CN110730506B - Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information - Google Patents

Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CN110730506B
CN110730506B CN201810775374.9A CN201810775374A CN110730506B CN 110730506 B CN110730506 B CN 110730506B CN 201810775374 A CN201810775374 A CN 201810775374A CN 110730506 B CN110730506 B CN 110730506B
Authority
CN
China
Prior art keywords
indication
symbol
attribute
feedback
control channel
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
CN201810775374.9A
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Other versions
CN110730506A (en
Inventor
赵思聪
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Meizu Technology Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Meizu Technology Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Meizu Technology Co Ltd filed Critical Meizu Technology Co Ltd
Priority to CN201810775374.9A priority Critical patent/CN110730506B/en
Publication of CN110730506A publication Critical patent/CN110730506A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CN110730506B publication Critical patent/CN110730506B/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Images

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00Local resource management
    • H04W72/20Control channels or signalling for resource management
    • H04W72/21Control channels or signalling for resource management in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L5/00Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
    • H04L5/003Arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path
    • H04L5/0053Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00Local resource management
    • H04W72/04Wireless resource allocation
    • H04W72/044Wireless resource allocation based on the type of the allocated resource
    • H04W72/0446Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

The invention provides an indication method and an indication device for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information, a sending method and a sending device for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information, and communication equipment. The indication method applied to the base station for carrying the uplink control channel transmission of the feedback information comprises the following steps: configuring an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, wherein the attribute indication is used for indicating a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication; and sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal. In order to better adapt to the URLLC data service, the technical scheme of the invention designs and optimizes the transmission indication mode of PUCCH resources, and solves the problem that the feedback information cannot be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme, thereby improving the efficiency of URLLC data feedback.

Description

Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information
Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to an indication method and an indication apparatus for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information, a sending method and a sending apparatus for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information, and a communication device.
Background
Currently, development work of a 5 th generation mobile communication system (5G) is actively underway. According to future application requirements, the 5G system needs to support multiple service scenarios, wherein Low-Latency and high-reliability (URLLC) communication scenarios such as unmanned driving, industrial automation, and the like are receiving wide attention. The proposal of the puncturing transmission scheme meets the requirement of the URLLC data on the transmission delay, but the transmission reliability of the URLLC data cannot be ensured. Therefore, how to ensure that URLLC data can be correctly received by the terminal is a problem that needs to be solved currently. One possible solution is to use a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) mechanism, that is, if the terminal fails to correctly receive or demodulate the URLLC data sent by the base station, a Negative-acknowledgement (NACK) is sent in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) to the base station, and the base station performs data retransmission after receiving the NACK message, so that the terminal can receive the data again.
However, in the current Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) design, the feedback problem of URLLC data is not fully considered, for example, a starting symbol of PUCCH is defined by two parameters, i.e., K1 (feedback interval indication) and starting symbol indication (starting symbol indication), K1 represents the number of slots (slots) from the reception of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) by a terminal to the PUCCH used for Uplink feedback of the PDSCH, and the value of K1 is carried by a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The starting symbol position in the slot where the PUCCH is located is indicated by the starting symbol position, the value of the starting symbol position is configured by RRC (Radio Resource Control, radio Resource Control signaling), and then a certain value is indicated by 3 bits in the PDCCH, as shown in fig. 1, K1=4, and starting symbol 2 in slot n +4, where K1=4 and starting symbol 2 in slot n +4 are used by the terminal to receive the PDSCH for feedback on the PDSCH. For the transmission of URLLC data, the scheduling method will be based on mini-slot (a few symbols), and at this time, the transmission of PUCCH may use any symbol as a starting symbol, and this current method of indicating by 3 bits in RRC and PDCCH may not be enough (one understanding is that 3 bits can only indicate 8 starting positions, and one slot contains 14 symbols, which is beyond the range that 3 bits can indicate). As shown in fig. 2, when URLLC data is transmitted to the terminal at the 8 th symbol of one slot, in order to reduce the delay, the base station expects the terminal to feed back at the 10 th symbol (expect feedback), according to the existing indication manner, K1=0, starting symbol index =9 (i.e. at the 10 th symbol of the current slot) should be set, however, 3 bits can only indicate 8 symbols at maximum, and therefore, in this case, the terminal can only wait to send feedback information to the starting position (actual feedback) of the next slot, that is, K1=1, starting symbol index =0, and then there is a delay of 5 symbol duration.
Disclosure of Invention
The present invention has been made to solve at least one of the problems occurring in the prior art or the related art.
To this end, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an indication method for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an indication apparatus for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a transmitting apparatus for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a communication device.
In view of this, according to an aspect of the present invention, an indication method for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information is provided, which is applied to a base station, and the method includes: configuring an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, wherein the attribute indication is used for indicating a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication; and sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal.
The base station configures attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, and the attribute indication is used for indicating the attribute of the feedback interval indication value. And further, both the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication are sent to the terminal, so that the terminal determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication and then sends the uplink control channel on the corresponding symbol. In order to better adapt to the URLLC data service, the technical scheme of the invention designs and optimizes the transmission indication mode of PUCCH resources, and solves the problem that the feedback information cannot be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme, thereby improving the efficiency of URLLC data feedback.
The indication method for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information according to the present invention may further have the following technical features:
in the above technical solution, preferably, the sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal specifically includes: the attribute indication is carried in the feedback interval indication, the feedback interval indication is carried in the downlink control information, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal; or the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are loaded in the downlink control information in parallel, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal.
In the technical scheme, the method for sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal includes two methods: (1) The base station places the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, and further sends the feedback interval indication carrying the attribute indication through DCI (Downlink Control Information); (2) And the base station places the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication in the DCI in parallel for transmission. The feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are sent by the two methods, and the flexibility and the effectiveness of sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are improved.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In the technical scheme, in consideration of the problem that the current design mode of the PUCCH for data receiving feedback cannot be well used in the presence of URLLC service, the numerical value of the feedback interval indication is configured into a plurality of attributes. Specifically, the feedback interval indication value may be set to a symbol number when URLLC data traffic occurs, so that positions of all symbols in the current time slot may be indicated, thereby allowing feedback information to be transmitted in the current time slot as soon as possible. When other data services occur, the feedback interval indication value can be set as a mini-slot number or a slot number so as to indicate the position of a subsequent mini-slot or slot.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for sending an uplink control channel for carrying feedback information is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes: acquiring an attribute indication of the feedback interval indication, and determining a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication; confirming a target initial symbol used for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute, and sending the uplink control channel on the target initial symbol; or confirming a target starting symbol for uplink control channel transmission according to the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication with the determined attribute, and transmitting the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol.
According to the method for sending the uplink control channel for bearing the feedback information, the terminal obtains the attribute indication of the feedback interval indication configured by the base station for the terminal, and determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication. And confirming a target starting symbol for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value or the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication, and further sending the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol. By adopting the technical scheme of the invention, the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme can be solved, so that the terminal can more flexibly and quickly feed back the information whether the data reception is successful to the base station, and the reliability of the data reception is improved.
The method for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying the feedback information according to the present invention may further include the following technical features:
in the above technical solution, preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In the technical scheme, the numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication numerical value comprises any one of a symbol, a micro slot and a slot, namely when URLLC data service occurs, the feedback interval indication numerical value can be a symbol number so as to indicate the positions of all symbols in the current slot, and when other data service occurs, the feedback interval indication numerical value can be a mini-slot number or a slot number so as to indicate the positions of subsequent mini-slots or slots, so that the effect of being compatible with various data services is realized.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, the determining a target starting symbol used for uplink control channel transmission specifically includes: when the numerical attribute is a symbol, determining an initial symbol position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the symbol positioned at the initial symbol position as a target initial symbol; when the numerical attribute is the micro-slot, determining the initial micro-slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the first symbol in the initial micro-slot as a target initial symbol, or taking the sending initial symbol in the initial micro-slot determined according to the initial symbol indication as the target initial symbol; and when the numerical attribute is a time slot, determining the initial time slot position of the uplink control channel for bearing the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a sending start symbol in the initial time slot determined according to the start symbol indication as a target start symbol.
In the technical solution, when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a symbol number, an initial symbol position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, and meanwhile, starting symbol indication (startsymbol indication) information is discarded, and a symbol located at the initial symbol position is taken as a target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a mini-slot number, determining an initial mini-slot position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication value, directly taking a first symbol in the initial mini-slot as a target starting symbol for sending the PUCCH, or reading a starting symbol index after determining the initial mini-slot position to confirm a sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial mini-slot, and taking the sending starting symbol as the target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as the slot number, the initial slot position of the PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, then starting symbol is read to confirm the sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial slot, the sending starting symbol is taken as a target starting symbol, the feedback information can be sent on any symbol, and the URLLC data feedback efficiency is improved.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for indicating uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information is provided, which is applied to a base station, and includes: the configuration module is used for configuring an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, and the attribute indication is used for indicating the numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication; and the sending module is used for sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal.
The base station configures attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, and is used for indicating the attribute of the feedback interval indication value. Further, the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication are both sent to the terminal, so that the terminal determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication and then sends the uplink control channel on the corresponding symbol. In order to better adapt to the URLLC data service, the technical scheme of the invention designs and optimizes the transmission indication mode of PUCCH resources, solves the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme, and thus improves the efficiency of URLLC data feedback.
The above indicating apparatus for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information according to the present invention may further have the following technical features:
in the foregoing technical solution, preferably, the sending module is specifically configured to carry the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, carry the feedback interval indication in the downlink control information, and send the downlink control information to the terminal; or the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are loaded in the downlink control information in parallel, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal.
In the technical scheme, the method for sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal includes two methods: (1) The base station places the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, and further sends the feedback interval indication carrying the attribute indication through DCI (Downlink Control Information); (2) And the base station places the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication in the DCI in parallel for transmission. The feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are sent by the two methods, and the flexibility and the effectiveness of sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are improved.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In the technical scheme, in consideration of the problem that the current design mode of the PUCCH for data reception feedback cannot be well used in the presence of URLLC service, the method and the device have the advantage that the numerical value indicated by the feedback interval is configured into various attributes. Specifically, the feedback interval indication value may be set to a symbol number when the URLLC data traffic occurs, so that positions of all symbols within the current slot may be indicated, thereby allowing feedback information to be transmitted as soon as possible in the current slot. When other data services occur, the feedback interval indication value can be set to be the mini-slot number or the slot number so as to indicate the position of the subsequent mini-slot or slot.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and includes: the acquisition module is used for acquiring the attribute indication of the feedback interval indication and determining the numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication; confirming a target initial symbol used for sending an uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute; or according to the feedback interval indication value and the start symbol indication of the determined attribute, confirming a target start symbol used for sending the uplink control channel; and the sending module is used for sending the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol.
The terminal acquires the attribute indication of the feedback interval indication configured for the terminal by the base station, and determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication. And confirming a target initial symbol used for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value or the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication, and further sending the uplink control channel on the target initial symbol. By adopting the technical scheme of the invention, the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme can be solved, so that the terminal can more flexibly and quickly feed back the information whether the data reception is successful to the base station, and the reliability of the data reception is improved.
The transmitting apparatus of the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to the present invention may further have the following technical features:
in the above technical solution, preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In the technical scheme, the numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication numerical value comprises any one of a symbol, a micro slot and a time slot, namely the feedback interval indication numerical value can be a symbol number when URLLC data service occurs so as to indicate the positions of all symbols in the current time slot, and the feedback interval indication numerical value can be a mini-slot number or a slot number when other data service occurs so as to indicate the positions of subsequent mini-slots or slots, so that the effect of being compatible with various data services is realized.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, the obtaining module is specifically configured to: when the numerical attribute is a symbol, determining an initial symbol position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the symbol positioned at the initial symbol position as a target initial symbol; when the numerical attribute is the micro-slot, determining the initial micro-slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the first symbol in the initial micro-slot as a target initial symbol, or taking the sending initial symbol in the initial micro-slot determined according to the initial symbol indication as the target initial symbol; and when the numerical attribute is a time slot, determining the initial time slot position of the uplink control channel for bearing the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a sending start symbol in the initial time slot determined according to the start symbol indication as a target start symbol.
In this technical solution, when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a symbol number, an initial symbol position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, and meanwhile, starting symbol indication (startingsymbol index) information is discarded, and a symbol located at the initial symbol position is taken as a target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a mini-slot number, determining an initial mini-slot position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication value, directly taking a first symbol in the initial mini-slot as a target starting symbol for sending the PUCCH, or reading a starting symbol Index after the initial mini-slot position is determined to confirm a sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial mini-slot, and taking the sending starting symbol as the target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as the slot number, the initial slot position of the PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, then starting symbol is read to confirm the sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial slot, the sending starting symbol is taken as a target starting symbol, the feedback information can be sent on any symbol, and the URLLC data feedback efficiency is improved.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a communication device is provided, which includes any one of the above-mentioned indicating apparatus for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information, or any one of the above-mentioned sending apparatus for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information.
The intelligent device provided by the present invention includes the indicating device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to any of the above technical solutions, or the sending device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to any of the above technical solutions, and can achieve all the beneficial effects of the indicating device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to any of the above technical solutions, or the sending device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to any of the above technical solutions.
Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
Drawings
The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a terminal feeding back an uplink control channel in the related art;
fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating another terminal feeding back an uplink control channel in the related art;
fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an indication method for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an indication method for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a terminal feeding back an uplink control channel according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of an indication apparatus for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an apparatus for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention can be more clearly understood, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, however, the present invention may be practiced in other ways than those specifically described herein, and therefore the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.
An embodiment of a first aspect of the present invention provides an indication method for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information, which is applied to a base station, and fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart of the indication method for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Wherein, the method comprises the following steps:
step 302, configuring an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, wherein the attribute indication is used for indicating a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication;
and step 304, sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal.
The base station configures attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, and the attribute indication is used for indicating the attribute of the feedback interval indication value. Further, the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication are both sent to the terminal, so that the terminal determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication and then sends the uplink control channel on the corresponding symbol. In order to better adapt to the URLLC data service, the technical scheme of the invention designs and optimizes the transmission indication mode of PUCCH resources, solves the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme, and thus improves the efficiency of URLLC data feedback.
Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an indication method for uplink control channel transmission carrying feedback information according to another embodiment of the present invention. Wherein, the method comprises the following steps:
step 402, configuring an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, wherein the attribute indication is used for indicating the numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication;
step 404, loading the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, loading the feedback interval indication in the downlink control information, and sending the downlink control information to the terminal; or the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are loaded in the downlink control information in parallel, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal.
In this embodiment, the method for sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal includes two methods: (1) The base station places the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, and further sends the feedback interval indication carrying the attribute indication through DCI (Downlink Control Information); (2) And the base station places the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication in the DCI for transmission. The feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are sent by the two methods, and the flexibility and the effectiveness of sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are improved.
Preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In this embodiment, in view of the problem that the current design of PUCCH for data reception feedback is not well used in the presence of URLLC traffic, it is proposed to configure the value of the feedback interval indication to multiple attributes. Specifically, the feedback interval indication value may be set to a symbol number when the URLLC data traffic occurs, so that positions of all symbols within the current slot may be indicated, thereby allowing feedback information to be transmitted as soon as possible in the current slot. When other data services occur, the feedback interval indication value can be set to be the mini-slot number or the slot number, so that the position of the subsequent mini-slot or slot can be indicated.
Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting an uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Wherein, the method comprises the following steps:
step 502, obtaining an attribute indication of a feedback interval indication, and determining a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication;
step 504, according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute, determining a target starting symbol for uplink control channel transmission, and transmitting an uplink control channel on the target starting symbol; or confirming a target starting symbol for uplink control channel transmission according to the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication with the determined attribute, and transmitting the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol.
The invention provides a method for sending an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information.A terminal acquires an attribute indication of a feedback interval indication configured for the terminal by a base station and determines the attribute of a feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication. And confirming a target starting symbol for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value or the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication, and further sending the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol. By adopting the technical scheme of the invention, the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme can be solved, so that the terminal can more flexibly and quickly feed back the information whether the data reception is successful to the base station, and the reliability of the data reception is improved.
In a specific embodiment, the terminal may be a network device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, and a notebook.
Preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In this embodiment, the value attribute of the feedback interval indication value includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot, that is, when URLLC data traffic occurs, the feedback interval indication value may be a number of symbols so as to indicate positions of all symbols in the current slot, and when other data traffic occurs, the feedback interval indication value may be a mini-slot number or a slot number so as to indicate positions of subsequent mini-slots or slots, which achieves an effect that various data traffic can be compatible.
Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting an uplink control channel carrying feedback information according to another embodiment of the present invention. Wherein, the method comprises the following steps:
step 602, obtaining an attribute indication of a feedback interval indication, and determining a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication;
step 604, when the numerical attribute is a symbol, determining an initial symbol position of an uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the symbol located at the initial symbol position as a target initial symbol; when the numerical attribute is the micro-slot, determining the initial micro-slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the first symbol in the initial micro-slot as a target initial symbol, or taking the sending initial symbol in the initial micro-slot determined according to the initial symbol indication as the target initial symbol; when the numerical attribute is a time slot, determining the initial time slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a sending start symbol in the initial time slot determined according to the start symbol indication as a target start symbol;
step 606, sending the uplink control channel on the target start symbol.
In this embodiment, when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a symbol number, as shown in fig. 7, when the feedback interval indication K1=9 (9 is a symbol distance number indicating that a PUCCH start symbol is 9 symbols from a symbol position where a PDSCH is received, that is, a PDSCH is started to be transmitted by a base station on a symbol n (corresponding to a value of 2 in the figure), a corresponding feedback PUCCH is started to be transmitted by a terminal on n + 9), and when the starting symbol index =2, an initial symbol position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value at this time, and information of the starting symbol index =2 is discarded, and a symbol (symbol "11") located at the initial symbol position is used as a target start symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a mini-slot number, determining an initial mini-slot position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication value, directly taking a first symbol in the initial mini-slot as a target starting symbol for sending the PUCCH, or reading a starting symbol index after determining the initial mini-slot position to confirm a sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial mini-slot, and taking the sending starting symbol as the target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as the slot number, the initial slot position of the PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, then starting symbol is read to confirm the sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial slot, the sending starting symbol is taken as a target starting symbol, the feedback information can be sent on any symbol, and the URLLC data feedback efficiency is improved.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an indicating apparatus 80 for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Wherein the device 80 comprises:
a configuration module 802, configured to configure an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, where the attribute indication is used to indicate a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication;
a sending module 804, configured to send the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal.
In the indicating apparatus 80 for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information provided by the present invention, the base station configures an attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, which is used for indicating the attribute of the feedback interval indication value. And further, both the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication are sent to the terminal, so that the terminal determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication and then sends the uplink control channel on the corresponding symbol. In order to better adapt to the URLLC data service, the technical scheme of the invention designs and optimizes the transmission indication mode of PUCCH resources, solves the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme, and thus improves the efficiency of URLLC data feedback.
In a specific embodiment, the configuration module 802 may be a central processing unit, a base station controller, or the like, and the sending module 804 may be a transmitter, an antenna, or the like.
Preferably, the sending module 804 is specifically configured to carry the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, carry the feedback interval indication in the downlink control information, and send the downlink control information to the terminal; or the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are loaded in the downlink control information in parallel, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal.
In this embodiment, the method for sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to the terminal includes two methods: (1) The base station places the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, and further sends the feedback interval indication carrying the attribute indication through DCI (Downlink Control Information); (2) And the base station places the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication in the DCI for transmission. The feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are sent by the two methods, and the flexibility and the effectiveness of sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are improved.
Preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In this embodiment, in view of the problem that the current design of PUCCH for data reception feedback is not well used in the presence of URLLC traffic, it is proposed to configure the value of the feedback interval indication to multiple attributes. Specifically, the feedback interval indication value may be set to a symbol number when URLLC data traffic occurs, so that positions of all symbols in the current time slot may be indicated, thereby allowing feedback information to be transmitted in the current time slot as soon as possible. When other data services occur, the feedback interval indication value can be set to be a mini-slot number or a slot number so as to indicate the position of a subsequent mini-slot or slot.
Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus 90 for transmitting an uplink control channel for carrying feedback information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Wherein the device 90 comprises:
an obtaining module 902, configured to obtain an attribute indication of the feedback interval indication, and determine a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication; confirming a target initial symbol used for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute, or confirming the target initial symbol used for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute and the starting symbol indication;
a sending module 904, configured to send the uplink control channel on the target start symbol.
In the sending apparatus 90 for an uplink control channel carrying feedback information provided by the present invention, the terminal obtains the attribute indication of the feedback interval indication configured by the base station for the terminal, and determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication. And confirming a target starting symbol for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value or the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication, and further sending the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol. By adopting the technical scheme of the invention, the problem that the feedback information can not be sent on any symbol in the existing scheme can be solved, so that the terminal can more flexibly and quickly feed back the information whether the data reception is successful to the base station, and the reliability of the data reception is improved.
In a specific embodiment, the terminal may be a network device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, and a notebook computer. The obtaining module 902 may be a central processing unit or a baseband processor, etc., and the sending module 904 may be a transmitter or an antenna, etc.
Preferably, the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot.
In this embodiment, the value attribute of the feedback interval indication value includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot, that is, when URLLC data traffic occurs, the feedback interval indication value may be a number of symbols so as to indicate positions of all symbols in the current slot, and when other data traffic occurs, the feedback interval indication value may be a mini-slot number or a slot number so as to indicate positions of subsequent mini-slots or slots, which achieves an effect that various data traffic can be compatible.
Preferably, the obtaining module 902 is specifically configured to: when the numerical attribute is a symbol, determining an initial symbol position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the symbol positioned at the initial symbol position as a target initial symbol; when the numerical attribute is the micro-slot, determining the initial micro-slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the first symbol in the initial micro-slot as a target initial symbol, or taking the sending initial symbol in the initial micro-slot determined according to the initial symbol indication as the target initial symbol; and when the numerical attribute is a time slot, determining the initial time slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a sending start symbol in the initial time slot determined according to the start symbol indication as a target start symbol.
In this embodiment, when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as the number of symbols, as shown in fig. 7, when the feedback interval indication K1=9 (9 is the number of symbol distances indicating that the PUCCH starts to be 9 symbols away from the symbol position where the PDSCH is received, that is, the base station starts transmitting the PDSCH on symbol n (corresponding to 2 in the figure), the corresponding feedback PUCCH starts to be transmitted on n +9 by the terminal), and starting symbol index =2, the initial symbol position of the PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value at this time, and meanwhile, the information of starting symbol index =2 is discarded, and the symbol (symbol "11") located at the initial symbol position is taken as the target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a mini-slot number, determining an initial mini-slot position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication value, directly taking a first symbol in the initial mini-slot as a target starting symbol for sending the PUCCH, or reading a starting symbol index after determining the initial mini-slot position to confirm a sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial mini-slot, and taking the sending starting symbol as the target starting symbol. When the feedback interval indication value is indicated as the slot number, the initial slot position of the PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, then starting symbol is read to confirm the sending starting symbol of the PUCCH in the initial slot, the sending starting symbol is taken as a target starting symbol, the feedback information can be sent on any symbol, and the URLLC data feedback efficiency is improved.
In a specific embodiment, the base station configures an attribute indicator for the feedback interval indicator, where the attribute indicator is an attribute used for indicating a value of the feedback interval indicator. And the base station sends the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication to the terminal. And the terminal determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication and sends feedback information on the corresponding symbol according to the feedback interval indication value. The method comprises the following specific steps:
(1) And the base station configures attribute indication for the feedback interval indication, wherein the attribute indication is used for indicating the attribute of the feedback interval indication value. The feedback interval indication is K1 in the standard protocol, which represents the time length that the terminal needs to wait from receiving the user data to sending the data to receive the feedback information, for example, the terminal receives the user data in the time slot n, and K1=5, then the feedback information is sent in the time slot n + 5.
(2) The base station may place the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication and then send the feedback interval indication carrying the attribute indication to the terminal via DCI. The base station may also place the attribute indication and the feedback interval indication together in parallel in DCI and transmit the DCI to the terminal.
(3) And the terminal determines the attribute of the feedback interval indication value according to the attribute indication and sends feedback information on the corresponding symbol according to the feedback interval indication value.
Specifically, when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a symbol number, as shown in fig. 7, when K1=9 (9 is a symbol distance number indicating that a PUCCH start symbol is 9 symbols away from a symbol position where a PDSCH is received, that is, the base station starts transmitting the PDSCH on a symbol n (corresponding to a value of 2 in the figure), the corresponding feedback PUCCH is started to be transmitted on n +9 by the terminal, and starting symbol index =2, at this time, an initial symbol position of the PUCCH for carrying feedback information is determined according to the feedback interval indication value, and at the same time, information of the starting symbol index =2 is discarded, and the symbol (symbol "11") located at the initial symbol position is used as a transmission start symbol (target start symbol);
when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as a mini-slot number, determining an initial mini-slot position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication value, and then reading startingSymbolIndex to confirm a sending start symbol position of the PUCCH in the initial mini-slot or directly taking a first symbol in the initial mini-slot as a sending start symbol of the PUCCH;
when the feedback interval indication value is indicated as the slot number, determining an initial slot position of a PUCCH for carrying feedback information according to the feedback interval indication value, and then reading a starting symbol position of the PUCCH in the initial slot.
It should be noted that, in this scheme, in consideration of the problem that the current PUCCH design for data reception feedback cannot be used well in the presence of URLLC traffic, it is proposed to configure the value of K1 into multiple attributes. K1 may be set to the number of symbols when URLLC data traffic occurs, so that the positions of all symbols within the current slot may be indicated. When other data services occur, K1 can be set to be the mini-slot number or the slot number so as to indicate the position of the subsequent mini-slot or slot, and then the starting symbol can be determined according to the starting symbol index, so that the method is compatible with various data services, and the standard content does not need to be changed greatly.
An embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present invention provides a communication device, including any one of the foregoing indicating apparatus for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information, or any one of the foregoing sending apparatus for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information.
The intelligent device provided by the present invention includes the indicating device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information or the sending device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information in any of the above embodiments, and can achieve all the beneficial effects of the indicating device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information in any of the above embodiments or the sending device for transmitting the uplink control channel for carrying feedback information in any of the above embodiments.
In the description of the present specification, the terms "first", "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance unless otherwise explicitly stated or defined; the terms "connected," "mounted," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and include, for example, fixed connections, removable connections, or integral connections; may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In the description herein, the description of the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "specific embodiments," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

1. An indication method for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information, which is applied to a base station, and comprises:
configuring an attribute indication for a feedback interval indication, wherein the attribute indication is used for indicating a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication, and the numerical attribute comprises any one of a symbol, a micro-slot and a slot;
sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to a terminal;
when URLLC data service occurs, the numerical attribute indicated by the feedback interval is set as the number of symbols so as to indicate the positions of all symbols in the current time slot, and thus, feedback information is sent in the current time slot as soon as possible; when other data services occur, setting the numerical attribute indicated by the feedback interval as the number of the micro time slots or the number of the time slots so as to indicate the position of the number of the subsequent micro time slots or the number of the time slots;
the sending the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to a terminal specifically includes:
the attribute indication is carried in the feedback interval indication, the feedback interval indication is carried in downlink control information, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal; or
And the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are loaded in the downlink control information in parallel, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal.
2. A method for sending an uplink control channel for carrying feedback information is applied to a terminal, and the method comprises the following steps:
acquiring an attribute indication of a feedback interval indication, and determining a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication, wherein the numerical attribute comprises any one of a symbol, a micro time slot and a time slot;
confirming a target starting symbol used for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute, and sending the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol; or
Confirming a target initial symbol used for sending the uplink control channel according to the feedback interval indication value and the starting symbol indication with the determined attribute, and sending the uplink control channel on the target initial symbol;
the determining a target starting symbol used for the uplink control channel transmission specifically includes:
when the numerical attribute is a symbol, determining an initial symbol position of an uplink control channel for carrying the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the symbol positioned at the initial symbol position as the target initial symbol;
when the numerical attribute is a micro-slot, determining an initial micro-slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a first symbol in the initial micro-slot as the target starting symbol, or taking a sending starting symbol in the initial micro-slot determined according to the starting symbol indication as the target starting symbol;
and when the numerical attribute is a time slot, determining an initial time slot position of an uplink control channel for carrying the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a sending start symbol in the initial time slot determined according to the start symbol indication as the target start symbol.
3. An indication apparatus for uplink control channel transmission for carrying feedback information, applied to a base station, the apparatus comprising:
a configuration module, configured to configure an attribute indication for a feedback interval indication, where the attribute indication is used to indicate a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication, where the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot;
a sending module, configured to send the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication to a terminal;
when URLLC data service occurs, the numerical attribute indicated by the feedback interval is set as the symbol number so as to indicate the positions of all symbols in the current time slot, and thus, the feedback information is sent in the current time slot as soon as possible; when other data services occur, setting the numerical attribute indicated by the feedback interval as the number of the micro time slots or the number of the time slots so as to indicate the position of the number of the subsequent micro time slots or the number of the time slots;
the sending module is specifically configured to bear the attribute indication in the feedback interval indication, bear the feedback interval indication in downlink control information, and send the downlink control information to the terminal; or the feedback interval indication and the attribute indication are loaded in the downlink control information in parallel, and the downlink control information is sent to the terminal.
4. A sending apparatus of an uplink control channel for carrying feedback information, applied to a terminal, the apparatus comprising:
an obtaining module, configured to obtain an attribute indication of a feedback interval indication, and determine a numerical attribute of the feedback interval indication according to the attribute indication, where the numerical attribute includes any one of a symbol, a micro slot, and a slot; and
confirming a target starting symbol used for the uplink control channel transmission according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute, or confirming a target starting symbol used for the uplink control channel transmission according to the feedback interval indication value with the determined attribute and the starting symbol indication;
a sending module, configured to send the uplink control channel on the target starting symbol;
the acquisition module is specifically configured to:
when the numerical attribute is a symbol, determining an initial symbol position of an uplink control channel for carrying the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking the symbol positioned at the initial symbol position as the target initial symbol;
when the numerical attribute is a micro-slot, determining an initial micro-slot position of an uplink control channel for bearing the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a first symbol in the initial micro-slot as the target starting symbol, or taking a sending starting symbol in the initial micro-slot determined according to the starting symbol indication as the target starting symbol;
and when the numerical attribute is a time slot, determining an initial time slot position of an uplink control channel for carrying the feedback information according to the feedback interval indication numerical value, and taking a sending start symbol in the initial time slot determined according to the start symbol indication as the target start symbol.
5. A communication device, comprising:
indication means for carrying uplink control channel transmission of feedback information according to claim 3, or transmission means for carrying uplink control channel of feedback information according to claim 4.
CN201810775374.9A 2018-07-16 2018-07-16 Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information Active CN110730506B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN201810775374.9A CN110730506B (en) 2018-07-16 2018-07-16 Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN201810775374.9A CN110730506B (en) 2018-07-16 2018-07-16 Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN110730506A CN110730506A (en) 2020-01-24
CN110730506B true CN110730506B (en) 2022-12-13

Family

ID=69216772

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN201810775374.9A Active CN110730506B (en) 2018-07-16 2018-07-16 Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CN (1) CN110730506B (en)

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102170339A (en) * 2011-04-29 2011-08-31 电信科学技术研究院 Method and device for transmitting ACK (acknowledgment) /NACK (negative acknowledgement) feedback information
WO2018127370A1 (en) * 2017-01-09 2018-07-12 Nokia Technologies Oy Flexible indication of transmission timing

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102170339A (en) * 2011-04-29 2011-08-31 电信科学技术研究院 Method and device for transmitting ACK (acknowledgment) /NACK (negative acknowledgement) feedback information
WO2018127370A1 (en) * 2017-01-09 2018-07-12 Nokia Technologies Oy Flexible indication of transmission timing

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"R1-1716321 Intel SchedHARQ".《3GPP tsg_ran\WG1_RL1》.2017, *
R1-1806061 "Discussion on short PUCCH for URLLC";vivo;《3GPP tsg_ran\WG1_RL1》;20180512;第3节 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN110730506A (en) 2020-01-24

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US10485019B2 (en) Uplink control signaling for joint FDD and TDD carrier aggregation
WO2019024918A1 (en) COLLISION HANDLING OF ULTRA-RELIABLE LOW LATENCY COMMUNICATION (URLLC) AND ENHANCED MOBILE BROADBAND (eMBB) UPLINK (UL) TRANSMISSION
EP3598672B1 (en) Control signalling transmission method, base station and terminal
CN111770578B (en) Resource determination method, device and computer readable storage medium
US11330595B2 (en) Method for sending control information, method for receiving control information, and apparatus
CN102461219A (en) Multicast/broadcast single frequency network subframe physical downlink control channel design
US20240178974A1 (en) Method and apparatus for fallback operation for semi-static harq-ack codebook determination
CN109391377B (en) Communication method, access network equipment and terminal
CN108809541B (en) Uplink data transmission method and device
US11018725B2 (en) Data transmission method, apparatus, and system
TWI738161B (en) Data transmission method, network side equipment and user equipment
EP3751763A1 (en) Indication method, network device and user equipment
CN113544987B (en) Communication method, device, equipment and readable storage medium
CN110730506B (en) Indication and sending method for uplink control channel transmission for bearing feedback information
CN113285789B (en) Resource indication method and device of auxiliary link control information and terminal equipment
CN111586710B (en) Communication method and device
WO2020164391A1 (en) Communication method and apparatus
CN110769507B (en) Method, device and communication equipment for transmitting data of secondary cell
CN110740508B (en) Control information transmitting and receiving method, transmitting and receiving device and communication equipment
CN110831164B (en) Data transmission method, data reception method, data transmission device, and data reception device
CN110730507B (en) Distribution method, distribution device and communication equipment for acknowledgement message frame resources
CN110769509B (en) Method and device for sending and indicating feedback information, network side equipment and terminal equipment
CN114830777A (en) Information transmission method, device, terminal and storage medium
CN114616902A (en) Communication method, device, equipment and readable storage medium
CN110730512A (en) Resource multiplexing method, resource multiplexing device and communication equipment

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PB01 Publication
PB01 Publication
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination
GR01 Patent grant
GR01 Patent grant