CN109155705B

CN109155705B - Apparatus for combining and decoding encoded blocks

Info

Publication number: CN109155705B
Application number: CN201680085903.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 田塽; 阳·唐; 尹大中; 安德烈·切尔夫雅科夫; 阿纳托利·伊奥夫
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc; Intel Corp
Priority date: 2016-06-20
Filing date: 2016-11-23
Publication date: 2021-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 2036-11-23
Also published as: CN109155705A; WO2017222582A1

Abstract

An apparatus for combining and decoding encoded blocks is disclosed. An apparatus for a User Equipment (UE) includes at least one processor configured to combine a subset of a plurality of received copies of an encoded block of data into a combined block. The number of replicas in the subset is less than the number of received replicas. The at least one processor is further configured to decode the combined block.

Description

Apparatus for combining and decoding encoded blocks

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No.62/352,373 filed 2016, month 6, day 20, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to generating and decoding a combined encoded block from a subset of a plurality of received copies of the encoded block. In particular, the present disclosure relates to generating and decoding combined coded blocks for narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) and/or Machine Type Communication (MTC) in a third generation partnership project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system.

Background

In recent years, the development of 3GPP LTE communication systems (hereinafter referred to as "LTE systems") has been driven by the demand for fast mobile wireless data access for mobile electronic devices. An end user accesses the LTE system using a mobile electronic device (referred to as "user equipment" or, equivalently, "UE") comprising appropriate electronic and software modules to communicate in accordance with the standards set forth by the 3 GPP.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a wireless communication device.

Fig. 3 is a simplified diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of block error rate plotted against signal-to-noise ratio for a convolutional code, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 5 illustrates example components of an electronic device for some embodiments.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure made herein. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating examples of embodiments of the present disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, rearrangements, or combinations thereof within the scope of the disclosure may be made in light of the disclosure, and will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In accordance with common practice, the various features illustrated in the drawings may not be drawn to scale. The illustrations presented herein are not intended to be actual views of any particular apparatus (e.g., device, system, etc.) or method, but are merely idealized representations which are employed to describe various embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. In addition, some of the drawings may be simplified for clarity. Accordingly, the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given apparatus or all of the operations of a particular method.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the specification may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. For clarity of presentation and description, some of the figures may illustrate a signal as a single signal. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the signals may represent a signal bus, where the bus may have various bit widths, and the present disclosure may be implemented on any number of data signals including a single data signal.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm acts described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and acts have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein.

Additionally, it is noted that the embodiments may be described in terms of procedures that are depicted as flow diagrams, structure diagrams, signaling diagrams, or block diagrams. Although a flowchart or signaling diagram may describe the operational acts as a sequential process, many of these acts can be performed in another order, in parallel, or substantially simultaneously. In addition, the order of the actions may be rearranged. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. Furthermore, the methods disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, software, or both. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more computer-readable instructions (e.g., software code) on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media (i.e., non-transitory media) and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.

Narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) and Machine Type Communication (MTC) are currently both 3GPP LTE work items. A common goal of these work items is to develop wireless technologies that can support enhanced network coverage and a large number of low cost, low power consumption, and low delay sensitivity UE devices. To meet this particular goal, NB-IoT and MTC protocols apply low complexity channel coding schemes, such as convolutional codes, for the encoding/decoding of information bits and allow the transmitter to repeatedly transmit the same block of coded bits to the receiver many times. For example, the transmitter may select a repetition level. For example, the transmitter may select the number of repeated transmissions from a set of {1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1028,2048} repetitions of the transmission depending on the particular circumstances, such as current multipath channel conditions, signal-to-noise-power ratios, other circumstances, and combinations thereof.

On the receiver side, after traveling through certain communication channels, the transmitted signal will be attenuated and contaminated by various interferences and noises. In NB-IoT and MTC scenarios, a receiver may collect multiple received copies of a block of coded bits and try to recover the information bits by applying a corresponding decoding algorithm.

Conventionally, the receiver may combine (e.g., add together, average, etc.) all received copies of the block of encoded bits to produce a combined block. The combined block is then input to a decoder to increase the probability of successful decoding (e.g., to pass a cyclic redundancy check, CRC). For NB-IoT and MTC protocols, one goal is to support extended network coverage with high device density, in this scenario the noise power is likely to be much higher than the power of the wanted signal at the receiver side. Thus, the transmitter repeatedly transmits the same block of coded bits up to thousands of times. Due to the randomness of the noise, the effect of the noise on the signal corresponding to the received block replica may be destructive or constructive to the signal. If one or more received block copies are affected by noise in a severely destructive manner and are used to produce a combined block for decoding, the receiver may spend more time collecting a sufficient number of received block copies affected by constructive and/or less destructive noise to balance the severely destructive effects on the combined block.

Disclosed herein are an apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, and communication device configured to select a subset of received copies of an encoded block and generate a combined encoded block from the subset of received copies. Although the present disclosure focuses on the UE receiving a copy of a coded block from a cellular base station in the downlink, the embodiments disclosed herein are also applicable to any other situation where a cellular base station receives a copy of a coded block from a UE in the uplink, or where combining copies of data blocks would be helpful or desirable.

In some embodiments, an apparatus for a User Equipment (UE) includes at least one data store configured to store data corresponding to a plurality of received copies of an encoded block of data. The apparatus also includes at least one processor operatively coupled to the at least one data storage device and configured to combine a subset of the plurality of received replicas into a combined block and decode the combined block. The number of replicas in the subset is less than the number of received replicas.

In some embodiments, at least one computer-readable storage medium is configured to store computer-readable instructions thereon. The computer-readable instructions are configured to instruct at least one processor to select a portion of multiple copies of a block of coded bits received from a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, combine the selected portion of the multiple copies into a combined block, and apply the combined block to a decoder.

In some embodiments, a wireless communications apparatus comprises: a receiver configured to receive an encoded block of data from a remote communication device; and a baseband processor operatively coupled to the receiver. The baseband processor is configured to select a subset of the multiple copies of the encoded block received from the remote communication device and combine the subset of the multiple copies of the encoded block into a combined block. The wireless communication apparatus also includes a decoder configured to decode the combined block.

Fig. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments. The wireless communication system 100 includes a cellular base station 110 (also sometimes referred to herein as a "base station" 110, a "Radio Access Network (RAN) node," an evolved node B, "an eNB," etc.) and a User Equipment (UE)120 (e.g., an electronic device supporting cellular communication). The base station 110 includes a communication element 118 (e.g., an antenna, transmit circuitry, receive circuitry, etc.) that the communication element 118 is configured to engage in wireless communication with a communication element 128 (e.g., a communication device or radio) of the UE 120.

The base station 110 and the UE120 include

control circuitry

112, 122, respectively, configured to perform the functions of the embodiments described herein. As a non-limiting example, the control circuitry 112 of the base station 110 is configured to control the communication element 118 to transmit multiple copies 130 of the encoded block to one of the UEs 120. A communication element 128 of the UE120 is configured to receive a copy 130 of the encoded block. The control circuit 122 is configured to store the received copy 130 of the encoded block (e.g., on the storage device 126). The control circuitry 122 is further configured to select a subset of the copies 130 of the encoded blocks and generate a combined encoded block from the selected subset of the copies 130. The control circuit 122 is further configured to decode the combined encoded block. Because only a subset of the replicas 130 are used to generate combined encoded blocks, at least some of the replicas 130 that would otherwise introduce severe impairments (e.g., severe destructive noise, severe constructive noise) into the combined encoded blocks may not be used to generate combined encoded blocks. As a result, fewer copies 130 may be relied upon to generate the combined encoded block with greater accuracy as compared to a system that uses all received copies to generate the combined encoded block.

The

control circuitry

112, 122 may be configured to perform one or more processes. As a non-limiting example, the

control circuitry

112, 122 may be configured to perform the method 200 illustrated in fig. 2. Also by way of non-limiting example, the processes may be performed using application circuitry 502 (fig. 5), baseband circuitry 504 (fig. 5), hardware resources 400 (fig. 4), other circuitry, or a combination thereof.

The

control circuitry

112, 122 includes one or more processors 114, 124 (sometimes referred to herein as "processors" 114, 124) operatively coupled to one or more data storage devices 116, 126 (sometimes referred to herein as "memory" 116, 126). The

processors

114, 124 include any one of a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microcontroller, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), programmable device, other processing device, or a combination thereof. The

processors

114, 124 also include one or more hardware elements (not shown) configured to perform at least a portion of the functions that the

control circuitry

112, 122 is configured to perform in some embodiments. As non-limiting examples, the

processors

114, 124 may include Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), systems on a chip (SOCs), arrays of logic gates, arrays of programmable logic gates (e.g., Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)), other hardware elements, or a combination thereof. The

processors

114, 124 are configured to execute computer readable instructions stored on the

storage

116, 126.

The

storage

116, 126 may include non-transitory computer readable storage media. By way of non-limiting example, the

storage

116, 126 includes volatile storage (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)), non-volatile storage (e.g., Read Only Memory (ROM)), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the

processor

114, 124 may be configured to transfer computer readable instructions stored in a non-volatile storage of the

storage

116, 126 to a volatile storage of the

storage

116, 126 for execution. By way of non-limiting example, the

storage

116, 126 may include dynamic ram (dram), Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash drive, a magnetic disk, removable media (e.g., a memory card, a thumb drive, an optical disk, etc.), or other storage devices.

The computer readable instructions stored on the

storage

116, 126 are configured to instruct the

processor

114, 124 to perform at least a portion of the operations that the

control circuitry

112, 122 is configured to perform. As a non-limiting example, the computer readable instructions may be configured to instruct the processor 124 to perform the method 200 illustrated in fig. 2. Further description of examples of

control circuits

112, 122 is provided below with reference to fig. 4 and 5.

Fig. 2 is a simplified flowchart illustrating a method 200 of operating a wireless communication device (e.g., one of UEs 120 of fig. 1). Referring to fig. 1 and 2 together, a method 200 includes receiving 210 multiple copies 130 of an encoded block. In some embodiments, receiving 210 the plurality of copies 130 includes receiving the encoded block and 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1028, or 2048 copies thereof. In some embodiments, the number of received replicas 130 depends on the particular situation, such as the current multipath channel conditions, signal-to-noise-power ratio, other factors, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, receiving 210 the plurality of copies 130 of the encoded block includes receiving at least one copy 130 over a first carrier signal operating on a first frequency that is different from a second frequency of a second carrier signal on which the at least one other copy 130 is received.

In an OFDM based system, such as a 3GPP LTE system, if a dynamic frequency resource allocation scheme, such as distributed mapping or frequency hopping, is applied, the replicas 130 transmitted in different time slots will be allocated to and transmitted on different frequency bands. When a multipath channel is present, different frequency bands will have different behavior. Some frequency bands may have constructive interference, noise, or a combination thereof when received after transmission. Other frequency bands may have destructive interference, noise, or a combination thereof. If more copies 130 received over a constructive frequency band are selected for combining, the probability of successful decoding will be increased.

The method 200 also includes selecting 220 a portion of the plurality of received copies 130 of the encoded block. Selecting 220 a portion includes selecting M copies 130 for use in generating a combined block, where 1 ≦ M ≦ K, and K is the number of copies 130 received. In some embodiments, the number M of selected replicas 130 is determined as a function of at least one performance parameter (e.g., signal-to-noise power level, other channel conditions, etc.) of communications receiving the received replicas 130 and an expected block error rate (as will be discussed in more detail with reference to fig. 3). In some embodiments, the number of received replicas 130 to select for the portion is determined by the control circuitry 122 of the UE 120. In some embodiments, the control circuitry 112 of the base station 110 determines the number of received replicas 130 to select for the portion, and the base station 110 sends a communication to the UE120 indicating the number of replicas.

In some embodiments, selecting 220 a portion includes selecting N groups (e.g., M) of replicas 130₁、...、M_n、...M_NWherein N is 1. ltoreq. N and M is 1. ltoreq. M_nK) for generating N different composition blocks. In some instances, the number of replicas 130 in each of the N groups may vary from group to group. In other examples, the number of replicas 130 in each group may be the same. In some embodiments, control circuitry 122 may select copies 130 for various groups to reduce correlation between different groups by selecting as many different copies as possible for different groups.

In some embodiments, selecting 220 a portion of the plurality of received replicas 130 includes selecting the portion based at least in part on a signal-to-noise power level of each replica 130 of the portion exceeding a predetermined threshold level. In some embodiments, selecting 220 a portion of the plurality of received replicas 130 includes randomly selecting the portion. In embodiments where selecting 220 a portion includes selecting N groups of replicas 130 for use in generating N different combined blocks, selecting 220 a portion may include selecting at least one of the groups based at least in part on a first performance parameter corresponding to the received replica 130 and selecting at least another of the groups based at least in part on a second performance parameter corresponding to the received replica 130, the second performance parameter being different from the first performance parameter. In some embodiments, at least one of the groups may be selected based at least in part on a performance parameter corresponding to the received copy being within a first range, and at least another of the groups may be selected based at least in part on the same performance parameter corresponding to the received copy being within a second range different from the first range.

The method 200 further includes combining 230 the selected portions of the multiple replicas 130 into a combined block. In some embodiments, combining 230 the selected portions of the plurality of replicas 130 includes summing the selected portions of the plurality of replicas 130. In some embodiments, combining 230 the selected portions of the plurality of replicas 130 includes averaging (e.g., calculated as an arithmetic average, a geometric average, etc.) the selected portions of the plurality of replicas 130.

The method 200 also includes decoding 240 the combined block. In some embodiments, decoding 240 the combined block includes applying the combined block to a decoder. In embodiments where selecting 220 a portion includes selecting N groups of replicas 130 for use in generating N different combined blocks, decoding 240 may include decoding each of the N combined blocks separately (e.g., by applying each of the N different combined blocks to a decoder separately). In some embodiments, decoding 240 may also include determining whether the decoder successfully decoded the combined block (in the case where only a single combined block is generated) or the combined blocks (in the case where multiple combined blocks are generated). As a non-limiting example, a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) may be performed to determine whether the decoder successfully decoded the combined block.

In some embodiments, the control circuit 122 may be configured to combine 230 selected portions of the multiple replicas 130 into a combined block, and to combine all of the multiple replicas 130 into a different combined block. In such embodiments, the control circuit 122 may include a switching component (e.g., implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof) configured to indicate which combination mode should be used. The selection of the combination pattern may be determined by factors such as the current channel conditions, the signal-to-noise power level experienced by the received copy 130 of the block of coded bits, other factors, or a combination thereof. For example, the control circuitry 122 may be configured to monitor one or more values indicative of current channel conditions of the channel used to receive the replica 130. Control circuitry 122 may be further configured to combine all of replicas 130 into a total combined block and apply the total combined block to a decoder instead of a combined block resulting from combining only a portion of replicas 130 in response to a value indicative of a channel condition (e.g., a first predetermined range, a first predetermined frequency, etc.) exhibiting a first predetermined behavior (e.g., a first predetermined range, a first predetermined frequency, etc.): signal-to-noise power ratio, signal-to-interference power ratio, signal power of a received signal, error rate of received data, block error rate of a received encoded block, a parameter indicative of channel fading, a noise parameter of a channel, an interference parameter of a channel, and the like, or combinations thereof. The control circuit 122 may be further configured to apply the combined blocks resulting from combining only a portion of the replica 130, but not the total combined blocks, to the decoder in response to the value indicative of the channel condition exhibiting a second predetermined behavior (e.g., a second predetermined range, a second predetermined frequency, etc.). .

Although the method 200 of fig. 2 is generally discussed as being implemented by the UE120, the method 200 may be implemented by the base station 110 instead of or in addition to the UE 120. For example, the communication element 118 may perform operation 210, and the control circuitry 112 may perform

operations

220, 230, and 240. Thus, the base station 110 may receive the replica 130 from the base station 110 over an uplink.

The method 200 of fig. 2 may be advantageous in an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel (as well as other types of noise and/or interference channels). For example, the reception symbol y can be given by equation (1)_i：

Wherein x_iIs the ith BPSK modulation symbol representing the ith bit in the block of coded bits, P_rIs the average received signal power determined by factors (e.g., transmit power, propagation loss, channel fading effects, etc.), and n_iIs AWGN (e.g., assuming that the noise power is normalized to one). It will be apparent that other types of channel noise may be included instead of or in addition to AWGN. Thus, for a single received block (i.e., the number of repetitions is "1"), the SNR power ratio is given in dB by equation (2):

if M block copies are combined together (e.g., added together), dB is unity by equation (3)Bit given SNR_rep-M：

If 2M block copies are combined together (e.g., added together), the SNR is given in dB by equation (4)_rep-2M：

Fig. 3 is a simplified diagram 300 illustrating a non-limiting example of block error rate (BLER) plotted against SNR for convolutional codes, in accordance with some embodiments. For this convolutional code, a desired BLER of less than ten percent (10%) can be achieved if there is an SNR greater than or equal to 1.5 dB.

Assuming the SNR of a single received block_rep-1(equation 2) is about-19.56 dB, if a wireless communication device (e.g., UE120, base station 110, etc.) receives 64 copies and combines all 64 copies, the resulting SNR is_rep-64(equation 3) is about-1.5 dB, and the corresponding BLER is about P_e0.85 as shown in fig. 3. However, if P_eA BLER of 0.1 (e.g., to achieve a 3dB gain in SNR) is desirable, the wireless communication device may achieve a corresponding SNR of 1.5dB by combining more than 64 copies_M. Thus, if the wireless communication device waits for more copies, a desired SNR can be achieved_MAnd a corresponding BLER. In such a scenario, if more than 64 copies are received (128 copies in total), then the desired SNR can be achieved according to equations (3) and (4)_MAnd the corresponding BLER. This specific example illustrates the general idea that the SNR for a single received block is relatively low_rep-1In other words, the wireless device may spend more transmission time collecting more block copies to meet a given BLER target, while the SNR for a relatively higher single received block is relatively high_rep-1In other words, the wireless device may spend less transmission time collecting fewer block copies to fullSufficient for a given BLER target.

As a specific non-limiting example of using multiple sets of replicas to generate multiple combined blocks, if the SNR of a single received coded block is assumed_rep-1Is about-19.56 dB and 96 copies of the encoded block have been received, a group of 64 of the 96 copies may be selected. There will be approximately that can be selected from 96 copies

A different set of 64 copies. According to the convolutional code of FIG. 3, the BLER of the combined block resulting from the 64-copy set will be about P_e0.85. Because of 0.85²⁹9%, so by appropriately selecting 3 × 10²⁵29 of the possible 64-copy groups for combining and decoding each of these groups separately, a BLER target of 9% can be achieved using only 96 block copies, as opposed to 128 block copies if all block copies are combined into one combined block. In addition, such low correlation between different sets of 64 replicas should be sought later. A wireless device receiving a copy of an encoded block may make a determination of when to begin selecting a set of copies, combining, and decoding. In addition, the number of copies in each copy group need not be the same (e.g., a first copy group may have a different number of copies than a second copy group).

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. In particular, fig. 4 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 400, which hardware resources 400 include one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory/storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which is communicatively coupled via a bus 440.

Processor 410 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 412 and processor 414. Memory/storage 420 may include a main memory, a disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof.

Communication resources 430 may include interconnection and/or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 404 and/or one or more databases 406 via network 408. For example, communication resources 430 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, a wireless communication component, and a wireless communication component,

Component (e.g. low energy)

)，

Components and other communication components.

The instructions 450 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing any one of the processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 450 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 410 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), the memory/storage 420, or any suitable combination thereof. Further, any portion of instructions 450 may be transferred to hardware resource 400 from any combination of peripheral 404 and/or database 406. Thus, the memory of processor 410, memory/storage 420, peripherals 404, and database 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media. As a non-limiting example, the instructions 450 may be configured to instruct any of the processors 410 to perform any of the operations or functions discussed herein.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of or include the following: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented with, or the functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, the circuitry may comprise logic operable, at least in part, in hardware.

Any suitably configured hardware and/or software may be used to implement the embodiments described herein into a system. Fig. 5 illustrates example components of an electronic device 500 for some embodiments. In some embodiments, electronic apparatus 500 may be part of a User Equipment (UE) (e.g., UE120 of fig. 1), a cellular base station (e.g., base station 110 of fig. 1), or some other suitable electronic apparatus, may implement a part of a User Equipment (UE) (e.g., UE120 of fig. 1), a cellular base station (e.g., base station 110 of fig. 1), or some other suitable electronic apparatus, may be incorporated into a part of a User Equipment (UE) (e.g., UE120 of fig. 1), a cellular base station (e.g., base station 110 of fig. 1), or some other suitable electronic apparatus. In some embodiments, the electronic device 500 may include application circuitry 502, baseband circuitry 504, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 506, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 508, and one or more antennas 510 coupled together at least as shown in fig. 5.

The application circuitry 502 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 502 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 504 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 504 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 506 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 506. Baseband processing circuitry 504 may interface with application circuitry 502 for generating and processing baseband signals and for controlling operation of RF circuitry 506. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 504 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 504A, a third generation (3G) baseband processor 504B, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 504C, and/or other baseband processors 504D for other existing generations, generations in development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 504 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 504A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 506. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 504 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding/decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 504 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 504 may include elements of a protocol stack, such as, for example, elements of an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) protocol, including, for example, Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and/or Radio Resource Control (RRC) elements. A Central Processing Unit (CPU)504E of the baseband circuitry 504 may be configured to run elements of a protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 504 may include one or more audio Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) 504F. The audio DSP 504F may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

The baseband circuitry 504 may further include memory/storage 504G. The memory/storage 504G may be used to load and store data and/or instructions for operations performed by the processor of the baseband circuitry 504. Memory/storage 504G for one embodiment may comprise any combination of suitable volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Memory/storage 504G may include any combination of various levels of memory/storage including, but not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM) with embedded software instructions (e.g., firmware), random access memory (e.g., Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)), cache, buffers, and the like. The memory/storage 504G may be shared among the various processors or dedicated to a particular processor.

In some embodiments, the components of baseband circuitry 504 may be combined as appropriate in a single chip, in a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 504 and the application circuitry 502 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 504 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 504 may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and/or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 504 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

The RF circuitry 506 may use modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium to enable communication with a wireless network. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 506 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 506 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from FEM circuitry 508 and provide baseband signals to baseband circuitry 504. RF circuitry 506 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 504 and provide RF output signals to FEM circuitry 508 for transmission.

In some embodiments, RF circuitry 506 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 506 may include a mixer circuit 506A, an amplifier circuit 506B, and a filter circuit 506C. The transmit signal path of RF circuitry 506 may include filter circuitry 506C and mixer circuitry 506A. RF circuitry 506 may also include synthesizer circuitry 506D to synthesize the frequencies used by mixer circuitry 506A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 506A of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 508 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 506D. The amplifier circuit 506B may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and the filter circuit 506C may be a Low Pass Filter (LPF) or a Band Pass Filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 504 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 506A of the receive signal path may comprise a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 506A of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 506D to generate the RF output signal for the FEM circuitry 508. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuitry 504 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 506C. Filter circuit 506C may include a Low Pass Filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, mixer circuit 506A of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 506A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and/or up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 506A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 506A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 506A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 506A of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 506A of the receive signal path and mixer circuit 506A of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these embodiments, RF circuitry 506 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and baseband circuitry 504 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with RF circuitry 506.

In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 506D may be a fractional-M synthesizer or a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 506D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuit 506D may be configured to synthesize an output frequency used by the mixer circuit 506A of the RF circuit 506 based on the frequency input and the divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 506D may be a fractional N/N +1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), but that is not a requirement. The divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuitry 504 or the application circuitry 502 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., M) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application circuitry 502.

Synthesizer circuit 506D of RF circuit 506 may include a frequency divider, a Delay Locked Loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a Digital Phase Accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N +1 (e.g., based on a carry bit) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, a DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements; a phase detector; a charge pump; and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to decompose the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this manner, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 506D may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate a plurality of signals at the carrier frequency having a plurality of different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a Local Oscillator (LO) frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 506 may include an IQ/polarity converter.

FEM circuitry 508 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 510, amplify the received signals, and provide amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 506 for further processing. FEM circuitry 508 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify the signals for transmission provided by RF circuitry 506 for transmission by one or more of one or more antennas 510.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 508 may include a TX/RX switch for switching between transmit mode operation and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 508 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuitry 508 may include a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) that amplifies the received RF signal and provides the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuitry 506). The transmit signal path of FEM circuitry 508 may include a Power Amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 506); and one or more filters for generating RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 510).

In some embodiments, the electronic device 500 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory/storage, a display, a camera, sensors, and/or an input/output (I/O) interface.

Examples of the invention

The following is a list of example embodiments that fall within the scope of the present disclosure. To avoid complication in providing the present disclosure, not all examples listed below are individually and explicitly disclosed as having been contemplated herein as combinable with all other examples listed below and other embodiments disclosed above. It is contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure that these examples and embodiments disclosed above are combinable unless one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that these examples and embodiments listed below are not combinable.

Example 1: an apparatus for a User Equipment (UE), comprising: at least one data storage device configured to store data indicating a plurality of received copies of an encoded block of data, wherein the data indicating the plurality of received copies comprises Downlink (DL) data; at least one processor operably coupled to at least one data storage device and configured to: combining a subset of the plurality of received replicas into a combined block, the number of replicas in the subset being less than the number of received replicas; and decodes the combined block.

Example 2: the apparatus of example 1, wherein the subset of the plurality of received replicas is selected based at least in part on a signal-to-noise power level of each of the subset of replicas exceeding a predetermined threshold level.

Example 3: the apparatus of example 1, wherein the subset of replicas is randomly selected.

Example 4: the device of any of examples 1-3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: combining one or more other subsets of the plurality of received copies of the encoded block into one or more other combined blocks, the number of copies in each of the one or more other subsets being less than or equal to the number of received copies of the encoded block; and decoding one or more other combined blocks.

Example 5: the apparatus of example 4, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to decode each of the one or more other combined blocks and the combined block separately.

Example 6: the apparatus of any of examples 4 and 5, wherein: a subset of the plurality of received replicas is selected based at least in part on a first performance parameter corresponding to the received replicas; and at least one of the one or more other subsets is selected based at least in part on a second performance parameter corresponding to the received copy.

Example 7: the apparatus of any of examples 4 and 5, wherein: a subset of the plurality of received replicas is selected based at least in part on a performance parameter corresponding to the received replica being within a first range; and at least one of the one or more subsets is selected within a second range different from the first range based at least in part on the same performance parameter corresponding to the received copy.

Example 8: the apparatus of any of examples 1 to 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to change the number of copies in the subset according to a performance parameter of a communication receiving at least the plurality of received copies and a desired block error rate (BLER).

Example 9: the apparatus of example 8, wherein the performance parameter is a signal-to-noise power level.

Example 10: the device of any of examples 1-9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to switch between: combining subsets of the plurality of received copies of the encoded block into a combined block; and combining all of the multiple received copies into a total combined block.

Example 11: the apparatus of any of examples 1 to 10, wherein the plurality of received copies are received from an evolved node b (enb) in a narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) system.

Example 12: the apparatus of any of examples 1 to 10, wherein the plurality of received copies are received from an evolved node b (enb) in a Machine Type Communication (MTC) system.

Example 13: a computer-readable storage medium configured to store thereon computer-readable instructions configured to instruct at least one processor to: selecting a portion of a plurality of copies of a block of coded bits received from a Radio Access Network (RAN) node over a downlink of a cellular communication network; combining selected portions of the plurality of replicas into a combined block; and applying the combined block to a decoder; wherein at least one of the plurality of replicas received from the RAN node is received via a first carrier signal operating on a first frequency different from a second frequency of a second carrier signal on which at least one other of the plurality of replicas is received.

Example 14: the computer-readable storage medium of example 13, wherein the number of the multiple copies of the block received from the RAN node is selected from the group consisting of two (2), four (4), sixteen (16), thirty-two (32), sixty-four (64), 128,256,512,1028, and 2048 copies of the encoded block received from the RAN node.

Example 15: the computer-readable storage medium of any of examples 13 and 14, wherein the computer-readable instructions are configured to instruct the one or more processors to: monitoring one or more values indicative of current channel conditions of a channel used to receive multiple copies from the RAN node; combining all of the multiple copies received from the RAN node into a total combined block and applying the total combined block to a decoder instead of the combined block in response to one or more values indicative of current channel conditions exhibiting a first predetermined behavior; and applying the combined block, but not the total combined block, to a decoder in response to the one or more values indicative of the current channel condition exhibiting a second predetermined behavior different from the first predetermined behavior.

Example 16: the computer-readable storage medium of example 15, wherein the one or more values include at least one channel parameter selected from the group consisting of: signal-to-noise ratio of the channel, signal power of the received signal, error rate of the received data, block error rate of the received encoded blocks, parameters indicative of channel fading, noise parameters of the channel, and interference parameters of the channel.

Example 17: a wireless communications apparatus, comprising: a receiver configured to receive an encoded block of data from a remote communication device over a cellular communication network; a baseband processor operatively coupled to the receiver and configured to: selecting a subset of the plurality of copies of the encoded block received from the remote communication device; and combining subsets of the multiple copies of the encoded block into a combined block; and a decoder configured to decode the combined block.

Example 18: the wireless communications apparatus of example 17, wherein the wireless communications apparatus is a User Equipment (UE) and the remote communications apparatus is a cellular base station.

Example 19: the wireless communications apparatus of example 18, wherein the wireless communications apparatus is a cellular base station and the remote communications apparatus is a User Equipment (UE).

Example 20: the wireless communications apparatus of any of examples 17-19, wherein the baseband processor is configured to perform a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to determine whether the combined block was successfully decoded by a decoder.

Example 21: a method of operating a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a plurality of received copies of an encoded block of data, wherein the data indicating the plurality of received copies comprises Downlink (DL) data; combining a subset of the plurality of received replicas into a combined block, the number of replicas in the subset being less than the number of received replicas; and decoding the combined block.

Example 22: the method of example 21, further comprising selecting the subset of the plurality of received replicas based at least in part on a signal-to-noise power level of each of the subset of replicas exceeding a predetermined threshold level.

Example 23: the method of example 21, further comprising randomly selecting a subset of the plurality of received replicas.

Example 24: the method of any of examples 21 to 23, further comprising: combining one or more other subsets of the plurality of received copies of the encoded block into one or more other combined blocks, the number of copies in each of the one or more other subsets being less than or equal to the number of received copies of the encoded block; and decoding one or more other combined blocks.

Example 25: the method of example 24, wherein decoding one or more other combined blocks comprises decoding each of the one or more other combined blocks and the combined block separately.

Example 26: the method of any of examples 24 and 25, further comprising: selecting a subset of the plurality of received replicas based at least in part on a first performance parameter corresponding to the received replicas; and selecting at least one of the one or more other subsets based at least in part on a second performance parameter corresponding to the received replica.

Example 27: the method of any of examples 24 and 25, wherein: selecting a subset of the plurality of received replicas comprises selecting a subset of the plurality of received replicas based at least in part on a performance parameter corresponding to the received replicas being within a first range; and selecting at least one of the one or more other subsets comprises selecting at least one of the one or more subsets within a second range that is different from the first range based at least in part on the same performance parameter corresponding to the received replica.

Example 28: the method of any of examples 21 to 27, further comprising varying the number of copies in the subset according to a performance parameter of a communication receiving at least the plurality of received copies and a desired block error rate (BLER).

Example 29: the method of example 28, wherein the performance parameter is a signal-to-noise power level.

Example 30: the method of any of examples 21 to 29, further comprising switching between: combining subsets of the plurality of received copies of the encoded block into a combined block; and combining all of the multiple received copies into a total combined block.

Example 31: the method of any of examples 21 to 30, wherein receiving the plurality of received copies of the encoded block of data comprises communicating with an evolved node b (enb) in a narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) system.

Example 32: the method of any of examples 21 to 30, wherein receiving the plurality of received copies of the encoded block of data comprises communicating with an evolved node b (enb) in a Machine Type Communication (MTC) system.

Example 33: a method of operating a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: selecting a portion of a plurality of copies of a block of coded bits received from a Radio Access Network (RAN) node over a downlink of a cellular communication network; combining selected portions of the plurality of replicas into a combined block; and applying the combined block to a decoder; wherein at least one of the plurality of replicas received from the RAN node is received via a first carrier signal operating on a first frequency different from a second frequency of a second carrier signal on which at least one other of the plurality of replicas is received.

Example 34: the method of example 33, wherein a number of the multiple copies of the block received from the RAN node is selected from a group consisting of two (2), four (4), sixteen (16), thirty-two (32), sixty-four (64), 128,256,512,1028, and 2048 copies of the encoded block received from the evolved RAN node.

Example 35: the method of any of examples 33 and 34, further comprising: monitoring one or more values indicative of current channel conditions of a channel used to receive multiple copies from the RAN node; combining all of the multiple copies received from the RAN node into a total combined block and applying the total combined block to a decoder instead of the combined block in response to one or more values indicative of current channel conditions exhibiting a first predetermined behavior; and applying the combined block, but not the total combined block, to a decoder in response to the one or more values indicative of the current channel condition exhibiting a second predetermined behavior different from the first predetermined behavior.

Example 36: the method of example 35, wherein the one or more values include at least one channel parameter selected from the group consisting of: signal-to-noise ratio of the channel, signal power of the received signal, error rate of the received data, block error rate of the received encoded blocks, parameters indicative of channel fading, noise parameters of the channel, and interference parameters of the channel.

Example 37: a method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: receiving an encoded block of data from a remote communication device over a cellular communication network; selecting a subset of the plurality of copies of the encoded block received from the remote communication device; and combining subsets of the multiple copies of the encoded block into a combined block; and decoding the combined block.

Example 38: the method of example 37, wherein the wireless communication device is a User Equipment (UE) and the remote communication device is a cellular base station.

Example 39: the method of example 37, wherein the wireless communication device is a cellular base station and the remote communication device is a User Equipment (UE).

Example 40: the method of any of examples 37 to 39, further comprising performing a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to determine whether the decoder successfully decoded the combined block.

Example 41: a computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions stored thereon configured to instruct a processor to perform the method according to any one of examples 21 to 40.

Example 42: an apparatus for performing the method of any of examples 21 to 40.

Example 43 may include that upon receiving K copies of a block of coded bits, the receiver may judiciously select a set of M (1 ≦ M ≦ K) copies for combining. The block produced after the combination is then input to the decoder.

Example 44 may include the receiver further to select N groups of replicas, i.e. M₁、...、M_n、…M_N(1. ltoreq. N and 1. ltoreq. M_nK) to produce N different composition blocks. Each combined block will be input separately to the decoder for decoding.

Example 45 may include the subject matter of example 44 and/or some other example herein, wherein the number of replicas in each group is not necessarily equal.

Example 46 may include the subject matter of example 44 and/or some other example herein, wherein the receiver should seek to reduce correlation between different replica groups by selecting as many different replicas for the different groups as possible.

Example 47 may include the subject matter of example 44 and/or some other example herein, wherein a decision is made by the receiver when to start grouping the received copies of the block of coded bits for combining and decoding.

Example 48 may include the subject matter wherein, if the receiver supports both a conventional combining mode (which combines all received copies of a block of encoded bits) for decoding and the described combining mode, a switching component/device will be required at the receiver to indicate which combining mode is used. The selection of the combination pattern may be determined based on factors such as current channel conditions and the signal-to-noise power level experienced by the received copy of the block of coded bits.

Example 49 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of a method described in any of examples 43 to 48 or in connection with any of examples 43 to 48 or any other method or process described herein.

Example 50 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in any of examples 43-48 or in connection with any of examples 43-48 or any other method or process described herein, when the instructions are executed by one or more processors of the electronic device.

Example 51 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in any of examples 43 to 48 or in connection with any of examples 43 to 48 or any other method or process described herein.

Example 52 may include a method, technique, or process, or a portion or portions thereof, as described in any of examples 43 to 48 or in relation to any of examples 43 to 48.

Example 53 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process as described in any of examples 43 to 48 or in connection with any of examples 43 to 48, or a portion thereof.

Example 54 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Example 55 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

Example 56 may include means for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connection with the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize and appreciate that the embodiments encompassed by the present disclosure are not limited to those explicitly shown and described herein. Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments encompassed by the present disclosure (such as those hereinafter claimed, including legal equivalents). Additionally, features from one disclosed embodiment may be combined with features of another disclosed embodiment, as contemplated by the inventors, while still being encompassed within the scope of the embodiments encompassed by the disclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

at least one data storage configured to store data indicating a plurality of received copies of an encoded block of data, wherein the data indicating the plurality of received copies comprises Downlink (DL) data;

at least one processor operably coupled to the at least one data storage device and configured to:

combining a subset of the plurality of received copies into a combined block and combining one or more other subsets of the plurality of received copies of the encoded block into one or more other combined blocks, the number of copies in the subset being less than the number of received copies and the number of copies in each of the one or more other subsets being less than or equal to the number of received copies of the encoded block; and is

Decoding the combined block and the one or more other combined blocks.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the subset of the plurality of received replicas is selected based at least in part on a signal-to-noise power level of each of the subset of the replicas exceeding a predetermined threshold level.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the subset of the replicas is randomly selected.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein at least one of the plurality of replicas received from the RAN node is received by a first carrier signal operating on a first frequency that is different from a second frequency of a second carrier signal on which at least one other of the plurality of replicas is received.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to decode each of the one or more other combined blocks and the combined block separately.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the subset of the plurality of received replicas is selected based at least in part on a first performance parameter corresponding to the received replica; and is

At least one of the one or more other subsets is selected based at least in part on a second performance parameter corresponding to the received replica.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the subset of the plurality of received replicas is selected based at least in part on a performance parameter corresponding to the received replica being within a first range; and is

At least one of the one or more subsets is selected within a second range different from the first range based at least in part on a same performance parameter corresponding to the received replica.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to change the number of copies in the subset based at least on a performance parameter of a communication receiving the plurality of received copies and a desired block error rate (BLER).

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the performance parameter is a signal-to-noise power level.

10. The device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to switch between:

combining the subset of the plurality of received copies of the encoded block into the combined block; and

combining all of the plurality of received copies into a total combined block.

11. The device of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of received replicas are received from a base station in a narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) system.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of received copies are received from the base station in a Machine Type Communication (MTC) system.

13. A method of operating a User Equipment (UE), comprising:

selecting a portion of a plurality of copies of a block of coded bits received from a Radio Access Network (RAN) node over a downlink of a cellular communication network;

combining selected portions of the multiple replicas into a combined block and combining one or more other selected portions of the multiple replicas into one or more other combined blocks;

the number of replicas in the selected portion is less than the number of replicas in the plurality of replicas and the number of replicas in each other selected portion of the one or more other selected portions is less than or equal to the number of replicas in the plurality of replicas; and is

Applying the combined block and the one or more other combined blocks to a decoder;

wherein at least one of the plurality of replicas received from the RAN node is received by a first carrier signal operating on a first frequency that is different from a second frequency of a second carrier signal on which at least one other of the plurality of replicas is received.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a number of the multiple copies of the block received from the RAN node is selected from a group consisting of two (2), four (4), sixteen (16), thirty-two (32), sixty-four (64), 128,256,512,1028, and 2048 copies of the encoded block received from the RAN node.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

monitoring one or more values indicative of current channel conditions of a channel used to receive the multiple copies from the RAN node; and

combining all of the multiple copies received from the RAN node into a total combined block and applying the total combined block, but not the combined block, and one or more other combined blocks to the decoder in response to the one or more values indicative of the current channel condition exhibiting a first predetermined behavior; and is

Applying the combined block to the decoder instead of the total combined block in response to the one or more values indicative of the current channel condition exhibiting a second predetermined behavior different from the first predetermined behavior.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more values comprise at least one channel parameter selected from the group consisting of: a signal-to-noise ratio of the channel, a signal power of a received signal, a bit error rate of received data, a block error rate of a received coded block, a parameter indicative of channel fading, a noise parameter of the channel, and an interference parameter of the channel.

17. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable instructions stored thereon, the computer readable instructions configured to instruct a processor to perform the method of any of claims 13 to 16.

18. An apparatus for performing the method of any one of claims 13 to 16.

19. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive an encoded block of data from a remote communication device over a cellular communication network;

a baseband processor operably coupled to the receiver and configured to:

selecting a subset of the plurality of copies of the encoded block received from the remote communication device; and is

Combining the subset of the multiple copies of the encoded block into a combined block and combining one or more other subsets of the multiple copies into one or more other combined blocks;

a number of replicas in the subset is less than a number of replicas in the plurality of replicas and a number of replicas in each of the one or more other subsets is less than or equal to the number of replicas in the plurality of replicas; and

a decoder configured to decode the combined block and the one or more other combined blocks.

20. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 19, wherein the wireless communications apparatus is a User Equipment (UE) and the remote communications apparatus is a cellular base station.

21. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 20, wherein the wireless communications apparatus is a cellular base station and the far-end communications apparatus is a User Equipment (UE).

22. The wireless communications apparatus of any of claims 19-21, wherein the baseband processor is configured to perform a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to determine whether the decoder successfully decoded the combined block and the one or more other combined blocks.