On the usage of control resources for data transmission

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product modifying the usage of control resources for data transmission by focusing on reducing overhead of the control channel in order to maximize the spectral efficiency by configuring physical resources into two parts for an allocation into control information for the first part, and data for both the first part and the second part or data for only the second part. Data allocation in the first part based is derived based on the data allocation in the second part and the control information allocation in the first part. The number of control symbols within a subframe or transmission time interval is minimized on the downlink control signaling, used mainly for downlink and uplink grant signaling, and for the uplink HARQ ACK/NACK feedback. Where overhead is not the only problem, usage of two symbols is proposed due to the limitations of radio frequency beamforming.

1 . A method comprising:
 configuring physical resources in a wireless communication system into two parts for an allocation into one or more allocation units of:
 control information, depending on an aggregation level, for the first part, and 
 data for both the first part and the second part or only for the second part; 
   receiving a signal comprising downlink control information and data; and   based on the received downlink control information, deriving the data allocation in the first part based on the data allocation in the second part and the control information allocation in the first part.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the deriving of the data allocation in the first part is based on both the data allocation in the second part and the control information in the first part. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving configuration information on the physical resources, wherein the first part comprises one or more allocation units for the control information and data depending on the aggregation level, and wherein the second part comprises one or more allocation units for the data.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 multiplexing the downlink control information and the data within a symbol.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first part and the second part comprise a plurality of allocation units. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein an allocation unit comprises a predetermined amount of OFDMA symbols in time and subcarriers in frequency. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein an allocation unit has a different size in the first part and the second part. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the downlink control information comprises information about the allocation for the data in the first part and/or the second part. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the configuration information is semi-static and is provided via higher layer control signaling. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a data allocation into the first part is based on an indication of allocation units not used for the control information. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a separate DCI format supports the data in the first part. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein use of the separate DCI format is based on a size of the first part being smaller than a certain pre-determined size for one or more lowest aggregation levels from among a plurality of aggregation levels, wherein the plurality of aggregation levels comprises a larger number of aggregation levels than the one or more lowest aggregation levels. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a beam switching gap is included between consecutive OFDMA symbols carrying the downlink control information. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data with a higher latency requirement over a threshold is configured in the first part. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:
 configuring physical resources in a wireless communication system into two parts for an allocation into one or more allocation units of:
 control information, depending on an aggregation level, for the first part, and 
 data for both the first part and the second part or only for the second part; 
 
 receiving a signal comprising downlink control information and data; and 
 based on the received downlink control information, deriving the data allocation in the first part based on the data allocation in the second part and the control information allocation in the first part. 
   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the deriving of the data allocation in the first part is based on both the data allocation in the second part and the control information in the first part. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:
 receiving configuration information on the physical resources, wherein the first part comprises one or more allocation units for the control information and data depending on the aggregation level, and wherein the second part comprises one or more allocation units for the data.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:
 multiplexing the downlink control information and the data within a symbol.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the first part and the second part comprise a plurality of allocation units. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein an allocation unit comprises a predetermined amount of OFDMA symbols in time and subcarriers in frequency. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein an allocation unit has a different size in the first part and the second part. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein the downlink control information comprises information about the allocation for the data in the first part and/or the second part. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein the configuration information is semi-static and is provided via higher layer control signaling. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein a data allocation into the first part is based on an indication of allocation units not used for the control information. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein a separate DCI format supports the data transmission in the first part. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein use of the separate DCI format is based on a size of the first part being smaller than a certain pre-determined size for one or more lowest aggregation levels from among a plurality of aggregation levels, wherein the plurality of aggregation levels comprises a larger number of aggregation levels than the one or more lowest aggregation levels. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein a beam switching gap is included between consecutive OFDMA symbols carrying the downlink control information. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of any of  claim 15 , wherein the data with a higher latency requirement over a threshold is configured in the first part. 
     
     
         29 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs at least the following:
 configuring physical resources in a wireless communication system into two parts for an allocation into one or more allocation units of:
 control information, depending on an aggregation level, for the first part, and 
 data for both the first part and the second part or only for the second part; 
   receiving a signal comprising downlink control information and data; and   based on the received downlink control information, deriving the data allocation in the first part based on the data allocation in the second part and the control information allocation in the first part.