Joint channel coding and modulation in wireless systems

Abstract

Methods are described for performing joint coded spatial and/or antenna based modulation. A first device may receive, from a second device, one or more pilot signals associated with one or more transmit antennas, antenna patterns, and/or antenna polarizations. The first device may determine channel related information associated with an antenna pair based on the pilot signals. The channel related information may include one or more channel cross correlation coefficients. The first device may determine a set-partition, for example, based on the channel related information. The first device may configure a dynamically configurable Trellis Coded Modulation (TCM) decoder based on the determined set-partition.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A first device comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 receive a first pilot signal from a second device, wherein the first pilot signal is associated with a first transmit antenna of the second device; 
 receive a second pilot signal from the second device, wherein the second pilot signal is associated with a second transmit antenna of the second device; 
 determine, based on the first pilot signal and the second pilot signal, channel related information associated with an antenna pair; 
 determine a set-partition based on the channel related information; 
 configure, based on the determined set-partition, a dynamically configurable trellis coded modulation (TCM) decoder to decode data received from the second device; and 
 send feedback to the second device that indicates the determined set-partition. 
   
     
     
         2 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein being configured to determine the set-partition comprises being configured to:
 partition a higher order signal space constellation into a first group of constellation subsets, wherein the higher order signal space constellation includes a plurality of constellation points, and wherein the plurality of constellation points are assigned to respective constellation subsets in the first group;   partition the first group of constellation subsets into a second group of constellation subsets, wherein the plurality of constellation points are assigned to respective constellation subsets in the second group; and   map bits to the plurality of constellation points assigned to the second group of constellation subsets.   
     
     
         3 . The first device of  claim 2 , wherein a minimum distance between the plurality of constellation points is increased with each partitioning, and wherein the first group of constellation subsets and the second group of constellation subsets have the same respective number of constellation points as the higher order signal space constellation. 
     
     
         4 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein being configured to determine the set-partition comprises being configured to:
 determine spatial correlation coefficients for a plurality of transmit antennas that comprise the first transmit antenna and the second transmit antenna; and   determine, based on the spatial correlation coefficients, a first partition and a second partition for the plurality of transmit antennas such that a minimum distance between antennas is maximized for each respective partition.   
     
     
         5 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the channel related information is a channel cross correlation coefficient. 
     
     
         6 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the feedback enables the second device to configure a dynamically configurable TCM encoder that corresponds to the dynamically configurable TCM decoder. 
     
     
         7 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the feedback includes one or more of the channel related information or an antenna index associated with the determined set-partition, and wherein the feedback is sent via one or more of a control channel or a PHY header. 
     
     
         8 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the antenna pair is a transmit/receive antenna pair, and wherein the first pilot signal is associated with a first transmit antenna pattern, and wherein the second pilot signal is associated with a second transmit antenna pattern. 
     
     
         9 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the first device is a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) and the second device is an eNodeB. 
     
     
         10 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the first pilot signal is associated with one or more of a first antenna pattern or a first antenna polarization, and wherein the second pilot signal is associated with one or more of a second antenna pattern or a second antenna polarization. 
     
     
         11 . The first device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive the data from the second device;   determine an estimated antenna index;   map the estimated antenna index to a bit sequence of the data; and   decode the mapped bit sequence using the dynamically configurable TCM decoder.   
     
     
         12 . A method of joint coded modulation comprising:
 receiving a first pilot signal from a device, wherein the first pilot signal is associated with a first transmit antenna of the device;   receiving a second pilot signal from the device, wherein the second pilot signal is associated with a second transmit antenna of the device;   determining, based on the first pilot signal and the second pilot signal, channel related information associated with an antenna pair;   determining a set-partition based on the channel related information;   configuring, based on the determined set-partition, a dynamically configurable Trellis Coded Modulation (TCM) decoder to decode data received from the device; and   sending feedback to the device that indicates the determined set-partition.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein determining the set-partition comprises:
 partitioning a higher order signal space constellation into a first group of constellation subsets, wherein the higher order signal space constellation includes a plurality of constellation points, and wherein the plurality of constellation points are assigned to respective constellation subsets in the first group;   partitioning the first group of constellation subsets into a second group of constellation subsets, wherein the plurality of constellation points are assigned to respective constellation subsets in the second group; and   mapping bits to the plurality of constellation points assigned to the second group of constellation subsets.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a minimum distance between the plurality of constellation points is increased with each partitioning, and wherein the first group of constellation subsets and the second group of constellation subsets have the same respective number of constellation points as the higher order signal space constellation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein determining the set-partition comprises:
 determining spatial correlation coefficients for a plurality of transmit antennas that comprise the first transmit antenna and the second transmit antenna; and   determining, based on the spatial correlation coefficients, a first partition and a second partition for the plurality of transmit antennas such that a minimum distance between antennas is maximized for each respective partition.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the channel related information is a channel cross correlation coefficient. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the feedback enables the device to configure a dynamically configurable TCM encoder that corresponds to the dynamically configurable TCM decoder. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the feedback includes one or more of the channel related information or an antenna index associated with the determined set-partition, and wherein the feedback is sent via one or more of a control channel or a PHY header. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the antenna pair is a transmit/receive antenna pair, and wherein the first pilot signal is associated with a first transmit antenna pattern, and wherein the second pilot signal is associated with a second transmit antenna pattern. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the device is an eNodeB. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first pilot signal is associated with one or more of a first antenna pattern or a first antenna polarization, and wherein the second pilot signal is associated with one or more of a second antenna pattern or a second antenna polarization. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving the data from the device;   determining an estimated antenna index;   mapping the estimated antenna index to a bit sequence of the data; and   decoding the mapped bit sequence using the dynamically configurable TCM decoder.