HK1167534B - Method and apparatus for control and data multiplexing in a mimo communication system - Google Patents

Description

Method and apparatus for control and data multiplexing in a MIMO communication system

Cross-referencing

The present application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application S/n.61/172,140, filed on 23/4/2009 and entitled "control multiple input and multiple output communication kmulci-input multiple output communication-a (for control and data multiplexing of uplink multiple input and multiple output communication in LTE-a"), the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Background

I. Field of the invention

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to techniques for structured communication within a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication environment.

II. background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services; for example, voice, video, packet data, broadcast, and messaging services may be provided via such wireless communication systems. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication for multiple terminals by sharing the available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.

Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. In such a system, each terminal may communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. Such communication links may be established via single-input single-output (SISO), multiple-input single-output (MISO), single-input multiple-output (SIMO), or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems.

In various wireless communication environments, transmissions are structured using a single carrier waveform to provide benefits such as low peak-to-average power ratio and optimal mobile device transmission efficiency. Conventionally, in the case where both control information and data are to be transmitted on the uplink, a single-carrier transmission waveform is constructed by multiplexing the control information and data to be transmitted onto a common resource set. However, such prior art techniques for control and data multiplexing become substantially inoperable in the case of wireless communication systems using MIMO for uplink transmission due to the multiple layers utilized by the MIMO system (e.g., corresponding to spatial layers, codewords, etc.). Accordingly, it is desirable to implement techniques by which control and data multiplexing may be performed for uplink MIMO transmission in a wireless communication system.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of various aspects of the claimed subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements nor delineate the scope of such aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the disclosed aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

According to one aspect, a method is described herein. The method may include identifying control information to be transmitted to one or more network entities; obtaining information related to a set of layers designated for uplink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission; and selecting, from the set of layers, respective layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information.

A second aspect described herein relates to a wireless communications apparatus that can include a memory that stores data related to control information to be transmitted to one or more network entities and a set of layers designated for uplink MIMO transmission. The wireless communications apparatus can also include a processor configured to select, from the set of layers, respective layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information.

A third aspect relates to an apparatus that can comprise means for identifying control signaling to be transmitted in one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions, and means for selecting respective layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions on which to schedule at least a portion of the control signaling.

A fourth aspect described herein relates to a computer program product that can include a computer-readable medium including code for causing a computer to identify control signaling to be transmitted in one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions, and code for causing a computer to select respective layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions on which at least a portion of the control signaling is scheduled.

According to a fifth aspect, a method is described herein. The method may include identifying a transmission provided by a network device over a plurality of layers; determining respective layers corresponding to the transmission to which the control information is mapped; and receiving at least a portion of the control information on the respective layer to which the control information is determined to be mapped.

A sixth aspect described herein relates to a wireless communications apparatus that can include a memory that stores data related to transmissions provided by a network device over multiple layers. The wireless communications apparatus can also include a processor configured to determine respective layers corresponding to the transmission to which control information is mapped, and receive at least a portion of the control information on the respective layers to which the control information is determined to be mapped.

A seventh part relates to an apparatus that can include means for identifying an uplink multi-layer transmission provided by a network device; means for determining one or more layers of an uplink multi-layer transmission that contain control signaling; and means for processing at least a portion of the control signaling contained on the one or more determined layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission.

An eighth aspect described herein relates to a computer program product that may include a computer-readable medium including code for causing a computer to identify an uplink multi-layer transmission provided by a network device; code for causing a computer to determine one or more layers of an uplink multi-layer transmission that contain control signaling; and code for causing a computer to process at least a portion of the control signaling contained on the one or more determined layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects of the claimed subject matter comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the claimed subject matter. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the claimed subject matter may be employed. Moreover, the disclosed aspects are intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system that facilitates signal construction and uplink transmission in a wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example channel structure that may be utilized for transmissions within a wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a system that facilitates control and data multiplexing for uplink MIMO communications, in accordance with various aspects.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a system that facilitates layer selection and mapping of various control information to be communicated within a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a system that facilitates encoding and layer mapping of Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) information, in accordance with various aspects.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a system that facilitates Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) selection and application of control information within a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of an architecture that facilitates mapping control information to one or more layers associated with a wireless communication system.

Fig. 8 is a flow diagram of a methodology for preparing transmission of ACK/NACK bits for transmission.

Fig. 9 is a flow diagram of a methodology that facilitates layer mapping, modulation, and coding of information to be transmitted in a MIMO communication system.

Fig. 10-11 are flow diagrams of various methodologies for processing a multi-layer transmission received within a wireless communication environment.

Fig. 12-13 are block diagrams of various apparatuses that facilitate ul mimo communication of control signaling and data in a wireless communication system.

Fig. 14-15 are block diagrams of various wireless communication devices that may be used to implement various aspects described herein.

Fig. 16 illustrates a wireless multiple-access communication system in accordance with various aspects set forth herein.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system in which aspects described herein may be effective.

Detailed Description

Aspects of the claimed subject matter are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more aspects.

As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an integrated circuit, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

Moreover, various aspects are described herein in connection with a wireless terminal and/or a base station. A wireless terminal may refer to a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The wireless terminal may be connected to a computing device such as a laptop computer or desktop computer, or it may be a self-contained device such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). A wireless terminal can also be called a system, a subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user agent, user device, or User Equipment (UE). A wireless terminal may be a subscriber station, wireless device, cellular telephone, PCS telephone, cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. A base station (e.g., access point or node B) may refer to a device in an access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with wireless terminals. The base station may act as a router between the wireless terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include an Internet Protocol (IP) network, by converting received air-interface frames to IP packets. The base station also coordinates management of attributes for the air interface.

Furthermore, the various functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a web site, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk (disk) and disc (disc), as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc (BD), where disks (disks) usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs (discs) reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The various techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, clustered Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) spread OFDM (CL-DFT-S-OFDM) systems, and/or other systems that provide non-contiguous data transmission at a single DFT per carrier, among other such systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) and other CDMA variants. In addition, CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. TDMA system may implement, for example, global mobilityMobile communication system (GSM), etc. OFDMA systems may implement methods such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16(WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Flash-OFDMAnd so on. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an upcoming release that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in literature from an organization named "third Generation partnership project (3 GPP)". In addition, CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2(3GPP 2)".

Various aspects will be presented in terms of systems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or omit some or all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Combinations of these approaches may also be used.

Referring now to the drawings, fig. 1 illustrates a system 100 that facilitates signal construction and uplink (UL, also referred to herein as Reverse Link (RL)) transmission in a wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects. As illustrated in fig. 1, system 100 may include one or more user equipment Units (UEs) 110 (also referred to herein as mobile devices or stations, terminals, Access Terminals (ATs), etc.), which one or more user equipment Units (UEs) 110 may communicate with one or more base stations 120 (also referred to herein as node bs or enbs, cells or network cells, network nodes, Access Points (APs), etc.) and/or one or more other entities in system 100.

According to one aspect, UE110 may engage in one or more UL communications with base station 120, and similarly, base station 120 may engage in one or more downlink (DL, also referred to herein as Forward Link (FL)) communications to UE 110. In one example, UE110 and base station 120 may employ one or more antennas 118 and 126, respectively, to facilitate communications within system 100. As further illustrated in system 100, UE110 and/or base station 120 may utilize respective transceivers 116 and/or any other suitable means for communication within system 100.

According to another aspect, UE110 and/or base station 120 may use single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) for each UL and/or DL transmission. It can be appreciated that SC-FDMA can provide lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and/or other suitable benefits due to its inherent single carrier structure. Thus, in some cases, SC-FDMA may be a beneficial scheme for, e.g., UL transmission, where lower PAPR significantly benefits mobile terminals in terms of transmit power efficiency or the like. In one example, where both data and control signaling are transmitted by devices in system 100, the single carrier structure of the control/data combined transmission can be preserved by multiplexing control information onto the data.

Additionally, UE110 and/or base station 120 may use two or more clustering assignments for Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission and/or other communications, such as, for example, in the case of non-contiguous data transmission with a single DFT (e.g., CL-DFT-S-OFDM) per component carrier. Accordingly, various aspects as described herein may be applied to various PUSCH resource allocation mechanisms and/or other resource allocation techniques that may be utilized by UE110, base station 120, and/or communication systems associated therewith (e.g., systems operating in accordance with LTE, LTE-advanced (LTE-a), etc.). For example, rather than maintaining a single carrier waveform for PUSCH assignments (e.g., a PUSCH assignment that is contiguous within a slot), instead a multi-cluster PUSCH assignment may be utilized, where each cluster is still contiguous in its respective constituent slot, but each cluster itself need not be contiguous. In one example, such resource allocation and/or other resource allocation techniques that may be performed in accordance with various aspects described herein may be used to improve UL efficiency and/or achieve other suitable goals.

Diagram 200 in fig. 2 illustrates an example of control/data multiplexing that may be performed in this manner. As illustrated by diagram 200, when control information, such as, for example, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) information, Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) information, Rank Indicator (RI), Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) signaling, Scheduling Request (SR) signaling, or the like, coexists with data transmission on a given subframe, the control information can be piggybacked and/or otherwise combined with data on a PUSCH and/or other channel rather than transmitted separately (e.g., over a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)). In the particular example shown by diagram 200, CQI/PMI and RI information may be multiplexed with data, ACK/NACK may be configured to puncture PUSCH resources, and SRs may be provided as part of a corresponding Medium Access Control (MAC) payload. However, it may be appreciated that diagram 200 is provided merely as an example, and that control information and data may be combined in any suitable manner.

According to one aspect, control information modulated with data in the manner shown in diagram 200 and/or in any other suitable manner may in some cases require a different relative quality than the data multiplexed with the control information. For example, the tolerable data error rate may be relatively high (e.g., on the order of 10%), while the corresponding tolerable error rate for some types of control information, such as ACK/NACK, may be relatively low (e.g., on the order of 10%)^-3On the order of magnitude). In addition, different types of control information (e.g., ACK/NACK, RI, CQI, PMI, etc.) may have different tolerable error rates compared to one another.

In one example, the varying quality levels required for the control information and the data multiplexed with the control information can be achieved via performing power control on resources to which the data and control are respectively mapped in different manners (e.g., as shown in diagram 200 or in other forms). Alternatively, a common transmit power may be utilized for control information and data, and the number of coded symbols, Resource Elements (REs), or the like used for control and data, respectively, may be varied to ensure their respective tolerable signal qualities. As a particular example, different coding rates for the control information may be achieved by allocating different numbers of coded symbols for transmission of the control information. This may be achieved, for example, by utilizing a third tier (L3) configured combination of UE-specific offsets and control information bits, a scheduled PUSCH transmission bandwidth, a number of SC-FDMA symbols per subframe, a number of coded PUSCH bits, and/or any other appropriate parameter.

It can be appreciated that the coding rate applied to PUSCH transmissions structured in the manner described above can be dynamic in nature, as such transmissions can be scheduled using PDCCH or the like such that the pertinent PDCCH signaling (e.g., PDCCH signaling provided according to PDCCH format 0, etc.) incorporates a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for PUSCH transmission. Additionally, it can be appreciated that while PUSCH transmissions are thus dynamic, the relative quality difference between control information and data within a common PUSCH transmission can be made semi-static, for example, by providing an effective coding rate for the control information relative to an effective coding rate for the data in the PUSCH transmission. Thus, given a PUSCH transmission, the actual number of REs assigned to each channel contained within the transmission may be determined based on the MCS associated with the PUSCH transmission and additional information corresponding to the relative effective coding rate of the control information within the PUSCH transmission relative to the data within the transmission.

In another example, it can be appreciated that PUSCH transmissions constructed in accordance with diagram 200 and/or any other suitable technique can utilize any suitable modulation order, such as Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), order n quadrature amplitude modulation (n-QAM), or the like. However, it may be appreciated that for some types of control information, such as ACK/NACK, or the like, it may not be desirable in some situations to utilize a higher order modulation scheme, such as n-QAM. Thus, in one example, while certain control information, such as CQI, PMI, or the like, may utilize the same modulation order as that of PUSCH, modulation constellations for other types of control information, such as ACK/NACK and RI, may be limited to maximize the euler distance for their respective transmissions.

In another example, ACK/NACK transmission can be performed for a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system utilizing a modulation scheme such as the transmission scheme shown in diagram 200 according to a bundling mode and/or a multiplexing mode. In the bundling mode, bundled transmission may be achieved by performing a logical and of the subframes in the bundling window for each respective codeword. Thus, for example, two DL subframes may be mapped to one ul ACK/NACK transmission, such that an ACK is sent if both DL subframes are successfully received, or a NACK is sent if either DL subframe is unsuccessfully received. In the multiplexing mode, multiplexed transmission may be achieved by performing a logical and of the codewords in a given subframe. Thus, for example, two DL codewords may be mapped to one ul ACK/NACK transmission such that an ACK is sent if information on the two codewords is successfully received or a NACK is sent if information on at least one of the codewords is not successfully received.

It can be appreciated that various techniques for combining control information and data into a common transmission as described above can be utilized in the context of rank 1 transmissions, such as with single-input single-output (SISO) or single-input multiple-output (SIMO) systems. However, where a network device is capable of utilizing a transmission rank greater than 1, such as a transmission rank in the case of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) UL communications (e.g., as shown in system 100), the above techniques become difficult to implement due to the multiple layers utilized by MIMO transmissions. As used herein, the term "layer" may refer to and correspond to a spatial layer (e.g., corresponding to individual antennas, beams, and/or other forms such as respective combinations of multiple antennas, etc.), a codeword, and/or any other suitable structure. Additionally, unless explicitly stated otherwise, it should be appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited to any single such interpretation or set of interpretations.

According to one aspect, UEs 110 in system 100 can utilize various techniques for facilitating combined transmission of control information and data over multiple layers. For example, as shown in system 100, UE110 may identify control information to transmit to one or more network entities such as base station 120 via a control information source 112 and/or other suitable mechanism. Additionally, UE110 may include a layer mapping module 114, which layer mapping module 114 may obtain information related to a set of layers (e.g., spatial layers, codewords, etc.) designated for ul mimo transmission and select, from the set of layers, the respective layers of the ul mimo transmission on which to schedule at least a portion of the control information. Once scheduled, the control information (e.g., along with the data) may be transmitted via the transceiver 116. Subsequently, at base station 120, transceiver 116 and/or another mechanism can identify transmissions provided by a network device, such as UE110, over multiple layers. Base station 120 may then utilize layer identification module 122 and/or other suitable means to determine the various layers to which control information is mapped corresponding to the transmission, based on which transceiver 116 and/or control processing module 124 may receive at least a portion of the control information on the various layers to which the control information is determined to be mapped. Upon successful receipt of the control information, the control information may be processed by the control processing module 124 and/or other devices.

Turning now to fig. 3, illustrated is a system 300 that facilitates control and data multiplexing for ul mimo communications, in accordance with various aspects. As shown in fig. 3, system 300 may include a control information source 112 and a data source 310, and/or any other suitable source of control signaling and/or data, respectively, communicated by entities associated with system 300. The various information provided by the control information source 112 and the data source 310 may be provided to the multiplexer 320 and/or the layer mapping module 114. In one example, information provided by control information source 112 and/or data source 310 may be combined by multiplexer 320 and/or other suitable means, and/or mapped to one or more layers via layer mapping module 114, prior to transmission via transceiver 116. In one example, the operations of multiplexer 320 and layer mapping module 114 may be performed in any suitable order. Thus, for example, information from the data source 310 and the control information source 112 may be initially provided to the multiplexer 320 such that multiplexed information is provided to the layer mapping module 114, or alternatively, information from the control information source 112 and the data source 310 may be initially provided to the layer mapping module 114 such that multiplexing may be performed by the multiplexer 320 on a per-layer basis.

In one example, system 300 can be utilized in the context of a ul mimo transmission scheme; accordingly, multiplexer 320 and/or layer mapping module 114 can be utilized to facilitate single carrier transmission, multi-cluster transmission, and/or any other suitable transmission of control information and data across multiple spatial layers, codewords, and/or other suitable layers. According to one aspect, various techniques, such as those that may be used by system 300, as described herein may adapt existing techniques for control/data multiplexing in the context of rank 1 transmission to be used for the case of MIMO transmission. Thus, for example, various techniques as provided herein may utilize various aspects of transmission waveform design, such as offset-based effective coding rate, modulation order design, rate matching and/or puncturing, or the like, in novel manners to facilitate generating single-carrier waveforms, multi-cluster waveforms, or the like for ul mimo transmissions. For example, various aspects as provided herein may be used to facilitate PUSCH-only transmissions in which control information is piggybacked onto corresponding data, PUCCH + PUSCH parallel transmissions in which parallel transmissions of control and data occur, and/or other suitable transmission types.

As generally used herein, the number of transport layers for PUSCH is denoted by L (e.g., where L ≧ 1). While various aspects herein are directed to the case of L ≧ 1 (e.g., corresponding to MIMO transmissions), it can be appreciated that various aspects as described herein can be utilized in combination with or in place of various techniques generally known in the art for facilitating generation of transmission waveforms for any suitable L value. As further used herein, Scheduling Request (SR) signaling may be included as part of a respective MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) such that multiplexing of SR and PUSCH need not be performed. However, it should be appreciated that SR signaling, as well as any other signaling types (whether explicitly stated herein or not), may be multiplexed and/or otherwise provided within a communication in accordance with various aspects provided herein. Additionally, unless explicitly noted otherwise, it should be appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited to defining any particular use case and/or signaling type.

As herein describedAs further used herein, the L layers utilized by the associated communication system are referred to as L_nWherein n is 1. In addition, as a particular example, the layer(s) used to carry the CQI are formed by l_CQIDenoted by l, the layer(s) used to carry the RI_RIIs denoted by l, and the layer(s) used to carry the ACK/NACK is represented by l_ANTo indicate. Additionally, as mentioned above, it should be appreciated that the term "layer" as used herein corresponds to a codeword as well as a spatial layer. Thus, as an example, if the transmission scheme utilizes four spatial layers and only two codewords, each codeword can be configured to map to two spatial layers. Accordingly, the various techniques herein may work in such examples based on a system of two active layers corresponding to respective codewords, each mapped to two spatial layers. Alternatively, the techniques herein may work based on four provided spatial layers.

Turning now to fig. 4, illustrated is a system 400 that facilitates layer selection and mapping of various control information to be communicated within a wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects. System 400 may include a control information source that may generate and/or otherwise identify control information for one or more control types 412. Additionally, system 400 can include a layer mapping module 114 that maps control information to various layers for ul mimo transmission.

As mentioned above, in MIMO transmission, the number of layers carrying one or more types of control information is not necessarily limited to 1, since the number of layers for PUSCH may be greater than 1. Thus, for example, | l may be utilized in some cases_CQI| ≧ 1, and similar observations can be made for RI, ACK/NACK, and/or any other control type 412. Thus, according to one aspect, control information may be encoded and mapped to one or more layers by layer mapping module 114, thereby providing a tradeoff between reliability of control information delivery and impact on PUSCH performance across multiple layers.

As an example of using CQI, the following two scenarios may be considered. First, one can consider in which | l_CQI1 anda scenario whereinIs an offset that determines the number of symbols used for CQI transmission. Secondly, one can consider in which | l_CQIL | ═ L anda scenario whereinIs an offset that determines the number of symbols per layer used for CQI transmission. Based on these two scenarios, X may be set in order to achieve the same or similar target performance at the associated base station and/or other entities₁And X₂So that X is obtained due to multi-layer transmission of the same CQI information being enabled₂≤X₁. This may imply that, when utilizing the first of the above scenarios, the transmission of CQI has an impact on and only one layer (e.g., such that the impact across layers is non-uniform), while the transmission of CQI in the second scenario has a uniform impact on all layers. In addition, it can be appreciated that in the second scenario, the effect of each layer is less than the effect on a particular layer in the first scenario due to the smaller control offset of each layer.

Thus, given the above analysis, the layer mapping module can map the various control information to one or more layers associated with the system 400 in various ways. According to one aspect, the layer selection module 422 can select one or more layers from a set of layers associated with the system 400 for mapping control information from the control information source 112. Layer selection module 422 can work independently and/or in cooperation with an optional layer analysis module 424 that analyzes individual layers in an associated layer set. In another aspect, once one or more layers are selected for use for control information, offset selection module 426 may be used to select and apply various offsets to control information scheduled for transmission on various layers in an associated set of layers. Various specific non-limiting examples of the layer mapping module 114 and the various components thereof with which it can operate are described in more detail below.

In a first example, the layer mapping module 114 may select, via the layer selection module 422, substantially all layers of the associated layer set on which uplink MIMO transmissions of at least a portion of the control information provided by the control information source 112 are to be scheduled. Thus, in the example of CQI, RI, and ACK/NACK signaling, the layer used to schedule such information may be expressed as | l_CQI|＝|l_RI|＝|l_ANL. In another example, a layer-dependent third layer (L3) configuration may be used for offsets applied to CQI, RI, and ACK/NACK signaling, which may be expressed as offsets, respectivelyThus, the respective offsets may be configured toWherein for example if L₁≥L₂Then, thenAs mentioned above, the term "layer" as used herein may be applied to a spatial layer or codeword. Accordingly, it may be appreciated that the above examples may be extended to the case where the offset is configurable for control information on a per-codeword basis.

In a second example, the layer mapping module 114 may select, via the layer selection module 422, a subset of less than all layers of the associated set of layers on which uplink MIMO transmissions of at least a portion of the control information provided by the control information source 112 are to be scheduled. The subset of layers as selected by layer selection module 422 may include, for example, one layer or any number of layers less than the total number of layers associated with system 400.

Thus, for example, layer mapping module 114 may be used to limit transmission of control information to on a per-layer basis, where, | l, for example_CQI|＝|l_RI|＝|l_AN1. In such cases, layer selection module 422 may facilitate transmission of CQI, RI, ACK/NACK, and/or other control types 412 on different layers in some cases such that, for example,/_CQI≠l_RI≠l_AN(if such mapping is possible). By mapping control information to various layers in this manner, it can be appreciated that the effects of the combination of control information and data to be transmitted by an associated network device can be distributed across different layers to the extent possible.

If such control mapping techniques are utilized, the layer selection module 422 may determine the various layers for scheduling control information in various ways, independently of the layer analysis module 424 and/or with the assistance of the layer analysis module 424. For example, modulation order and/or coding rate of different layers may be used to decide control-to-layer mapping. Thus, the layer mapping module 114 and/or other means can be used to identify quality threshold(s) associated with control information associated with the control information source 112 and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers in the associated set of layers, and the layer selection module 422 can select one or more layers from the associated set of layers based on the quality threshold(s) associated with the control information and the respective quality levels achievable by the respective layers.

Additionally, the relative priority of the control types 412 provided by the control information source 112 may be considered in determining the layer or layers to which the control information provided by the control information source 112 is to be mapped. Thus, for example, where the ACK/NACK and RI are given a higher priority than the CQI and/or PMI, the ACK/NACK and RI may be given priority over the CQI and PMI being mapped on a layer that provides a higher level of transmission protection (e.g., a low coding rate, a low modulation order, etc.).

As an alternative to the mapping policies described above, the layer mapping module 114 may facilitate transmission of CQIs, RIs, ACKs/NACKs, and/or other suitable control types 412 on one or more candidate layers that may be selected based on various factors. For example, the layer mapping module 114 may identify a candidate subset of layers from the associated layer set and select one or more layers of the candidate subset of layers on which to schedule ul mimo transmissions of at least a portion of the control information provided by the control information source 112.

In one example, the candidate layer subset may include the respective layers of the set of associated layers that are determined to have the lowest code rate, modulation order, or the like among the layers of the set of associated layers. It can be appreciated that since PUSCH is less sensitive to rate matching and puncturing of DL Control Information (DCI) formats, e.g., at lower code rates and/or modulation orders, layer selection and mapping can be performed in this manner. Additionally or alternatively, as mentioned above, using one or more layers with low modulation orders and/or code rates for transmission of control information may in some cases result in higher protection against transmission errors or the like for the control information.

In an alternative example, the candidate layer subset may include layers of the set of associated layers that are determined to have a highest code rate, modulation order, or the like among layers of the set of associated layers. In one example, such an example may be utilized in situations where the UL antenna is unbalanced. For example, in the case of a network device having multiple antennas with varying gains, and each antenna being associated with one or more distinct layers, it can be appreciated that an antenna with higher gain can be associated with a relatively higher MCS than an antenna with lower gain. Thus, to minimize impact on other aspects of PUSCH and/or UL transmissions, control information may be mapped to the antenna(s) and/or corresponding channel(s) having the highest relative quality and/or corresponding MCS. Additionally, by mapping control information to a high MCS layer in this manner, it can be appreciated that the number of Resource Elements (REs) required to achieve a given quality target for the control information and corresponding data can be less than the number of REs associated with a low MCS layer, thereby enabling overhead for control transmissions to be reduced in some cases.

In another aspect, multi-layer transmission per control type can be facilitated by the layer mapping module 414, where, for example, 1 ≦ l_CQI|≤L、1≤|l_RIL is less than or equal to | L, and L is less than or equal to 1 |_ANL is less than or equal to | L. In such examples, the number of layers spanned may be configured differently for each control type 412 (e.g., CQI, RI, ACK/NACK, etc.). In one example, the layer mapping module 114, the layer selection module 422, or the like may map the control information to the layers in the above manner such that the impact on PUSCH performance and/or other suitable performance metrics is minimized to the extent possible while providing sufficient quality for the corresponding control information.

As described in various examples above, various offsets may be applied to control information mapped to various layers by utilizing offset selection module 426 and/or other suitable means associated with layer mapping module 114. In one example, a layer-independent offset can be applied to at least a portion of control information scheduled for transmission on respective layers in a set of layers associated with system 400. Additionally or alternatively, layer-dependent, codeword-dependent, and/or otherwise variable offsets may be applied to at least a portion of the control information scheduled for transmission on respective ones of the set of associated layers. In one example, the variable offset between the various layers may be given in terms of the various layers. For example, the values of the respective variable offsets may be determined based on at least one of a property (e.g., modulation order, coding rate, etc.) of the respective layers on which the transmission of the control information is scheduled or a number of layers on which the transmission of the control information is scheduled.

Referring again to fig. 1, upon receiving a ul mimo transmission, as constructed in accordance with one or more techniques described above with reference to system 400, base station 120 may utilize layer identification module 122 and/or other suitable means to identify the various layers to which control information has been mapped, based on which control processing module 124 and/or other suitable mechanisms may process the identified control information. As a particular example, layer identification module 122 may determine a first layer set to which a first type of control information corresponding to a transmission from UE110 is mapped, a second layer set to which a second type of control information, different from the first type of control information, corresponding to a transmission from UE110 is mapped, and so on.

In addition, in the event that an offset is applied by UE110 to the layer-mapped control information, layer identification module 122 and/or other components of base station 120 may be used to identify the control information that applies to the various layers to which the control information is mapped, such that at least a portion of the control information can be received in accordance with the offset applied to the control information. In one example, the offsets identified by base station 120 can be layer-independent offsets that are applied to control information mapped to respective layers corresponding to a transmission, respective per-layer offsets that are applied to control information mapped to respective layers corresponding to a transmission, and/or any other suitable offsets. In another example, the base station 120 can determine the respective per-layer offsets to apply to the control information according to at least one of a property of a layer to which the control information is mapped or a number of layers to which the control information is mapped.

Referring next to fig. 5, a block diagram of a system 500 that facilitates encoding and layer mapping of ACK/NACK information in accordance with various aspects is illustrated. According to an aspect, it can be appreciated that the presence of multiple layers on the UL can provide opportunities for redesigning TDDACK/NACK bundling and/or multiplexing mode operation. Accordingly, the system 500 may include a control information source 112 that provides one or more ACK/NACK bits 512 to a layer mapping module 114, which layer mapping module 114 may utilize an ACK/NACK encoding module 522 and/or a layer assignment module 524 as described in more detail herein. While the following discussion focuses on a multiplexing mode for communicating TDDACK/NACK, it should be appreciated that techniques similar to those illustrated and described herein may also be applied to bundling mode. Additionally, techniques similar to those described herein may be used for, for example, FDDACK/NACK communication on different DL/UL carriers or subcarriers, and/or any system that generally uses TDD and/or FDD for DL/UL communication and corresponding ACK/NACK signaling in any suitable manner. For example, the techniques described herein may be utilized in the context of a system in which ACK/NACK transmissions for multiple DL subframes, multiple DL carriers, or a combination thereof are made in one UL subframe.

In existing wireless network implementations, various TDDDL/UL configurations corresponding to different ratios of DL subframes and UL subframes may be utilized. As a specific non-limiting example, LTETDD configuration #5 includes 9 DL subframes every 1 UL subframe. Accordingly, in the case of utilizing such a configuration, ACK/NACK feedback corresponding to 9 DL subframes will be required at each UL subframe. However, such ACK/NACK configurations are generally not supported by existing systems due to the difficulty of providing sufficient quality for the ACK/NACK. More specifically, the number of ACK/NACK bits M that can be supported by the communication system is generally bounded by a relatively small number (e.g., 4) to ensure a satisfactory tradeoff between capacity and quality, thereby making configurations such as TDDDL/UL configuration #5 unsupported.

Accordingly, layer mapping module 114 can utilize a multi-layer (e.g., MIMO) transmission scheme utilized by devices associated with system 500 to facilitate ul ack/NACK transmissions for a larger number of respective DL subframes. For example, if the control information provided by control information source 112 includes one or more ACK/NACK bits corresponding to one or more DL transmissions on at least one of different subframes or different carriers, and the UL channel quality associated with system 500 is high enough to enable multi-layer transmissions, layer mapping module 114 can operate in various ways as described herein to facilitate improved ACK/NACK communications in terms of bit capacity, reliability, and/or other metrics.

In a first example, one or more ACK/NACK bits 512 may be jointly encoded (e.g., by ACK/NACK encoding module 522) and one or more layers on which to schedule ul mimo transmission of the one or more ACK/NACK bits 512 may be selected from a set of associated layers (e.g., via layer assignment module 524) as generally discussed above. Additionally or alternatively, the layer assignment module 524 may split the one or more ACK/NACK bits 512 into groups and select a plurality of layers from a set of associated layers on which to schedule ul mimo transmission of the groups of ACK/NACK bits 512. For example, a set of M ACK/NACK bits 512 can be split into 2 ≦ L' ≦ L layers such that:

wherein M is_lIs the number of bits carried by the L-th layer in the set of L' layers corresponding to one or more ACK/NACKs for each associated DL subframe. In one example, the selection of L' layers and the actual partitioning of the M ACK/NACK bits 512 as indicated above may depend on factors such as those listed above, and may also depend on additional factors such as TDDDL/UL configuration, actual number of DL transmissions in the subframe bundling window, number of codewords, and so forth.

In another example, upon receiving a ul ACK/NACK transmission constructed as generally described above, a base station (e.g., base station 120) can determine one or more layers to which respective ACK/NACK bits 512 are mapped, based on which the base station can appropriately process the ACK/NACK bits 512.

Turning to fig. 6, illustrated is a system 600 that facilitates MCS selection and application of control information within a wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects. As illustrated in fig. 6, the system 600 may include a control information source 112, a layer mapping module 114, and a transceiver 116, which may operate in various ways as generally described above. Additionally, the system 600 may include a modulation/coding module 610, and the modulation/coding module 610 may determine an MCS (e.g., via an MCS selector 612) for transmission of at least a portion of the control information provided by the control information source on one or more layers respectively selected for the control information by the layer mapping module 114, as generally described herein. Subsequently, at a receiving base station (e.g., base station 120), an MCS applied to at least a portion of the control information provided in the UL communication can be identified, as additionally described herein.

According to one aspect, data (e.g., PUSCH data) and various control fields (e.g., ACK/NACK, CQI/PMI, etc.) may be mapped to separate modulation symbols such that, for example, a single symbol (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, etc.) cannot contain both data and control. Accordingly, the MCS selector 612 and/or the modulation/coding module 610 may apply modulation and/or coding to the control information based on various criteria.

In a first particular non-limiting example, the control information processed by system 600 can comprise channel quality information (e.g., CQI, PMI, etc.), and MCS selector 612 can select an MCS for transmission of at least a portion of the channel quality information associated with data to be transmitted with the channel quality information. Thus, for example, the CQI/PMI and/or other control information may utilize the same modulation order and/or the same coding scheme (e.g., Reed-muller (rm) coding, tail-biting convolutional code (TBCC), etc.). Then, at a receiving base station (e.g., base station 120), a common MCS utilized for channel quality information and data within the transmission may be identified and used to process the channel quality information. In an alternative example, in some cases (e.g., scenarios in which the associated UL signal quality is above a predetermined threshold, etc.), CQI/PMI may be provided within the multiplexed UL transmission via puncturing of the respective data. In another example, the CQI/PMI may be provided via rate matching and/or in any other suitable manner.

In a second particular non-limiting example, the control information processed by system 600 can comprise at least one of ACK/NACK information or rank information. In such examples, the constellation for the ACK/NACK and RI may be limited to BPSK (e.g., 1-bit ACK and/or RI) or QPSK (e.g., 2-bit ACK and/or RI), and encoding and scrambling may be performed such that the euler distance of the modulation symbols carrying the ACK/NACK and/or RI is maximized. Thus, as an example, MCS selector 612 and/or other means associated with modulation/coding module 610 may select a modulation scheme for the ACK/NACK information and rank information from a group comprising BPSK and QPSK, and perform coding and scrambling on the ACK/NACK information and rank information such that the euler distance between modulation constellations associated with the ACK/NACK information and rank information is substantially maximized. Subsequently, at a receiving base station (e.g., base station 120), modulation constellations associated with the ACK/NACK information and the rank information, which are constructed via modulation/coding module 610 based on BPSK or QPSK and associated coding and scrambling, may be identified such that a euler distance between the modulation constellation associated with the ACK/NACK information and the modulation constellation associated with the rank information is substantially maximized.

In an alternative specific example, when the number of ACK/NACK bits is greater than 2 (e.g., to support multiple codewords, multiple DL hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes in TDD, multi-carrier operation in FDD, etc.), modulation/coding module 610 and/or MCS selector 612 may determine the MCS to utilize for the control information in various ways. For example, the ACK/NACK may use a coding scheme utilized for the channel quality information (e.g., a (20, m) code for CQI and/or PMI, etc.), a unique (n, k) coding scheme (e.g., (7, 3) coding scheme and/or any other suitable scheme), and/or QPSK modulation without parity coding. More specifically, in various wireless network implementations, the ACK bit (o)₀ ^ACKAnd o₁ ^ACK) Is provided with parity coding, e.g. o₂ ^ACK＝((o₀ ^ACK+o₁ ^ACK) mod2 such that three bits are transmitted using QPSK. Accordingly, the parity bit o may be removed₂ ^ACKTo enable the transmission of additional ACK/NACK bits. In such examples, scrambling and encoding may additionally be performed such that the euler distance is maximized. In another example, a combination of one or more of the above options, as well as any other suitable options, may be utilized.

Similarly, when the number of RI bits is 3 (e.g., to support up to 8 layers), encoding of the RI may be performed by modulation/encoding module 610 by, for example, using a coding scheme utilized for channel quality information, a coding scheme utilizing uniqueness for the RI, utilizing QPSK modulation with no parity coding, and/or performing any other suitable action as generally described above in the context of ACK/NACK information.

Thus, according to an aspect, MCS selector 612 and/or other devices associated with modulation/coding module 610 may select an MCS for control information including at least one of ACK/NACK information or rank information by performing at least one of the following actions: selecting an MCS associated with channel quality information or precoding information for transmission of at least a portion of the ACK/NACK information or rank information; encoding at least one of ACK/NACK information or rank information according to an (n, k) encoding scheme for predetermined values of n and k; or at least one of the ACK/NACK information or rank information is modulated according to QPSK such that parity bits provided via an associated QPSK constellation are used to carry additional ACK/NACK information or rank information.

Referring now to fig. 7-11, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with various aspects set forth herein are illustrated. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the methodologies are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with one or more aspects, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that: a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with one or more aspects.

Referring to fig. 7, an methodology 700 that facilitates mapping control information to one or more layers associated with a wireless communication system is illustrated. It is to be appreciated that methodology 700 can be performed by, for example, a mobile device (e.g., UE110) and/or any other appropriate network entity. Methodology 700 begins at block 702, where control information to be transmitted to one or more network entities (e.g., base station 120) is identified (e.g., via control information source 112). At block 704, information is obtained relating to a set of layers designated for ul mimo transmission. Next, at block 706, the respective layers on which to schedule the ul mimo transmission of at least a portion of the control information identified at block 702 are selected from the set of layers identified at block 704 (e.g., via layer mapping module 114).

Once the actions described at block 706 are completed, methodology 700 can end. Alternatively, methodology 700 can optionally proceed to block 708 prior to ending, where respective offsets are applied (e.g., via offset selection module 426) to control information scheduled (e.g., by layer selection module 422 at layer mapping module 114) for transmission on respective layers in the layer set.

Turning now to fig. 8, a flow diagram of a methodology 800 for preparing a transmission of ACK/NACK bits (e.g., ACK/NACK bits 512) for transmission is illustrated. Methodology 800 can be performed, for example, by a UE and/or any other appropriate network entity. Methodology 800 begins at block 802, where one or more ACK/NACK bits corresponding to one or more DL transmissions on different subframes and/or carriers are identified. Next, at block 804, information is obtained regarding a set of layers designated for ul mimo transmission.

Once the actions described at block 804 are completed, the methodology 800 can perform the actions described at blocks 806-808 and/or 810-812 before ending. At block 806, the one or more ACK/NACK bits identified at block 802 are jointly encoded (e.g., via ACK/NACK encoding module 522). At block 808, one or more layers on which to schedule the ul mimo transmission of the one or more ACK/NACK bits are selected (e.g., via layer assignment module 524) from the set of layers identified at block 804. Alternatively, at block 810, the one or more ACL/NACK bits identified at block 802 are split into a plurality of groups. Then, at block 812, a plurality of layers over which to schedule ul mimo transmissions for the respective groups of the one or more ACK/NACK bits as generated at block 810 are selected from the set of layers identified at block 804 (e.g., via layer assignment module 524).

Fig. 9 illustrates a methodology 900 that facilitates layer mapping, modulation, and coding of information to be transmitted in a MIMO communication system. Methodology 900 can be performed by, for example, a mobile terminal device and/or any other appropriate network entity. Methodology 900 begins at block 902, where control information to be transmitted to one or more network entities is identified. Next, at block 904, information is obtained regarding a set of layers designated for ul mimo transmission. At block 906, the respective layers of the ul mimo transmission on which at least a portion of the control information identified at block 902 is scheduled are selected from the set of layers identified at block 904. Methodology 900 can then conclude at block 908, wherein an MCS for transmission on one or more layers respectively selected for the control information at block 906 for at least a portion of the control information identified at block 902 is determined (e.g., via modulation/coding module 610).

Turning next to fig. 10, a first methodology 1000 for processing a multi-layer transmission received within a wireless communication environment is illustrated. It is to be appreciated that methodology 1000 can be performed, for example, by a base station (e.g., base station 120) and/or any other appropriate network entity. Methodology 1000 begins at block 1002, where a transmission provided by a network device (e.g., UE110) on multiple layers is identified (e.g., via transceiver 116). At block 1004, the respective layers to which control information is mapped corresponding to the transmission identified at block 1002 are identified (e.g., via layer identification module 122). Methodology 1000 can then conclude at block 1006, wherein at least a portion of the control information identified at block 1004 is received (e.g., via transceiver 116 and/or control processing module 124) on the respective layers determined at block 1004 to which the control information is mapped.

Fig. 11 illustrates a second methodology 1100 for processing a multi-layer transmission received within a wireless communication environment. Methodology 1100 can be performed by, for example, an eNB and/or any other appropriate network entity. Methodology 1100 begins at block 1102, wherein transmissions provided by a network device over multiple layers are identified. At block 1104, the respective layers to which control information is mapped corresponding to the transmission identified at block 1102 are determined. Next, at block 1106, offsets applied to the control information on the respective layers to which the control information is mapped as determined at block 1104 are identified. Methodology 1100 can then conclude at block 1108, wherein at least a portion of the control information identified at block 1104 is received in accordance with the offset applied to the control information identified at block 1106.

Referring next to fig. 12-13, various apparatuses 1200 and 1300 that may facilitate various aspects described herein are illustrated. It is to be appreciated that apparatus 1200 and 1300 are represented as including functional blocks, which can be functional blocks that represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware).

Referring initially to fig. 12, an apparatus 1200 that facilitates ul mimo communication of control signaling and data in a wireless communication system is illustrated. Apparatus 1200 may be implemented by a UE (e.g., UE110) and/or any other suitable network entity and may include a module 1202 for identifying control signaling to be transmitted in one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions and a module 1204 for selecting respective layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions on which to schedule at least a portion of the control signaling.

Fig. 13 illustrates an apparatus 1300 that facilitates ul mimo communication of control signaling and data in a wireless communication system. Apparatus 1300 can be implemented by a base station (e.g., base station 120) and/or any other suitable network entity and can include a module 1302 for identifying an uplink multi-layer transmission provided by a wireless device, a module 1304 for determining one or more layers of the uplink multi-layer transmission that contain control signaling, and a module 1306 for processing at least a portion of the control signaling contained on the one or more determined layers of the uplink multi-layer transmission.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a system 1400 that can be employed to implement various aspects of the functionality described herein. In one example, system 1400 includes a mobile terminal 1402. As illustrated, mobile terminal 1402 can receive signals from one or more base stations 1404 and transmit to the one or more base stations 1404 via one or more antennas 1408. Moreover, mobile terminal 1402 can comprise a receiver 1410 that receives information from receive antenna 1408. In one example, receiver 1410 can be operatively associated with a demodulator (Demod)1412 that demodulates received information. Demodulated symbols can then be analyzed by a processor 1414. Processor 1414 can be coupled to memory 1416, which can store data and/or program codes related to mobile terminal 1402. In one example, processor 1414 can additionally be utilized to perform methodology 700 and 900 and/or other similar and appropriate methodologies. Mobile terminal 1402 can additionally comprise a modulator 1418 that can multiplex a signal for transmission by a transmitter 1420 through antenna(s) 1408.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of another system 1500 that may be used to implement various aspects of the functionality described herein. In one example, system 1500 includes a base station or node B1502. As illustrated, the node B1502 may receive signals from one or more UEs 1504 via one or more receive (Rx) antennas 1506 and transmit to the one or more UEs 1504 via one or more transmit (Tx) antennas 1508. In addition, node B1502 can comprise a receiver 1510 that receives information from receive antennas 1506. In one example, the receiver 1510 is operatively associated with a demodulator (Demod)1512 that demodulates received information. The demodulated symbols can then be analyzed by a processor 1514. Processor 1514 can be coupled to a memory 1516, which memory 1516 can store information related to code clusters, access terminal assignments, lookup tables related thereto, unique scrambling sequences, and/or other suitable types of information. In one example, processor 1514 can additionally be employed to execute methodology 1000, 1100, and/or other similar and appropriate methodologies. The node B1502 can also include a modulator 1518 that can multiplex a signal for transmission by a transmitter 1520 through transmit antennas 1508.

Referring now to fig. 16, an illustration of a wireless multiple-access communication system in accordance with various aspects is provided. In one example, an access point 1600(AP) includes multiple antenna groups. As shown in fig. 16, one antenna group may include antennas 1604 and 1606, another group may include antennas 1608 and 1610, and another group may include antennas 1612 and 1614. Although only two antennas are shown in fig. 16 for each antenna group, it should be appreciated that more or fewer antennas may be utilized for each antenna group. In another example, access terminal 1616 can be in communication with antennas 1612 and 1614, where antennas 1612 and 1614 transmit information to access terminal 1616 over forward link 1620 and receive information from access terminal 1616 over reverse link 1618. Additionally and/or alternatively, access terminal 1622 can be in communication with antennas 1606 and 1608, where antennas 1606 and 1608 transmit information to access terminal 1622 over forward link 1626 and receive information from access terminal 1622 over reverse link 1624. In a frequency division duplex system, communication links 1618, 1620, 1624, and 1626 may communicate using different frequencies. For example, forward link 1620 may use a different frequency than that used by reverse link 1618.

Each group of antennas and/or the area in which they are designed to communicate can be referred to as a sector of the access point. In accordance with one aspect, antenna groups can be designed to communicate to access terminals in a sector of the areas covered by access point 1600. In communication over forward links 1620 and 1626, the transmitting antennas of access point 1600 can utilize beamforming to improve signal-to-noise ratio of forward links for the different access terminals 1616 and 1622. In addition, an access point using beamforming to transmit to access terminals scattered randomly through its coverage causes less interference to access terminals in neighboring cells than an access point transmitting through a single antenna to all its access terminals.

An access point, such as access point 1600, may be a fixed station used for communicating with terminals and may also be referred to as a base station, an evolved node B (eNB), an access network, and/or other suitable terminology. Moreover, an access terminal, such as access terminal 1616 or 1622, may also be referred to as a mobile terminal, user equipment, a wireless communication device, a terminal, a wireless terminal, and/or other appropriate terminology.

Referring now to fig. 17, a block diagram is provided that illustrates an example wireless communication system 1700 in which various aspects described herein can function. In one example, system 1700 is a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system that includes a transmitter system 1710 and a receiver system 1750. However, it is to be appreciated that transmitter system 1710 and/or receiver system 1750 can also be applied to a multiple-input single-output system in which, for example, multiple transmit antennas (e.g., on a base station) can transmit one or more symbol streams to a single antenna device (e.g., a mobile station). Further, it should be appreciated that aspects of transmitter system 1710 and/or receiver system 1750 described herein can be used in conjunction with a single-output to single-input antenna system.

In accordance with one aspect, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided at transmitter system 1710 from a data source 1712 to a Transmit (TX) data processor 1714. In one example, each data stream can then be transmitted via a respective transmit antenna 1724. Additionally, TX data processor 1714 may format, encode, and interleave traffic data for each data stream based on a particular coding scheme selected for each data stream in order to provide coded data. In one example, the coded data for each data stream can then be multiplexed with pilot data using OFDM techniques. The pilot data may be, for example, a known data pattern that is processed in a known manner. Further, pilot data can be used at receiver system 1750 to estimate channel response. Returning to transmitter system 1710, the multiplexed pilot and coded data for each data stream can be modulated (e.g., symbol mapped) based on a particular modulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM) selected for the respective data stream to provide modulation symbols. In one example, the data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream can be determined by instructions performed on and/or provided by processor 1730.

Next, the modulation symbols for all data streams can be provided to a TXMIMO processor 1720, which can further process the modulation symbols (e.g., for OFDM). The TXMIMO processor 1720 may then assign N_TOne modulation symbol stream is provided to N_TTransceivers 1722a through 1722 t. In one example, each transceiver 1722 can receive and process a respective symbol stream to provide one or more analog signals. Each transceiver 1722 can then further condition (e.g., amplify, filter, and upconvert) the analog signals to provide a modulated signal suitable for transmission over a MIMO channel. Accordingly, N from transceivers 1722a through 1722t_TThe modulated signals may then be respectively driven from N_TThe antennas 1724a through 1724t are transmitted.

According to another aspect, the transmitted modulated signal may be composed of N at receiver system 1750_RReceived by individual antennas 1752a through 1752 r. The received signal from each antenna 1752 can then be provided to a respective transceiver 1754. In one example, each transceiver 1754 can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, and downconvert) a respective received signal, digitize the conditioned signal to provide samples, and then processes the samples to provide a corresponding "received" symbol stream. The RXMMO/data processor 1760 may then receive and process data from the N based on the particular receiver processing technique_RThese N of transceiver 1754_RA stream of received symbols to provide N_TA stream of "detected" symbols. In one example, each detected symbol stream can include symbols that are estimates of the modulation symbols transmitted for the corresponding data stream. RX processor 1760 can then process each symbol stream at least in part by demodulating, deinterleaving, and decoding each detected symbol stream to recover traffic data for a corresponding data stream. Thus, the processing by RX processor 1760 can be complementary to that performed by TX mimo processor 1720 and TX data processor 1714 at transmitter system 1710. RX processor 1760 can additionally provide a stream of processed symbols to a data sink 1764.

In accordance with an aspect, the channel response estimate generated by RX processor 1760 can be used to perform space/time processing at the receiver, adjust power levels, change modulation rates or schemes, and/or other appropriate actions. In addition, RX processor 1760 can further estimate channel characteristics, such as, for example, signal-to-noise-and-interference ratios (SNRs) of the detected symbol streams. RX processor 1760 can then provide estimated channel characteristics to a processor 1770. In one example, RX processor 1760 and/or processor 1770 can further derive an estimate of the "operating" SNR for the system. Processor 1770 can then provide Channel State Information (CSI), which can comprise information regarding the communication link and/or the received data stream. This information may include, for example, the operating SNR. The CSI can then be processed by a TX data processor 1718, modulated by a modulator 1780, conditioned by transceivers 1754a through 1754r, and transmitted back to transmitter system 1710. In addition, a data source 1716 at receiver system 1750 can provide additional data for processing by TX data processor 1718.

Returning to transmitter system 1710, the modulated signals from receiver system 1750 can then be received by antennas 1724, conditioned by transceivers 1722, demodulated by a demodulator 1740, and processed by a RX data processor 1742 to recover the CSI reported by receiver system 1750. In one example, the reported CSI can then be provided to processor 1730 and used to determine data rates and coding and modulation schemes to be used for one or more data streams. The determined coding and modulation schemes can then be provided to transceivers 1722 for quantization and/or use in later transmissions to receiver system 1750. Additionally and/or alternatively, the reported CSI can be used by processor 1730 to generate various controls for TX data processor 1714 and TX mimo processor 1720. In another example, CSI and/or other information processed by RX data processor 1742 can be provided to a data sink 1744.

In one example, processor 1730 at transmitter system 1710 and processor 1770 at receiver system 1750 direct operation at their respective systems. Additionally, memory 1732 at transmitter system 1710 and memory 1772 at receiver system 1750 can provide storage for program codes and data used by processors 1730 and 1770, respectively. Further, at receiver system 1750, various processing techniques can be used to process these N_RA received signal to detect N_TA stream of transmit symbols. These receiver processing techniques may include spatial and space-time receiver processing techniques, which may also be referred to as equalization techniques, and/or "successive nulling/equalization and interference cancellation" receiver processing techniques, which may also be referred to as "successive interference cancellation" or "successive cancellation" receiver processing techniques.

It is to be understood that the aspects described herein may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or any combination thereof. When the systems and/or methods are implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, program code or code segments, they may be stored in a machine-readable medium, such as a storage component. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted using any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

For a software implementation, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art.

What has been described above includes examples of one or more aspects. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the aforementioned aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of various aspects are possible. Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term "includes" is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, the term "or" as used in this detailed description or in the claims means "not exclusive or".

Claims (56)

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

identifying control information to be transmitted to one or more network entities;

obtaining information related to a set of layers designated for uplink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission;

selecting, from the layer sets, a first layer set on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions of a first type of control information;

selecting a second layer set from the layer sets on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions of a second type of control information, wherein the second type of control information is different from the first type of control information; and

identifying a quality threshold associated with the control information and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers of the set of layers;

wherein the selecting the first layer set and the second layer set comprises selecting a subset of less than all layers in the layer set according to the quality threshold associated with the control information and the respective quality levels achievable by respective layers in the layer set.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising scheduling uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information on the subset of less than all layers in the set of layers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises:

identifying a candidate layer subset comprising layers of the set of layers determined to have a lowest code rate or modulation order among the layers of the set of layers; and

selecting one or more layers of the subset of candidate layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises:

identifying a candidate layer subset comprising layers of the set of layers determined to have a highest code rate or modulation order among the layers of the set of layers; and

selecting one or more layers of the subset of candidate layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the subset of less than all layers in the set of layers comprises one layer.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying respective offsets to control information scheduled for transmission on respective layers in the set of layers.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the applying comprises applying a layer-independent offset to at least a portion of the control information scheduled for transmission on respective layers of the set of layers.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the applying comprises:

applying respective variable offsets to at least a portion of the control information scheduled for transmission on respective layers in the set of layers; and

determining values of the respective variable offsets based on at least one of a property of the respective layers on which transmission of the control information is scheduled or a number of layers on which transmission of the control information is scheduled.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the control information includes one or more Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) bits corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions on at least one of a different subframe or a different carrier; and is

The selecting includes jointly encoding the one or more ACK/NACK bits and selecting, from the set of layers, one or more layers on which to schedule an uplink MIMO transmission of the one or more ACK/NACK bits.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the control information includes one or more Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) bits corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions on at least one of a different subframe or a different carrier; and is

The selecting includes splitting the one or more ACK/NACK bits into a plurality of groups and selecting, from the set of layers, a plurality of layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions for the respective groups of ACK/NACK bits.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for transmission of at least a portion of the control information on one or more layers respectively selected for the control information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the control information includes Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) information and rank information; and is

The determining includes:

selecting a modulation scheme for the ACK/NACK information and rank information from a group comprising Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) and Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK); and

performing encoding and scrambling on the ACK/NACK information and rank information such that a Euler distance between modulation constellations associated with the ACK/NACK information and the rank information is substantially maximized.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the control information comprises at least one of Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) information or rank information; and is

The determining comprises selecting an MCS for the control information by performing at least one of the following actions:

selecting an MCS associated with channel quality information or precoding information for transmission of at least a portion of the ACK/NACK information or rank information;

encoding at least one of ACK/NACK information or rank information according to an (n, k) encoding scheme for predetermined values of n and k; or

At least one of the ACK/NACK information or the rank information is modulated according to Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) such that parity bits provided via an associated QPSK constellation are used to carry additional ACK/NACK information or rank information.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the control information includes channel quality information; and is

The determining includes selecting an MCS for transmission of at least a portion of the channel quality information associated with data transmitted with the channel quality information.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of layers corresponds to at least one of a spatial layer or a codeword.

16. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data related to control information transmitted to one or more network entities and a layer set designated for uplink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission; and

a processor configured to select a first layer set from the layer sets on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions of a first type of control information, and to select a second layer set from the layer sets on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions of a second type of control information, wherein the second type of control information is different from the first type of control information;

the processor is further configured to identify a quality threshold associated with the control information and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers of the set of layers;

wherein the selecting the first layer set and the second layer set comprises selecting a subset of less than all layers in the layer set according to the quality threshold associated with the control information and the respective quality levels achievable by respective layers in the layer set.

17. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to schedule uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information over the subset of less than all layers in the set of layers.

18. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a candidate subset of layers comprising respective ones of the set of layers determined to have a lowest code rate or modulation order among the layers in the set of layers and to select one or more layers of the candidate subset of layers on which to schedule the uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information.

19. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a candidate subset of layers comprising respective ones of the set of layers determined to have a highest code rate or modulation order among the layers in the set of layers and to select one or more layers of the candidate subset of layers on which to schedule the uplink MIMO transmission of at least a portion of the control information.

20. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to apply respective offsets to control information scheduled for transmission on respective layers in the set of layers.

21. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the memory further stores data related to one or more Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) bits corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions on at least one of a different subframe or a different carrier; and is

The processor is further configured to perform at least one of the following actions:

jointly encoding the one or more ACK/NACK bits and selecting, from the set of layers, one or more layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmission of the one or more ACK/NACK bits; or

Splitting the one or more ACK/NACK bits into a plurality of groups and selecting, from the layer set, a plurality of layers on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions for the respective groups of ACK/NACK bits.

22. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for transmission of at least a portion of the control information on one or more layers respectively selected for the control information.

23. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein:

the memory further stores data related to Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) and rank information; and is

The processor is further configured to select a modulation scheme for the ACK/NACK information and rank information from a group comprising Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) and Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and perform encoding and scrambling on the ACK/NACK information and rank information such that a euler distance between modulation constellations associated with the ACK/NACK information and the rank information is substantially maximized.

24. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein:

the memory further stores data related to at least one of Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) or rank information; and is

The processor is further configured to select an MCS for the control information by performing at least one of the following actions:

selecting an MCS associated with channel quality information or precoding information for transmission of at least a portion of the ACK/NACK information or rank information;

encoding at least one of ACK/NACK information or rank information according to an (n, k) encoding scheme for predetermined values of n and k; or

At least one of the ACK/NACK information or the rank information is modulated according to Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) such that parity bits provided via an associated QPSK constellation are used to carry additional ACK/NACK information or rank information.

25. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 22, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to channel quality information; and is

The processor is further configured to select an MCS for transmission of at least a portion of the channel quality information associated with data transmitted with the channel quality information.

26. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 16, wherein the set of layers corresponds to at least one of a spatial layer or a codeword.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for identifying control signaling to be transmitted in one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions;

means for selecting a first layer set from a layer set designated for uplink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission on which to schedule an uplink MIMO transmission of a first type of control information;

means for selecting a second layer set from the layer sets on which to schedule uplink MIMO transmissions of a second type of control information, wherein the second type of control information is different from the first type of control information;

means for identifying a quality threshold associated with the control information and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers of the set of layers;

wherein the selecting the first layer set and the second layer set comprises selecting a subset of less than all layers in the layer set according to the quality threshold associated with the control information and the respective quality levels achievable by respective layers in the layer set.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the means for selecting comprises means for scheduling at least a portion of the control signaling on the subset of less than all layers in the set of layers.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the subset of fewer than all layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions comprises one layer.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for applying respective offsets to control signaling scheduled for transmission on respective selected layers.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein:

the control signaling includes one or more Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) bits corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions on at least one of a different subframe or a different carrier; and is

The means for selecting comprises at least one of:

means for jointly encoding the one or more ACK/NACK bits, and means for selecting one or more layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions on which to schedule the one or more ACK/NACK bits; or

Means for splitting the one or more ACK/NACK bits into a plurality of groups and means for selecting a plurality of layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions on which to schedule the respective groups of ACK/NACK bits.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for selecting a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for transmission of at least a portion of the control signaling on one or more layers respectively selected for the control signaling.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the respective layers associated with the one or more uplink multi-layer transmissions correspond to at least one of spatial layers or codewords.

34. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

identifying a transmission provided by a network device on a plurality of layers;

determining respective layers to which control information is mapped corresponding to the transmission; and

receiving at least a portion of the control information on the respective layer to which the control information is determined to map,

wherein the determining comprises:

determining a first layer set to which a first type of control information corresponding to the transmission is mapped; and

determining a second layer set to which a second type of control information, different from the first type of control information, corresponding to the transmission is mapped,

wherein the first layer set and the second layer set are selected according to a quality threshold associated with the control information and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers of the first layer set and the second layer set.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the receiving comprises:

identifying an offset applied to the control information on the respective layer to which the control information is mapped; and

receiving at least a portion of the control information according to an offset applied to the control information.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the identifying an offset comprises identifying a layer-independent offset that is applied to control information mapped to respective layers corresponding to the transmission.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the identifying offsets comprises identifying respective per-layer offsets that are applied to control information mapped to respective layers corresponding to the transmission.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising determining the respective per-layer offsets as a function of at least one of a property of the layer to which the control information is mapped or a number of layers to which the control information is mapped.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein:

the control information includes one or more Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) bits corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions on at least one of a different subframe or a different carrier; and is

The determining includes determining one or more layers to which the ACK/NACK bits are mapped.

40. The method of claim 34, further comprising identifying a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) to apply to at least a portion of the control information provided in the transmission.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein:

the control information comprises at least one of Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) information or rank information; and is

The identifying includes identifying a modulation constellation associated with the ACK/NACK information and the rank information that is constructed based on Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) or Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and associated coding and scrambling such that a euler distance between the modulation constellation associated with the ACK/NACK information and the modulation constellation associated with the rank information is substantially maximized.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein:

the control information includes channel quality information; and is

The identifying the MCS comprises identifying a common MCS utilized for the channel quality information and data within the transmission.

43. The method of claim 34, wherein the respective layers correspond to at least one of spatial layers or codewords.

44. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory storing data related to transmissions provided by a network device over a plurality of layers; and

a processor configured to determine respective layers corresponding to the transmission to which control information is mapped, and receive at least a portion of the control information on the respective layers to which the control information is determined to be mapped,

wherein the determining comprises:

determining a first layer set to which a first type of control information corresponding to the transmission is mapped; and

determining a second layer set to which a second type of control information, different from the first type of control information, corresponding to the transmission is mapped,

wherein the first layer set and the second layer set are selected according to a quality threshold associated with the control information and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers of the first layer set and the second layer set.

45. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 44, wherein the processor is further configured to identify an offset applied to the control information on the respective layer to which the control information is mapped, and to receive at least a portion of the control information in accordance with the offset applied to the control information.

46. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a layer independent offset that is applied to control information mapped to respective layers corresponding to the transmission.

47. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the processor is further configured to identify respective per-layer offsets that are applied to control information mapped to respective layers corresponding to the transmission.

48. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 44, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) applied to at least a portion of the control information provided in the transmission.

49. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 48, wherein:

the memory further stores data related to at least one of Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) or rank information; and is

The processor is further configured to identify a modulation constellation associated with the ACK/NACK information and the rank information constructed based on Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) or Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and an associated coding and scrambling such that a euler distance between the modulation constellation associated with the ACK/NACK information and the modulation constellation associated with the rank information is substantially maximized.

50. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 48, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to channel quality information; and is

The processor is further configured to identify a common MCS utilized for the channel quality information and data within the transmission.

51. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 44, wherein the respective layers correspond to at least one of spatial layers or codewords.

52. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for identifying an uplink multi-layer transmission provided by a network device;

means for determining one or more layers of the uplink multi-layer transmission that contain control signaling; and

means for processing at least a portion of control signaling included on one or more determined layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission,

wherein the determining comprises:

determining a first layer set to which a first type of control information corresponding to the transmission is mapped; and

determining a second layer set to which a second type of control information, different from the first type of control information, corresponding to the transmission is mapped,

wherein the first layer set and the second layer set are selected according to a quality threshold associated with the control information and respective quality levels achievable by respective layers of the first layer set and the second layer set.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising means for identifying an offset applied to control signaling contained on one or more determined layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission, wherein the means for processing comprises means for processing at least a portion of the control signaling contained on one or more determined layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission according to the offset applied to the control signaling.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for identifying an offset comprises at least one of: means for identifying layer-independent offsets applied to respective control signaling mapped to respective layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission; or means for identifying respective per-layer offsets applied to control signaling mapped to respective layers in the uplink multi-layer transmission.

55. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising means for identifying a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) to apply to at least a portion of the control information provided in the uplink multi-layer transmission.

56. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein each layer in the uplink multi-layer transmission corresponds to at least one of a spatial layer or a codeword.