Method and apparatus for transmitting control information

A method and an apparatus for transmitting control information are disclosed. The method includes: grouping UEs in a cell, and obtaining second control information of each UE group after grouping; performing joint channel coding on the second control information of each UE group; obtaining first control information, and transmitting the first control information to the UEs in the cell, where the first control information includes indication information of the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group, so as to obtain the second control information according to the indication information; and transmitting the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group to the UEs in the cell.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the radio communications field, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for transmitting control information.

BACKGROUND

Downlink in current radio cellular communications generally refers to that a base station sends a signal to a terminal UE. In a Long Time Evolution (LTE) system of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), downlink physical channels may be divided into a data channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a synchronization channel, a paging channel, a multicast channel, and the like according to functions. A downlink physical data channel in LTE includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH, Physical Downlink Control Channel), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH, Physical Control Format Indicator Channel), and a physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH, Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel). In addition, broadcast information is transmitted in two parts, where a most basic master information block (MIB, Master Information Block) of the broadcast information is transmitted on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH, Physical Broadcast Channel), and another remaining system information block (SIB, System Information Block) of the broadcast information is transmitted on a PDSCH.

Content transmitted on a PDCCH channel is downlink control information (DCI, Downlink Control Information), which corresponds to downlink and uplink control information. For example, after allocating and scheduling some resources to a UE, a base station (eNodeB) needs to indicate, to the UE, information such as a position, a size, and a modulation manner of these resources on a PDSCH, and for another example, uplink power control information and an uplink resource grant are both informed to a UE through the PDCCH. After a UE demodulates its own DCI, data can be further demodulated on a PDSCH according to the control information. Because a type of control information that is corresponding to a different transmission mode or situation and required by a UE is very different, different DCI formats are defined in LTE to classify the DCI, and merely control information that is corresponding to a current situation and required by the UE needs to be placed in the DCI, with no need to place control information under all situations in one piece of DCI for transmission, thereby reducing an overhead of downlink control information to a great extent. Because content of the DCI is 0-1 bit, the DCI cannot be directly sent, and a series of processing is further required. In LTE, something obtained after the DCI undergoes a series of processing procedures such as channel coding and modulation is called a CCE.

A PBCH is a physical broadcast channel defined in LTE, and is used for transmitting broadcast information, where content thereof is an MIB with 14-bit information. The PBCH does not appear in each subframe (each subframe lasts for 1 millisecond), but appears four times in one cycle, where every 40 milliseconds are one cycle. The MIB stores most basic broadcast information, which includes 4-bit bandwidth information, 2-bit PHICH configuration information, and an 8-bit system frame number. All remaining broadcast information SIBs are transmitted on a PDSCH.

A PHICH is used for transmitting an HARQ response of a physical uplink data channel, that is, an eNodeB informs, by using this channel, a UE whether a certain block of data on the physical uplink data channel of the UE is transmitted successfully. A PCFICH is used for indicating that in a current subframe, the first several OFDM symbols are used as control channels (PDCCH, PHICH, and PCFICH).

In a discussion of 3GPP LTE Release 11, the following scenario is involved: Several other base stations (remote radio unit (RRHs) or antenna unit (AUs)) are deployed in a coverage area of a base station, where in the 3GPP, these additional base stations (RRHs or AUs) and the original base station are collectively called a transmission point (TP), and the TP is more a name in a logical sense. In a typical scenario of the 3GPP, a cell ID same as that of an original base station is configured for all additionally deployed base stations in a coverage area of the original base station (which is generally a macro base station). Because in an existing system of LTE Release 10 or an earlier version, one cell ID uniquely corresponds to one TP, when the existing system of LTE Release 10 or an earlier version are used for a plurality of TPs having a same cell ID, a problem that cannot be solved in the prior art occurs, for example, a problem that a control channel capacity is limited. That a control channel capacity is limited refers to that in a scenario in which a plurality of TPs have a same cell ID, because each TP serves several UEs, the total number of UEs in a cell is several times that in a scenario in which one cell ID uniquely corresponds to one eNodeB. Therefore, a situation that a capacity of a control channel (for example, a PDCCH) is insufficient occurs. In addition, because a UE can demodulate a data channel only after demodulating its control information, if no control channel resource is allocated to the UE, data transmission of the UE cannot be performed. Therefore, system throughput is limited by the capacity of the control channel.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for transmitting control information, so as to solve a problem that a control channel capacity is limited.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for transmitting control information, where the method includes: grouping UEs in a cell, and obtaining second control information of each UE group after grouping; performing joint channel coding on the second control information of each UE group; obtaining first control information, and transmitting the first control information to the UEs in the cell, where the first control information includes indication information of the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group, so as to obtain the second control information according to the indication information; and transmitting the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group to the UEs in the cell.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing control information, including a first control information processing unit and a second control information processing unit, where the second control information processing unit is configured to group UEs in a cell, obtain second control information of each UE group after grouping, perform joint channel coding on the second control information of each UE group, and map the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group to a data channel; and the first control information processing unit is configured to obtain first control information, and map the first control information to a transmission channel, where the first control information includes indication information of the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group, so that the second control information processing unit obtains the second control information according to the indication information.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for processing control information, where the method includes: obtaining first control information of each UE group, obtaining, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group, and demodulating, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, a data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing control information, including a first control information processing unit and a second control information processing unit, where the first control information processing unit is configured to demodulate first control information of each UE group, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group; and the second control information processing unit is configured to demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, a data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group.

In the foregoing method and apparatus, UEs in a cell are grouped, and joint coding and transmission are performed on control information of a UE level in each group, which can significantly improve transmission efficiency of the control information, thereby improving a system capacity of a network, solving a problem that a control channel capacity is limited, and improving user experience of a network user.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

As shown inFIG. 1, in an application scenario in the embodiments of the present invention, several TPs (which are equivalent to small base stations or micro base stations in LTE) are deployed in a coverage area of a central unit (CU, Central Unit, which is equivalent to a macro base station in LTE), and a same cell ID is configured for the TPs and the CU, or a same virtual cell ID is configured for the TPs and the CU. That a same virtual cell ID is configured refers to that some same radio resources associated with the virtual cell ID, that is, control information and a physical channel transmitting the control information, are configured for the TPs and the CU. The TPs and the CU are connected in a wired or wireless manner, and the TPs and the CU may serve a UE independently or jointly. All UEs covered by the CU are a UE set used for grouping in the current application scenario. It should be noted that the CU can also send a signal to serve a UE, and therefore the CU is also a TP.

As shown inFIG. 2, in another application scenario in the embodiments of the present invention, a same cell ID or a same virtual cell ID is configured for several TPs. That a same virtual cell ID is configured for the TPs refers to that some same radio resources associated with the virtual cell ID, that is, control information and a physical channel transmitting the control information, are configured for the TPs. In this case, functions of a CU may be dispersed to TPs for execution, or a device serving as a CU may be connected between TPs. In this case, the TPs may be RRUs, AUs, or RRHs, which do not have a baseband signal processing capability, and all baseband signal processing is implemented on a CU side. All UEs belonging to the virtual cell ID are a UE set used for grouping in the current application scenario.

For the foregoing UE set that is covered by a plurality of TPs and used for grouping, the UE set is grouped first. It should be noted that at least one UE group is obtained after grouping, and each UE group includes at least one UE.

A UE grouping manner includes:

1) Group UEs having a similar signal to interference noise ratio (SINR, Signal to Interference Noise Ratio) or received signal power into a UE group, where the similarity refers to that a threshold is set, and if a difference between two target values is less than the threshold, it may be considered that the target values are similar. For example, UEs in a central area and an edge area of a coverage area are grouped into two UE groups, that is, UEs with a higher SINR or received power are grouped into one UE group (corresponding to the central area), and UEs with a lower SINR or received power are grouped into another UE group (corresponding to the edge area). For another example, it may also be that UEs in a central area within a coverage area of a CU are grouped into one UE group, and UEs in an edge area in the coverage area of the CU are grouped into one UE group, where different TPs provide a service for the two UE groups;

2) Group UEs belonging to a same TP or belonging to a plurality of same TPs into a same UE group, where that the UEs belong to a TP refers to that the UEs select, according to a certain rule, one or more TPs as a serving TP of the UEs, and then only use the one or more TPs to serve the UEs for data transmission. If the UEs select a plurality of TPs, it generally refers to that the plurality of TPs cooperates to serve the UEs, for example, by using joint transmission.

Considering that downlink control information refers to control information and broadcast information, after the foregoing UE grouping is complete, the control information may be divided into three levels: a cell level, a UE group level, and a UE level. For example, control information of the cell level refers to control information applicable to a whole cell, for example, a bandwidth used by a current system, where the control information is transmitted in a broadcast form.

In the embodiment of the present invention, most basic control information of the cell level that is transmitted in the broadcast form is called first broadcast information, and a physical channel for carrying the first broadcast information is called a first broadcast channel. Remaining broadcast information is called second broadcast information. An LTE system is used as an example, the first broadcast information may be corresponding to an MIB, the second broadcast information may be corresponding to an SIB, and a physical channel for carrying the SIB is a PDSCH.

Control information of the UE group level is control information corresponding to the UE group level. In the embodiment of the present invention, the control information of the UE group level is called first control information of the UE group. Control information of the UE level is control information of each UE in a UE group. In the embodiment of the present invention, the control information of the UE level is called second control information, and further, second control information of a UE group includes second control information of all UEs belonging to the UE group.

Content of the first control information may be a UE ID of a scheduled UE, and indication information, such as a starting position and a size of an occupied resource, of second control information that is of a UE group and is transmitted on a data channel. If adaptive modulation and (channel) coding (AMC, Adaptive Modulation and Coding) is used for the second control information on the data channel, the first control information further includes an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS, Modulation and Coding Scheme). The scheduled UE refers to a UE having control information in a current time unit. The control information may be an indication of downlink transmission for the UE after scheduling is performed, and may also be an uplink grant (UL grant) for the UE, for example, power control information.

An LTE system is used as an example, DCI and control information carried on a PHICH are corresponding to the second control information. If many types of control information may be classified as the second control information, the many types of control information may be combined for processing and considered as the second control information, or processed at several times.

A method for transmitting control information in an embodiment of the present invention multiplexes the foregoing manner for processing control information (first broadcast information) of a cell level. In addition, information shared by all UE groups in a cell, for example, whether a type of UE grouping in a current cell is based on a TP, or based on a center area or an edge area of a coverage area, may further be added to the first broadcast information. Specifically, several manners may be agreed on a CU side and a UE side, for example: (1) grouping UEs based on a TP; and (2) grouping UEs based on a central area and an edge area of a coverage area. Bit allocation is performed for the foregoing two grouping types. For example, a 14th bit indicates this information, a bit value of 0 indicates that UE grouping is performed based on a TP, and a bit value of 1 indicates that UE grouping is performed based on a central area and an edge area of a coverage area, which is shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1Example of a structure of first broadcast informationOffsetContentValue0-13Existing content,for example, contentin an MIB14Manner of UEA bit value of 0 indicates thatgrouping in a cellUE grouping is performed based ona TP, and a bit value of 1 indicatesthat grouping is performed based ona central area and an edge area of acoverage area.

Then, the CU sets this flag bit according to the manner of UE grouping in the current cell. When receiving the first broadcast information, a UE can learn the manner of UE grouping in the current cell by reading a value of the flag bit.

As shown inFIG. 3, in an embodiment of the present invention, a method for processing first broadcast information includes:

Step301: Group UEs in a cell.

Step302: Set a flag bit, indicating a manner of UE grouping in the cell, in first broadcast information.

Step303: Transmit the first broadcast information with the flag bit within a range of the cell.

In the foregoing step301, the UEs in the cell are grouped according to the foregoing grouping method.

In the foregoing step302, if the flag bit is 0, it indicates that UE grouping is performed based on a TP; and if the flag bit is 1, it indicates that grouping is performed based on a central area and an edge area of a coverage area.

In the foregoing step303, when receiving the first broadcast information, the UEs learn the manner of UE grouping in the current cell by reading a value of the flag bit.

As shown inFIG. 4, in an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus400for processing first broadcast information, which is corresponding to the foregoing method for processing first broadcast information, includes:

a UE grouping unit401, configured to group UEs in a cell, where a grouping manner is as described previously;

a first broadcast information processing unit402, configured to set a flag bit, indicating a manner of UE grouping in the cell, in first broadcast information, where if the flag bit is 0, it indicates that UE grouping is performed based on a TP; and if the flag bit is 1, it indicates that grouping is performed based on a central area and an edge area of a coverage area;

a third broadcast and control information processing unit403, configured to process broadcast or control information except the first broadcast information;

a resource mapping and multiplexing unit404, configured to place different broadcast and control information together in a certain manner, and perform allocation between TPs; and

a transmitting unit405, configured to transmit the foregoing processed information through an antenna.

A specific product form of the apparatus400may be a CU, and may further be a macro base station in the cell, or a TP designated as a CU in the cell.

In the embodiments of the present invention, control information (first control information) of a UE group level may be transmitted in a plurality of manners. As shown inFIG. 5,FIG. 10, andFIG. 15, a horizontal coordinate is a time axis, one square block in the figures is corresponding to a time unit for single processing (which may be corresponding to one subframe lasting for 1 millisecond in LTE), a left part of the figures is a control information area for transmitting control information except broadcast information and second control information, and a right part of the figures is a data channel area for transmitting data or the second control information.

Corresponding to the three manners inFIG. 5,FIG. 10, andFIG. 15, a manner for transmitting control information is as follows:

As shown inFIG. 5, first control information of a UE group is transmitted in a control channel area.FIG. 6shows a method for transmitting control information based onFIG. 5.

First, a CU performs scheduling. The scheduling refers to that the CU, according to a factor, such as a data queue of UEs, current and previous channel conditions, or QoS (Quality of Service), determines whether data is sent for a UE, how much data is sent, a position of data on a data channel, and so on; or determines whether a UE is allowed to send data (that is, the uplink grant of the UE mentioned above), how much data is sent, a position of data on a uplink data channel, and so on. For UEs having control information (second control information) of a UE level in a current processing time unit, the UE grouping described above is complete.

As shown inFIG. 6, a method for transmitting control information based on a first transmission manner (corresponding to that shown inFIG. 5) includes:

Step601: Transmit first broadcast information in a cell to UEs in the cell on a first broadcast channel.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell.

Step602: Transmit first control information of each UE group to the UEs in the cell in a control channel area, where the first control information includes indication information of second control information of each UE group, so as to obtain the second control information according to the indication information.

Step603: Map the second control information of each UE group to a data channel.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on the data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

When the second control information is mapped to the data channel, a centralized manner may be used, that is, second control information of a UE group is continuously mapped to the data channel. In addition, a distributed manner may also be used, that is, second control information of a UE group is dispersedly mapped to the data channel in a certain manner, for example, mapped at a regular interval. No matter which manner is used, the UEs can obtain the second control information from the data channel by demapping.

Step604: Transmit the second control information to the UEs in the cell on the data channel.

The second control information is transmitted on a TP to which a UE group thereof belongs, that is, if there is a plurality of UE groups, the second control information of each UE group is transmitted only on a TP corresponding to the UE group, which is greatly different from a situation in the background that the second control information is transmitted on all TPs in the cell.

As shown inFIG. 7, an apparatus700for processing control information based onFIG. 5according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a first broadcast information processing unit701, configured to map first broadcast information in a cell to a first broadcast channel, where the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell;

a first control information processing unit702, configured to map first control information of each UE group into a control channel area, where the first control information of each UE group includes indication information of second control information of each UE group; the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel; and if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information;

a second control information processing unit703, configured to map the second control information of each UE group to the data channel, where the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding;

a third broadcast and control information processing unit704, configured to process broadcast or control information except the first broadcast information; and

a resource mapping and multiplexing unit705, configured to associate broadcast and control information in the cell with a physical resource, and perform allocation between TPs, where the performing allocation between TPs may be allocating the second control information of each UE group only to a TP corresponding to the UE group.

A specific product form of the apparatus700may be a CU or a TP.

As shown inFIG. 8, a method for processing UE control information based onFIG. 5according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

Step801: Demodulate a first broadcast channel, and obtain first broadcast information.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell.

Step802: Demodulate first control information of each UE group in a control channel area, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

Step803: Demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

If demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed.

It should be noted that in a situation shown inFIG. 5, a first broadcast channel may not exist in each processing time unit, but may emerge once in a relatively long cycle (for example, the cycle of the first broadcast channel is set to 40 milliseconds in LTE). If a first broadcast channel does not exist in a current processing time unit, content that is of a first broadcast channel and is last transmitted may be used as the first broadcast information.

As shown inFIG. 9, an apparatus900for processing control information based onFIG. 5according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a resource demapping and demultiplexing unit901, configured to demultiplex and disassociate broadcast information, control information, and a physical resource;

a first broadcast information processing unit902, configured to demodulate a first broadcast channel, and obtain first broadcast information, where the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell;

a first control information processing unit903, configured to demodulate first control information of each UE group in a control channel area, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group, where the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information; and

if demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed; and

a second control information processing unit904, configured to demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group, where

the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

A specific product form of the apparatus900may be UEs in various forms.

As shown inFIG. 10, first broadcast information and first control information of a UE group are cascaded and placed in a first broadcast channel for transmission, if a capacity of the first broadcast channel is insufficient, modification may be made for the first broadcast channel, for example, to improve a code rate of channel coding, reduce a cycle, and increase an occupied resource.

FIG. 11shows a method for transmitting control information based onFIG. 10according to the present invention.

First, a CU performs scheduling. The scheduling refers to that the CU, according to a factor, such as a data queue of UEs, current and previous channel conditions, or QoS (Quality of Service), determines whether data is sent for a UE, how much data is sent, a position of data on a data channel, and so on; or determines whether a UE is allowed to send data (that is, the uplink grant of the UE mentioned above), how much data is sent, a position of data on a uplink data channel, and so on. For UEs having control information (second control information) of a UE level in a current processing time unit, the UE grouping described above is complete.

The method for transmitting control information based onFIG. 10includes:

Step1101: Transmit first broadcast information in a cell and first control information of each UE group to UEs in the cell on a first broadcast channel, where the first control information includes indication information of second control information of each UE group, so as to obtain the second control information according to the indication information.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell.

Step1102: Map the second control information of each UE group to a data channel.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on the data channel; If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

When the second control information is mapped to the data channel, a centralized manner may be used, that is, second control information of a UE group is continuously mapped to the data channel. In addition, a distributed manner may be also used, that is, second control information of a UE group is dispersedly mapped to the data channel in a certain manner, for example, mapped at a regular interval. No matter which manner is used, the UEs can obtain the second control information from the data channel by demapping.

Step1103: Transmit the second control information to the UEs in the cell on the data channel.

The second control information is transmitted on a TP to which a UE group thereof belongs, that is, if there is a plurality of UE groups, the second control information of each UE group is transmitted only on a TP corresponding to the UE group, which is greatly different from a situation in the background that the second control information is transmitted on all TPs in the cell.

As shown inFIG. 12, an apparatus1200for processing control information based onFIG. 10according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a first broadcast information and first control information processing unit1201, configured to map first broadcast information in a cell and first control information of each UE group to a first broadcast channel, where the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell;

a second control information processing unit1202, configured to map second control information of each UE group to a data channel, where the first control information of each UE group includes indication information of the second control information of each UE group; the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on the data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information; and

the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding;

a third broadcast and control information processing unit1203, configured to process broadcast or control information except the first broadcast information, where this part may continue to use the prior art, and is not content of the present invention; and

a resource mapping and multiplexing unit1205, configured to associate broadcast and control information in the cell with a physical resource, and perform allocation between TPs, where the performing allocation between TPs may be allocating the second control information of each UE group only to a TP corresponding to the UE group.

A specific product form of the apparatus1200may be a CU or a TP.

As shown inFIG. 13, a method for a UE to process control information based onFIG. 10according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

Step1301: Demodulate a first broadcast channel, obtain first broadcast information and first control information of each UE group, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell.

Step1302: Demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

If demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed.

It should be noted that in a situation shown inFIG. 10, a first broadcast channel may not exist in each processing time unit, but may emerge once in a relatively long cycle (for example, the cycle of the first broadcast channel is set to 40 milliseconds in LTE). If a first broadcast channel does not exist in a current processing time unit, content that is of a first broadcast channel and is last transmitted may be used as the first broadcast information and the first control information of each UE group.

In addition, corresponding to the situation shown inFIG. 10, if except the first broadcast information, the first control information, and the second control information, no other broadcast or control information exists in a current system, a control channel area may not need to be reserved.

As shown inFIG. 14, an apparatus1400for processing control information based onFIG. 10according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a resource demapping and demultiplexing unit1401, configured to demultiplex and disassociate broadcast information, control information, and a physical resource;

a first broadcast information and first control information processing unit1402, configured to demodulate a first broadcast channel, obtain first broadcast information and first control information of each UE group, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group, where the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information; and

the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell; and

a second control information processing unit1403, configured to demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group, where

the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

As shown inFIG. 15, first control information may be provided by using upper-layer signaling, where the upper-layer signaling refers to signaling initiated by layer 2 and layer 3, and may be corresponding to RRC signaling in LTE.

FIG. 16shows a method for transmitting control information based onFIG. 15according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, a CU performs scheduling. The scheduling refers to that the CU, according to a factor, such as a data queue of UEs, current and previous channel conditions, or QoS (Quality of Service), determines whether data is sent for a UE, how much data is sent, a position of data on a data channel, and so on; or determines whether a UE is allowed to send data (that is, the uplink grant of the UE mentioned above), how much data is sent, a position of data on a uplink data channel, and so on. For UEs having control information (second control information) of a UE level in a current processing time unit, the UE grouping described above is complete.

The method for transmitting control information based onFIG. 15includes:

Step1601: Transmit first broadcast information in a cell to UEs in the cell on a first broadcast channel.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell.

Step1602: Transmit first control information of each UE group to the UEs in the cell by using upper-layer signaling, where the first control information includes indication information of second control information of each UE group, so as to obtain the second control information according to the indication information.

Step1603: Map the second control information of each UE group to a data channel.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on the data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

When the second control information is mapped to the data channel, a centralized manner may be used, that is, second control information of a UE group is continuously mapped to the data channel. In addition, a distributed manner may also be used, that is, second control information of a UE group is dispersedly mapped to the data channel in a certain manner, for example, mapped at a regular interval. No matter which manner is used, the UEs can obtain the second control information from the data channel by demapping.

Step1604: Transmit the second control information to the UEs in the cell on the data channel.

The second control information is transmitted on a TP to which a UE group thereof belongs, that is, if there is a plurality of UE groups, the second control information of each UE group is transmitted only on a TP corresponding to the UE group, which is greatly different from a situation in the background that the second control information is transmitted on all TPs in the cell.

As shown inFIG. 17, an apparatus1700for processing control information based onFIG. 15according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a first broadcast information processing unit1701, configured to map first broadcast information in a cell to a first broadcast channel, where the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell;

a third broadcast and control information processing unit1702, configured to process broadcast or control information except the first broadcast information;

a first control information processing unit1704, configured to convert first control information of each UE group to a format of upper-layer signaling;

a second control information processing unit1703, configured to map second control information of each UE group to a data channel, where the first control information of each UE group includes indication information of the second control information of each UE group; the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on the data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information; and

the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding;

a resource mapping and multiplexing unit1705, configured to associate broadcast and control information in the cell with a physical resource, and perform allocation between TPs, where the performing allocation between TPs may be allocating the second control information of each UE group only to a TP corresponding to the UE group; and functions of this unit in the prior art can continue to be used, except for a difference in allocation between TPs; and

an upper-layer signaling mapping unit1706, configured to map the first control information and other upper-layer signaling together to the data channel in a certain manner.

A specific product form of the apparatus1700may be a CU or a TP.

As shown inFIG. 18, a method (UE side) for a UE to process control information based onFIG. 15according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

Step1801: Demodulate a first broadcast channel, and obtain first broadcast information.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell.

Step1802: Obtain first control information of each UE group from last upper-layer signaling, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

Step1803: Demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

If demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed.

It should be noted that in a situation shown inFIG. 15, a first broadcast channel may not exist in each processing time unit, but may emerge once in a relatively long cycle (for example, the cycle of the first broadcast channel is set to 40 milliseconds in LTE). If a first broadcast channel does not exist in a current processing time unit, content that is of a first broadcast channel and is last transmitted may be used as the first broadcast information.

In addition, corresponding to the situation shown inFIG. 15, if except the first broadcast information, the first control information, and the second control information, no other broadcast or control information exists in a current system, and a control channel area may not need to be reserved.

As shown inFIG. 19, an apparatus1900for processing control information based onFIG. 15according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a resource demapping and demultiplexing unit1901, configured to demultiplex and disassociate broadcast information, control information, and a physical resource;

a first broadcast information processing unit1902, configured to demodulate a first broadcast channel, and obtain first broadcast information, where the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell;

an upper-layer signaling processing unit1903, configured to obtain first control information of each UE group by using upper-layer signaling, where the first control information of each UE group may be obtained from last upper-layer signaling;

a first control information processing unit1904, configured to demodulate the first control information of each UE group in a control channel area, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group, where the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information; and

if demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed; and

a second control information processing unit1905, configured to demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group, where

the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

A specific product form of the apparatus1900may be UEs in various forms.

Another significant improvement in this solution is that joint channel coding is performed on control information (second control information) of a UE level in a UE group. The prior art in LTE is as shown inFIG. 20. As shown inFIG. 21, the joint channel coding refers to that second control information of each UE in a UE group is cascaded for channel coding, which includes:

Step2101: Multiplex a UE ID and second control information of a UE.

The multiplexing a UE ID and second control information of a UE refers to that multiplexed information includes the UE ID. The including the UE ID includes two manners: Manner 1: An ID value of the UE is added based on the second control information, for example, in the front or in the back of the second control information; Manner 2: A different CRC sequence is designated for a different UE ID, and then a CRC check value is calculated for the second control information by using the CRC sequence; when detection is performed at a receiving end, only if data is correct in a transmitting process and a correct CRC sequence is used, the second control information can be demodulated. In this manner, the UE ID is implicitly included in the multiplexed information.

Step2102: Perform channel coding on the multiplexed information.

The channel coding, in addition to conventional channel coding such as convolutional coding and Turbo coding, may also be a coding manner such as spread spectrum coding or repetition coding. A different code rate may be used as a configuration parameter of the channel coding, and generally, rate matching may be performed for data for which channel coding has been performed. With reference to three modulation manners QPSK/16QAM/64QAM inFIG. 4, the second control information may be processed according to a certain combination of a code rate of channel coding and a modulation manner, namely AMC. The AMC refers to changing a code rate of channel coding and a modulation manner (MCS) according to a channel condition. Compared with a data channel, many types of MCSs may be used, and when channel coding and modulation are performed on the second control information of the UE, rough AMC may be used, that is, only several types of MCSs may be used. It should be noted that because an MCS needs to correspond to a channel quality condition, performance may be worse than that before the AMC is performed if matching is not well performed. Therefore, during MCS selection, an MCS corresponding to a UE with a worst channel condition in a UE group needs to be selected as an MCS used by the whole UE group. It should be noted that, generally, a criterion according to which UE grouping is performed is that UEs with a similar channel condition are grouped into one group as far as possible.

Step2103: Multiplex the data that undergoes the channel coding on a data channel.

That is, the data for which channel coding has been performed needs to be mapped to the data channel. The mapping refers to that a physical resource of the data channel is occupied in a certain manner. A possible manner may be that second control information of UEs in different UE groups may occupy different physical resources or a same physical resource, or mapping is performed after second control information of UEs in a plurality of UE groups may be spliced and cascaded into an allocation unit of the data channel. That the second control information of the UEs in different UE groups occupies a same physical resource is a spatial multiplexing manner. The spatial multiplexing refers to that a plurality of data flows is simultaneously transmitted on a same resource. Corresponding to the present invention, second control information or data channels of UEs in different UE groups may be simultaneously transmitted on a same resource. Generally, to perform spatial multiplexing, a channel feature needs to meet a certain condition, for example, a situation that UE groups are far away from each other in a geographic location; and in this case, even if transmission is performed on a same resource, no strong interference exists between each other.

The foregoing AMC and spatial multiplexing are common mechanisms used in a data channel, and in this embodiment of the present invention, are used for second control information of UEs of a UE group after grouping, which can significantly improve transmission efficiency of the second control information. In addition, a mechanism of the data channel may also be precoding (precoding, also called beamforming), that is, control information of UEs of a same UE group is precoded by using a same precoding vector.

As shown inFIG. 22, an apparatus2200for performing joint channel coding on second control information of UEs of a UE group according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

an information multiplexing unit2201, configured to multiplex a UE ID and second control information of a UE, as described in content of step2101;

a channel coding unit2202, configured to perform channel coding on the multiplexed information, as described in content of step2102; and

a data channel multiplexing unit2203, configured to multiplex the data that undergoes channel coding on a data channel, as described in content of step2103.

A specific product form of the apparatus2200may be a CU or a TP.

As shown inFIG. 23, a method for transmitting control information according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

Step2301: Group UEs in a cell, and obtain second control information of each UE group after grouping.

The UEs in the cell are grouped in the foregoing grouping manner. A flag bit indicating the grouping manner is added in first broadcast information, and transmitted in the cell.

Step2302: Perform joint channel coding on the second control information of each UE group.

For the joint channel coding, reference may be made to the foregoing method for joint channel coding.

Step2303: Obtain first control information, and transmit the first control information to the UEs in the cell, where the first control information includes indication information of the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group, so as to obtain the second control information according to the indication information.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

The first control information may be mapped to a control channel, so that the first control information is transmitted in the control channel.

The first control information may be mapped to a first broadcast channel, so that the first control information is transmitted on the first broadcast channel.

The first control information may be mapped to upper-layer signaling, so that the first control information is transmitted by using the upper-layer signaling. The upper-layer signaling refers to signaling initiated by layer 2 and layer 3.

Step2304: Transmit the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group to the UEs in the cell.

After joint channel coding is performed on the second control information of each UE group, the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group is mapped to the data channel, so that the second control information is transmitted.

The second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group is transmitted on a TP to which the UE group belongs. That is, if there is a plurality of UE groups, the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group is transmitted only on a TP corresponding to the UE group.

When the second control information on which joint channel coding has been performed is transmitted on the data channel, a centralized manner may be used, that is, second control information of a UE group is continuously transmitted on a physical channel as a whole block. In addition, a distributed manner may also be used, that is, on a physical channel, second control information of a UE group is divided, in a certain manner, into a plurality of blocks for transmission. For example, second control information of a UE group is divided into a plurality of blocks for transmission at a regular interval.

As shown inFIG. 24, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus2400for processing control information, including:

a first broadcast information processing unit2401, configured to map first broadcast information in a cell to a first broadcast channel, where

the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in the current cell; and

in an embodiment of the present invention, the first broadcast information processing unit may also map first control information to the first broadcast channel;

a second control information processing unit2402, configured to group UEs in the cell, obtain second control information of each UE group after grouping, perform joint channel coding on the second control information of each UE group, and map the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group to a data channel;

a first control information processing unit2403, configured to obtain first control information, and map the first control information to a transmission channel, where the first control information includes indication information of the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group; the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group on the data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information;

the first control information may be mapped to a control channel;

the first control information may be mapped to the first broadcast channel; and

the first control information may be mapped to upper-layer signaling; and the upper-layer signaling refers to signaling initiated by layer 2 and layer 3;

a third broadcast and control information processing unit2404, configured to process broadcast or control information except the first broadcast information; and

a resource mapping and multiplexing unit2405, configured to associate broadcast and control information in the cell with a physical resource, and perform allocation between TPs, where the performing allocation between TPs may be allocating the second control information, on which joint channel coding has been performed, of each UE group only to a TP corresponding to the UE group; and functions of this unit in the prior art can continue to be used, except for a difference in allocation between TPs.

A specific product form of the apparatus2400may be a CU or a TP.

As shown inFIG. 25, a method for processing control information according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

Step2501: Demodulate a first broadcast channel, and obtain first broadcast information.

The first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell.

Step2502: Obtain first control information of each UE group, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group.

The indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel. If AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information.

The first control information may be obtained from a control channel.

The first control information may be obtained from the first broadcast channel.

The first control information may be obtained from upper-layer signaling. The upper-layer signaling refers to signaling initiated by layer 2 and layer 3.

Step2503: Demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group.

The second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

If demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed.

As shown inFIG. 26, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus2600for processing control information, including:

a resource demapping and demultiplexing unit2601, configured to demultiplex and disassociate broadcast information, control information, and a physical resource;

a first broadcast information processing unit2602, configured to demodulate a first broadcast channel, and obtain first broadcast information, where the first broadcast information may include a flag bit indicating a manner of UE grouping in a current cell; and

in an embodiment of the present invention, the first broadcast information processing unit may also obtain first control information by demodulating the first broadcast channel;

a first control information processing unit2603, configured to demodulate first control information of each UE group, and obtain, according to the first control information, indication information of second control information of each UE group, where the indication information includes a position and a size of the second control information of each UE group on a data channel; if AMC is used for the second control information on the data channel, MCS indication information and the like of the second control information of each UE group may be further obtained according to the first control information;

if demodulated content of the first control information is corresponding to uplink control information of the UE group, a corresponding operation is performed;

the first control information may be obtained from a control channel;

the first control information may be obtained from the first broadcast channel;

the first control information may be obtained from upper-layer signaling; and the upper-layer signaling refers to signaling initiated by layer 2 and layer 3; and

a second control information processing unit2604, configured to demodulate, according to the indication information of the second control information of each UE group, the data channel to obtain the second control information of each UE group, where

the second control information of each UE group undergoes joint channel coding.

A specific product form of the apparatus2600may be UEs in various forms.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that all or part of the processes of the methods in the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by a computer program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program runs, it may include the processes of the methods in the foregoing embodiments. The storage medium may be a magnetic disc, an optical disc, a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), or a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM).

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merely intended for describing the technical solutions of the present invention rather than limiting the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they may still make modifications or equivalent replacements to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.