Methods and apparatus of enhanced coding in multi-user communication systems

• US 20040229625A1
• Filed: 08/13/2003
• Published: 11/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Laroia, Rajiv, Li, Junyi, Srinivasan, Murari
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,163 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1861 Physical mapping arrangements for ACK signaling see also H04L5/0053
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2604 Multiresolution systems by means of multiresolution subcarriers H04L27/183, H04L27/3488
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/3488 Multiresolution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/04 the signals being represented by different amplitudes or polarities, e.g. quadriplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/24 using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/283 Power depending on the position of the mobile

Abstract

First and second sets of information are transmitted using a relatively large transmission block including a plurality of minimum transmission units (MTUs), each MTU corresponds to a unique combination of resources. A first set of said MTUs is used in conveying said first set of information, said first set including at least a majority of said MTUs in the transmission block. A second set of said MTUs is defined, e.g., selected, for use in conveying said second set of information, said second set of MTUs including less MTUs than first set and at least some MTUs included in the first set. The first and second sets of information are communicated by transmitting at least some MTUs included in said first and second sets of MTUs with the corresponding information modulated thereon. The communicating of the information may be through superposition of the first and second information on shared MTUs.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting at least first and second sets of information using a transmission block, said transmission block including a plurality of minimum transmission units, each minimum transmission unit corresponding to a unique combination of resources used for transmission of information, said resources including at least two of time, frequency, phase, and spreading code, the method comprising:

defining a first set of said minimum transmission units for use in conveying said first set of information, said first set including at least a majority of said transmission block;

defining a second set of said minimum transmission units for use in conveying said second set of information, said second set of minimum transmission units including less minimum transmission units than first set;

at least some of minimum transmission units in the first and second sets of minimum transmission units being the same; and

communicating the first and second sets of information using minimum transmission units included in said first and second sets of minimum transmission units.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said information is at least one of user data and control information including acknowledgements and assignment information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the first and second sets of information includes transmitting signals corresponding to said first and second sets of information, respectively, from different transmitters.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said different transmitters are mounted on different devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the signals corresponding to said first and second set of information are transmitted from the same transmitter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said first set of minimum transmission units includes at least 75% of the total number of minimum transmission units in said transmission block.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second set of minimum transmission units has less than half the number of minimum transmission units of the first set of minimum transmission units.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the minimum transmission units included in the second set of minimum transmission units is also included in said first set of minimum transmission units.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein communicating the first and second sets of information includes transmitting said second set of information using each minimum transmission unit in said second set of minimum transmission units, and

wherein communicating the first set of information includes transmitting said first set of information includes transmitting at least some of said first set of minimum transmission units.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least some of first set of minimum transmission units includes only minimum transmission units not included in said second set of minimum transmission units.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least some of said first set of minimum transmission units includes minimum transmission units in said second set.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second sets of information are communicated using at least first and second signals, respectively, and wherein the method further comprises combining the first and second signals to form a combined signal prior to using a minimum transmission unit included in said first and second sets of minimum transmission units to transmit said combined signal.

13. The method of claim 1,

wherein the second signal is transmitted at a higher power level than said first signal on a per minimum transmission unit basis;

and

wherein communicating the first and second sets of information includes;

using minimum transmission units includes using at least some of the minimum transmission units included in said first set of minimum transmission units to transmit a first signal corresponding to the first set of information; and

using the minimum transmission units in said second set of minimum transmission units to transmit a second signal corresponding to the second set of information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the power level at which the minimum transmission units corresponding to the second signal is transmitted is at least 3 dB greater than the power level at which the minimum transmission units corresponding to the first signal is transmitted.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising varying the transmission power level of the minimum transmission units used to transmit said second signal.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising varying the transmission power level of the minimum transmission units used to transmit said first signal.

17. An apparatus for receiving a combined signal including first and second signals transmitted together over time, first and second signals sharing an overlapping set of communications resources, where said overlapping resources include at least two of time, frequency, phase and spreading code, the apparatus comprising:

a first receiver for receiving said combined signal from a communications channel, said first receiver including a filter for treating portions of said combined signal corresponding to said second signal as impulse noise; and

a second receiver, arranged in parallel with said first receiver, for receiving said combined signal from said communications channel, said second receiver including a filter for treating portions of said combined signal corresponding to said first signal as background noise.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said apparatus includes error correcting means for recovering information lost due to treating a portion of said combined signal corresponding to said second signal as impulse noise.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said first and second signals share the same frequency band.

20. An apparatus for receiving a combined signal including first and second signals transmitted together over time, the apparatus including:

a first receiver for receiving the combined signal, the first receiver including;

i) a first filter module for filtering impulse noise from said received combined signal, portions of said signal corresponding to the second signal being treated as impulse noise by said filtering module; and

ii) a first decoder for decoding information corresponding to the first signal coupled to said first filter module, said first decoder determining the value of the received combined signal at a first set of minimum transmission units; and

a second receiver including;

i) a second filter module for filtering background noise from said received combined signal; and

ii) a second decoder for decoding information corresponding to the second signal coupled to said second filter module, said second decoder determining the value of the received combined signal at a second set of minimum transmission units, a majority of said second set of minimum transmission units being included in said first set of transmission units.

21. An apparatus for receiving a combined signal including first and second signals transmitted together over time, the apparatus including:

a second receiver for receiving the combined signal and identifying minimum transmission units in said combined signal corresponding to said second signal, the second receiver outputting information identifying the identified minimum transmission units corresponding to the second signal; and

a first receiver for receiving said combined signal said first receiver including a decoder for decoding portions of said combined signal corresponding to said first signal, said decoder receiving said information identifying the identified minimum transmission units corresponding to the second signal and discarding said identified minimum transmission units corresponding to the second signal.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said identified units corresponding to the second signal are one of in-phase and quadrature components of tones at different symbol transmission times.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said first receiver includes:

error correction circuitry for recovering first signal information lost due to the discarding of said identified transmission units corresponding to the second signal.