Hierarchical coding with multiple antennas in a wireless communication system

An apparatus in a wireless communication system, comprising:

• a first data processor operative to code and modulate a base stream of data to obtain a first data symbol stream;
• a second data processor operative to code and modulate an enhancement stream of data to obtain a second data symbol stream;
• a first spatial processor operative to process the first data symbol stream in accordance with a first spatial processing scheme to obtain a first plurality of symbol substreams;
• a second spatial processor operative to process the second data symbol stream in accordance with a second spatial processing scheme to obtain a second plurality of symbol substreams;
• and
• a combiner operative to combine the first plurality of symbol substreams with the second plurality of symbol substreams to obtain a plurality of transmit symbol streams for transmission from a plurality of transmit antennas,
• wherein the combiner is operative using a time division multiplexing scheme or a superposition scheme that:
• scales the first plurality of symbol substreams that are hierarchically coded with a first scaling factor to obtain a first plurality of scaled symbol substreams,
• scales the second plurality of symbol substreams that are hierarchically coded with a second scaling factor to obtain a second plurality of scaled symbol substreams, and
• performs multiplexing or summing the first plurality of scaled symbol substreams and the second plurality of scaled symbol substreams to obtain the plurality of transmit symbol streams, wherein multiplexing is performed when the time division multiplexing is used and summing is performed when the superposition scheme is used.

An apparatus in a wireless communication system, comprising:

• means for coding and modulating a base stream to obtain a first data symbol stream, wherein the base stream is designated to be received by a plurality of receiving entities;
• means for coding and modulating an enhancement stream to obtain a second data symbol stream, wherein the enhancement stream is designated to be received by at least one receiving entity, and wherein the coding and modulating for the base and enhancement streams are not dependent on channel realizations of receiving entities for the base and enhancement streams;
• means for processing the first data symbol stream in accordance with a first spatial processing scheme to obtain a first plurality of symbol substreams;
• means for processing the second data symbol stream in accordance with a second spatial processing scheme to obtain a second plurality of symbol substreams, wherein the processing for the first and second data symbol streams is not dependent on the channel realizations of the receiving entities for the base and enhancement streams;
• and
• means for combining the first plurality of symbol substreams with the second plurality of symbol substreams to obtain a plurality of transmit symbol streams for transmission from a plurality of transmit antennas,
• wherein the means for combining utilizes a time division multiplexing scheme or a superposition scheme, comprising:
• means for scaling the first plurality of symbol substreams that are hierarchically coded with a first scaling factor to obtain a first plurality of scaled symbol substreams,
• means for scaling the second plurality of symbol substreams that are hierarchically coded with a second scaling factor to obtain a second plurality of scaled symbol substreams, and
• means for performing multiplexing or summing the first plurality of scaled symbol substreams and the second plurality of scaled symbol substreams to obtain the plurality of transmit symbol streams, wherein multiplexing is performed when the time division multiplexing is utilized and summing is performed when the superposition scheme is utilized.

A computer program product tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause a computer to perform operations, comprising:

• coding and modulating a base stream to obtain a first data symbol stream, wherein the base stream is designated to be received by a plurality of receiving entities;
• coding and modulating an enhancement stream to obtain a second data symbol stream, wherein the enhancement stream is designated to be received by at least one receiving entity, and wherein the coding and modulating for the base and enhancement streams are not dependent on channel realizations of receiving entities for the base and enhancement streams;
• processing the first data symbol stream in accordance with a first spatial processing scheme to obtain a first plurality of symbol substreams;
• processing the second data symbol stream in accordance with a second spatial processing scheme to obtain a second plurality of symbol substreams, wherein the processing for the first and second data symbol streams is not dependent on the channel realizations of the receiving entities for the base and enhancement streams;
• and
• combining the first plurality of symbol substreams with the second plurality of symbol substreams to obtain a plurality of transmit symbol streams for transmission from a plurality of transmit antennas,
• wherein the combining utilizes a time division multiplexing scheme or a superposition scheme, comprising:
• scaling the first plurality of symbol substreams that are hierarchically coded with a first scaling factor to obtain a first plurality of scaled symbol substreams,
• scaling the second plurality of symbol substreams that are hierarchically coded with a second scaling factor to obtain a second plurality of scaled symbol substreams, and
• performing multiplexing or summing the first plurality of scaled symbol substreams and the second plurality of scaled symbol substreams to obtain the plurality of transmit symbol streams, wherein multiplexing is performed when the time division multiplexing is utilized and summing is performed when the superposition scheme is utilized.