Receivers for embedded ACK/NAK in CQI reference signals in wireless networks

1. A method for detecting at least two elements of transmitted uplink control information (UCI); comprising:

receiving a first set of symbols produced using a first information element;

receiving a second set of symbols produced using a second information element;

producing at least a first metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols; and

detecting the first information element using the first metric;

wherein the first information element is an acknowledgement (ACK/NAK), the second information element is channel quality information (CQI), and wherein producing the first metric further comprises:

decoding the CQI using a hypothesized first value for the ACK/NAK;

re-encoding the decoded CQI; and

using the re-encoded CQI and the received CQI to produce the first metric.

2. A method for detecting at least two elements of transmitted uplink control information (UCI); comprising:

receiving a first set of symbols produced using a first information element;

receiving a second set of symbols produced using a second information element;

producing at least a first metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols; and

detecting the first information element using the first metric;

producing at least a second metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols;

wherein the first metric is produced using a hypothesized first value for the first information element;

wherein the second metric is produced using a hypothesized second value for the first information element; and

wherein detecting the first information element comprises comparing the at least first metric and the at least second metric;

producing at least a third metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols, wherein the third metric is produced using a hypothesized first value for the second information element;

producing at least a fourth metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols, wherein the fourth metric is produced using a hypothesized second value for the second information element; and

wherein detecting the first information element further comprises comparing the at least third metric and the at least fourth metric.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising producing at least a second metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols by decoding the CQI using a hypothesized second value for the ACK/NAK.

4. A method for detection of acknowledgement feedback (ACK/NAK) and channel quality indication (CQI) in a wireless network, comprising:

receiving a transmission instance comprising CQI symbols and an ACK/NAK modulated reference signal (RS);

producing a first metric by decoding a CQI symbol to form a first version of a decoded CQI bit using an assumed ACK/NAK element having a first value;

producing a second metric by decoding the CQI symbol to form a second version of the decoded CQI bit using an assumed ACK/NAK element having a second value; and

selecting a version of the decoded ACK/NAK bit having an optimal metric by comparing the first and the second metric.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein producing the first metric further comprised re-encoding the first version of the decoded CQI bit to form a first re-encoded CQI symbol, and using the first re-encoded CQI symbol and the received CQI symbol to produce the first metric.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein producing the second metric further comprised re-encoding the second version of the decoded CQI bit to form a second re-encoded CQI symbol, and using the second re-encoded CQI symbol and the received CQI symbol to produce the second metric.

7. An apparatus for receiving in a wireless network, comprising:

processing circuitry coupled to a memory and to receiving circuitry;

the receiving circuitry being operable to receive a first set of symbols produced using a first information element and a second set of symbols produced using a second information element; and

the processing circuitry operable to produce at least a first metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols, and to detect the first information element using the first metric;

wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to produce at least a second metric using the first set and the second set of received symbols;

wherein the first metric is produced using a hypothesized first value for the first information element;

wherein the second metric is produced using a hypothesized second value for the first information element; and

wherein detecting the first information element comprises comparing the at least first metric and the at least second metric;

wherein the first information element is an acknowledgement (ACK/NAK), the second information element is channel quality information (CQI), and wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to produce the first metric by:

decoding the CQI using a hypothesized first value for the ACK/NAK;

re-encoding the decoded CQI; and

using the re-encoded CQI and the received CQI to produce the first metric.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , being a base station, and wherein the processing circuitry comprises a processor operable to execute instructions stored in the memory.