Patent Description:
Using the <NUM>. 11ac infrastructure mode of operation, the AP/PCP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, usually the primary channel. This channel may be <NUM> wide, and is the operating channel of the BSS. This channel is also used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP/PCP. The fundamental channel access mechanism in an <NUM> system is Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA). In this mode of operation, every STA, including the AP/PCP, will sense the primary channel. If the channel is detected to be busy, the STA backs off. Hence only one STA may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

11n, High Throughput (HT) STAs may also use a <NUM> wide channel for communication. This is achieved by combining the primary <NUM> channel, with an adjacent <NUM> channel to form a <NUM> wide contiguous channel.

11ac, Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> wide channels. The <NUM>, and <NUM>, channels are formed by combining contiguous <NUM> channels, similar to <NUM>. 11n described above. A <NUM> channel may be formed either by combining <NUM> contiguous <NUM> channels, or by combining two non-contiguous <NUM> channels; this may also be referred to as an <NUM>+<NUM> configuration. For the <NUM>+<NUM> configuration, the data, after channel encoding, is passed through a segment parser that divides it into two streams. Inverse fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) and time domain processing are done on each stream separately. The streams are then mapped on to the two channels, and the data is transmitted. At the receiver, this mechanism is reversed, and the combined data is sent to the MAC.

11af and <NUM>. For these specifications the channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced relative to those used in <NUM>. 11n and <NUM>. A possible use case for <NUM>. 11ah is support for Meter Type Control (MTC) devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have limited capabilities including only support for limited bandwidths, but also include a requirement for a very long battery life.

WLAN systems which support multiple channels, and channel widths, such as <NUM>. 11n, <NUM>. 11ac, <NUM>. 11af, and <NUM>. 11ah include a channel which is designated as the primary channel. The bandwidth of the primary channel is therefore limited by the particular STA, out of all STAs operating in a given BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. 11ah, the primary channel may be <NUM> wide if there are STAs (e.g. MTC type devices) that only support a <NUM> mode even if the AP/PCP, and other STAs in the BSS, may support a <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or other channel bandwidth operating modes. All carrier sensing, and NAV settings, depend on the status of the primary channel; i.e., if the primary channel is busy, for example, due to an STA supporting only a <NUM> operating mode transmitting to the AP/PCP, then the entire available frequency bands are considered busy even though majority of them stay idle and available.

In the United States, the available frequency bands which may be used by <NUM>. 11ah are from <NUM> to <NUM>. In Korea they are from <NUM> to <NUM>; and in Japan, they are from <NUM> to <NUM>.

To improve spectral efficiency, <NUM>. 11ac has introduced the concept of downlink Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) transmission to multiple STAs in the same symbol's time frame, e.g. during a downlink OFDM symbol. It is important to note that with MU-MIMO, as it is used in <NUM>. 11ac, interference of the waveform transmissions to multiple STAs is not an issue. However, all STAs involved in a MU-MIMO transmission with the AP/PCP must use the same channel or band and this limits the operating bandwidth to the smallest channel bandwidth that is supported by the STAs which are included in the MU-MIMO transmission with the AP/PCP.

<CIT> (<NUM>-<NUM>-<NUM>), discloses the transmission of QAM symbols over two spatially-combined single carrier channels, according to a space-time block coding, STBC, technique.

Systems and methods described herein are provided for millimeter wave transmission modulations, and preamble designs. Addressed herein are techniques for dual-pipelined modulation, a redesigned OFDM PPDU format, and a means for more reliable transmission of Control PHY in WLAN.

Task Group ay (TGay), approved by the IEEE in March <NUM>, is expected to develop an amendment that defines standardized modifications to both the IEEE <NUM> physical layers (PHY) and the IEEE <NUM>,<NUM> medium access control layer (MAC). The amendment hopes to enable at least one mode of operation capable of supporting a maximum throughput of at least <NUM> gigabits per second (measured at the MAC data service access point), while maintaining or improving the power efficiency per station. This amendment may also define operation parameters for license-exempt bands above <NUM> while ensuring backward compatibility and coexistence with legacy directional multi-gigabit stations (defined by the IEEE <NUM>. 11ad-<NUM> amendment) operating in the same band.

Although much higher maximum throughput than that of <NUM>. 11ad is the primary goal of TGay, there are possibilities to include mobility and outdoor support. Since <NUM>. 11ay will operate in the same band as legacy standards, it is essential that new systems and methods ensure backward compatibility and coexistence with legacy standards in the same band.

Disclosed in the balance of this detailed description is a teaching of a modulation and preamble design for millimeter waves. At least one embodiment takes the form of a process that comprises receiving, at a transmitter, a set of bits. The process further comprises generating at least two complex-valued symbols based on the set of bits using a pipelined modulation at least in part by (i) mapping the set of bits to a first symbol using a first constellation mapping and (ii) mapping the set of bits to a second symbol using a second constellation mapping. The process further comprises selecting a first data communication resource in a first single carrier channel for the first symbol and selecting a second data communication resource in a second single carrier channel for the second symbol. The process further comprises transmitting, via the transmitter, the first and second symbols using the respective selected data communication resources.

In at least one embodiment, the first single carrier channel and the second single carrier channel have the same center frequency. As both channels are single carrier frequency channels (i.e., not channels that employ some form of frequency division multiplexing e.g., OFDM channels), it is necessary to have temporally and or spatially distinct communication channels. Otherwise, interference would prevent a receiver from being able to distinguish between the two symbols. The first data communication resource may be a first spatial stream of a MIMO transmission and the second data communication resource may be a second spatial stream of the MIMO transmission. Instead, or additionally, the second data communication resource may be temporally offset from the first data communication resource. In a further embodiment, the first single carrier channel and the second single carrier channel are channel bonded.

In a different embodiment, the first single carrier channel and the second single carrier channel have different center frequencies and together constitute a carrier-aggregated channel. Carrier aggregation is a technology to combine two or more carriers into one data channel to enhance the data capacity. It is possible to combine carriers in the same or different frequency bands. Carrier aggregation is often referred to as channel bonding in certain fields related to the present art. Like the previous example, the second data communication resource may be temporally offset from the first data communication resource.

In at least one embodiment, the first constellation mapping and the second constellation mapping are selected such that adjacent constellations point pairs in the first mapping are non-adjacent in the second mapping. This helps to improve the effectiveness of a maximum likelihood decoding scheme at a receiver as respective constellation point pairs will have uncommon neighbors.

In at least one embodiment, the first constellation mapping and the second constellation mapping each map the set of bits to different constellation signal points. That is to say the mappings each map the set of bits to different IQ values. A variety of means may be carried out to map the set of bits to different constellation signal points. In one example, a first constellation is a square constellation and a second constellation is a circular constellation. In another example, the constellation shapes are both square, however collocated constellation points map to different binary words. Of course, those with skill in the art would be able to list more examples as well, but the listing shall be left as it is for the sake of brevity and in no way by means of limitation.

In at least one embodiment, generating at least two complex-valued symbols using the pipelined modulation further comprises, performing at least one of (i) a bit-wise operation to the set of bits prior to mapping the set of bits to the second symbol and (ii) a symbol-wise operation performed on the first symbol to obtain the second symbol. In such an embodiment, if the two mappings are the same there will exist some diversity between the symbols. Therefore, the mapping of the set of bits to the second symbol may be carried out with a mapping that is the same as the first mapping or a mapping that is different from the first mapping. A bit-wise operation may be a reordering of the set of bits by using circular bit shifts. It could be a permutation applied to the set of bits to reorder the set of bits. Any selective bit flip scheme is valid. In at least one embodiment, the symbol wise operation is time-varying. Other examples of symbol-wise operations include a variety of manipulation of complex values in the IQ space such as rotations, reflections, distortions, and the like.

In some embodiments, mapping the set of bits to the second symbol using the second constellation mapping comprises at least modifying IQ values of the first symbol to generate the second symbol. In this manner, the second symbol may be generated immediately after the first symbol with a minor operation. Often it is preferred to minimize a maximum signal path duration. If both symbols are generated in parallel it would require greater physical hardware resources to accommodate a widened data pathway. Alternatively, if the second symbol is generated from the first, an execution time may slightly increase, however circuit elements are responsibly reused and costs are reduced.

In one embodiment, at least one of the first constellation mapping and the second constellation mapping is a square <NUM>-QAM constellation mapping.

In a plurality of different and related embodiments, allocating the second data communication resource for the second symbol is carried out according to a function that is based on parameters of the first data communication resource. In at least one such embodiment, the transmitter uses a signaling field to indicate the predefined function and the parameters. In another embodiment, the predefined function is based on a chip index of the first data communication resource and allocates a chip index for the second data communication resource that is separated by a coherence time from the first data communication resource. In another embodiment, the predefined function is based on a spatial sample stream index of the first data communication resource. In another embodiment, the predefined function is based on a spatial time stream index of the first data communication resource. In another embodiment, the predefined function is based on a processing-time difference between a first signal processing path that corresponds with the first symbol and a second signal processing path that corresponds with the second symbol.

In at least one embodiment, the transmitter uses a signaling field in a PLCP header to indicate use of pipelined modulation.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises interleaving the first symbol and the second symbol prior to selecting the first and second data communication resources. In this manner, the in-phase data of the first symbol can become the quadrature data of the second symbol and the quadrature data of the second symbol can become the in-phase data of the first symbol. The quadrature data of the first symbol can become the in-phase data of the second symbol and the in-phase data of the second symbol can become the quadrature data of the first symbol as well. Optionally, in case of two modulated symbols do not have the same in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) component, I/Q component-wise interleaving may be applied to them. Then the two newly constructed modulated symbols may be sent over two different resources which could be two different time, frequency, or spatial resources. By doing so, I and Q components of the transmitted symbol may experience independent fading. At a receiver, after I/Q component-wise de-interleaving, the two modulated symbols may be detected by maximum likelihood (ML) criterion.

At least one embodiment of the system and process disclosed herein takes the form of an apparatus that comprises an input, configured to receive a set of bits. The apparatus further comprises, a pipelined constellation point generator, configured to generate complex baseband symbols from the set of bits at least in part by (i) mapping the set of bits to a first symbol using a first constellation mapping and by (ii) mapping the set of bits to a second symbol using a second constellation mapping. The apparatus further comprises, a data communication resource selector, configured to select a first data communication resource in a first single carrier channel for the first symbol and a second data communication resource in a second single carrier channel for the second symbol. The apparatus further comprises a transmitter, having a modulator, configured to transmit the first and second symbols using the respective selected data communication resources.

At least one embodiment of the system and process disclosed herein takes the form of a method that comprises receiving at a transmitter a set of (2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> bits, wherein n can be a positive integer. The method further comprises processing the set of bits in a first signal processing path wherein the processing comprises a conventional even-ordered modulation scheme and allocation to a frequency subcarrier and a spatial resource unit to generate a first mapped symbol mapped to a first constellation point in a complex domain. The method further comprises processing the set of bits in a second signal processing path, wherein the processing comprises (i) reordering the set of bits according to a predefined scheme to generate a reordered set of bits, (ii) modulating the reordered set of bits using an even-ordered modulation scheme to generate a second modulated set of bits, (iii) mapping the second modulated set of bits as a second mapped symbol to a second constellation point in the complex domain, and (iv) allocating the second mapped symbol to a time-frequency-spatial resource based on a predefined function. The method further comprises outputting from the transmitter the first and second and second mapped symbols.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function includes a factor for a time difference between the allocation of the first and second mapped symbols.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function is predefined for a single transmission.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function is specified in a standard.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function is a function of at least one of time, frequency, and spatial stream.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function is configured to separate the first and second mapped symbols by coherence bandwidth.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function is configured to separate the first and second mapped symbols by coherence time.

In at least one such embodiment, the predefined function is configured to separate the first and second mapped symbols by spatial stream index or spatial time stream index.

In at least one such embodiment, the method further comprises outputting from the transmitter a signal that pipelined modulation is being used as a modulation mode of the transmitter.

In at least one such embodiment, the method further comprises outputting from the transmitter a signal that the transmitter is capable of performing pipelined modulation.

In at least one such embodiment, n comprises a positive integer greater than or equal to zero.

In at least one such embodiment, the method further comprises applying I/Q component-wise interleaving to the first and second modulated symbols, such that a Q or I component of the first modulated symbol is swapped with an I or Q component respectively of the second modulated symbol.

At least one embodiment of the system and process disclosed herein takes the form of an system that comprises a processor and a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions operative, when executed on the processor, to perform functions including receiving at a transmitter a set of (2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> bits. The functions further include processing the set of bits in a first signal processing path, wherein the processing comprises a conventional even-ordered modulation scheme and allocation to a frequency subcarrier and a spatial resource unit to generate a first mapped symbol mapped to a first constellation point in a complex domain. The functions further include processing the set of bits in a second signal processing path, wherein the processing comprises (i) reordering the set of bits according to a predefined scheme to generate a reordered set of bits, (ii) modulating the reordered set of bits using an even-ordered modulation scheme to generate a second modulated set of bits, (iii) mapping the second modulated set of bits as a second mapped symbol to a second constellation point in the complex domain, and (iv) allocating the second mapped symbol to a time-frequency-spatial resource based on a predefined function. The functions further include outputting from the transmitter the first and second and second mapped symbols.

In one such embodiment, the instructions are further operative to apply I/Q component-wise interleaving to the first and second modulated symbols, such that a Q or I component of the first modulated symbol is swapped with an I or Q component respectively of the second modulated symbol.

Another embodiment of the system and process disclosed herein takes the form of a method comprising transmitting a PPDU, wherein the PPDU comprises at least two parts. The first part comprises a legacy STF (L-SFT), a legacy CE field (L-CE), a legacy Header (L-Header), and an EDMG Header A, and wherein the first part is modulated using SC modulation. The second part comprises an EDMG STF for OFDM (EDMG-O-STF), an EDMG CEF for OFDM (EDMG-O-CE), an EDMA Header B (EDMG Header-B), and a data file, and wherein the second part is modulated using OFDM modulation.

In one such embodiment, at least one of the L-Header or EDMG-Header-A comprises signal indicating if the current PPDU is OFDM or SC, and the duration of the rest of the PPDU.

In one such embodiment, the OFDM field has its own CEF transmitted with the OFDM waveform.

In one such embodiment, a receiver need not use the channel estimation form the legacy SC part.

In one such embodiment, the structure of the transmitted PPDU supports at least one of single user MIMO, multi-user MIMO, channel bonding, and channel aggregation.

Another embodiment of the system and process disclosed herein takes the form of a Control PHY PPDU encoder comprising (i) a scrambler module, (ii) an LDPC encoder module, (iii) a differential encoder module, (iv) a spreading module, (v) an interleaver module configured to distribute spread bits and compensate for burst type errors, and (vi) a modulation module.

In some embodiment of the encoder the modulation module is configured for π/<NUM>-BPSK modulation. In some embodiments of the encoder, the spreading module is configured for 32x spreading.

Moreover, any of the embodiments, variations, and permutations described in the preceding paragraphs and anywhere else in this disclosure can be implemented with respect to any embodiments, including with respect to any method embodiments and with respect to any system embodiments.

Before proceeding with this detailed description, it is noted that the entities, connections, arrangements, and the like that are depicted in-and described in connection with-the various figures are presented by way of example and not by way of limitation. As such, any and all statements or other indications as to what a particular figure "depicts," what a particular element or entity in a particular figure "is" or "has," and any and all similar statements-that may in isolation and out of context be read as absolute and therefore limiting-can only properly be read as being constructively preceded by a clause such as "In at least one embodiment,. " And it is for reasons akin to brevity and clarity of presentation that this implied leading clause is not repeated ad nauseum in this detailed description.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may be used with the wireless communication systems described with respect to <FIG>. As an initial matter, these wireless systems will be described. The communications system <NUM> may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, and the like, to multiple wireless users. For example, the communications systems <NUM> may employ one or more channel-access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like.

As shown in <FIG>, the communications system <NUM> may include WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and/or 102d (which generally or collectively may be referred to as WTRU <NUM>), a RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, a core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) <NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and other networks <NUM>, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, consumer electronics, and the like.

The communications systems <NUM> may also include a base station 114a and a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or the networks <NUM>. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like.

The base station 114a may be part of the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and/or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). The cell may further be divided into sectors. In another embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell.

The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, and the like). The air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system <NUM> may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel-access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> using wideband CDMA (WCDMA).

In another embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E UTRA), which may establish the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE Advanced (LTE A).

In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE <NUM> (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard <NUM> (IS <NUM>), Interim Standard <NUM> (IS <NUM>), Interim Standard <NUM> (IS <NUM>), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 114b in <FIG> may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, as examples, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like. In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, and the like) to establish a picocell or femtocell. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet <NUM> via the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>.

The RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may be in communication with the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. As examples, the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, and the like, and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in <FIG>, it will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and/or the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radio technology, the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM radio technology.

The core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN <NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or other networks <NUM>. The Internet <NUM> may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP in the TCP/IP Internet protocol suite. For example, the networks <NUM> may include another core network connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> or a different RAT.

<FIG> is a system diagram of an example WTRU <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the WTRU <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, a transmit/receive element <NUM>, a speaker/microphone <NUM>, a keypad <NUM>, a display/touchpad <NUM>, a non-removable memory <NUM>, a removable memory <NUM>, a power source <NUM>, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset <NUM>, and other peripherals <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> may be implemented as a component of decoder logic <NUM>. For example, the transceiver <NUM> and decoder logic <NUM> can be implemented on a single LTE or LTE-A chip. The decoder logic may include a processor operative to perform instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. As an alternative, or in addition, the decoder logic may be implemented using custom and/or programmable digital logic circuitry.

Also, embodiments contemplate that the base stations 114a and 114b, and/or the nodes that base stations 114a and 114b may represent, such as but not limited to transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a home node-B, an evolved home node-B (eNodeB), a home evolved node-B (HeNB), a home evolved node-B gateway, and proxy nodes, among others, may include some or all of the elements depicted in <FIG> and described herein.

The transmit/receive element <NUM> may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>. In another embodiment, the transmit/receive element <NUM> may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, as examples.

Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU <NUM> may include two or more transmit/receive elements <NUM> (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>.

Thus, the transceiver <NUM> may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU <NUM> to communicate via multiple RATs, such as UTRA and IEEE <NUM>, as examples.

As examples, the power source <NUM> may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), and the like), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

As noted above, the RAN <NUM> may employ a UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the RAN <NUM> may include Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c, which may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may each be associated with a particular cell (not shown) within the RAN <NUM>. The RAN <NUM> may also include RNCs 142a, 142b. It will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM> may include any number of Node-Bs and RNCs while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

As shown in <FIG>, the Node-Bs 140a, 140b may be in communication with the RNC 142a. Additionally, the Node-B 140c may be in communication with the RNC 142b. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may communicate with the respective RNCs 142a, 142b via an Iub interface. The RNCs 142a, 142b may be in communication with one another via an Iur interface. Each of the RNCs 142a, 142b may be configured to control the respective Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c to which it is connected. In addition, each of the RNCs 142a, 142b may be configured to carry out or support other functionality, such as outer-loop power control, load control, admission control, packet scheduling, handover control, macrodiversity, security functions, data encryption, and the like.

The MSC <NUM> and the MGW <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional landline communications devices.

The SGSN <NUM> and the GGSN <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

As noted above, the core network <NUM> may also be connected to the networks <NUM>, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers.

The RAN <NUM> may include eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM> may include any number of eNode Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. In one embodiment, the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

Each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio-resource-management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink and/or downlink, and the like. As shown in <FIG>, the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

The core network <NUM> shown in <FIG> may include a mobility management entity (MME) <NUM>, a serving gateway <NUM>, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway <NUM>.

The MME <NUM> may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN <NUM> via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. The MME <NUM> may also provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN <NUM> and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

The serving gateway <NUM> may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN <NUM> via the S1 interface. The serving gateway <NUM> may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The serving gateway <NUM> may also perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

For example, the core network <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional landline communications devices. In addition, the core network <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the networks <NUM>, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers.

The RAN <NUM> may be an access service network (ASN) that employs IEEE <NUM> radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. As will be further discussed below, the communication links between the different functional entities of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, the RAN <NUM>, and the core network <NUM> may be defined as reference points.

As shown in <FIG>, the RAN <NUM> may include base stations 180a, 180b, 180c, and an ASN gateway <NUM>, though it will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM> may include any number of base stations and ASN gateways while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may each be associated with a particular cell (not shown) in the RAN <NUM> and may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. In one embodiment, the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the base station 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. The base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may also provide mobility-management functions, such as handoff triggering, tunnel establishment, radio-resource management, traffic classification, quality-of-service (QoS) policy enforcement, and the like. The ASN gateway <NUM> may serve as a traffic aggregation point and may be responsible for paging, caching of subscriber profiles, routing to the core network <NUM>, and the like.

The air interface <NUM> between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the RAN <NUM> may be defined as an R1 reference point that implements the IEEE <NUM> specification. In addition, each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may establish a logical interface (not shown) with the core network <NUM>. The logical interface between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the core network <NUM> may be defined as an R2 reference point (not shown), which may be used for authentication, authorization, IP-host-configuration management, and/or mobility management.

The communication link between each of the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may be defined as an R8 reference point that includes protocols for facilitating WTRU handovers and the transfer of data between base stations. The communication link between the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c and the ASN gateway <NUM> may be defined as an R6 reference point. The R6 reference point may include protocols for facilitating mobility management based on mobility events associated with each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

The communication link between the RAN <NUM> and the core network <NUM> may defined as an R3 reference point that includes protocols for facilitating data transfer and mobility-management capabilities, as examples. The core network <NUM> may include a mobile-IP home agent (MIP-HA) <NUM>, an authentication, authorization, accounting (AAA) server <NUM>, and a gateway <NUM>.

The MIP-HA <NUM> may be responsible for IP-address management, and may enable the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c to roam between different ASNs and/or different core networks. The MIP-HA <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The AAA server <NUM> may be responsible for user authentication and for supporting user services. The gateway <NUM> may facilitate interworking with other networks. For example, the gateway <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional landline communications devices. In addition, the gateway <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the networks <NUM>, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers.

The communication link between the RAN <NUM> the other ASNs may be defined as an R4 reference point (not shown), which may include protocols for coordinating the mobility of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c between the RAN <NUM> and the other ASNs. The communication link between the core network <NUM> and the other core networks may be defined as an R5 reference point (not shown), which may include protocols for facilitating interworking between home core networks and visited core networks.

<FIG> depicts an example network entity <NUM> that may be used within the communication system <NUM> of <FIG>. As depicted in <FIG>, network entity <NUM> includes a communication interface <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, and non-transitory data storage <NUM>, all of which are communicatively linked by a bus, network, or other communication path <NUM>.

Communication interface <NUM> may include one or more wired communication interfaces and/or one or more wireless-communication interfaces. With respect to wired communication, communication interface <NUM> may include one or more interfaces such as Ethernet interfaces, as an example. With respect to wireless communication, communication interface <NUM> may include components such as one or more antennae, one or more transceivers/chipsets designed and configured for one or more types of wireless (e.g., LTE) communication, and/or any other components deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art. And further with respect to wireless communication, communication interface <NUM> may be equipped at a scale and with a configuration appropriate for acting on the network side-as opposed to the client side-of wireless communications (e.g., LTE communications, Wi Fi communications, and the like). Thus, communication interface <NUM> may include the appropriate equipment and circuitry (perhaps including multiple transceivers) for serving multiple mobile stations, UEs, or other access terminals in a coverage area.

Processor <NUM> may include one or more processors of any type deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art, some examples including a general-purpose microprocessor and a dedicated DSP.

Data storage <NUM> may take the form of any non-transitory computer-readable medium or combination of such media, some examples including flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), and random-access memory (RAM) to name but a few, as any one or more types of non-transitory data storage deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art could be used. As depicted in <FIG>, data storage <NUM> contains program instructions <NUM> executable by processor <NUM> for carrying out various combinations of the various network-entity functions described herein.

In some embodiments, the network-entity functions described herein are carried out by a network entity having a structure similar to that of network entity <NUM> of <FIG>. In some embodiments, one or more of such functions are carried out by a set of multiple network entities in combination, where each network entity has a structure similar to that of network entity <NUM> of <FIG>. In various different embodiments, network entity <NUM> is-or at least includes-one or more of (one or more entities in) RAN <NUM>, (one or more entities in) RAN <NUM>, (one or more entities in) RAN <NUM>, (one or more entities in) core network <NUM>, (one or more entities in) core network <NUM>, (one or more entities in) core network <NUM>, base station 114a, base station 114b, Node B 140a, Node B 140b, Node B 140c, RNC 142a, RNC 142b, MGW <NUM>, MSC <NUM>, SGSN <NUM>, GGSN <NUM>, eNode B 160a, eNode B 160b, eNode B 160c, MME <NUM>, serving gateway <NUM>, PDN gateway <NUM>, base station 180a, base station 180b, base station 180c, ASN gateway <NUM>, MIP HA <NUM>, AAA <NUM>, and gateway <NUM>. And certainly, other network entities and/or combinations of network entities could be used in various embodiments for carrying out the network-entity functions described herein, as the foregoing list is provided by way of example and not by way of limitation.

Note that various hardware elements of one or more of the described embodiments are referred to as "modules" that carry out (i.e., perform, execute, and the like) various functions that are described herein in connection with the respective modules. As used herein, a module includes hardware (e.g., one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more microchips, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more memory devices) deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art for a given implementation. Each described module may also include instructions executable for carrying out the one or more functions described as being carried out by the respective module, and it is noted that those instructions could take the form of or include hardware (i.e., hardwired) instructions, firmware instructions, software instructions, and/or the like, and may be stored in any suitable non-transitory computer-readable medium or media, such as commonly referred to as RAM, ROM, etc..

The following description of <FIG> are provided to help guide a discussion on problems which helped to motivate the present systems and methods.

Gray mapping is used widely for <NUM>2n-QAM modulation. For example, many communication systems utilize <NUM>-QAM, <NUM>-QAM and <NUM>-QAM. However, odd constellations (<NUM>2n+<NUM>-QAM modulation) are rarely utilized, for example <NUM>-QAM. This is due to the Gray code penalty which results when constellations points are not favorably distributed.

<FIG> depicts a capacity vs SNR graph, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular <FIG> depicts a plot <NUM> having a BPSK <NUM>, a QPSK <NUM>, a 16QAM <NUM>, a theoretical limit <NUM>, and a gap <NUM>. The expected capacity for k-QAM modulations (k=<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) are shown in <FIG>. Note that there is a significant capacity gap, gap <NUM>, between QPSK <NUM> and 16QAM <NUM>. STAs with SNR good enough to support QPSK <NUM> but insufficient for 16QAM <NUM> must utilize QPSK <NUM> modulation. Thus, the system efficiency for STAs in that SNR range is not ideal. Similarly, a gap exists between 16QAM and 64QAM (not shown), and would affect stations having an SNR sufficient for 16QAM but not high enough for 64QAM.

<FIG> depicts an exemplary OFDM PPDU format, in accordance with at least one embodiment. The OFDM PPDU format is from <NUM>. <NUM>1ad OFDM PHY is not included in a future <NUM> standard due to compatibility issues. Moreover, with current <NUM>. 11ad OFDM PPDU formats, an STF <NUM> and a CEF <NUM> are single carrier modulated (SC <NUM>) while a Header <NUM> and a Data <NUM> fields are employing OFDM waveforms. The SC <NUM> and the OFDM <NUM> waveforms have different sampling rates which demands up-sampling and filtering for the OFDM <NUM> waveform. A <NUM>/<NUM> resampling in a specified filter, hFilt, is applied at a receiver of the OFDM <NUM>. Thus, the filter is typically specified at a transmitter side and is known at the receiver side so that the receiver can compensate for a channel estimation result obtained based on the SC <NUM> and the CEF <NUM> and apply it to the Header <NUM> and the Data <NUM>. Due to the abovementioned complications, an OFDM PPDU format is better to be redesigned.

Control PHY is defined in <NUM>. 11ad as the lowest data rate transmission. Frames which must be transmitted before beamforming training may use a Control PHY PPDU. Thus, improving a reliability of the Control PHY transmission, especially in low SNR ranges, is needed.

Descriptions of methods and systems are provided in the following sections to address at least the issues mentioned in the paragraphs above.

<FIG> depicts an exemplary process flow chart, in accordance with at least one embodiment. <FIG> depicts a process <NUM> that includes elements <NUM>-<NUM>. Element <NUM> comprises receiving, at a transmitter, a set of bits. Element <NUM> comprises generating at least two complex-valued symbols based on the set of bits using a pipelined modulation at least in part by (i) mapping the set of bits to a first symbol using a first constellation mapping and (ii) mapping the set of bits to a second symbol using a second constellation mapping. Element <NUM> comprises selecting a first data communication resource in a first single carrier channel for the first symbol and selecting a second data communication resource in a second single carrier channel for the second symbol. Element <NUM> comprises transmitting, via the transmitter, the first and second symbols using the respective selected data communication resources. Of course, any of the embodiments discussed throughout the present disclosure may be applied within the context o. f the process <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts an exemplary dual-pipelined modulator component diagram, in accordance with at least one embodiment. <FIG> depicts a dual-pipelined modulator <NUM> that comprises an input <NUM>, configured to receive a set of bits. The dual-pipelined modulator <NUM> further comprises, a pipelined constellation point generator <NUM>, configured to generate complex baseband symbols from the set of bits at least in part by (i) mapping the set of bits to a first symbol using a first constellation mapping and by (ii) mapping the set of bits to a second symbol using a second constellation mapping. dual-pipelined modulator <NUM> further comprises, a data communication resource selector <NUM>, configured to select a first data communication resource in a first single carrier channel for the first symbol and a second data communication resource in a second single carrier channel for the second symbol. dual-pipelined modulator <NUM> further comprises a transmitter <NUM>, having a modulator (not depicted), configured to transmit the first and second symbols using the respective selected data communication resources. Of course, any of the embodiments discussed throughout the present disclosure may be applied within the context of the dual-pipelined modulator <NUM>.

In at least one embodiment, the first constellation mapping and the second constellation mapping each map the set of bits to different constellation signal points. The mappings each map the set of bits to different IQ values. A variety of means may be carried out to map the set of bits to different constellation signal points. In one example, a first constellation is a square constellation and a second constellation is a circular constellation. <FIG> are provided as references of such. In another example, the constellation shapes are both square, however collocated constellation points map to different binary words. <FIG> and <FIG> are provided as references of such. Of course, those with skill in the art would be able to list more examples as well, but the listing shall be left as it is for the sake of brevity and in no way by means of limitation.

<FIG> depicts a square constellation map, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular, <FIG> depicts a square constellation map <NUM> that is provided as an example and a visual reference.

<FIG> depicts a circular constellation map, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular, <FIG> depicts a circular constellation map <NUM> that is provided as an example and a visual reference.

In order to perform a standard <NUM>2n+<NUM> modulation, which maps 2n+<NUM> bits to one constellation symbol, systems may use an odd constellation mapping. However, it may suffer from the gray mapping penalty. Instead, the system and process disclosed herein performs two <NUM>(2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> modulations on a set of (2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> bits using a higher order even constellation. The modulated symbols may be transmitted in multiple domains, which may include frequency, time, and spatial domains. This is referred to as a dual-pipelined modulation scheme and it may be carried out in response to a BER or a PER associated with an active modulation schema being used by a transmitter being above a threshold value. The two constellation mappings may or may not be the same. For example, the first constellation mapping may be a Gray code mapping, while the second constellation mapping may be a different Gray code mapping, or a set-partition mapping or any other equally-sized (i.e., mapping the same number of bits) constellation mapping as would be understood by one with skill in the art. A bit-wise function or operation may be applied before one constellation mapping. Alternatively, a symbol level function or operation may be applied after one constellation modulation. A combination of bit-wise and symbol level operations may be applied together. In this way, the modulated symbols may be different even though they are generated from the same set of (2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> bits. Optionally, in cases wherein the two modulated symbols do not have the same in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) component, I/Q component-wise interleaving may be applied to the symbols. For example, the Q (or I) component of the first modulated symbol would become the I (or Q) component of the second modulated symbol after I/Q component-wise interleaving. Then the two modulated interleaved symbols may be sent over two different data communication resources which could be two different time, frequency and/or spatial resources. By doing so, I and Q components of the transmitted symbols may experience independent fading. At a receiver, after I/Q component-wise de-interleaving, the two modulated symbols may be identified by employing maximum likelihood (ML) criterion.

<FIG> depicts an exemplary scheme for dual-pipelined modulation of bits onto two symbols, in accordance with at least one embodiment. The modulation procedure is given below: Bits <NUM>, comprising (2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> bits, take two different signal processing paths, signal path <NUM> and signal path <NUM> before being allocated to two different frequency-time-spatial resources <NUM> and <NUM>. Assume n = <NUM> and therefore (2n+<NUM>)*<NUM> = <NUM> bits are in to be modulated. In the signal path <NUM>, the set of bits <NUM> is modulated in a conventional even-ordered modulation scheme at a <NUM>-QAM MAP <NUM> before being allocated to a frequency subcarrier, k, and a spatial resource unit, m at resource <NUM>.

In the signal path <NUM>, the set of bits <NUM> is first reordered following a predefined scheme at a function F1 <NUM>. The reordered bits <NUM> are modulated using a conventional even-ordered modulation scheme at a <NUM>-QAM MAP <NUM>. The <NUM>-QAM MAP <NUM> may be the same as or different than the <NUM>-QAM MAP <NUM>. A modulated symbol from the <NUM>-QAM MAP <NUM> may then be mapped to a different constellation point in a complex domain by a function F2 <NUM>, shown in <FIG>. The newly mapped symbol from the F2 <NUM> is allocated to the time-frequency-spatial resource <NUM> based on a predefined function p(τ, k, m), where τ is a delay <NUM> i.e., the time difference between the allocation of the symbol resource in the signal path <NUM> and the signal path <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts the modulation scheme of <FIG> with component-wise interleaving, in accordance with at least one embodiment. <FIG> shows a scenario <NUM> in which I/Q component-wise interleaving is applied to the two modulated symbols generated from the signal path <NUM> and the signal path <NUM>. I/Q component-wise interleaving is shown in <FIG> at an interleaver <NUM>. The Q (or I) component of the first modulated symbol in the signal path <NUM> may become the I (or Q) component of the second modulated symbol in the signal path <NUM> after I/Q component-wise interleaving at the interleaver <NUM>. The newly mapped second modulated symbol is allocated to a time-frequency-spatial resource <NUM> based on a predefined function p(τ, k, m), where τ is a delay <NUM> i.e., the time difference between the allocation of the symbol resource in the signal path <NUM> and the signal path <NUM>.

Note, the described scheme may increase the time/frequency/spatial diversity of the system. Thus, it may be extended to any constellation size and is not restricted to odd constellation mappings. In the above-mentioned schemes, in order to map U=2n+<NUM> bits to one symbol, equivalently, 2U bits may be mapped to two symbols with higher order constellation mappings. This may be generalized to map JU bits to J symbols using 2JU constellations, and the resulting J symbols may be distributed across the time, frequency, and/or spatial domains.

The usage of the dual-pipelined modulation may be one of many modulation modes a transmitter may use, and thus it may be signaled by the transmitter to a receiver. For example, within an <NUM> frame format, a signaling field in a PLCP header may be used to indicate use of the dual-pipelined modulation. The capability to transmit and receive dual-pipelined modulations may also be exchanged between the transmitter and receiver via signaling.

p(τ, k, m) is a function to allocate time/frequency/spatial resources to the J modulated symbols. The function may be predefined for a single transmission or specified by a standard. Generally, it is a function of time, frequency and spatial stream. However, it may not require the presentation of each of the three dimensions. For instance:.

p(τ, k, m)=p(k), which means it is a function of frequency only. For example, with OFDM/OFDMA or OFDM/OFDMAesque multi-carrier waveforms, the frequency index may be a subcarrier index. The function may be carefully designed to gain frequency diversity. For example, one design criteria may be to separate the J symbols by a coherence bandwidth. As another example, with single carrier waveforms, the frequency index may be a center frequency of a communication channel.

p(τ, k, m)=p(τ), which means it is a function of time only. For example, with OFDM/OFDMA or OFDM/OFDMA like multi-carrier waveform, the time may refer to OFDM/OFDMA symbol index. With single carrier transmissions, the time may refer to a chip index. The function may be based on a delay or processing-time difference between the signal paths. The function may be carefully designed to gain time diversity. For example, one design criteria may be to separate the J symbols by a coherence time.

p(τ, k, m)=p(m), which means it is a function of spatial stream only. For example, it may refer to spatial stream index or spatial time stream index.

In alternative embodiments, the function p(τ, k, m) may be defined as p(τ, k, m), i.e., a combination of the above-mentioned parameters.

<FIG> depicts a first example <NUM>-QAM set-partition mapping, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular <FIG> depicts a first <NUM>-QAM set-partition mapping <NUM>. With the dual-pipelined modulation scheme disclosed herein, a system can map <NUM> bits to two symbols, each with a different <NUM>-QAM modulation mapping. Gray code organized constellation points may not be optimal and set-partition distributions may be used for the first and second <NUM>-QAM modulaiton mappings. An first exemplary set-partition mapping is depicted in <FIG>.

<FIG> depicts a second example <NUM>-QAM set-partition mapping that was generated from the first example <NUM>-QAM set-partition mapping of <FIG>, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular <FIG> depicts a second <NUM>-QAM set-partition mapping <NUM> that is generated from the mapping <NUM>. In one example, in the second signal processing path, the system maps the same <NUM> bits to another <NUM>-QAM constellation point through another mapping. The following procedure may be used to generate the second mapping:
The first mapping <IMG> may be represented by an NxN matrix, where each component is a binary sequence, or an integer related to the binary sequence, <IMG>:{[b<NUM>, b<NUM>,. , bK]} → mD + i nD, where K = log<NUM>(N · N), and D is the smallest distance between two constellation points. Thus, a binary sequence may be mapped to the complex symbol located in the mxn grid as shown in <FIG>. In this example with <NUM>-QAM modulation, N=<NUM>, K=<NUM>, and we have <IMG>([<NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM>]) = -4D + i 4D) and <IMG>([<NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM>]) = D + i D).

We can define a row/column permutation operation ℘: {[<NUM>: N]} → {[<NUM>: N]}, which maps an integer number n ∈ [<NUM>, N] to another integer number ℘(n) ∈ [<NUM>, N]. The mapping may be one to one. The second mapping <IMG> may be represented by <IMG>:{[b<NUM>, b<NUM>,. , bK]} → ℘(m)D + i ℘(n)D, where m and n come from the first mapping <IMG>.

Based on the above-mentioned procedure, a selection of the permutation operation ℘ may be of interest. Various mapping schemas may require different permutation operations. In this example, the permutation operation ℘ = [<NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM><NUM>] is used. The resulting constellation mapping is depicted in <FIG> as the mapping <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts BER performance results of the dual-pipelined modulation on an AWGN channel, in accordance with at least one embodiment. <FIG> depicts simulation results <NUM> on an AWGN channel. A baseline modulation is <NUM>-QSK, which is about <NUM>. 5dB worse than the dual-pipelined modulation method taught herein with joint detection making use of ML criterion.

For reliable transmission and reception of dual-pipelined modulated data, a receiver must have exact knowledge of the data communication resource allocation function. This may be achieved in a plurality of ways.

The usage of dual-pipelined modulation may be signaled by the transmitter. For example, within the <NUM> frame format, the Signaling field in the PLCP header may be used to indicate a mode used by the transmitter. If dual-pipelined modulation is implemented such that the dual-pipelined modulation may be on or off, a binary indicator may signaled by the transmitter. For example, within the <NUM> frame format, the Signaling field in the PLCP header may be used to indicate whether the pipelined modulation was used. In this scheme, a predefined resource allocation function must be used.

For more flexibility, in some embodiments the resource allocation is not predefined, but is instead defined by the function p(τ, k, m), p(k), p(t) or p(m). In such a scenario, the function's form must be part of the signaling scheme. Changes in any parameter that will modify the function output must be part of signaling scheme too. This signaling may be a closed loop process or an open loop process.

In an open loop process an AP measures one or more of following during uplink transmission from the STA: Coherence time (using Doppler estimates), Coherence frequency (using channel estimates and frequency selectivity), and Receive antenna correlation (using channel estimates). Based on the measured estimates, parameters for resource mapping are selected. These parameters are transmitted as part of the PLCP header. A field for dual-pipelined modulation enablement and sub-fields for indicating the different parameters may be standardized.

In a closed loop process the AP transmits NDP or Sounding reference symbols. Using the NDP, STA measures one or more of following: Coherence time (using Doppler estimates), Coherence frequency (using channel estimates and frequency selectivity), and Receive antenna correlation (using channel estimates). Based on the measured estimates, parameters for resource mapping are selected. The STA transmits these parameters as part of a feedback report. The feedback report may be part of a control or management frame. The feedback report may be piggybacked onto the data as well.

An STA may request to use dual-pipelined modulation with the parameters it estimated. If the dual-pipelined modulation is already being used in transmission and the STA identifies that another set of parameters may be better, it will report it back to the AP. An STA may request to use dual-pipelined modulation with parameters it estimated. If the STA identifies that in a specific scenario, the AP should not use the dual-pipelined modulation, it will indicate that in the feedback instead. Before initializing the dual-pipeline modulation mode, the capability of transmitting/receiving dual-pipelined modulations can also be exchanged between the transmitter and receiver.

The following portion of this disclosure highlights exemplary means of achieving time, spatial, and frequency division across various selected data communication resources. The dual-pipeline modulation may be applied to SC MIMO and/or SC multi-channel cases.

Bits are partitioned into K-bit sets. Each K-bit set may be mapped to two symbols using two signal paths (i.e., two pipelines). In more detail, the total number of coded bits is N. K is related to the constellation map size or order. If a BPSK modulation, or a scheme that modulates one bit to one symbol, is normally used in conventional conditions, then two QPSK (modulating two bits to one symbol, thus K=<NUM>) pipelined modulations could be preferred. If a QPSK modulation, or a scheme which modulates two bits to one symbol is conventional, then two <NUM>-QAM (modulating four bits to one symbol, thus K=<NUM>) pipelined modulations could be preferred. If an <NUM>-PSK modulation, or a scheme which modulates three bits to one symbol, is normally used in a conventional scheme, then two <NUM>-QAM (modulating four bits to one symbol, thus K=<NUM>) pipelined modulations may be utilized as well. For example, the Nth bit set (CKN, CKN+<NUM>,. , CKN+K-<NUM>), using a pipeline modulation scheme with more than two pipes, may be mapped to two symbols, S2N, and S2N+<NUM>, which are constellation points to be transmitted.

Regarding MIMO transmissions, the first symbol generated from the Nth bit set may be allocated to a Uth symbol on a SC block A for a first spatial data stream, while the second symbol generated from the Nth bit set may be allocated to a Vth symbol on a SC block B for a second spatial data stream. Later on, the first symbol generated from the (N+<NUM>)th bit set may be allocated to the Uth symbol on the SC block A for the second data stream, while the second symbol generated from the (N+<NUM>)th bit set may be allocated to the Vth symbol on the SC block B for the first data stream. Note, we use Nth bit set and (N+<NUM>)th bit set as example here, however they may not be adjacent bit sets in some embodiments.

<FIG> depicts a visual representation of two MIMO streams without a time offset, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In <FIG> A=B and U=V, thus no time offset is applied between the two MIMO streams. <FIG> depicts an overview <NUM> that includes two sets of bits <NUM> and <NUM>, two MIMO streams, spatial streams <NUM> and <NUM>, a SC block <NUM>, and four allocated symbols <NUM>-<NUM>, wherein symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM> and symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM>. A first complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to symbol <NUM> in SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>, while a second complex constellation symbol generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to the symbol <NUM> in SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>. The pair of symbols <NUM> and <NUM> generated from the bits <NUM> are allocated within the two spatial streams <NUM> and <NUM> and in time slots after (or possibly before) the symbols <NUM> and <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts a visual representation of two MIMO streams with a time offset, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In <FIG> B=A+T_offset and U=V, thus a time offset in units of SC blocks exists between the two channels. <FIG> depicts an overview <NUM> that includes two sets of bits <NUM> and <NUM>, two MIMO streams, spatial streams <NUM> and <NUM>, SC blocks <NUM> and <NUM>, and four allocated symbols <NUM>-<NUM>, wherein symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM> and symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM>. A first complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to symbol <NUM> in SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>, while a second complex constellation symbol generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to the symbol <NUM> in SC block B and spatial stream <NUM>. The symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>, while the symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>.

In one example, T_offset may be a small number, e.g., <NUM>. In this way, the adjacent two SC blocks may form a SC block pair. The pair of symbols <NUM>-<NUM> may be allocated within the SC block pair over the MIMO streams. In another example, T_offset may be half of the total number of SC blocks used, e.g., T_offset=N_SC_block/<NUM>. In the case thatN_SC_block is an odd number because T_offset=(N_SC_block+<NUM>)/<NUM>. In this way, SC blocks <NUM> and <NUM> may form a SC block pair.

<FIG> depicts a visual representation of four MIMO streams without a time offset, in accordance with at least one embodiment. <FIG> depicts an overview <NUM> that includes two sets of bits <NUM> and <NUM>, four MIMO streams, spatial streams <NUM>-<NUM>, a SC block <NUM>, and four allocated symbols <NUM>-<NUM>, wherein symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM> and symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM>. A first complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>, while a second complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated SC block <NUM> and spatial stream <NUM>. The pair of symbols <NUM> and <NUM> generated from the bits <NUM> are allocated within the two spatial streams <NUM> and <NUM>. The scheme may be extended to an <NUM> stream case and so on. In that case, the (N+<NUM>)th bit set and (N+<NUM>)th bit set may be used to generate four symbols to be allocated to symbol slots in SC block <NUM> for the 4th stream to the 8th stream respectively.

Of course, many other resource allocation examples could be listed as well. Combinations of time diversity, spatial diversity, and frequency diversity help to improve a SNR.

Regarding multi-channel transmissions, including channel bonding/aggregation scenarios, the first symbol generated from the Nth bit set may be allocated to Uth symbol on the SC block A for the first channel, while the second symbol generated from the Nth bit set may be allocated to the Vth symbol on the SC block B for the second channel. Later on, the first symbol generated from the (N+<NUM>)th bit set may be allocated to Uth symbol on the SC block A for the second channel, while the second symbol generated from the (N+<NUM>)th bit set may be allocated to the Vth symbol on the SC block B for the first channel. Note, uses of the Nth bit set and (N+<NUM>)th bit set as example here, they may not be adjacent bit sets in some embodiments. Once again, the <FIG> may be used a visual reference to help aid in understanding the various resource allocation possibilities. In particular, multichannel embodiments may be understood as follows: In <FIG> A=B and U=V, thus no time offset is applied between the two different channels. In an alternative embodiment, <FIG> depicts an overview <NUM> that includes two sets of bits <NUM> and <NUM>, two separate channels <NUM> and <NUM>, a SC block <NUM>, and four allocated symbols <NUM>-<NUM>, wherein symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM> and symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM>. A first complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to symbol <NUM> in SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>, while a second complex constellation symbol generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to the symbol <NUM> in SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>. The pair of symbols <NUM> and <NUM> generated from the bits <NUM> are allocated within the two separate channels <NUM> and <NUM> and in time slots after (or possibly before) the symbols <NUM> and <NUM>.

Similarly, in an alternative embodiment, <FIG> depicts a visual representation of two channels with a time offset. In <FIG> B=A+T_offset and U=V, thus a time offset in units of SC blocks exists between the two channels. <FIG> depicts an overview <NUM> that includes two sets of bits <NUM> and <NUM>, two channels <NUM> and <NUM>, SC blocks <NUM> and <NUM>, and four allocated symbols <NUM>-<NUM>, wherein symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM> and symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM>. A first complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to symbol <NUM> in SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>, while a second complex constellation symbol generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to the symbol <NUM> in SC block B and channel <NUM>. The symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>, while the symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>.

In one example, T_offset may be a small number, e.g., <NUM>. In this way, the adjacent two SC blocks may form a SC block pair. The pair of symbols <NUM>-<NUM> may be allocated within the SC block pair over the two channels. In another example, T_offset may be half of the total number of SC blocks used, e.g., T_offset=N_SC_block/<NUM>. In the case that N_SC_block is an odd number because T_offset=(N_SC_block+<NUM>)/<NUM>. In this way, SC blocks <NUM> and <NUM> may form a SC block pair.

In an alternative embodiment, <FIG> depicts a visual representation of four channels without a time offset. <FIG> depicts an overview <NUM> that includes two sets of bits <NUM> and <NUM>, four channels <NUM>-<NUM>, a SC block <NUM>, and four allocated symbols <NUM>-<NUM>, wherein symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM> and symbols <NUM> and <NUM> are generated via dual-pipelined modulation using bits <NUM>. A first complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated to SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>, while a second complex constellation symbol <NUM> generated from bits <NUM> is allocated SC block <NUM> and channel <NUM>. The pair of symbols <NUM> and <NUM> generated from the bits <NUM> are allocated within the two channels <NUM> and <NUM>. The scheme may be extended to an <NUM> channel case and so on. In that case, the (N+<NUM>)th bit set and (N+<NUM>)th bit set may be used to generate four symbols to be allocated to symbol slots in SC block <NUM> for the 4th channel to the 8th channel respectively.

In embodiments that leverage both multi-channel (carrier aggregation/channel bonding) plus multi-stream MIMO, coded bits (or uncoded bits) may be parsed to two streams first. Then for each stream, the dual-pipelined modulation of the present disclosure may be applied and the two symbols coming from the two pipelines are be allocated to different channel or sub-channels. Alternatively, the coded bits (or uncoded bits) may be parsed to two channel segments first. Then they may be modulated using the dual-pipelined modulation described herein. The two symbols coming from the dual-pipelined modulation may be allocated to different spatial streams.

In the above methods, SC block A (e.g., SC blocks <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>) and SC block B (e.g., SC blocks <NUM>) can be adjacent SC blocks. 11ad, each SC block carries <NUM> symbols. 11ay, or future systems, other numerologies may be applied. Alternatively, SC block A and SC block B may be separated in time. For example, if total number of Nblocks may be transmitted, SC block A and B may be separated by Nblocks/<NUM>, i.e., B=A+Nblocks/<NUM>.

OFDM PHY is not included in the some <NUM> standards due to compatibility issues. Moreover, with the current <NUM>. 11ad OFDM PPDU, STF and CEF are single carrier (SC) modulated waveforms while the Header and the Data fields use OFDM waveforms. The two waveforms have different sampling rates which will require up-sampling and filtering for the OFDM waveform as mentioned during the discussion of <FIG>. Thus, the filter has to be specified at the transmitter side and known at the receiver side so that the receiver can compensate the channel estimation result obtained based on SC CEF and apply it to the Header/Data fields. Due to at least the abovementioned complications, the OFDM PPDU format is amenable to be redesigned. Methods and procedures are disclosed in the following paragraphs for addressing at least this problem.

<FIG> depicts an exemplary new EDMG OFDM PPDU, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In one embodiment, an exemplary new EDMG OFDM PPDU includes a SC portion <NUM> and an OFDM portion <NUM>, as depicted in <FIG>.

The SC portion <NUM>, which may be composed of, but is not limited to, legacy STF (L-STF <NUM>), legacy CE field (L-CE <NUM>) and legacy Header (L-Header <NUM>), and an EDMG Header A <NUM>, is modulated using SC modulation.

The OFDM potion <NUM> which may be composed of, but is not limited to, EDMG STF for OFDM (EDMG-O-STF <NUM>), EDMG CEF for OFDM (EDMG-O-CE <NUM>), EDMA Header B (EDMG Header-B <NUM>), a Header <NUM> and a Data <NUM>, is modulated using OFDM. The L-Header or EDMG-Header-A has a signal to indicate if the current PPDU is OFDM or SC, as well as the duration of the rest of the PPDU.

Note that in this design, the OFDM portion <NUM> has its own CEF transmitted with the OFDM waveform, and the receiver does not need to use the channel estimation from the legacy SC portion <NUM>.

Control PHY is defined in <NUM>. 11ad as the lowest data rate transmission. Frames which have to be transmitted before beamforming training may use the Control PHY PPDU. Thus, the improvement of the reliability of Control PHY transmissions, especially in low SNR regimes, is valuable. Methods and procedures are disclosed in this next section to address at least this concern.

<FIG> illustrates an exemplary transmission block diagram for Control PHY, in accordance with at least one embodiment. <FIG> depicts a transmission block diagram <NUM> that includes a scrambler <NUM>, an LDPC encoder <NUM>, a differential encoder <NUM>, spreading <NUM>, an interleaver <NUM>, and a Pi/<NUM>-BPSK <NUM>. In such an embodiment, the interleaver1710 is used after 32x spreading <NUM> but before Pi/<NUM>-BPSK <NUM> modulation. At least one purpose of the interleaver <NUM> is to further distribute spread bits, and thus good bits can help to compensate for bursty errors.

<FIG> depicts PPDU structures that can support SU/MU MIMO, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular <FIG> depicts a PPDU structure <NUM> having a SC portion <NUM> and an OFDM portion <NUM>. The PPDU structure <NUM> comprises two channels, channels <NUM> and <NUM>.

<NUM> depicts PPDU structures that can support channel bonding or channel aggregation, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In particular <FIG> depicts a PPDU structure <NUM> having a SC portion <NUM> and an OFDM portion <NUM>. The PPDU structure <NUM> comprises two channels, channels <NUM> and <NUM>. The OFDM portion <NUM> is an aggregated portion shared by both the channel <NUM> and the channel <NUM>.

Although the solutions described herein consider <NUM> specific protocols, it is understood that the solutions described herein are not restricted to this scenario and are applicable to other wireless systems as well.

Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Moreover, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "has", "having," "includes", "including," "contains", "containing" or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by "comprises. a", "includes. a", "contains. a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms "a" and "an" are defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms "substantially", "essentially", "approximately", "about" or any other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within <NUM>%, in another embodiment within <NUM>%, in another embodiment within <NUM>% and in another embodiment within <NUM>%. The term "coupled" as used herein is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is "configured" in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.

Accordingly, some embodiments of the present disclosure, or portions thereof, may combine one or more processing devices with one or more software components (e.g., program code, firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) stored in a tangible computer-readable memory device, which in combination from a specifically configured apparatus that performs the functions as described herein. These combinations that form specially programmed devices may be generally referred to herein "modules". The software component portions of the modules may be written in any computer language and may be a portion of a monolithic code base, or may be developed in more discrete code portions such as is typical in object-oriented computer languages. In addition, the modules may be distributed across a plurality of computer platforms, servers, terminals, and the like. A given module may even be implemented such that separate processor devices and/or computing hardware platforms perform the described functions.

Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium having computer readable code stored thereon for programming a computer (e.g., comprising a processor) to perform a method as described and claimed herein. Examples of such computer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flash memory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

Claim 1:
A method implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit, WTRU, for transmission of symbols using aggregated channels, comprising:
receiving, at the WTRU, a set of bits;
generating at least two complex-valued symbols based on the set of bits using dual modulation at least in part by (i) mapping the set of bits to a first symbol using a first constellation mapping associated with a first constellation and (ii) mapping the set of bits to a second symbol using a second constellation mapping associated with a second constellation, wherein the first constellation mapping and the second constellation mapping each map the set of bits to different constellation signal points and the second constellation mapping is representative of a mapping which is associated with a rotated first constellation; and
transmitting, by the WTRU using the aggregated channels, a first transmission of the first symbol using a first single carrier, SC, channel in the aggregated channels and a second transmission of the second symbol using a second SC channel in the aggregated channels,
wherein:
the first transmission of the first symbol and the second transmission of the second symbol are at least spatially offset from each other, and
the first SC channel and the second SC channel are indexed using a single index.