JP2015524208A - Network-centric link adaptation for cooperative multipoint downlink transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooperative multipoint (CoMP) cell controller performs network centric link adaptation for user equipment (UE) in the CoMP cell. The CoMP cell controller receives at least infrequent channel estimates from UEs in the CoMP cell and estimates downlink channel quality and thermal noise at the UEs therefrom. The CoMP cell controller is aware of the desired signal to be received at the UE and the intra-CoMP cell interference caused by transmission to that UE to other UEs in the CoMP cell. The CoMP cell receives a report of CoMP inter-cell interference caused by transmission by other CoMP cells from the UE. Based on downlink channel quality, desired signal, CoMP intra-cell interference, CoMP inter-cell interference, and thermal noise, the CoMP cell controller can use modulation and coding schemes and other transmissions for an upcoming transmission period (such as TTI). Link adaptation is performed by selecting parameters. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

[Cross-reference]
This application is filed on June 12, 2009 and assigned to the assignee of the present application “Network-Centric Link Adaptation for Coordinated Multipoint Downlink
No. 12 / 483,603, a continuation-in-part application (CIP) entitled “Transmission”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully described herein. .

[Field of the Invention]
The present invention relates generally to wireless communication networks, and more particularly to network centric systems and methods for downlink adaptation for cooperative multipoint (CoMP) cells.

  Wireless cellular communication networks are well known and widely deployed, providing mobile voice and data communications to millions of subscribers. In a cellular network, fixed transceivers (base stations, NodeBs, etc.) are located within a geographical area or cell (as used herein, the term sector is synonymous with cell). Two-way wireless communication with other subscribers. The eternal design goal of cellular communication networks is to deliver communication services efficiently and continuously at high data rates to mobile subscribers.

Many modern wireless communication protocols such as HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) and UTRAN Long Term Evolution (LTE) are link-adaptive to maximize the data rate of downlink communication under changing link quality. Is used. Link adaptation—also known in the art as adaptive modulation and coding—is a modulation method (eg, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM) to deliver the maximum rate to the UE given the radio link conditions. ), A technique for maximizing the data rate by dynamically changing the redundancy level or redundancy in FEC (Forward Error Correction) coding, and other signal and protocol parameters. In link adaptation, the network transceiver makes a selection from a defined set of modulation techniques and coding schemes based on the instantaneous quality estimation of the downlink channel to each UE. The channel quality information may typically include signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) reported by the UE and measured or estimated by the UE. In Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), the SINR vector over multiple subcarriers assigned to a UE is as follows:
SINR (t) = [SINR (k1; t) SINR (k2; t) ... SINR (K; t)]
Here, SINR (k; t) is SINR at time “t” and subcarrier “k” (k = k1, k2,..., K).

  The SINR (k; t) experienced by the UE is typically the desired signal transmitted to the UE, interference from transmissions to other UEs in the same subcell, transmissions to other UEs in other subcells. Depends on interference from and thermal noise. In conventional link adaptation, each UE periodically measures SINR (k; t), and the measurement result is, for example, in a channel quality information (CQI) report on the uplink-several transmission time intervals ( With a delay of TTI (Transmission Time Intervals)-can be described as UE centric in that it is reported to the network. A significant disadvantage of such UE-centric link adaptation is that in packet-oriented cellular systems, the interference of its own cell and other cells usually changes from one TTI to the next TTI depending on the scheduling at the network transceiver. That is. Accordingly, SINR (k; t) reported by the UE becomes very poor predictor of SINR (k; t + d), with “d” as a positive delay. This poor prediction can lead to a reduction in the utilization of valuable radio resources and can significantly reduce the overall spectral efficiency of the system. Furthermore, attempts to improve the predicted SINR (k; t + d) reported by the UE by increasing the frequency of CQI reporting and shortening “d” will increase uplink congestion and interference, and increase Reduce link data.

  Accurate prediction of instantaneous SINR experienced by UEs to enable fast and accurate link adaptation exists as a major challenge in the design and operation of wireless communication networks.

  According to one or more embodiments disclosed and claimed herein, each CoMP cell controller performs a network centric link adaptation process. The CoMP cell controller receives at least infrequent channel estimates from UEs in the CoMP cell and estimates downlink channel quality and thermal noise at the UEs therefrom. The CoMP cell controller is aware of the desired signal to be received at the UE and the intra-CoMP cell interference caused by transmission to that UE to other UEs in the CoMP cell. The CoMP cell receives a report of CoMP inter-cell interference caused by transmission by other CoMP cells from the UE. Based on downlink channel quality, desired signal, CoMP intra-cell interference, CoMP inter-cell interference, and thermal noise, the CoMP cell controller can use modulation and coding schemes and other transmissions for an upcoming transmission period (such as TTI). Link adaptation is performed by selecting parameters. The CoMP cell controller may facilitate the estimation of CoMP inter-cell interference by not transmitting from the serving network transmitter to the UE during an interval known to the UE. .

1 is a functional block diagram of a cooperative multipoint (CoMP) cell in a wireless communication network. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of a plurality of CoMP cells in a wireless communication network. It is a flowchart of the method of the link adaptation by a CoMP cell controller. Two graphs of simulation results are shown.

  The fundamental problem with conventional UE centric link adaptation is that self-cell interference and other-cell interference can change dynamically from one TTI to the next, even at low speeds. The main reason for this quick change is time division multiple access (TDMA) scheduling. In TDMA scheduling, each cell schedules each resource block (RB) independently, so in one TTI the cell decides to transmit on a particular RB, and the same cell has its It may be decided not to transmit on the RB. Matrix-valued transmit power spectral density of signals transmitted on each RB from each network transmitter by multiple transmit antennas and fast linear precoding (one or more for each network transmitter) Can also be configured from one TTI to the next, depending on which UE is scheduled on each RB.

  Fast time variations in own cell interference and other cell interference suggest that there is often a large mismatch between the SINR measured by the UE at time “t” and the SINR experienced by the UE at time “t + d”. To do. This mismatch can in turn lead to scarce radio resource utilization and can significantly reduce the overall spectral efficiency of the system.

  In LTE, typically only one user is scheduled on each RB in each cell; thus, own cell interference is usually zero in LTE. This suggests that the dominant source of error in SINR prediction in LTE is fast-fluctuating other cell interference.

  Cooperative multipoint (CoMP) is a technique for minimizing inter-cell interference. A plurality of geographically continuous cells (referred to as subcells) are grouped together to form a CoP cell. Each CoMP cell has a central controller, which in the subcells that configure it to maintain intercell interference within the CoMP cell (herein referred to as CoMP intracell interference) below a predetermined amount. Coordinate the transmission of CoMP cell controllers coordinate transmission scheduling with user equipment (UE) in a cell and / or actively suppress interference using signal processing techniques.

  Additional information regarding CoMP technology will be provided below. Specifically, the terms “CoMP” cell and “subcell” are used here, but the more recent CoMP terminology refers to a CoMP cell as a “CoMP cooperating set” or “CoMP cluster”. Okay, the cells that make up are simply called “cells” rather than “subcells”. Changes in this term do not affect the functionality of the CoMP described here. Furthermore, the CoMP terminology as described in the previous paragraph includes multiple subcells. In some embodiments, a CoMP cell may include a plurality of geographically consecutive cells with base stations located at different sites, often referred to as “inter-site” CoMP. It is called technology. In other embodiments, a CoMP cell may include a plurality of geographically continuous cells (or sectors) with base stations located at a common site, often referred to as “intra-site”. ) "CoMP technology. Thus, for example, a site in a cellular system is divided into three sectors, each covering 120 degrees, with three logically distinct base stations. Any of the three and / or other multi-cell embodiments are encompassed by the various embodiments described herein. In yet another embodiment, the CoMP cell consists of a single cell with a single base station. Accordingly, the following description and FIGS. 1-4 are to be construed as encompassing any CoMP technology including multiple subcells or including a CoMP cell consisting of a single subcell with a single base station. And

  FIG. 1 shows a coordinated multipoint (CoMP) cell 12, which in this example includes seven conventional cells 14, referred to herein as subcells. Each subcell 14 includes a network transceiver 16 (also known as a base station, NodeB or access point) that provides wireless communication to subscribers including mobile UEs 18 in subcell 14. The CoMP cell controller 20 (also known as NodeB or eNodeB) is responsible for the CoMP cell to maximize the data rate to the selected UE while keeping the CoMP intra-cell interference below a predetermined level. The transmission to the UE 18 is coordinated. The CoMP cell controller 20 may achieve this through scheduling and / or by combining weighted transmissions from two or more network transceivers 16 to any UE 18.

  FIG. 2 shows a wireless communication network 10 that includes a plurality of CoMP cells 12, 22, 24, each of which includes a plurality of subcells 14. Although CoMP cell controller 20 is effective in mitigating CoMP intra-cell interference within a single CoMP cell 12, it generally has no knowledge of transmissions scheduled in adjacent CoMP cells 22,24. Accordingly, the CoMP cell controller 20 lacks information on which to estimate interference from other CoMP cells or interference between CoMP cells. Since transmissions are not coordinated between different CoMP cells, the same TDMA scheduling deficiencies as described above, and between own and other cell interference from one TTI to the next TTI. The deficiencies related to fluctuations also apply to intra-CoMP interference and inter-CoMP interference respectively.

  1 and 2 also include a CoMP cell 12 in which one or more of them consists of a single subcell 14.

  In a CoMP system where channel state information (CSI) is available in the CoMP cell controller 20, the controller 20 in each CoMP cell 12 has the majority of the signals contributing to SINR (k; t + d) during a given TTI. Already have enough information to accurately predict. From the downlink channel state information to the UE 18 served by the CoMP cell 12, the CoMP cell controller 20 determines the desired signal to be observed by each UE 18 and the CoMP intra-cell interference to be observed by each UE 18. Can be easily predicted. Further, thermal noise observed by each UE 18 and average CoMP inter-cell interference estimates may be reported back to the CoMP cell controller 20 by the UE. This allows the CoMP cell controller 20 to perform accurate network centric link adaptation. Such network centric link adaptation not only improves downlink performance compared to conventional UE centric link adaptation, but also reduces channel reporting by the UE 18 on the uplink.

Consider that the first UE 18 denoted UE ₀ is served by the first CoMP cell 12 denoted CoMP cell zero. Assuming the UE has a single receive antenna, the signal received by UE ₀ can be expressed as:

Then, SINR (k; t) observed by UE _{0 at} subcarrier “k” and time “t” can be expressed as follows.

  In the CoMP cell 12, the CoMP cell controller 20 is aware of all downlink channels to all UEs 18 served by the CoMP cell 12. Thus, the CoMP cell controller 20 can estimate various quantities in Equation (1) with better accuracy than relying on the associated measurement results and reports of delays from the UE 18.

In particular, since the CoMP cell controller 20 knows (or at least estimates) the downlink channel quality to the UE 18 that it serves, the quality H ₀ (k; t) is known. Since the CoMP cell controller 20 also recognizes other UEs 18 in its own CoMP cell, the quantity S ₀ (k; t) is known, and so is σ ² _i (k; t). The variance of thermal noise at each UE 18 is constant over time and frequency, so the CoMP cell controller 20 can safely assume that N ₀ (k; t) can be easily obtained or estimated. it can.

The only part unknown to the CoMP cell controller 20 in equation (1) is the interference seen from UE ₀ due to the transmission by the other CoMP cells 22, 24. If different CoMP cells 12, 22, 24 operate independently, none of the CoMP cells 12, 22, 24 can acquire this information. As previously discussed, this CoMP inter-cell interference can change very quickly.

  In one embodiment, each UE 18 calculates the average of CoMP inter-cell interference power across all subcarriers and sends to its serving CoMP cell controller 20 only one frequency independent for CoMP inter-cell interference power. Report the average value of. The mechanism by which the UE 18 reports its observed (averaged over subcarriers and time) of CoMP inter-cell interference to the network may be defined by an extension of the associated network protocol. Network protocol extensions may also define how often such reports should be sent by each UE 18 to its serving CoMP cell controller 20. Since the reported amount is frequency independent, the amount of feedback required to implement network-centric link adaptation is the amount of feedback required to implement traditional UE-centric link adaptation. Significantly less than the amount. In some embodiments, a practical implementation may cause UE 18 to report the sum of CoMP intra-cell interference and thermal noise.

  FIG. 3 shows a method 100 for performing network centric link adaptation for a first UE 18 performed by a controller 20 of a first CoMP cell 12 that includes a plurality of network transceivers 16, for each network. The transceiver 16 serves the UE 18 in each subcell. The method 100 is repeated for a predetermined period of time, eg, once every TTI, and link adaptation is performed over that period. The CoMP cell controller 20 is a downlink between one or more network transmitters 16 scheduled to transmit to the first UE 18 in the first CoMP cell 20 and the receiving antenna of the first UE 18. A channel is determined (block 102). This may be the result from channel state information (CSI) or similar reports by the UE 18 based on reference or pilot symbols transmitted by the associated network transmitter 16.

  The CoMP cell controller 20 determines a desired signal to be received at the first UE 18, such as an appropriately modulated and encoded data packet received by the network 12 (block 104). The CoMP cell controller 20 also determines interference to the first UE 18 caused by transmissions to other UEs 18 in the first CoMP cell 12 (block 106). In many cases, the CoMP cell controller 20 utilizes sophisticated signal processing algorithms to maximize the data rate to the selected UE 18 while simultaneously minimizing interference that appears to other UEs 18. The transmission from the network transmitter 16 is weighted. Thus, the CoMP cell controller 20 uniquely recognizes any interference that appears at any given UE 18 as a result of CoMP intra-cell interference.

  The CoMP cell controller 20 further determines the thermal noise observed at the first UE 18 (block 108). Since the thermal noise variance at each UE 18 is constant over time and frequency, the thermal noise can be accurately estimated based on relatively infrequent reports from the UE 18. Further, the UE 18 may average the thermal noise measurement results over frequency, thereby reducing the number of required reports and thus conserving uplink bandwidth.

  Finally, the CoMP cell controller 20 receives an indication of interference from one or more other CoMP cells 22, 24 from the first UE 18 (block 110). In one embodiment, measurement of total CoMP inter-cell interference by the UE 18 is facilitated by the CoMP cell controller 20 not transmitting symbols from any of its own network transceivers 16 during certain known intervals. The During such intervals, all signals received by UE 18 will be from other CoMP cells 22,24. In one embodiment, UE 18 averages CoMP inter-cell interference across multiple subcarriers, and thus its uplink reporting is significantly reduced compared to traditional UE centric link adaptation methods. .

  Based on the downlink channel quality, desired signal, CoMP intra-cell interference, CoMP inter-cell interference, and thermal noise, the CoMP cell controller 20 determines the CoMP cell 12 during the next predetermined transmission period (eg, TTI). Perform link adaptation for the first UE 18 by determining a modulation and coding method and other transmission parameters to be applied to the transmission to the first UE 18 (block 112). The method 100 is then repeated for a pre-determined next transmission period (although not all steps will necessarily be newly executed at each iteration, eg, block 108).

  FIG. 4 graphs the results of a system-level simulation performed to compare the performance of conventional UE-centric link adaptation with the network-centric link adaptation of the present invention disclosed herein. As a simulation environment, downlink transmission was configured in a CoMP system with seven subcells each including three sectors, that is, 21 network transceivers 16 that can be controlled separately for each CoMP cell 12. The distance between the sites of the network transceiver 16 in the simulation was 500 meters. Each network transceiver 16 has four transmit antennas, and each UE 18 has two receive antennas.

  Imposing an average load of 2 users per network transceiver 16, the simulation calculated the overall spectral efficiency and cell edge bit rate for two different link adaptation approaches-UE centric and network centric. . As FIG. 4 depicts, network centric link adaptation results in about 50% higher spectral efficiency (throughput measured by bits per second per Hz, per cell) than UE centric link adaptation. It became. Similarly, network-centric link adaptation has resulted in a cell edge bit rate that can be 90% higher than UE-centric link adaptation (most CoMP inter-cell interference is the edge of the CoMP cell). In the subcell).

  These simulation results show a clear advantage in downlink efficiency for network centric approaches for link adaptation. Additionally, the uplink also benefits from reduced CQI reporting by UE 18 and reduced reporting of CoMP inter-cell interference (by reporting being averaged across multiple subcarriers). This reduction in uplink “overhead” allows a limited uplink bandwidth to be allocated for data transmission.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from essential characteristics of the invention. The embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive, and all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the appended claims are embraced therein. Is intended.

Claims (14)

Of a first UE performed by a controller of a first cooperative multipoint (CoMP) cooperating set consisting of a single network transceiver serving multiple user equipments (UEs) in a single cell. A network-centric link adaptation method for
Determining downlink channel quality between the single network transmitter in the first CoMP cooperating set and the first UE;
Determining a desired signal to be received at the first UE;
Determining interference to the first UE caused by transmissions to other UEs in the first CoMP cooperating set;
Determining the thermal noise observed at the first UE;
Performing link adaptation for the first UE based on the downlink channel quality, the desired signal, the interference in a CoMP cooperating set, and the thermal noise;
Including methods.   Receiving an indication of interference from one or more other CoMP cooperating sets from the first UE, and performing link adaptation for the first UE between CoMP cooperating sets The method of claim 1, further comprising performing link adaptation based on the interference.   Receiving an indication of interference from other CoMP cooperating sets is a measure of the interference observed by the first UE when no network transceiver in the first CoMP cooperating set is transmitting symbols. Receiving the indication.   The receiving of interference from another CoMP cooperating set from the first UE comprises receiving a frequency independent indication of interference from another CoMP cooperating set. Method.   Receiving a frequency independent indication of interference from other CoMP cooperating sets includes receiving an indication of observed interference from other CoMP cooperating sets, averaged over subcarriers and time. The method of claim 3.   Receiving from the first UE an indication of interference from another CoMP cooperating set includes receiving an indication of interference and thermal noise from another CoMP cooperating set from the first UE. The method of claim 2. Performing link adaptation for the first UE includes signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) for the first UE at subcarrier “k” and time “t”,

The method of claim 2. A cooperative multipoint (CoMP) cell controller,
A communication interface to a single network transceiver in the CoMP cooperating set that provides wireless communication to multiple user equipments (UEs) in a single cell of the CoMP cooperating set;
In order to maximize the data rate to the selected UE while producing interference to other UEs in the CoMP cooperating set below a predetermined amount, transmission parameters to the single network transceiver A controller operable to communicate;
With
The controller is
Determining downlink channel quality between one or more network transmitters in the first CoMP cooperating set and the first UE;
Determining a desired signal to be received at the first UE;
Determining interference to the first UE caused by transmission to other UEs in the first CoMP cooperating set;
Determining the thermal noise observed at the first UE;
Performing link adaptation for the first UE based on the downlink channel quality, the desired signal, the interference in a CoMP cooperating set, and the thermal noise;
Is further operable to perform link adaptation by
controller.   The controller is further operable to receive an indication of interference from one or more other CoMP cooperating sets from the first UE, wherein the controller is capable of interfering with CoMP cooperating sets. 9. The controller of claim 8, wherein the controller is operable to perform link adaptation for the first UE.   The controller receives an indication of interference from other CoMP cooperating sets observed by the one UE when no network transceiver in the first CoMP cooperating set is transmitting symbols. The controller of claim 9, wherein the controller is operable.   The controller of claim 9, wherein the controller is operable to receive a frequency independent indication of interference from other CoMP cooperating sets from the first UE.   12. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is operable to receive a frequency independent indication of interference from other CoMP cooperating sets, averaged over subcarriers and time, from the first UE. .   The controller of claim 9, wherein the controller is operable to receive interference and thermal noise indications from other CoMP cooperating sets from the first UE. The controller determines signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) for the first UE at subcarrier “k” and time “t”,

The controller of claim 9.

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