EP-4740334-A1 - METHODS, SYSTEM, AND APPARATUS FOR JOINT ERROR CORRECTION CODING OF A SELF-DECODABLE PAYLOAD AND A COMBINED PAYLOAD

EP4740334A1EP 4740334 A1EP4740334 A1EP 4740334A1EP-4740334-A1

Abstract

In an embodiment, a first codeword is generated by error correction encoding a first individual payload, and a second codeword is generated based on bits that are associated with a second individual payload and are interleaved with bits associated with the first individual payload. Another embodiment involves encoding individual payloads, by low density parity check (LDPC) encoding for example, to generate encoded bits including first encoded bits generated by encoding a first individual payload and second encoded bits generated by encoding a second individual payload with which bits that are associated with the first individual payload are combined. Each of the first codeword and the second codeword includes encoded bits based on the bits that are associated with the first individual payload. The first codeword in these embodiments is decodable independently of the second codeword, and is further decodable jointly with the second codeword.

Inventors

ZHANG, Huazi
Bi, Xiaoyan
CHEN, YAN
MA, JIANGLEI
TONG, WEN

Assignees

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20230823

Claims (20)

A method comprising: error correction encoding individual payloads to generate a plurality of codewords, the plurality of codewords comprising a first codeword generated by error correction encoding a first individual payload, and a second codeword generated based on bits that are associated with a second individual payload and are interleaved with bits associated with the first individual payload, the first codeword being decodable independently of the second codeword, and further being decodable jointly with the second codeword, the method further comprising: outputting the first codeword and the second codeword.
A method comprising: encoding individual payloads to generate a plurality of encoded bits, the plurality of encoded bits comprising first encoded bits generated by encoding a first individual payload, and second encoded bits generated by encoding a second individual payload with which bits that are associated with the first individual payload are combined, the method further comprising: outputting a first codeword and a second codeword comprising the encoded bits, each of the first codeword and the second codeword comprising encoded bits based on the bits that are associated with the first individual payload, the first codeword being decodable independently of the second codeword, and further being decodable jointly with the second codeword.
The method of claim 1, wherein the bits associated with the first individual payload comprise bits of the first individual payload or encoded bits generated by encoding the bits of the first individual payload, wherein the bits that are associated with the second individual payload comprise bits of the second individual payload or encoded bits generated by encoding the bits of the second individual payload.
The method of claim 1, wherein the error correction encoding comprises encoding bits of the first individual payload by a first code to generate first encoded bits, wherein the bits associated with the first individual payload comprise bits of the first encoded bits, wherein the bits associated with the second individual payload comprise second encoded bits generated by encoding bits of the second individual payload, wherein the second codeword is generated by further encoding the second encoded bits interleaved with the bits from the first encoded bits.
The method of claim 4, wherein the error correction encoding further comprises encoding the first encoded bits by a second code to generate the first codeword.
The method of claim 4, wherein the first codeword comprises the first encoded bits.
The method of claim 1, wherein encoding to generate the second codeword comprises interleaving, wherein the interleaving interleaves the bits associated with the first individual payload and the bits associated with the second individual payload.
The method of claim 2, wherein the bits that are associated with the first individual payload comprise bits of the first individual payload or parity bits generated by low density parity check (LDPC) encoding the first individual payload.
The method of claim 2 or claim 8, wherein encoding the first individual payload comprises low density parity check (LDPC) encoding the first individual payload based on a first parity check matrix; and wherein encoding the second individual payload combined with the bits that are associated with the first individual payload comprises low density parity check (LDPC) encoding the second individual payload combined with the bits that are associated with the first individual payload based on a second parity check matrix.
The method of claim 2 or claim 8, wherein encoding the first individual payload and encoding the second individual payload combined with the bits that are associated with the first individual payload comprise: low density parity check (LDPC) encoding the first individual payload and the second individual payload combined with the bits that are associated with the first individual payload based on a joint parity check matrix.
The method of claim 10, further comprising: interleaving a joint codeword generated by the encoding based on the joint parity check matrix, to generate the first codeword and the second codeword.
The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: obtaining the first individual payload and the second individual payload.
The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first codeword further being decodable jointly with the second codeword enables joint decoding of the second codeword based on successful decoding of the first codeword independently of the second codeword.
The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the first codeword further being decodable jointly with the second codeword enables joint decoding of the first codeword after a decoding failure in decoding the first codeword independently of the second codeword.
The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising: transmitting the first codeword and the second codeword from a first communication device to a second communication device in a wireless communication network.
A method comprising: receiving, from a first communication device by a second communication device in a wireless communication network, a plurality of codewords generated by error correction encoding individual payloads, the plurality of codewords comprising a first codeword generated by error correction encoding a first individual payload, and a second codeword generated based on bits that are associated with a second individual payload and are interleaved with bits associated with the first individual payload, the first codeword being decodable independently of the second codeword, and further being decodable jointly with the second codeword.
A method comprising: receiving, from a first communication device by a second communication device in a wireless communication network, a first codeword and a second codeword comprising a plurality of encoded bits generated by encoding individual payloads, the plurality of encoded bits comprising first encoded bits generated by encoding a first individual payload, and second encoded bits generated by encoding a second individual payload with which bits that are associated with the first individual payload are combined, each of the first codeword and the second codeword comprising encoded bits based on the bits that are associated with the first individual payload, the first codeword being decodable independently of the second codeword, and further being decodable jointly with the second codeword.
The method of claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising: decoding the first codeword and the second codeword to obtain the first individual payload and the second individual payload.
The method of claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising: decoding the first codeword independently of the second codeword; and jointly decoding the second codeword based on successful decoding of the first codeword independently of the second codeword.
The method of claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising: jointly decoding the first codeword after a decoding failure in decoding the first codeword independently of the second codeword.

Description

Methods, System, and Apparatus for Joint Error Correction Coding of a Self-decodable Payload and a Combined Payload TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to error correction coding for wireless communications. BACKGROUND Resilience is a fundamental feature that needs to be addressed for so-called sixth generation (6G) communications. According to some technology visions of future factories and industries, for example, ultra-reliable and low latency wireless communications are a pivotal enabler for automated manufacturing on a massive scale. Two trends are also observed in recent developments toward 6G. From a technological perspective, millimeter-wavelength (mmWave) communications and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) may become more prevalent because they can significantly expand current bandwidth resources. From a service perspective, a single communication device will likely need to support multiple services with different latency and reliability requirements. A potential scenario emerges as multiple services converge into one physical wireless link. The purpose is to deliver multiple quality of service (QoS) levels to multiple services within only one wireless link. Given high carrier frequency and massive number of antennas in some communication systems, beamforming can be done more aggressively, enabling the convergence of multiple services into one wireless link. Meanwhile, these services may have very diverse key performance indicators (KPIs) . For example, ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) , massive machine type communications (mMTC) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and terabit per second (Tbps) communications may all be integrated in one link. This is challenging because different KPIs, for example for signal to noise ratio (SNR) , fading, etc., must be supported under the same wireless channel. SUMMARY The present disclosure encompasses embodiments that may be useful in addressing various technical shortcomings of current coding methods. With current technologies, there is a tradeoff between ultra-reliable communication and low latency communication. To achieve ultra-reliability, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) has been employed in current systems to reduce the block error rate (BLER) level by several orders of magnitude. However, round-trip delay incurred by negative acknowledgement (NACK) signaling, re-scheduling and retransmission may not meet low-latency requirements in 6G. A simple workaround is to reduce code rate and modulation order, but this comes at a cost of spectrum efficiency, and is generally discouraged in system design. A previous disclosure, International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2022/122852, filed September 29, 2022, proposes a coding approach to enhance reliability without requesting a retransmission after a decoding failure. A second, joint decoding attempt is made after a decoding failure, to decode using received symbols of multiple coupled codewords, instead of newly retransmitted symbols received in response to a HARQ NACK. This type of approach may be referred to as a HARQ-less approach, in that a retransmission is not automatically requested immediately after a decoding failure. Some types of soft-output (also known as soft-decision) decoders perform iterative decoding. Examples include convolutional codes, turbo codes, low-density parity check (LDPC) codes, product codes and woven codes. In a parallel and soft cancellation decoding scheme, all parts of a code block are decoded simultaneously, and then the soft decisions (e.g., likelihood, probability, or log-likelihood ratio (LLR) ) of all bits are exchanged across the whole code block, before entering the next iteration. Such codes can also be jointly decoded. For example, after decoding two codes independently, soft information about shared or coupled bits (called inter-code iteration) may be exchanged between two codes before further decoding. There may, however, still be a challenge in designing specific codes to support self-decodable joint coding features according to the HARQ-less coding approach referenced above, such that each individual payload (corresponding to a respective different service, for example) can be self-decoded, and at the same time support joint decoding to further enhance performance. The present disclosure includes detailed encoding and decoding embodiments that are particularly suited to joint forward error correction (FEC) coding that involves multiple coupled codewords. Self-decoding of a single codeword and enhanced joint decoding of multiple codewords may be enabled by coupling codewords with shared payload bits, which may be or include information bits, systematic bits, or code bits. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, retransmission latency may be mitigated or avoided in conjunction by supporting further decoding operations after a decoding failure of a delay-sensitive payload. Requesting a retransmission may not b