Multi-carrier incremental redundancy for packet based wireless communications

• US 8,073,087 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2010
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Casaccia, Lorenzo, Malladi, Durga Prasad
• Primary Examiner(s): Panwalkar, Vineeta S
• Application Number:
  US12/703,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20100157791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: 375/259, 375/260, 375/262, 375/265, 375/267, 375/295, 375/299, 375/316, 375/340, 375/341, 375/346, 375/347, 714/699, 714/746, 714/748, 714/749, 714/751, 714/752, 714/786, 714790-795, 714/819, 714/820, 370/394, 370/392, 370/389
• US Class Current: 375/347
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0045 Arrangements at the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/04 using frequency diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1819 with retransmission of additional or different redundancy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1845 Combining techniques, e.g. code combining
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1893 Physical mapping arrangements physical resource mapping in general H04L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/18 Phase-modulated carrier systems, i.e. using phase-shift keying H04L27/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/06 the signals being represented by different frequencies combined with time-division multiplexing H04L5/26

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed herein for providing incremental redundancy in a wireless communication system to aid in error recovery. One or more redundancy versions are sent on different carriers than the primary version of information to be transmitted. At the receiver end the redundancy versions may be combined using hard or soft combining techniques, including selection combining, selective soft combining or soft combining.

Claims

1. A method of providing redundancy for error recovery in multi-carrier wireless communications, the method comprising:

receiving a primary version of information encoded with a first encoding scheme, the primary version being received on a first carrier;

receiving multiple redundancy versions of the information encoded with multiple encoding schemes, at least parts of the multiple redundancy versions being received on multiple carriers;

decoding the primary version;

decoding the multiple redundancy versions; and

selectively soft combining at least one of the multiple redundancy versions with the primary version, wherein at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions is discarded.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple redundancy versions comprise a first redundancy version of the information encoded with a second encoding scheme and a second redundancy version of the information encoded with a third encoding scheme, at least part of the first redundancy version being received on a second carrier and at least part of the second redundancy version being received on a third carrier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first encoding scheme and the multiple encoding schemes belong to a common encoding scheme family.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a data reception condition indication of a transmission to a transmitter.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions is discarded without being combined with the primary version.

6. An apparatus for providing redundancy for error recovery in multi-carrier wireless communications, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a primary version of information encoded with a first encoding scheme, the primary version being received on a first carrier;

means for receiving multiple redundancy versions of the information encoded with multiple encoding schemes, at least parts of the multiple redundancy versions being received on multiple carriers;

means for decoding the primary version;

means for decoding the multiple redundancy versions; and

means for selectively soft combining at least one of the multiple redundancy versions with the primary version, wherein at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions is discarded.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the multiple redundancy versions comprise a first redundancy version of the information encoded with a second encoding scheme and a second redundancy version of the information encoded with a third encoding scheme, at least part of the first redundancy version being received on a second carrier and at least part of the second redundancy version being received on a third carrier.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first encoding scheme and the multiple encoding schemes belong to a common encoding scheme family.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising means for sending a data reception condition indication of a transmission to a transmitter.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions is discarded without being combined with the primary version.

11. A communication device for providing redundancy for error recovery in multi-carrier wireless communications, the device comprising:

a receiver for receiving a primary version of information encoded with a first encoding scheme, the primary version being received on a first carrier, and receiving multiple redundancy versions of the information encoded with multiple encoding schemes, at least parts of the multiple redundancy versions being received on multiple carriers;

a decoder for decoding the primary version of information and decoding the multiple redundancy versions of the information wherein the decoder selectively soft combines at least one of the multiple redundancy versions with the primary version and discards at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions.

12. The communication device of claim 11, wherein the multiple redundancy versions comprise a first redundancy version of the information encoded with a second encoding scheme and a second redundancy version of the information encoded with a third encoding scheme, at least part of the first redundancy version being received on a second carrier and at least part of the second redundancy version being received on a third carrier.

13. The communication device of claim 11, wherein the first encoding scheme and the multiple encoding schemes belong to a common encoding scheme family.

14. The communication device of claim 11, further comprising logic to send a data reception condition indication of a transmission to a transmitter device.

15. The communication device of claim 11, wherein the at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions is discarded without being combined with the primary version.

16. The communication device of claim 11, further comprising a transmitter and an antenna.

17. A computer program product for error recovery in multi-carrier wireless communications, comprising:

computer readable non-transitory medium comprising;

code for causing a computer to receive a primary version of information encoded with a first encoding scheme, the primary version being received on a first carrier;

code for causing a computer to receive multiple redundancy versions of the information encoded with multiple encoding schemes, at least parts of the multiple redundancy versions being received on multiple carriers;

code for causing a computer to decode the primary version;

code for causing a computer to decode the multiple redundancy versions; and

code for causing a computer to selectively soft combine at least one of the multiple redundancy versions with the primary version and to discard at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the multiple redundancy versions comprise a first redundancy version of the information encoded with a second encoding scheme and a second redundancy version of the information encoded with a third encoding scheme, at least part of the first redundancy version being received on a second carrier and at least part of the second redundancy version being received on a third carrier.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the first encoding scheme and the multiple encoding schemes belong to a common encoding scheme family.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising code for causing a computer to send a data reception condition indication of a transmission to a transmitter device.

21. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions is discarded without being combined with the primary version.

22. A communication system for providing redundancy for error recovery in multi-carrier wireless communications, the system comprising:

a first device comprising a transmitter for transmitting a primary version of information encoded with a first encoding scheme and for transmitting multiple redundancy versions of the information encoded with multiple encoding schemes; and

a second device comprising;

a receiver for receiving the primary version on a first carrier and receiving the multiple redundancy versions of the information, at least parts of the multiple redundancy versions being received on multiple carriers; and

a decoder for decoding the primary version of information and decoding the multiple redundancy versions of the information, wherein the decoder is operable to selectively soft combine at least one of the multiple redundancy versions with the primary version and discard at least one other of the multiple redundancy versions.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the multiple redundancy versions comprise a first redundancy version of the information encoded with a second encoding scheme and a second redundancy version of the information encoded with a third encoding scheme, at least part of the first redundancy version being received on a second carrier and at least part of the second redundancy version being received on a third carrier.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the first device comprises a base station and wherein the second device comprises a wireless mobile device.