated symbols. A CAZAC sequence is a sequence having good temporal characteristics (for example, a constant time domain envelope) and good spectral characteristics (for example, a flat frequency spectrum). Some illustrative CAZAC sequences include a Chu sequence, a Zadoff-Chu sequence, a Frank sequence, a generalized chirp sequence (GCL), a Golomb sequence, Pl, P3, P4 and Px sequences, etc., which are known in the art. In each symbol period, unit 1322 can supply M modulated symbols to the M subcarriers in the control segment assigned to the UE 120.

A spectral formatting unit 1330 can perform spectral formatting on the M symbols modulated in each symbol period and provide M symbols spectral formatted. A 1332 subcarrier symbol mapping unit can map the spectral formatted M symbols on the M subcarriers in the control segment assigned to the UE 120 and can map the zero symbols with zero sign value on the remaining subcarriers. A discrete Fourier transform transform unit (IDFT) 1334 can receive N symbols mapped to the total N subcarriers from the mapping unit 1332, perform an IDFT of point N on these N symbols to transform the symbols from the frequency domain to the domain time, and provide N time domain output chips. Each output chip is a complex value to be transmitted over a chip period. A converter

30/36 parallel / serial (P / S) 1336 can serialize the N output chips and provide a useful part of an SC-FDM symbol. A 1338 cyclic prefix generator can occupy the last C output chips of the useful part and attach these C output chips in front of the useful part to form an SC-FDM symbol containing N + C output chips. The cyclic prefix is used to combat inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by selective frequency fading. The SC-FDM symbol can be sent in a SC-FDM symbol period, which can be equal to N + C symbol periods.

Figure 14 illustrates a block diagram of a 1220b modulator design for control and data information. Modulator 1220b can be used for modulator 1220 in figure 12 when data is sent. The TX 1310 control processor can process control information and provide modulation symbols for control information for the 1220b modulator. A TX 1312 data processor, which can be part of the TX 1210 control and data processor in Figure 12, can receive the data to be sent, encode the data based on an encoding scheme to obtain the code bits, interleave the bits of code, and map the bits interspersed in modulation symbols based on a modulation scheme.

Within the modulator 1220b, a 1326 serial / parallel converter (S / P) can receive modulation symbols from the TX 1310 control processor and the modulation symbols from the TX 1312 data processor. S / P 1326 can provide Q modulation symbols in each symbol period, where Q is the number of subcarriers in the data segment designated for UE 120. A discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) 1328 unit can perform a Q point DFT on the Q modulation symbols to transform these

31/36 time domain symbols for frequency domain and

can provide Q symbols domain gives frequency. THE unity of formatting spectral 1330 can perform The formatting spectral we Q symbols in domain gives frequency and to provide Q shape-formatted symbols spectral. THE unity mapping in symbols in subcarriers 1332 may map symbols zero for at subcarriers remaining . THE IDFT unit 1334 can perform

an N-point IDFT on the N mapped symbols of the 1332 unit and provide N time domain output chips. P / S 1336 can serialize the N output chips, and the cyclic prefix generator 1338 can attach a cyclic prefix to form a SC-FDM symbol containing N + C output chips.

Figures 13 and 14 illustrate illustrative projects for sending control information without and with data, respectively. Control information can also be sent in several other ways. In another project, when only the control information is sent, the CQI and / or ACK information can be separately coded, multiplexed, transformed with a DFT, and mapped on subcarriers for the control segment, similar to the project illustrated in figure 14. In another project, CQI and / or ACK information can be encoded together, multiplexed, transformed with a DFT, and mapped on subcarriers for the control segment. The control information can also be sent with data based on other projects besides the project illustrated in figure 14.

In the projects illustrated in figures 13 and 14, the control information can be processed based on a first processing scheme when data is not sent and based on a second processing scheme when data is sent. When sent alone, control information can be sent using a

32/36 CAZAC sequence to achieve a lower PAR. When sent with data, the control information can be multiplexed with data and processed in a similar way to the data. Control information can also be processed in other ways. For example, control information can be sent using CDM, for example, by spreading each modulation symbol to the control information with an orthogonal code and mapping the modulation symbols spread across the resources to the control channel.

Figure 15 illustrates a block diagram of a demodulator 1260 project on Node B 110 in figure 12. Within demodulator 1260, a cyclic prefix removal unit 1510 can obtain N + C samples received in each SC-FDM symbol period. , remove C samples received corresponding to the cyclic prefix, and provide N samples received for the useful part of a received SC-FDM symbol. An S / P 1512 can supply the N samples received in parallel. A DFT 1514 unit can perform a DFT of N points on the N samples received and provide N symbols received for the N total subcarriers. These N symbols received can contain data and control information for all UEs transmitting to Node B 150. The processing for retrieving control information and / or data from the UE 120 is described below.

If control and data information is sent by UE 120, then a symbol mapping unit on subcarrier 1516 can provide Q symbols received from Q subcarriers for the data segment designated for UE 120 and can eliminate the remaining received symbols . A unit 1518 can scale the Q symbols received based on the spectral formatting performed by UE 120. Unit 1518 can perform

33/36 additionally detecting data (eg combined filtering, equalization, etc.) on the Q symbols scaled with the channel gain estimates and providing Q detected symbols. An IDFT 1520 unit can perform a Q point IDFT on the detected Q symbols and provide demodulated Q symbols for data and control information. A P / S 1522 can provide demodulated symbols for data for an RX 1550 data processor and can provide demodulated symbols for control information for a 1532 multiplexer (Mux), which can provide these symbols for a RX 1552 control processor. Processors 1550 and 1552 can be part of the RX 1270 control and data processor in figure 12. The RX 1550 data processor can process (for example, map to symbols, deinterleave and decode) demodulated symbols for data and provide decoded data. The RX 1552 control processor can process demodulated symbols for control information and provide decoded control information, for example, CQI and / or ACK.

If the control information and no data are sent by the UE 120, then the symbol demapping unit on subcarrier 1516 can provide M symbols received from the M subcarriers for the control segment assigned to the UE 120 and can eliminate the remaining received symbols. A CAZAC 1530 sequence detector can detect one or more modulation symbols most likely to have been sent in a symbol period based on the M symbols received for that symbol period. The detector 1530 can provide demodulated symbols for the control information, which can be directed through the multiplexer 1532 and supplied to the control processor RX 1552.

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It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the described processes is an example of illustrative approaches. Based on design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the description. The attached method claims present elements of various stages in an illustrative order, and should not be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any one of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, particles or magnetic fields, particles or optical fields, or any combination thereof.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various logic blocks, modules, circuits and illustrative algorithm steps described with respect to the description can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or combinations of both. In order to clearly illustrate this ability to exchange hardware and software, several components, blocks, modules, circuits and illustrative steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and the design restrictions imposed on the system as a whole. Those skilled in the art can implement the functionality described in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions

35/36 should not be interpreted as being responsible for departing from the scope of the present invention.

The various logic blocks, modules, and illustrative circuits described in relation to the description here can be implemented or carried out with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an array of field programmable ports (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete port or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of them designed to perform the functions described here. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, micro controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in relation to the description here can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An illustrative storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. 0 processor and storage medium

36/36 can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside on a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

The preceding description is provided to allow anyone skilled in the art to create or make use of the description. Various modifications to the description will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined here can be applied to 10 other variations without departing from the scope of the description.

Accordingly, the description should not be limited to the examples and projects described here, but the broader scope consistent with the principles and novelty features described here must be agreed.

Claims (20)

1. Equipment, characterized by comprising: devices for determining resources for a control channel that is variable, the control channel being allocated a fixed amount of resources in a control segment when data is not being sent in an uplink and a variable amount of resources being allocated in a segment of data when data is being sent on the uplink; devices for determining at least one type of control information being sent on the control channel, the control information including confirmation information, ACK; devices to determine a structure for the control channel based on operating configuration and based on a number of hybrid automatic retransmission processes, HARQ, to be confirmed by ACK information, the structure being used to map control information to the resources for the control channel; and devices for mapping at least one type of control information to resources for the control channel based on the structure. 2. Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the devices for determining the structure of the control channel comprise devices for determining the structure of the control channel among a plurality of structures supported for the control channel. 3. Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating configuration is determined based on system configuration, user equipment configuration, or both. Petition 870190083091, of 26/08/2019, p. 6/12 2/6 4. Equipment, according to claim 3, characterized by the system configuration being indicative of allocations for downlink and uplink, and in which the structure of the control channel is determined based on the asymmetry of the allocations of downlink and uplink. 5. Equipment, according to claim 1, characterized by the structure of the control channel being determined based on the number of subframes allocated for downlink and the number of subframes allocated for uplink, or an amount of resources for the control channel, or the at least one type of control information being sent, or an amount of control information for each type of control information being sent, or a combination of these. 6. Equipment according to claim 1, characterized by at least one type of control information being sent additionally comprising channel quality indicator information, CQI, and in which the devices for mapping comprise devices for mapping the CQI information to at least a portion of the resources for the control channel. Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises: devices for processing at least one type of control information according to a first processing scheme if data is not being sent; and devices for processing at least one type of control information according to a second processing scheme if data is being sent. 8. Equipment according to claim 7, characterized by the devices for processing at least one type of control information according to the first processing scheme comprising: Petition 870190083091, of 26/08/2019, p. 7/12 3/6 devices for processing at least one type of control information to obtain modulation symbols; devices for modulating a constant amplitude zero autocorrelation sequence with each of the modulation symbols to obtain a corresponding modulated constant amplitude zero autocorrelation sequence; and wherein the devices for mapping the at least one type of control information comprise devices for mapping modulated constant amplitude zero correlation sequences to the modulation symbols for the resources for the control channel. 9. Equipment according to claim 8, characterized by the devices for processing the at least one type of control information according to the second processing scheme comprising: devices for processing at least one type of control information to obtain modulation symbols; and devices for combining modulation symbols for at least one type of control information with modulation symbols for data; and where the devices for mapping at least one type of control information comprise devices to map the symbols in combined modulation for resources for one segment in data, and where resources to the channel in control are a subset of resources for the data segment. 10. Equipment according to claim 9, characterized by the devices for mapping the combined modulation symbols comprising: devices for transforming the combined modulation symbols from the time domain to the Petition 870190083091, of 26/08/2019, p. 12/12 4/6 frequency domain to obtain symbols in the frequency domain; and devices for mapping symbols in the frequency domain to resources for the data segment. 11. Method, characterized by understanding: determine resources for a control channel that is variable, the control channel being allocated a fixed amount of resources in a control segment when data is not being sent in an uplink and a variable amount of resources being allocated in a data segment when data is being sent on the uplink; determine at least one type of control information being sent on the control channel, the control information including confirmation information, ACK; determine a structure for the control channel based on operation configuration and based on a number of hybrid automatic retransmission processes, HARQ, to be confirmed by ACK information, the structure being used to map control information to resources for the control channel; and map at least one type of control information to resources for the control channel based on the structure. 12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that determining the structure of the channel comprises determining the structure of the control channel among a plurality of supported structures for the control channel. 13. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the operating configuration is determined based on system configuration, user equipment configuration, or both. Petition 870190083091, of 26/08/2019, p. 9/12 5/6 14. Method, according to claim 13, characterized in that the system configuration is indicative of allocations for downlink and uplink, and in which the structure of the control channel is based on asymmetry of the allocations of downlink and uplink. 15. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the control channel structure is determined based on the number of subframes allocated for downlink and the number of subframes allocated for uplink, or an amount of resources for the control channel, or o at least one type of control information being sent, or an amount of control information for each type of control information being sent, or a combination thereof. 16. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that it further comprises: process at least one type of control information according to a first processing scheme if data is being sent; and processing at least one type of control information according to a second processing scheme if data is not sent. 17. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that it processes at least one type of control information according to the first processing scheme comprising: process at least one type of control information to obtain modulation symbols; and modulating a constant amplitude zero correlation sequence with each of the modulation symbols to obtain a corresponding modulated constant amplitude zero correlation sequence; and Petition 870190083091, of 26/08/2019, p. 12/10 6/6 where mapping at least one type of control information comprises mapping modulated constant amplitude zero correlation sequences to the modulation symbols for the resources for the control channel. 18. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that it processes at least one type of control information according to the second processing scheme comprising: process at least one type of control information to obtain modulation symbols; combining modulation symbols for at least one type of control information with modulation symbols for data; and on what map the hair less it's a type in information control comprises map the symbols in modulation combined for resources for one segment in data, the resources for the control channel being a subset of the resources for the data segment. 19. Method according to claim 18, characterized by mapping the combined modulation symbols comprising: transforming the combined modulation symbols from the time domain to the frequency domain to obtain symbols in the frequency domain; and map symbols in the frequency domain to the resources for the data segment. 20. Memory characterized by comprising instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method as defined in any of claims 11 to 19.