U.S. patent application number 17/184804 was filed with the patent office on 2021-10-28 for repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Amit Bar-Or Tillinger, Idan Michael Horn, Shay Landis, Assaf Touboul.
Application Number | 20210336833 17/184804 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005459865 |
Filed Date | 2021-10-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210336833 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Horn; Idan Michael ; et
al. |
October 28, 2021 |
REPETITION ON SUBCARRIERS FOR NONCOHERENT MODULATION
Abstract
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are
described. A transmitting device may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
transmitting device may map, based on the repetition factor, the
set of encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers such as adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers. The transmitting device may
generate a signal including the set of encoded bits based on the
mapping, and transmit the generated signal to the receiving device.
The receiving device may receive a modulated signal from the
transmitting device, and identify, based on a repetition factor, a
subset of subcarriers including adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers associated with the modulated signal. The receiving
device may average the subset of subcarriers including the adjacent
subcarriers, and demodulate the modulated signal in accordance with
the averaged subset of subcarriers including the adjacent
subcarriers.
Inventors: |
Horn; Idan Michael; (Hod
Hasharon, IL) ; Touboul; Assaf; (Netanya, IL)
; Landis; Shay; (Hod Hasharon, IL) ; Bar-Or
Tillinger; Amit; (Tel-Aviv, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005459865 |
Appl. No.: |
17/184804 |
Filed: |
February 25, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
63016280 |
Apr 27, 2020 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 27/26132 20210101;
H04L 27/2653 20130101; H04L 27/2637 20130101; H04L 5/001 20130101;
H04L 27/2666 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 27/26 20060101
H04L027/26; H04L 5/00 20060101 H04L005/00 |
Claims
1. A method for wireless communications at a transmitting device,
comprising: encoding a set of bits to transmit to a receiving
device based at least in part on a repetition factor; mapping,
based at least in part on the repetition factor, the set of encoded
bits to a subset of subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of
a set of subcarriers; generating a signal comprising the set of
encoded bits based at least in part on the mapping; and
transmitting the generated signal to the receiving device.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a set of
data bits associated with the set of encoded bits; and recursively
mapping, based at least in part on the repetition factor, the set
of data bits to the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein recursively mapping the set of
data bits comprises: mapping a first subset of data bits associated
with the set of data bits to a first subset of adjacent
subcarriers; and mapping a second subset of data bits associated
with the set of data bits to a second subset of adjacent
subcarriers based at least in part on the repetition factor.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: rate matching the set
of encoded bits based at least in part on the repetition
factor.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: mapping the subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers to a resource block
based at least in part on the repetition factor; and generating the
signal based at least in part on mapping the subset of subcarriers
to the resource block.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein encoding the set of bits further
comprises: increasing a rate of the encoding based at least in part
on the repetition factor.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the rate of the encoding
comprises a value less than one.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the set of bits
comprises: identifying the set of bits to transmit to the receiving
device based at least in part on the repetition factor.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein a value of the repetition factor
is based at least in part on a modulation and coding scheme value,
a constellation mapping configuration, a frequency allocation
parameter, or a channel condition, or any combination thereof.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping comprises a
non-coherent modulation mapping.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a
downlink control information message comprising an indication of
the repetition factor.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying the
repetition factor in a lookup table, wherein encoding the set of
bits to transmit to the receiving device is based at least in part
on identifying the repetition factor in the lookup table.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a radio
resource control connection establishment message comprising a set
of parameters indicating the repetition factor per modulation and
coding scheme.
14. A method for wireless communications at a receiving device,
comprising: receiving a modulated signal from a transmitting
device; identifying, based at least in part on a repetition factor,
a subset of subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers associated with the modulated signal; averaging the
subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers; and
demodulating the modulated signal in accordance with the averaged
subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: averaging data
samples of the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers, wherein demodulating the modulated signal is based at
least in part on averaging the data samples of the subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein averaging the data samples of
the subset of subcarriers comprises: averaging the data samples of
the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers based
at least in part on a coherent combination of the data samples.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein demodulating the modulated
signal comprises: demapping the averaged subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers based at least in part on the
repetition factor.
18. The method of claim 14, further comprising: decoding the
averaged subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers
to a set of modulated data bits based at least in part on the
repetition factor.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the subset of subcarriers
comprises repeated data based at least in part on the repetition
factor.
20. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a
downlink control information message comprising an indication of
the repetition factor.
21. The method of claim 14, further comprising: identifying the
repetition factor in a lookup table.
22. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a radio
resource control connection establishment message comprising a set
of parameters indicating the repetition factor per modulation and
coding scheme.
23. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: a
processor, memory coupled with the processor; and instructions
stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the
apparatus to: encode a set of bits to transmit to a receiving
device based at least in part on a repetition factor; map, based at
least in part on the repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to
a subset of subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers; generate a signal comprising the set of encoded bits
based at least in part on the mapping; and transmit the generated
signal to the receiving device.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further
executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify a
set of data bits associated with the set of encoded bits; and
recursively map, based at least in part on the repetition factor,
the set of data bits to the subset of subcarriers comprising the
adjacent subcarriers.
25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the instructions to
recursively map the set of data bits are executable by the
processor to cause the apparatus to: map a first subset of data
bits associated with the set of data bits to a first subset of
adjacent subcarriers; and map a second subset of data bits
associated with the set of data bits to a second subset of adjacent
subcarriers based at least in part on the repetition factor.
26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further
executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: rate match
the set of encoded bits based at least in part on the repetition
factor.
27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further
executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: map the
subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers to a
resource block based at least in part on the repetition factor; and
generate the signal based at least in part on mapping the subset of
subcarriers to the resource block.
28. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: a
processor, memory coupled with the processor; and instructions
stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the
apparatus to: receive a modulated signal from a transmitting
device; identify, based at least in part on a repetition factor, a
subset of subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers associated with the modulated signal; average the
subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers; and
demodulate the modulated signal in accordance with the averaged
subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the instructions are further
executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: average data
samples of the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers, wherein the instructions to demodulate the modulated
signal are further executable by the processor based at least in
part on averaging the data samples of the subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the instructions to average
the data samples of the subset of subcarriers are executable by the
processor to cause the apparatus to: average the data samples of
the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers based
at least in part on a coherent combination of the data samples.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE
[0001] The present application for patent claims the benefit of
U.S. Provisional Patent application No. 63/016,280 by HORN et al.,
entitled "REPETITION ON SUBCARRIERS FOR NONCOHERENT MODULATION,"
filed Apr. 27, 2020, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly
incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0002] The following relates generally to wireless communications
and more specifically to repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to
provide various types of communication content such as voice,
video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems
may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by
sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and
power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth
generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems,
LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth
generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR)
systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code
division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access
(TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal
frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier
transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
(DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may
include one or more base stations or one or more network access
nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple
communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user
equipment (UE).
SUMMARY
[0004] Various aspects of the described techniques relate to
configuring a communication device to support repetition on
subcarriers for noncoherent modulation. The communication device
may reduce impacts of noise related to various modulation schemes,
such as differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation by
providing repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation. In
some examples, the communication device may increase a signal to
noise ratio (SNR) of a signal by providing repetition of the signal
on subcarriers. The communication device may, for example, be
configured to map the signal according to a repetition factor R
over multiple adjacent subcarriers. The communication device may be
configured with a resource element mapper to apply the repetition
to subcarriers to increase signal margin (e.g., increasing the SNR)
of the signal.
[0005] For example, the communication device may encode a set of
bits according to the repetition factor, and may map the set of
encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers, such as adjacent
subcarriers. The communication device may generate a signal that
includes the set of encoded bits, and may transmit the signal
carrying the repeated subcarriers. Additionally or alternatively,
the communication device may be configured to receive a signal and
identify a subset of adjacent subcarriers (e.g., the subcarriers
mapped according to the repetition factor R). The communication
device may average the signal over the adjacent subcarriers, and
may demodulate the averaged signal accordingly. The described
techniques may, as a result, include features for improvements to
wireless communications and, in some examples, may promote enhanced
efficiency for high reliability and low latency wireless
communications in 5G systems, among other benefits.
[0006] A method for wireless communications at a transmitting
device is described. The method may include encoding a set of bits
to transmit to a receiving device based at least in part on a
repetition factor, mapping, based at least in part on the
repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers, generating a signal comprising the set of encoded bits
based at least in part on the mapping, and transmitting the
generated signal to the receiving device.
[0007] An apparatus for wireless communications is described. The
apparatus may include a processor, memory coupled with the
processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions
may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to encode
a set of bits to transmit to a receiving device based at least in
part on a repetition factor, map, based at least in part on the
repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers, generate a signal comprising the set of encoded bits
based at least in part on the mapping, and transmit the generated
signal to the receiving device.
[0008] Another apparatus for wireless communications is described.
The apparatus may include means for encoding a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based at least in part on a
repetition factor, means for mapping, based at least in part on the
repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers, means for generating a signal comprising the set of
encoded bits based at least in part on the mapping, and means for
transmitting the generated signal to the receiving device.
[0009] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for
wireless communications at a transmitting device is described. The
code may include instructions executable by a processor to encode a
set of bits to transmit to a receiving device based at least in
part on a repetition factor, map, based at least in part on the
repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers, generate a signal comprising the set of encoded bits
based at least in part on the mapping, and transmit the generated
signal to the receiving device.
[0010] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a set
of data bits associated with the set of encoded bits, and
recursively mapping, based at least in part on the repetition
factor, the set of data bits to the subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
[0011] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein for recursively mapping
the set of data bits may further include operations, features,
means, or instructions for mapping a first subset of data bits
associated with the set of data bits to a first subset of adjacent
subcarriers, and mapping a second subset of data bits associated
with the set of data bits to a second subset of adjacent
subcarriers based at least in part on the repetition factor.
[0012] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for rate matching the
set of encoded bits based at least in part on the repetition
factor.
[0013] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for mapping the subset
of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers to a resource
block based at least in part on the repetition factor, and
generating the signal based at least in part on mapping the subset
of subcarriers to the resource block.
[0014] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein for encoding the set of
bits may further include operations, features, means, or
instructions for increasing a rate of the encoding based at least
in part on the repetition factor.
[0015] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and
non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the rate
of the encoding comprises a value less than one.
[0016] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying the
set of bits to transmit to the receiving device based at least in
part on the repetition factor.
[0017] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and
non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, a value
of the repetition factor is based at least in part on a modulation
and coding scheme (MCS) value, a constellation mapping
configuration, a frequency allocation parameter, or a channel
condition, or any combination thereof.
[0018] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and
non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the
mapping comprises a non-coherent modulation mapping.
[0019] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a
downlink control information (DCI) message comprising an indication
of the repetition factor.
[0020] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying the
repetition factor in a lookup table, wherein encoding the set of
bits to transmit to the receiving device is based at least in part
on identifying the repetition factor in the lookup table.
[0021] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a
radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment message
comprising a set of parameters indicating the repetition factor per
MCS.
[0022] A method for wireless communications at a receiving device
is described. The method may include receiving a modulated signal
from a transmitting device, identifying, based at least in part on
a repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers comprising adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal, averaging the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers, and demodulating the modulated signal in accordance
with the averaged subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers.
[0023] An apparatus for wireless communications is described. The
apparatus may include a processor, memory coupled with the
processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions
may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to
receive a modulated signal from a transmitting device, identify,
based at least in part on a repetition factor, a subset of
subcarriers comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers
associated with the modulated signal, average the subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers, and demodulate the
modulated signal in accordance with the averaged subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
[0024] Another apparatus for wireless communications is described.
The apparatus may include means for receiving a modulated signal
from a transmitting device, means for identifying, based at least
in part on a repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers comprising
adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the
modulated signal, means for averaging the subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers, and means for demodulating the
modulated signal in accordance with the averaged subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
[0025] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for
wireless communications at a receiving device is described. The
code may include instructions executable by a processor to receive
a modulated signal from a transmitting device, identify, based at
least in part on a repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers
comprising adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated
with the modulated signal, average the subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers, and demodulate the modulated
signal in accordance with the averaged subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
[0026] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for averaging data
samples of the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers, wherein demodulating the modulated signal is based at
least in part on averaging the data samples of the subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
[0027] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein for averaging the data
samples of the subset of subcarriers may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for averaging the data
samples of the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers based at least in part on a coherent combination of the
data samples.
[0028] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein for demodulating the
modulated signal may further include operations, features, means,
or instructions for demapping the averaged subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers based at least in part on the
repetition factor.
[0029] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for decoding the
averaged subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers
to a set of modulated data bits based at least in part on the
repetition factor.
[0030] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and
non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the
subset of subcarriers comprises repeated data based at least in
part on the repetition factor.
[0031] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a DCI
message comprising an indication of the repetition factor.
[0032] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying the
repetition factor in a lookup table.
[0033] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory
computer-readable medium described herein may further include
operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving an RRC
connection establishment message comprising a set of parameters
indicating the repetition factor per MCS.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate examples of wireless communications
systems that support repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation in accordance with aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0035] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples of resource block
configurations that support repetition on subcarriers for
noncoherent modulation in accordance with aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0036] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate example of methods that support
repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in accordance
with aspects of the present disclosure.
[0037] FIGS. 6 and 7 show block diagrams of devices that support
repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in accordance
with aspects of the present disclosure.
[0038] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a communications manager
that supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation
in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
[0039] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system including a device that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
[0040] FIGS. 10 through 16 show flowcharts illustrating methods
that support repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation
in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] Some wireless communications systems may include
communication devices, such as user equipment (UEs) and base
stations, for example, eNodeBs (eNBs), next-generation NodeBs or
giga-NodeBs (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) that may
support multiple radio access technologies. Examples of radio
access technologies include 4G systems such as Long Term Evolution
(LTE) systems and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be
referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. The communication devices
may support various modulation schemes, such as noncoherent
differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation, which may be
used to increase efficiency for wireless communications. For
example, noncoherent DPSK modulation may be used for high
reliability and low latency wireless communications, such as in
ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). The
communication devices may be configured, as part of the DPSK
modulation, to multiply subcarriers with conjugate adjacent
subcarriers in a time domain. Multiplying the subcarriers with
conjugate adjacent subcarriers may, however, cause adverse impacts
on a signal. For instance, multiplying subcarriers with conjugate
adjacent subcarriers during modulation may also multiply or amplify
noise associated with the adjacent subcarriers. In some cases, such
as low signal to noise ratios (SNR), the multiplied noise may
negatively affect signaling performance for the communication
devices. To reduce the effects of the amplified noise, the
communication devices may increase an SNR of a signal.
[0042] The communication devices may be configured to increase an
SNR and a gain of a signal by communicating the signal using a
number of repetitions, which may be configured by a repetition
factor R. The communication devices may identify a number of
information bits, and perform channel coding and rate matching on
the information bits according to the repetition factor. The
communication devices may be configured to determine a repetition
based on the repetition factor and map, via a resource element
mapper, the coded rate matched bits to one or more subcarriers of a
resource block according to the repetition factor. The
communication devices generate a signal based on the mapping, where
the signal includes repeated subcarriers on the resource block.
Additionally or alternatively, the communication devices may be
configured to receive a signal and average information (e.g., data
samples) according to a repetition factor R. For example, the
communication devices may be configured to average repeated bits
(e.g., data samples) received in the signal. The communication
devices may identify adjacent subcarriers carrying repeated bits
according to the repetition factor, and may average the value of
the adjacent subcarriers based on the repetition. The communication
devices may demodulate symbols and estimate bits according to the
mapping.
[0043] Aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure
may be implemented to realize one or more of the following
potential improvements, among others. The techniques employed by
the communication devices may provide benefits and enhancements to
the operation of the communication devices. For example, operations
performed by the communication devices may provide improvements to
wireless communications. In some examples, configuring the
communication devices to provide repetition on subcarriers for
noncoherent modulation may support improvements to power
consumption, spectral efficiency, and, in some examples, may
promote enhanced efficiency for wireless communications operations,
among other benefits.
[0044] Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the
context of wireless communications systems. For example, aspects of
the disclosure are described with respect to communications between
transmitting and receiving devices of the wireless communications
system. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and
described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams,
and flowcharts including process flow diagrams from both a
transmitting device and receiving device perspective that relate to
repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation.
[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications
system 100 that supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more base
stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some
examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be an LTE
network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or
a NR network. In some examples, the wireless communications system
100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable
(e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency
communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity
devices, or any combination thereof.
[0046] The base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a
geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and
may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities.
The base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate
via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may
provide a coverage area 110 over which the UEs 115 and the base
station 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The
coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which
a base station 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of
signals according to one or more radio access technologies.
[0047] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110
of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be
stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may
be devices in different forms or having different capabilities.
Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115
described herein may be able to communicate with various types of
devices, such as other UEs 115, the base stations 105, or network
equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated
access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as
shown in FIG. 1.
[0048] The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network
130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations
105 may interface with the core network 130 through one or more
backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface).
The base stations 105 may communicate with one another over the
backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either
directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105), or indirectly
(e.g., via core network 130), or both. In some examples, the
backhaul links 120 may be or include one or more wireless links.
One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include
or may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art
as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access
point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a
next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be
referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other
suitable terminology.
[0049] A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile
device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a
subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the
"device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal,
or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may
be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular
phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a
laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115
may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL)
station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of
Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC)
device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various
objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other
examples. The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate
with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may
sometimes act as relays as well as the base stations 105 and the
network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or
gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in
FIG. 1.
[0050] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may wirelessly
communicate with one another via one or more communication links
125 over one or more carriers. The term "carrier" may refer to a
set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical
layer structure for supporting the communication links 125. For
example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 may include a
portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part
(BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer
channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A,
LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition
signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information),
control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user
data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100
may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation
or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with
multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink
component carriers according to a carrier aggregation
configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency
division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD)
component carriers.
[0051] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation
configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or
control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. A
carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an
evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio
access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN))
and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery
by the UEs 115. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode
where initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by the
UEs 115 via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a
non-standalone mode where a connection is anchored using a
different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access
technology).
[0052] The communication links 125 shown in the wireless
communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a
UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base
station 105 to a UE 115. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink
communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry
downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode).
[0053] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of
the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier
bandwidth may be referred to as a "system bandwidth" of the carrier
or the wireless communications system 100. For example, the carrier
bandwidth may be one of a number of determined bandwidths for
carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5,
10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). Devices of the wireless
communications system 100 (e.g., the base stations 105, the UEs
115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support
communications over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be
configurable to support communications over one of a set of carrier
bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system
100 may include base stations 105 or UEs 115 that support
simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple
carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be
configured for operating over portions (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or
all of a carrier bandwidth.
[0054] Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up
of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM)
techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
(OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In
a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist
of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol)
and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing
are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource
element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the
modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or
both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE 115 receives and
the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data
rate may be for the UE 115. A wireless communications resource may
refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a
time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or
beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase
the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE
115.
[0055] One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported,
where a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (.DELTA.f) and
a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs
having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE
115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a
single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and
communications for the UE 115 may be restricted to one or more
active BWPs. The time intervals for the base stations 105 or the
UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which
may, for example, refer to a sampling period of
T.sub.s=1/(.DELTA.f.sub.maxN.sub.f) seconds, where .DELTA.f.sub.max
may represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and N.sub.f
may represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform
(DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be
organized according to radio frames each having a specified
duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be
identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to
1023).
[0056] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered
subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same
duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the
time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further
divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may
include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may
depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a number of
symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix
prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications
systems 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots
containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each
symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N.sub.f) sampling
periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the
subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.
[0057] A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the
smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless
communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission
time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the
number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or
alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless
communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in
bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).
[0058] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according
to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical
data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example,
using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques,
frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM
techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set
(CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a
number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth
or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more
control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the
UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or
search control regions for control information according to one or
more search space sets, and each search space set may include one
or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation
levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a
control channel candidate may refer to a number of control channel
resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with
encoded information for a control information format having a given
payload size. Search space sets may include common search space
sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115
and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information
to a specific UE 115.
[0059] Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage via
one or more cells, for example a macro cell, a small cell, a hot
spot, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term
"cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used for
communication with a base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier) and
may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring
cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell
identifier (VCID), or others). In some examples, a cell may also
refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of a
geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the
logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from
smaller areas (e.g., a structure, a subset of structure) to larger
areas depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the
base station 105. For example, a cell may be or include a building,
a subset of a building, or exterior spaces between or overlapping
with geographic coverage areas 110, among other examples.
[0060] A macro cell covers a relatively large geographic area
(e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted
access by the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network
provider supporting the macro cell. A small cell may be associated
with a lower-powered base station 105, as compared with a macro
cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g.,
licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells
may provide unrestricted access to the UEs 115 with service
subscriptions with the network provider or may provide restricted
access to the UEs 115 having an association with the small cell
(e.g., the UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), the UEs 115
associated with users in a home or office). A base station 105 may
support one or multiple cells and may also support communications
over the one or more cells using one or multiple component
carriers.
[0061] In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable and
therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic
coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage
areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but
the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the
same base station 105. In other examples, the overlapping
geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different
technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. The
wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a
heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations
105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110
using the same or different radio access technologies.
[0062] The wireless communications system 100 may support
synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation,
the base stations 105 may have similar frame timings, and
transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately
aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105
may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different
base stations 105 may, in some examples, not be aligned in time.
The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous
or asynchronous operations.
[0063] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or
low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication
between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data
communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with
one another or a base station 105 without human intervention. In
some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications
from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture
information and relay such information to a central server or
application program that makes use of the information or presents
the information to humans interacting with the application program.
Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable
automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of
applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory
monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring,
healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological
event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security
sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business
charging.
[0064] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes
that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications
(e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission
or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously).
In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a
reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs
115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not
engaging in active communications, operating over a limited
bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a
combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be
configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is
associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of
subcarriers or resource blocks) within a carrier, within a
guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier.
[0065] The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to
support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency
communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the
wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support
URLLC or mission critical communications. The UEs 115 may be
designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical
functions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliable
communications may include private communication or group
communication and may be supported by one or more mission critical
services such as mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission
critical video (MCVideo), or mission critical data (MCData).
Support for mission critical functions may include prioritization
of services, and mission critical services may be used for public
safety or general commercial applications. The terms
ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission critical, and ultra-reliable
low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.
[0066] In some examples, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate
directly with other UEs 115 over a device-to-device (D2D)
communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D
protocol). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communications may be
within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105.
Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic
coverage area 110 of a base station 105 or be otherwise unable to
receive transmissions from a base station 105. In some examples,
groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may
utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits
to every other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, a base
station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D
communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out
between the UEs 115 without the involvement of a base station
105.
[0067] The D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a
communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel,
between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115). In some examples, vehicles may
communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications,
vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of
these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic
conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any
other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples,
vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside
infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one
or more network nodes (e.g., base stations 105) using
vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both.
[0068] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access
authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and
other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130
may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may
include at least one control plane entity that manages access and
mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and
mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane
entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks
(e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN)
gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane
entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as
mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115
served by the base stations 105 associated with the core network
130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane
entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other
functions. The user plane entity may be connected to the network
operators IP services 150. The operators IP services 150 may
include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.
[0069] Some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, may
include subcomponents such as an access network entity 140, which
may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access
network entity 140 may communicate with the UEs 115 through one or
more other access network transmission entities 145, which may be
referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or
transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network
transmission entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In
some configurations, various functions of each access network
entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various
network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a
single network device (e.g., a base station 105).
[0070] The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one
or more frequency bands, in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300
gigahertz (GHz). The region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the
ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the
wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in
length. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and
environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures
sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115
located indoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated
with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100
kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies
and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency
(VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.
[0071] The wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a
super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz
to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band, or in an extremely
high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to
300 GHz), also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, the
wireless communications system 100 may support millimeter wave
(mmW) communications between the UEs 115 and the base stations 105,
and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be smaller and more
closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may
facilitate use of antenna arrays within a device. The propagation
of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to even greater
atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF
transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed
across transmissions that use one or more different frequency
regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions
may differ by country or regulating body.
[0072] The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both
licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For
example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License
Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access
technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5
GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating
in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as the
base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for
collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in
unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation
configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a
licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may
include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P
transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.
[0073] A base station 105 or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple
antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit
diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)
communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station 105
or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or
antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or
receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas
or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as
an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays
associated with a base station 105 may be located in diverse
geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array
with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base
station 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a
UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that
may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or
alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency
beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.
[0074] The base stations 105 or the UEs 115 may use MIMO
communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase
the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple
signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be
referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for
example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different
antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the
multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via
different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of
the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial
stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream
(e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g.,
different codewords). Different spatial layers may be associated
with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and
reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO),
where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving
device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), where multiple spatial
layers are transmitted to multiple devices.
[0075] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial
filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a
signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting
device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115)
to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive
beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the
receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the
signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such
that some signals propagating at particular orientations with
respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference
while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of
signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a
transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude
offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna
elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated
with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming
weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with
respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or
receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).
[0076] A base station 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping
techniques as part of beam forming operations. For example, a base
station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g.,
antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional
communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization
signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other
control signals) may be transmitted by a base station 105 multiple
times in different directions. For example, the base station 105
may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight
sets associated with different directions of transmission.
Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify
(e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a base station 105, or by
a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later
transmission or reception by the base station 105.
[0077] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a
particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a base station
105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with
the receiving device, such as a UE 115). In some examples, the beam
direction associated with transmissions along a single beam
direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted
in one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive
one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station 105 in
different directions and may report to the base station 105 an
indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest
signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.
[0078] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a base
station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam
directions, and the device may use a combination of digital
precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined
beam for transmission (e.g., from a base station 105 to a UE 115).
The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for
one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a
configured number of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more
sub-bands. The base station 105 may transmit a reference signal
(e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state
information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or
unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection,
which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based
feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination
type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these
techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in
one or more directions by a base station 105, a UE 115 may employ
similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in
different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for
subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for
transmitting a signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting
data to a receiving device).
[0079] A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may try multiple receive
configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various
signals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals,
reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control
signals. For example, a receiving device may try multiple receive
directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by
processing received signals according to different antenna
subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming
weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets)
applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an
antenna array, or by processing received signals according to
different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals
received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of
which may be referred to as "listening" according to different
receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a
receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive
along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal).
The single receive configuration may be aligned in a beam direction
determined based on listening according to different receive
configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have
a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or
otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to
multiple beam directions).
[0080] The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based
network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the
user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence
Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC)
layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate
over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may
perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into
transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection
techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support
retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the
control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may
provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC
connection between a UE 115 and a base station 105 or a core
network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the
physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical
channels.
[0081] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may support
retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is
received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data
is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may
include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic
redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and
retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may
improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g.,
low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device may
support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ
feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol
in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback
in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.
[0082] The wireless communications system 100 may support
increasing an SNR associated with downlink and uplink
communications (also referred to as downlink and uplink signals) by
providing repetition of the downlink and uplink communications. In
some examples, a base station 105 may be referred to as a
transmitting device, while a UE 115 may be referred to as a
receiving device. In some other examples, a base station 105 may be
referred to as a receiving device, while a UE 115 may be referred
to as a transmitting device. A base station 105 or a UE 115, or
both, may map information bits (e.g., control bits, data bits)
associated with a signal based on a repetition factor R. The base
station 105 or the UE 115, or both, may be configured to use a
resource element mapper to map the signal to one or more
subcarriers associated with a resource grid including one or more
resource blocks having multiple resource elements.
[0083] The base station 105 or the UE 115, or both, may be
configured to use a resource element mapper to map the signal to
one or more subcarriers in the resource grid, according to a
repetition factor to increase an SNR and a gain for the signal.
Additionally or alternatively, the base station 105 or the UE 115,
or both, may be configured to average information bits (e.g.,
control bits, data bits) received according to the repetition
factor R. For example, the base station 105 or the UE 115, or both,
may be configured to average repeated information bits (e.g.,
samples) received in a signal before demodulating the averaged
samples. The wireless communications system 100 may, as a result,
include features for improvements to wireless communications
between the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 and, in some
examples, may promote enhanced efficiency for high reliability and
low latency wireless communications in 5G systems, among other
benefits.
[0084] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications
system 200 that supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
The wireless communications system 200 may implement or be
implemented by aspects of the wireless communications system 100 or
may implement aspects of the wireless communications systems 100.
For example, the wireless communications system 200 may include a
base station 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may be examples of a base
station 105 and a UE 115 described herein. The wireless
communications system 200 may support multiple radio access
technologies including 4G systems such as LTE systems, LTE-A
systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and 5G systems, which may be
referred to as NR systems.
[0085] The wireless communications system 200 may support various
modulation and demodulation schemes, such as noncoherent DPSK
modulation. The base station 105-a or the UE 115-a, or both, may
use noncoherent DPSK modulation to improve efficiency in the
wireless communications system 200. For example, noncoherent DPSK
modulation may provide high reliability and low latency wireless
communications, such as in PDCCH URLLC. In noncoherent DPSK
modulation, the base station 105-a or the UE 115-a, or both, may
bypass coherent channel estimation and channel equalization, which
may reduce latency for wireless communications in the wireless
communications system 200.
[0086] In the example of FIG. 2, the base station 105-a may be
referred to as a transmitting device, while the UE 115-a may be
referred to as a receiving device. In some examples, the base
station 105-a may be referred to as a receiving device, while the
UE 115-a may be referred to as a transmitting device. The base
station 105-a may select one or more subcarriers for a signal 205
carrying information (e.g., control, data) to transmit to the UE
115-a. As part of DPSK demodulation, the base station 105-a may
combine information (e.g., data bits) of one or more conjugate
subcarriers that are adjacent in a time domain to the one or more
selected subcarriers for the signal 205. For example, the base
station 105-a may for each of the one or more selected subcarriers
for the signal 205 multiply information (e.g., data) of one or more
temporally adjacent conjugate subcarriers. In some examples, as
part of DPSK modulation, portions of the signal 205 may be used as
a reference, and thereby eliminating demand for an additional
reference signal. As a result, the UE 115-a may use less resources
for processing the signal 205, and as a result experience power
saving.
[0087] The base station 105-a may increase a reliability of the
DPSK modulation by providing a repetition (e.g., symbol period
repetition) for the signal 205. The signal 205 may be defined by
z.sub.k, given by a multiplication of subcarrier y.sub.k with a
conjugate of an adjacent subcarrier y.sub.k-1*:
x k = x k - 1 .times. s k , .times. k .gtoreq. 0 ##EQU00001## x - 1
= 1 ##EQU00001.2## z k = y k .times. y k - 1 * = ( h k .times. x k
+ v k ) .times. ( h k - 1 .times. x k - 1 + v k - 1 ) * = ( h k
.times. s k .times. x k - 1 + v k ) .times. ( h k - 1 .times. x k -
1 + v k - 1 ) * .apprxeq. ( h k .times. s k .times. x k - 1 + v k )
.times. ( h k .times. x k - 1 + v k - 1 ) * = h k 2 .times. x k - 1
2 .times. s k + v k .times. h k * .times. x k - 1 * + v k - 1 *
.times. h k .times. s k .times. x k - 1 + v k .times. v k - 1 *
##EQU00001.3##
[0088] where x.sub.k represents a modulated signal, s.sub.k
represents a data symbol, h.sub.k represents a channel, and v.sub.k
represents noise. Channel values for adjacent subcarriers may be
approximately equal (e.g., h.sub.k.apprxeq.h.sub.k-1). In DPSK
modulation, the data symbol s.sub.k may be multiplied by an
adjacent subcarrier x.sub.Rk-1 (e.g., a temporally adjacent
subcarrier). In some examples, because the data is associated with
a phase of s.sub.k, a simple demodulator may be given by:
{circumflex over
(m)}=argmin.sub.m{|z.sub.k-.theta..sub.m|.sup.2}
s.sub.k=e.sup.j.theta.{circumflex over (m)}
Multiplying adjacent subcarriers during modulation may also
multiply or amplify the noise v.sub.k associated with the adjacent
subcarriers (e.g., v.sub.kv.sub.k-1*, squared noise), and thereby
influencing processing of the signal 205.
[0089] To reduce adverse effects of the amplified noise, the base
station 105-a may be configured to increase an SNR or a gain, or
both, of the signal 205, for example, by transmitting the signal
205 using a number of repetitions configured by a repetition factor
R. The base station 105-a may process information bits, such as
channel coding and rate matching the information bits. The base
station 105-a may map, via resource element mapper, the coded rate
matched bits based on a repetition factor R. For example, the base
station 105-a may map the coded rate matched bits to one or more
subcarriers of a resource block 210 based on the repetition factor.
In some examples, the rate of rate matching the information bits
may be scaled based on the repetition factor.
[0090] For example, for a repetition factor of R=2, the resource
element mapper output may be given by:
x.sub.2k=x.sub.2k-1s.sub.2k,2k.gtoreq.0
x.sub.2k+1=x.sub.2ks.sub.2k
x.sub.-1=1
where s.sub.2k represents the data symbol and x.sub.2k represents
the modulated signal associated with a given repetition factor. The
data symbol s.sub.k is multiplied by an adjacent subcarrier
x.sub.Rk-1 (e.g., a temporally adjacent subcarrier). In some cases,
applying the repetition may scale the encoding rate by the
repetition factor. Applying the repetition may also reduce the
number of subcarriers used to transmit the signal 205. In some
examples, a size of the resource block 210 may not change after
repetition is applied but data may be repeated based on the
repetition factor and the mapping. The base station 105-a may
transmit a same number of bits to the UE 115-a, but in some cases
the repetition may increase the coding rate. The base station 105-a
may thus generate the signal (e.g., an orthogonal frequency
division multiplexed (OFDM) signal) based on the repetition factor,
where the signal 205 includes repeated subcarriers on resource
block 210.
[0091] The repetition factor R may be configured according to
various factors. The repetition factor may be an integer value
(e.g., in cases where a corresponding coding rate is smaller than
1). The repetition factor may be predefined or configured according
to various aspects in a lookup table. In some examples, the
repetition factor may be configured according to a modulation and
coding scheme (MCS) value (e.g., where each MCS may have associated
repetition factors). In some other cases, the repetition factor may
be configured according to a constellation used for mapping the
data bits (e.g., BPK, QPSK, DPSK, etc.), or for a given frequency
allocation of the signal 205. In addition, the repetition factor
may be configured according to certain channel conditions (e.g., a
delay spread, a Doppler spread, a time offset, etc.) or other
factors.
[0092] The base station 105-a may also be configured to convey
repetition factor information to the UE 115-a in a control message,
such as in downlink control information (DCI) message.
Alternatively or additionally, the UE 115-a may be configured with
a lookup table, which the UE 115-a may use to identify a repetition
factor. In some examples, the base station 105-a may be configured
to transmit an RRC connection establishment message including a set
of parameters indicating the repetition factor per MCS. The UE
115-a may receive the RRC connection establishment message
including the set of parameters indicating the repetition factor
per MCS. This may reduce the DCI overhead in the price of less
flexibility. That is, in some cases, the default configuration
desired repetition may be changed during time according to a delay
spread or a Doppler spread. As such, the base station 105-a may
transmit, and the UE 115-a may receive, the DCI including the
repetition factor. In some cases where the channel doesn't change
rapidly the base station 105-a may transmit a vector of repetition
factors per MCS which can be changed by RRC or MCA-CE messages.
[0093] The UE 115-a may receive the signal 205 from the base
station 105-a. In some examples, the UE 115-a may be configured to
average data received according to the repetition factor R. For
example, the UE 115-a may be configured to average repeated samples
received in the signal 205 from the base station 105-a. In some
examples, the UE 115-a may identify adjacent subcarriers containing
repeated data according to the repetition factor, and may average
the value of the adjacent subcarriers. The UE 115-a may input the
averaged values to a demodulator, which may demodulate the symbols
and estimate the transmitted data bits according to the mapping.
The UE 115-a may also implement various error checking schemes or
may utilize iterative decoding to increase the reliability of the
received data.
[0094] The base station 105-a and the UE 115-a may, as a result,
include features for improvements to wireless communications
between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-a and, in some
examples, may promote enhanced efficiency for high reliability and
low latency wireless communications in 5G systems, among other
benefits. Although aspects of transmitting the signal 205 were
described from the perspective of the base station 105-a, the UE
115-a may be configured to perform same or similar operations (or
configured with same or similar components) for transmitting the
signal 205. Likewise, although aspects of receiving the signal 205
were described from the perspective of the UE 115-a, the base
station 105-a may be configured to perform same or similar
operations (or configured with same or similar components) for
receiving the signal 205.
[0095] FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a resource block
configuration 300-a that supports repetition on subcarriers for
noncoherent modulation in accordance with aspects of the present
disclosure. The resource block configuration 300-a may implement or
be implemented by aspects of the wireless communications systems
100 and 200 or may implement aspects of the wireless communications
systems 100 and 200 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2,
respectively. For example, the resource block configuration 300-a
may be based on a configuration provided by a base station 105 and
implemented by the base station 105 or a UE 115, or both. The base
station 105 or the UE 115, or both, may support wireless
communications using the resource block configuration 300-a. For
example, the base station 105 or the UE 115, or both, map
information (e.g., control, data) for wireless communications
according to the resource block configuration 300-a.
[0096] In the example of FIG. 3A, the resource block configuration
300-a may correspond to a coherent modulation resource block mapped
according to a reference signal. The base station 105 or the UE
115, or both, may map subcarriers s.sub.00, s.sub.01, s.sub.10,
s.sub.11, and s.sub.30 to various locations 305, 310, and 315 of a
resource block according to a coherent modulation. Each antenna
port (e.g., antenna port 1 and antenna port 2) may be associated
with a unique cell-specific reference signal. The resource elements
of the resource block may be arranged based on the cell-specific
reference signals and based on the antenna port arrangement. To
mitigate impact of amplified noise on a signal, the base station
105 or the UE 115, or both, may provide repetition on subcarriers
s.sub.0, s.sub.01, s.sub.10, s.sub.11, and s.sub.30 to various
locations 305, 310, and 315 of a resource block for noncoherent
modulation.
[0097] FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a resource block
configuration 300-b that supports repetition on subcarriers for
noncoherent modulation in accordance with aspects of the present
disclosure. The resource block configuration 300-b may implement
aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200 or may
implement or be implemented by aspects of the wireless
communications systems 100 and 200 as described with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. For example, the resource block
configuration 300-b may be based on a configuration provided by a
base station 105 and implemented by the base station 105 or a UE
115, or both. The base station 105 or the UE 115, or both, may
support wireless communications using the resource block
configuration 300-b. For example, the base station 105 or the UE
115, or both, map information (e.g., control, data) for wireless
communications according to the resource block configuration
300-b.
[0098] In the example of FIG. 3B, the resource block configuration
300-b may correspond to noncoherent modulation. The base station
105 or the UE 115, or both, may map one or more subcarriers to
resource elements in a resource block. For example, according to
the resource block configuration 300-b, a first location 305 (e.g.,
row in the resource block) may include known data (e.g., 1). A
second location 310 may include subcarriers s.sub.10 and s.sub.11
according to a mapping. A third location 315 may include mapped
data subcarriers, where adjacent subcarriers are multiplied
according to the mapping configuration (e.g., s.sub.10*s.sub.11 and
s.sub.11*s.sub.21). A fourth location 320 may include additional
mapped data subcarriers, where adjacent subcarriers are multiplied
according to the mapping configuration (e.g.,
s.sub.10*s.sub.20*s.sub.30 and s.sub.11*s.sub.21*s.sub.31). In some
examples, the base station 105 or the UE 115, or both, may map data
to resource elements in the resource block, and each operation may
be repeated according to a repetition rate. For example, the base
station 105 or the UE 115, or both, may map data to the resource
block according to a repetition factor of R=2, where each row is
repeated twice.
[0099] For example, a first row may include known data (e.g., 1)
and may be repeated according to a first repetition. A second row
may include a first mapped subcarrier and a second mapped
subcarrier (s.sub.10 and s.sub.11) and may be repeated according to
a second repetition. A third row may include two multiplied
adjacent subcarriers and may be repeated according to a third
repetition (s.sub.10*s.sub.20). An addition repetition may include
further multiplication of adjacent subcarriers
(s.sub.10*s.sub.20*s.sub.30). Therefore, the base station 105 or
the UE 115, or both, may be configured to use adjacent subcarriers
in the resource block for wireless communications of signals, and
the adjacent subcarriers may use a same communication channel. To
mitigate impact of amplified noise on a signal, the base station
105 or the UE 115, or both, may provide repetition on subcarriers
s.sub.00, s.sub.01, s.sub.10, s.sub.11, and s.sub.30 of a resource
block for noncoherent modulation.
[0100] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method 400 that supports
repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in accordance
with aspects of the present disclosure. The method 400 may
implement or be implemented by aspects of the wireless
communications systems 100 and 200 or may implement aspects of the
wireless communications systems 100 and 200 as described with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. For example, the
operations of the method 400 may be implemented by a transmitting
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as
described herein. For example, the operations of the method 400 may
be performed by a communications manager as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9. In some examples, a transmitting
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of
instructions to control the functional elements of the device to
perform the functions described below. Additionally or
alternatively, a transmitting device (e.g., a base station 105, a
UE 115) may perform aspects of the functions described below using
special-purpose hardware.
[0101] A transmitting device may support increasing an SNR or a
gain, or both, for signal repetition. The transmitting device may
be configured with a resource element mapper, which may map
information bits (e.g., data bits) associated with one or more
subcarriers to adjacent conjugate subcarriers based on a repetition
factor R. The resource element mapper may be implemented in
hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a
processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code
executed by a processor, the functions of the resource element
mapper may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an
ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or
transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination
thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present
disclosure.
[0102] The repetition factor may be predefined. The resource
element mapper may map the information bits (e.g., data bits) to
one or more subcarriers of a resource block to increase a signal
gain. The transmitting device may also scale a rate of rate
matching the information bits (e.g., data bits) based on the
repetition factor. For example, for R=2, the transmitting device
may use half of the original subcarriers to transmit the
information bits (e.g., data bits). In such examples, a size of
resource block might not change and a total number of information
bits (e.g., data bits) may be the same, which may increase a rate
according to the repetition factor used (e.g., the rate may be
twice what it was before the repetition).
[0103] At 405, the transmitting device may encode, at a channel
coding component, information bits c.sub.0, c.sub.1, . . .
c.sub.N-1, where Nis a total number of information bits. In some
examples, the transmitting device may encode the information bits
based on a repetition factor R to generate encoded bits d.sub.0,
d.sub.1, . . . , d.sub.3N-1. The channel coding component may be
implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed
by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code
executed by a processor, the functions of the channel coding
component may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an
ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or
transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination
thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present
disclosure.
[0104] At 410, the transmitting device may rate match, via a rate
matching component, the encoded bits d.sub.0, d.sub.1, . . . ,
d.sub.3N-1. The rate matching component may be implemented in
hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a
processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code
executed by a processor, the functions of the rate matching
component may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an
ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or
transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination
thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present
disclosure. In some examples, the channel coding component may
perform a 1/3 rate encoding. For example, for every single
information bit, the channel coding component may generate three
encoded bits. During rate matching, the bits are rate matched
according to a coding rate E.sub.r, which may be scaled by the
repetition factor R. For example, the coding rate for the input
bits may be scaled by E.sub.r/R-1. After rate matching, the bits
may be denoted e.sub.0, e.sub.1, . . . e.sub.E.sub.r.sub./R-1. The
repetition factor may be applied to the rate matched bits, and the
rate matched bits (denoted f.sub.0, f.sub.1, . . . , f.sub.G-1,
where G is the total number of coded bits) may be input to the
resource element mapper at 415.
[0105] At 415, the transmitting device may, via the resource
mapper, map the bits to subcarriers according to the repetition
factor R. The resource mapper may be implemented in hardware, code
(e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any
combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a
processor, the functions of the resource mapper may be executed by
a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other
programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,
discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed
to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. By
way of example, for a repetition factor of R=2, the resource
element mapper may map two repetitions of the data onto subcarriers
in a resource block 425. For example, a first row may include known
data (e.g., 1) and may be repeated according to a first repetition.
A second row may include a first mapped subcarrier and a second
mapped subcarrier (s.sub.10 and s.sub.11) and may be repeated
according to a second repetition. A third row may include two
multiplied adjacent subcarriers and may be repeated according to a
third repetition (s.sub.10*s.sub.20). An additional repetition may
include further multiplication of adjacent subcarriers
(s.sub.10*s.sub.20*s.sub.30). The subcarriers s.sub.0, s.sub.1, . .
. ,
s E r R / Q .times. A .times. M - 1 ##EQU00002##
may be mapped to the resource block 425, as described herein. At
420, the transmitting device may generate an OFDM signal based on
the mapping, where the OFDM signal carries the data repeated
according to the repetition factor.
[0106] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a method 500 that supports
repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in accordance
with aspects of the present disclosure. The method 500 may
implement or be implemented by aspects of the wireless
communications systems 100 and 200 or may implement aspects of the
wireless communications systems 100 and 200 as described with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. For example, the
operations of the method 500 may be implemented by a receiving
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as
described herein. For example, the operations of the method 500 may
be performed by a communications manager as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9. In some examples, a receiving
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of
instructions to control the functional elements of the device to
perform the functions described below. Additionally or
alternatively, a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE
115) may perform aspects of the functions described below using
special-purpose hardware.
[0107] A receiving device may be configured to average received
data symbols based on a repetition factor R. For example, the
receiving device may receive information 505 (e.g., input symbols)
from a transmitting device according to the repetition factor. For
example, the receiving device may receive a first repetition
including samples y.sub.1=h.sub.1*1+n.sub.1 and
y.sub.0=h.sub.0*1+n.sub.0, and may average, at 510, the samples to
obtain an average y.sub.0 according to the repetition factor. The
receiving device may further receive a second repetition including
samples y.sub.3=h.sub.3*s.sub.0+n.sub.3 and
y.sub.2=h.sub.2*s.sub.0+n.sub.3, and may average the samples to
obtain an average y.sub.1 according to the repetition factor. The
receiving device may average samples according to the repetition
factor (e.g., if the repetition factor is R=n, the receiving device
may determine the average of the n received samples).
[0108] At 515, the receiving device may, via a demodulator,
demodulate the symbols
y ^ 1 , y ^ 2 , .times. , y ^ E r R / QAM - 1 ##EQU00003##
(identified by the averaging) into a subset including data
subcarriers
s ^ 0 , s ^ 1 , .times. , s ^ E r R / QAM - 1 ##EQU00004##
In some cases, the demodulator may multiply adjacent subcarriers
and may output an estimation of the signal. The demodulator may be
implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed
by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code
executed by a processor, the functions of the demodulator may be
executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or
other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,
discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed
to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.
[0109] At 520, the receiving device may, via a decoder, decode the
demodulated data subcarriers, which may estimate the received data
bits at 525. The decoder may be implemented in hardware, code
(e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any
combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a
processor, the functions of the decoder may be executed by a
general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other
programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,
discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed
to perform the functions described in the present disclosure. In
some cases, the receiving device may implement an iterative
decoding process based on an error checking process, for example a
cyclic redundancy check procedure.
[0110] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605
may be an example of aspects of a device as described herein. The
device 605 may include a receiver 610, a communications manager
615, and a transmitter 620. The device 605 may also include a
processor. Each of these components may be in communication with
one another (e.g., via one or more buses).
[0111] The receiver 610 may receive information such as packets,
user data, or control information associated with various
information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and
information related to repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components
of the device 605. The receiver 610 may be an example of aspects of
the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The
receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.
[0112] The communications manager 615 may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
communications manager 615 may map, based on the repetition factor,
the set of encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers including
adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers. The communications
manager 615 may generate a signal including the set of encoded bits
based on the mapping, and transmit the generated signal to the
receiving device.
[0113] The communications manager 615 may receive a modulated
signal from a transmitting device. The communications manager 615
may identify, based on a repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers
including adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated
with the modulated signal. The communications manager 615 may
average the subset of subcarriers including the adjacent
subcarriers. The communications manager 615 may demodulate the
modulated signal in accordance with the averaged subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. The communications
manager 615 may be an example of aspects of the communications
manager 910 described herein.
[0114] The communications manager 615, or its sub-components, may
be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware)
executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented
in code executed by a processor, the functions of the
communications manager 615, or its sub-components may be executed
by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific
integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic
device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware
components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the
functions described in the present disclosure.
[0115] The communications manager 615, or its sub-components, may
be physically located at various positions, including being
distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at
different physical locations by one or more physical components. In
some examples, the communications manager 615, or its
sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in
accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some
examples, the communications manager 615, or its sub-components,
may be combined with one or more other hardware components,
including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a
transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or
more other components described in the present disclosure, or a
combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0116] The transmitter 620 may transmit signals generated by other
components of the device 605. In some examples, the transmitter 620
may be collocated with a receiver 610 in a transceiver component.
For example, the transmitter 620 may be an example of aspects of
the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The
transmitter 620 may utilize a single antenna or a set of
antennas.
[0117] The communications manager 615 may be implemented as an
integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and the
receiver 610 and the transmitter 620 may be implemented as analog
components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas, etc.) coupled with
the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and
reception. The communications manager 615 as described herein may
be implemented to realize one or more potential advantages. Various
implementations may enable implementing increased SNR by signal
repetition. At least one implementation may enable the
communications manager 615 to effectively implement repetition to a
number of mapped subcarriers of a transmitted signal, and include a
number of silent subcarriers to maintain a total energy of the
transmitted signal. At least one implementation may enable the
communications manager 615 to map repeated data to a resource block
to increase signal gain. Based on implementing the signal
repetition techniques as described herein, one or more processors
of the device 605 (e.g., processor(s) controlling or incorporated
with one or more of the receiver 610, the communications manager
615, and the transmitter 620) may increase the SNR and gain of the
transmitted signal.
[0118] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705
may be an example of aspects of a device 605 or a device 115 as
described herein. The device 705 may include a receiver 710, a
communications manager 715, and a transmitter 745. The device 705
may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in
communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).
[0119] The receiver 710 may receive information such as packets,
user data, or control information associated with various
information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and
information related to repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components
of the device 705. The receiver 710 may be an example of aspects of
the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The
receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.
[0120] The communications manager 715 may be an example of aspects
of the communications manager 615 as described herein. The
communications manager 715 may include an encoder component 720, a
mapper component 725, a signal component 730, a carrier component
735, and a demodulation component 740. The communications manager
715 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 910
described herein.
[0121] The encoder component 720 may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
mapper component 725 may map, based on the repetition factor, the
set of encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers including adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers. The signal component 730 may
generate a signal including the set of encoded bits based on the
mapping and transmit the generated signal to the receiving
device.
[0122] The signal component 730 may receive a modulated signal from
a transmitting device. The carrier component 735 may identify,
based on a repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers including
adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the
modulated signal and average the subset of subcarriers including
the adjacent subcarriers. The demodulation component 740 may
demodulate the modulated signal in accordance with the averaged
subset of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers.
[0123] The transmitter 745 may transmit signals generated by other
components of the device 705. In some examples, the transmitter 745
may be collocated with a receiver 710 in a transceiver component.
For example, the transmitter 745 may be an example of aspects of
the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The
transmitter 745 may utilize a single antenna or a set of
antennas.
[0124] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a communications manager
805 that supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
The communications manager 805 may be an example of aspects of a
communications manager 615, a communications manager 715, or a
communications manager 910 described herein. The communications
manager 805 may include an encoder component 810, a mapper
component 815, a signal component 820, a rate component 825, a bit
component 830, a control component 835, a database component 840, a
carrier component 845, a demodulation component 850, a demapper
component 855, and a decoder component 860. Each of these
components may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one
another (e.g., via one or more buses).
[0125] The encoder component 810 may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. In
some cases, a value of the repetition factor is based on an MCS
value, a constellation mapping configuration, a frequency
allocation parameter, or a channel condition, or any combination
thereof. The mapper component 815 may map, based on the repetition
factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers
including adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers. In some
examples, the mapper component 815 may identify a set of data bits
associated with the set of encoded bits. In some examples, the
mapper component 815 may recursively map, based on the repetition
factor, the set of data bits to the subset of subcarriers including
the adjacent subcarriers. The encoder component 810 may transmit an
RRC connection establishment message including a set of parameters
indicating the repetition factor per MCS.
[0126] In some examples, the mapper component 815 may map a first
subset of data bits associated with the set of data bits to a first
subset of adjacent subcarriers. In some examples, the mapper
component 815 may map a second subset of data bits associated with
the set of data bits to a second subset of adjacent subcarriers
based on the repetition factor. In some examples, the mapper
component 815 may map the subset of subcarriers including the
adjacent subcarriers to a resource block based on the repetition
factor. In some examples, the mapper component 815 may generate the
signal based on mapping the subset of subcarriers to the resource
block. In some cases, the mapping includes a non-coherent
modulation mapping.
[0127] The signal component 820 may generate a signal including the
set of encoded bits based on the mapping. In some examples, the
signal component 820 may transmit the generated signal to the
receiving device. In some examples, the signal component 820 may
receive a modulated signal from a transmitting device. The carrier
component 845 may identify, based on a repetition factor, a subset
of subcarriers including adjacent subcarriers of a set of
subcarriers associated with the modulated signal. In some examples,
the carrier component 845 may average the subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers. In some examples, the carrier
component 845 may average data samples of the subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers, where demodulating the
modulated signal is based on averaging the data samples of the
subset of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. In some
examples, the carrier component 845 may average the data samples of
the subset of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers based
on a coherent combination of the data samples. In some cases, the
subset of subcarriers includes repeated data based on the
repetition factor.
[0128] The demodulation component 850 may demodulate the modulated
signal in accordance with the averaged subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers. The rate component 825 may rate
matching the set of encoded bits based on the repetition factor. In
some examples, the rate component 825 may increase a rate of the
encoding based on the repetition factor. In some cases, the rate of
the encoding includes a value less than one. The bit component 830
may identify the set of bits to transmit to the receiving device
based on the repetition factor. The control component 835 may
transmit a DCI message including an indication of the repetition
factor. In some examples, the control component 835 may receive a
DCI message including an indication of the repetition factor.
[0129] The database component 840 may identify the repetition
factor in a lookup table, where encoding the set of bits to
transmit to the receiving device is based on identifying the
repetition factor in the lookup table. In some examples, the
database component 840 may identify the repetition factor in a
lookup table. The demapper component 855 may demap the averaged
subset of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers based on
the repetition factor. The decoder component 860 may decode the
averaged subset of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers
to a set of modulated data bits based on the repetition factor. The
decoder component 860 may receive an RRC connection establishment
message including a set of parameters indicating the repetition
factor per MCS
[0130] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system 900 including a device
905 that supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent
modulation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
The device 905 may be an example of or include the components of
device 605, device 705, or a device as described herein. The device
905 may include components for bi-directional voice and data
communications including components for transmitting and receiving
communications, including a communications manager 910, an I/O
controller 915, a transceiver 920, an antenna 925, memory 930, a
processor 940, and a coding manager 950. These components may be in
electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 945).
[0131] The communications manager 910 may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
communications manager 910 may map, based on the repetition factor,
the set of encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers including
adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers. The communications
manager 910 may generate a signal including the set of encoded bits
based on the mapping, and transmit the generated signal to the
receiving device. Additionally or alternatively, the communications
manager 910 may receive a modulated signal from a transmitting
device. The communications manager 910 may identify, based on a
repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers including adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal. The communications manager 910 may average the subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers, and demodulate the
modulated signal in accordance with the averaged subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. By including or
configuring the communications manager 910 in accordance with
examples as described herein, the device 905 may support techniques
for improved communication reliability and reduced latency, among
other benefits. For example, the device 905 may perform wireless
communications with increased reliability based on using a
repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation.
[0132] The I/O controller 915 may manage input and output signals
for the device 905. The I/O controller 915 may also manage
peripherals not integrated into the device 905. In some cases, the
I/O controller 915 may represent a physical connection or port to
an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller 915 may
utilize an operating system such as iOS.RTM., ANDROID.RTM.,
MS-DOS.RTM., MS-WINDOWS.RTM., OS/2.RTM., UNIX.RTM., LINUX.RTM., or
another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller
915 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a
touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller
915 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a
user may interact with the device 905 via the I/O controller 915 or
via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 915.
[0133] The transceiver 920 may communicate bi-directionally, via
one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above.
For example, the transceiver 920 may represent a wireless
transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another
wireless transceiver. The transceiver 920 may also include a modem
to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the
antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from
the antennas. In some cases, the device 905 may include a single
antenna 925. However, in some cases the device 905 may have more
than one antenna 925, which may be capable of concurrently
transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.
[0134] The memory 930 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 930 may
store computer-readable, computer-executable code 935 including
instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform
various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 930
may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic
hardware or software operation such as the interaction with
peripheral components or devices.
[0135] The code 935 may include instructions to implement aspects
of the present disclosure, including instructions to support
wireless communications. The code 935 may be stored in a
non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or
other type of memory. In some cases, the code 935 may not be
directly executable by the processor 940 but may cause a computer
(e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described
herein.
[0136] The processor 940 may include an intelligent hardware
device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a
microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a
discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware
component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the
processor 940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a
memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be
integrated into the processor 940. The processor 940 may be
configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a
memory (e.g., the memory 930) to cause the device 905 to perform
various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting repetition
on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation).
[0137] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1000 may be implemented by a transmitting device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1000 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a transmitting device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a transmitting
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of
the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0138] At 1005, a transmitting device may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
operations of 1005 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1005 may be performed by an encoder component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0139] At 1010, the transmitting device may map, based on the
repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers including adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers.
The operations of 1010 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1010 may be performed by a mapper component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0140] At 1015, the transmitting device may generate a signal
including the set of encoded bits based on the mapping. The
operations of 1015 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1015 may be performed by a signal component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0141] At 1020, the transmitting device may transmit the generated
signal to the receiving device. The operations of 1020 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1020 may be performed by a
signal component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through
9.
[0142] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1100 may be implemented by a transmitting device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1100 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a transmitting device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a transmitting
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of
the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0143] At 1105, a transmitting device may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
operations of 1105 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1105 may be performed by an encoder component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0144] At 1110, the transmitting device may identify a set of data
bits associated with the set of encoded bits. The operations of
1110 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In
some examples, aspects of the operations of 1110 may be performed
by a mapper component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0145] At 1115, the transmitting device may recursively map, based
on the repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of
1115 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In
some examples, aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed
by a mapper component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0146] At 1120, the transmitting device may generate a signal
including the set of encoded bits based on the mapping. The
operations of 1120 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1120 may be performed by a signal component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0147] At 1125, the transmitting device may transmit the generated
signal to the receiving device. The operations of 1125 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1125 may be performed by a
signal component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through
9.
[0148] FIG. 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1200 may be implemented by a transmitting device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1200 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a transmitting device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a transmitting
device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of
the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0149] At 1205, a transmitting device may encode a set of bits to
transmit to a receiving device based on a repetition factor. The
operations of 1205 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1205 may be performed by an encoder component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0150] At 1210, the transmitting device may rate match the set of
encoded bits based on the repetition factor. The operations of 1210
may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a
rate component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through
9.
[0151] At 1215, the transmitting device may map, based on the
repetition factor, the set of encoded bits to a subset of
subcarriers including adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers.
The operations of 1215 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1215 may be performed by a mapper component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0152] At 1220, the transmitting device may generate a signal
including the set of encoded bits based on the mapping. The
operations of 1220 may be performed according to the methods
described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of
1220 may be performed by a signal component as described with
reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0153] At 1225, the transmitting device may transmit the generated
signal to the receiving device. The operations of 1225 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1225 may be performed by a
signal component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through
9.
[0154] FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1300 may be implemented by a receiving device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1300 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a receiving device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a receiving device
(e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of the
functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0155] At 1305, a receiving device may receive a modulated signal
from a transmitting device. The operations of 1305 may be performed
according to the methods described herein. In some examples,
aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by a signal
component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0156] At 1310, the receiving device may identify, based on a
repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers including adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal. The operations of 1310 may be performed according to the
methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the
operations of 1310 may be performed by a carrier component as
described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0157] At 1315, the receiving device may average the subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of
1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In
some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed
by a carrier component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0158] At 1320, the receiving device may demodulate the modulated
signal in accordance with the averaged subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of 1320 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1320 may be performed by a
demodulation component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0159] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1400 may be implemented by a receiving device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a receiving device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a receiving device
(e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of the
functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0160] At 1405, a receiving device may receive a modulated signal
from a transmitting device. The operations of 1405 may be performed
according to the methods described herein. In some examples,
aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a signal
component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0161] At 1410, the receiving device may identify, based on a
repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers including adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal. The operations of 1410 may be performed according to the
methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the
operations of 1410 may be performed by a carrier component as
described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0162] At 1415, the receiving device may average the subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of
1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In
some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed
by a carrier component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0163] At 1420, the receiving device may demodulate the modulated
signal in accordance with the averaged subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of 1420 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1420 may be performed by a
demodulation component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0164] At 1425, the receiving device may average data samples of
the subset of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers, where
demodulating the modulated signal is based on averaging the data
samples of the subset of subcarriers including the adjacent
subcarriers. The operations of 1425 may be performed according to
the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the
operations of 1425 may be performed by a carrier component as
described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0165] FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1500 may be implemented by a receiving device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a receiving device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a receiving device
(e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of the
functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0166] At 1505, a receiving device may receive a modulated signal
from a transmitting device. The operations of 1505 may be performed
according to the methods described herein. In some examples,
aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by a signal
component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0167] At 1510, the receiving device may identify, based on a
repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers including adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal. The operations of 1510 may be performed according to the
methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the
operations of 1510 may be performed by a carrier component as
described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0168] At 1515, the receiving device may average the subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of
1515 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In
some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed
by a carrier component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0169] At 1520, the receiving device may demodulate the modulated
signal in accordance with the averaged subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of 1520 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1520 may be performed by a
demodulation component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0170] At 1525, the receiving device may demap the averaged subset
of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers based on the
repetition factor. The operations of 1525 may be performed
according to the methods described herein. In some examples,
aspects of the operations of 1525 may be performed by a demapper
component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0171] FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 that
supports repetition on subcarriers for noncoherent modulation in
accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations
of method 1600 may be implemented by a receiving device (e.g., a
base station 105, a UE 115) or its components as described herein.
For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a
communications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9. In some examples, a receiving device (e.g., a base
station 105, a UE 115) may execute a set of instructions to control
the functional elements of the device to perform the functions
described below. Additionally or alternatively, a receiving device
(e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) may perform aspects of the
functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
[0172] At 1605, a receiving device may receive a modulated signal
from a transmitting device. The operations of 1605 may be performed
according to the methods described herein. In some examples,
aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed by a signal
component as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0173] At 1610, the receiving device may identify, based on a
repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers including adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to the
methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the
operations of 1610 may be performed by a carrier component as
described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0174] At 1615, the receiving device may average the subset of
subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of
1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In
some examples, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed
by a carrier component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0175] At 1620, the receiving device may demodulate the modulated
signal in accordance with the averaged subset of subcarriers
including the adjacent subcarriers. The operations of 1620 may be
performed according to the methods described herein. In some
examples, aspects of the operations of 1620 may be performed by a
demodulation component as described with reference to FIGS. 6
through 9.
[0176] At 1625, the receiving device may decode the averaged subset
of subcarriers including the adjacent subcarriers to a set of
modulated data bits based on the repetition factor. The operations
of 1625 may be performed according to the methods described herein.
In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1625 may be
performed by a decoder component as described with reference to
FIGS. 6 through 9.
[0177] It should be noted that the methods described herein
describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the
steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other
implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of
the methods may be combined.
[0178] The following provides an overview of aspects of the present
disclosure:
[0179] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications at a
transmitting device, comprising: encoding a set of bits to transmit
to a receiving device based at least in part on a repetition
factor; mapping, based at least in part on the repetition factor,
the set of encoded bits to a subset of subcarriers comprising
adjacent subcarriers of a set of subcarriers; generating a signal
comprising the set of encoded bits based at least in part on the
mapping; and transmitting the generated signal to the receiving
device.
[0180] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, further comprising:
identifying a set of data bits associated with the set of encoded
bits; and recursively mapping, based at least in part on the
repetition factor, the set of data bits to the subset of
subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers
[0181] Aspect 3: The method of aspect 2, wherein recursively
mapping the set of data bits comprises: mapping a first subset of
data bits associated with the set of data bits to a first subset of
adjacent subcarriers; and mapping a second subset of data bits
associated with the set of data bits to a second subset of adjacent
subcarriers based at least in part on the repetition factor.
[0182] Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 1 through 3, further
comprising: rate matching the set of encoded bits based at least in
part on the repetition factor.
[0183] Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1 through 4, further
comprising: mapping the subset of subcarriers comprising the
adjacent subcarriers to a resource block based at least in part on
the repetition factor; and generating the signal based at least in
part on mapping the subset of subcarriers to the resource
block.
[0184] Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, wherein
encoding the set of bits further comprises: increasing a rate of
the encoding based at least in part on the repetition factor.
[0185] Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 1 through 6, wherein
the rate of the encoding comprises a value less than one.
[0186] Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 1 through 7, wherein
identifying the set of bits comprises: identifying the set of bits
to transmit to the receiving device based at least in part on the
repetition factor.
[0187] Aspect 9: The method of any of aspects 1 through 8, wherein
a value of the repetition factor is based at least in part on an
MCS value, a constellation mapping configuration, a frequency
allocation parameter, or a channel condition, or any combination
thereof.
[0188] Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 1 through 9, wherein
the mapping comprises a non-coherent modulation mapping.
[0189] Aspect 11: The method of any of aspects 1 through 10,
further comprising:
[0190] transmitting a DCI message comprising an indication of the
repetition factor.
[0191] Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 1 through 11,
further comprising: identifying the repetition factor in a lookup
table, wherein encoding the set of bits to transmit to the
receiving device is based at least in part on identifying the
repetition factor in the lookup table.
[0192] Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12,
further comprising: transmitting an RRC connection establishment
message comprising a set of parameters indicating the repetition
factor per MCS.
[0193] Aspect 14: A method for wireless communications at a
receiving device, comprising: receiving a modulated signal from a
transmitting device; identifying, based at least in part on a
repetition factor, a subset of subcarriers comprising adjacent
subcarriers of a set of subcarriers associated with the modulated
signal; averaging the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers; and demodulating the modulated signal in accordance
with the averaged subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers.
[0194] Aspect 15: The method of aspect 14, further comprising:
averaging data samples of the subset of subcarriers comprising the
adjacent subcarriers, wherein demodulating the modulated signal is
based at least in part on averaging the data samples of the subset
of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers.
[0195] Aspect 16: The method of aspect 15, wherein averaging the
data samples of the subset of subcarriers comprises: averaging the
data samples of the subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent
subcarriers based at least in part on a coherent combination of the
data samples.
[0196] Aspect 17: The method of any of aspects 14 through 16,
wherein demodulating the modulated signal comprises: demapping the
averaged subset of subcarriers comprising the adjacent subcarriers
based at least in part on the repetition factor.
[0197] Aspect 18: The method of any of aspects 14 through 17,
further comprising: decoding the averaged subset of subcarriers
comprising the adjacent subcarriers to a set of modulated data bits
based at least in part on the repetition factor.
[0198] Aspect 19: The method of any of aspects 14 through 18,
wherein the subset of subcarriers comprises repeated data based at
least in part on the repetition factor.
[0199] Aspect 20: The method of any of aspects 14 through 19,
further comprising: receiving a DCI message comprising an
indication of the repetition factor.
[0200] Aspect 21: The method of any of aspects 14 through 20,
further comprising: identifying the repetition factor in a lookup
table.
[0201] Aspect 22: The method of any of aspects 14 through 21,
further comprising: receiving an RRC connection establishment
message comprising a set of parameters indicating the repetition
factor per MCS.
[0202] Aspect 23: An apparatus for wireless communications,
comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and
instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor
to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 1
through 12.
[0203] Aspect 24: An apparatus for wireless communications,
comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of
aspects 1 through 12.
[0204] Aspect 25: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing
code for wireless communications at a transmitting device, the code
comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a
method of any of aspects 1 through 12.
[0205] Aspect 26: An apparatus for wireless communications,
comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and
instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor
to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 14
through 21.
[0206] Aspect 27: An apparatus for wireless communications,
comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of
aspects 14 through 21.
[0207] Aspect 28: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing
code for wireless communications at a receiving device, the code
comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a
method of any of aspects 14 through 21.
[0208] Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system
may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A
Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the
techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A
Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be
applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as
Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX),
IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio
technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0209] Information and signals described herein may be represented
using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques.
For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals,
bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the
description may be represented by voltages, currents,
electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields
or particles, or any combination thereof.
[0210] The various illustrative blocks and components described in
connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or
performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU,
an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or
transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination
thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A
general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the
alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller,
microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be
implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a
combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple
microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a
DSP core, or any other such configuration).
[0211] The functions described herein may be implemented in
hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any
combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a
processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as
one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.
Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the
disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of
software, functions described herein may be implemented using
software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring,
or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions
may also be physically located at various positions, including
being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented
at different physical locations.
[0212] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory
computer storage media and communication media including any medium
that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to
another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available
medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special purpose
computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory
computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM),
read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM
(EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk
storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,
or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or
store desired program code means in the form of instructions or
data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or
special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose
processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a
computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is
transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a
coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber
line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and
microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,
DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and
microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable
medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc,
optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray
disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs
reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are
also included within the scope of computer-readable media.
[0213] As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a
list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as
"at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list
such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means
A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also,
as used herein, the phrase "based on" shall not be construed as a
reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example
step that is described as "based on condition A" may be based on
both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the
scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein,
the phrase "based on" shall be construed in the same manner as the
phrase "based at least in part on."
[0214] In the appended figures, similar components or features may
have the same reference label. Further, various components of the
same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by
a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar
components. If just the first reference label is used in the
specification, the description is applicable to any one of the
similar components having the same first reference label
irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent
reference label.
[0215] The description set forth herein, in connection with the
appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not
represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are
within the scope of the claims. The term "example" used herein
means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not
"preferred" or "advantageous over other examples." The detailed
description includes specific details for the purpose of providing
an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques,
however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some
instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram
form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described
examples.
[0216] The description herein is provided to enable a person having
ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various
modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having
ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined
herein may be applied to other variations without departing from
the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to
the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded
the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel
features disclosed herein.
* * * * *