Cooperative MIMO downlink scheduling

Abstract

Various aspects of the present application relate to cooperative multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink scheduling. Features for scheduling transmissions within a MIMO network are described to efficiently allocate resources taking into account the needs and / or characteristics of devices served by the network. Downlink modes or active sets can be scheduled based at least in part on channel state information and additional network system information available to a scheduling device.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to priority application

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 180,848, filed Nov. 5, 2018, entitled “COOPERATIVE MULTIPLE-INPUTMULTIPLE-OUTPUT DOWNLINK SCHEDULING”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 180,799, filed Nov. 5, 2018, entitled “VARIABLE MULTIPLE-INPUT MULTIPLE-OUTPUT DOWNLINK USEREQUIPMENT,” which published as U.S. Patent No. 10,432,272 on Oct. 1, 2019; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 180,869, filed Nov. 5, 2018, entitled “USER EQUIPMENT ASSISTED MULTIPLE-INPUTMULTIPLE-OUTPUT DOWNLINK CONFIGURATION”; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 180,870, filed Nov. 5, 2018, entitled “DISTRIBUTED MULTIPLE-INPUT DOWNLINK USEREQUIPMENT” which published as U.S. Patent No. 10,432,272 on Oct. 1, 2019. The disclosures of each of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to a wireless communication system, such as a heterogeneous multiple-input multiple-output wireless communication system. Background Art

[0004] The types of modern computing devices are increasing, and the requirements of each device are different and dynamically changing. Wireless communication systems that provide services for these devices are facing increasing resource constraints and requirements for service quality and quantity. Therefore, it is desirable to improve the provision of wireless communication services in systems such as multiple-input multiple-output systems. Summary of the invention

[0005] The innovations described in the claims each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the claims, some of the prominent features of the application will now be briefly described.

[0006] One aspect of the present application is a network system, which includes an antenna element and a scheduler in communication with the antenna element. The scheduler is configured to receive channel state information of a user equipment through at least one antenna element included in the antenna element. The channel state information identifies the transmission quality from one or more antenna elements to the user equipment. The scheduler is configured to determine a downlink data transmission mode to the user equipment based at least in part on the channel state information and additional network system information. The scheduler is configured to enable the transmission of active set data to the user equipment. The active set data identifies one or more service nodes to provide wireless downlink transmission services to the user equipment in the downlink data transmission mode.

[0007] The additional network system information may include load information for coordinating multipoint resources. Alternatively or additionally, the additional network system information may include characteristics of the user equipment, wherein the characteristics include at least one of the following: an application type utilizing the transmission service, a protocol utilized in the transmission service, a device type of the user equipment, or a mobility state of the user equipment.

[0008] The additional network system information may include a measure of mobility associated with the user equipment. The scheduler may be configured to determine that the downlink data transmission mode to the user equipment is a coordinated multi-point mode based at least in part on the measure of mobility indicating the mobility of the user equipment being less than a mobility threshold and the channel state information indicating a channel change state being less than a threshold. The scheduler may be configured to adjust the downlink data transmission mode to an alternative downlink data transmission mode based at least in part on the mobility measure indicating the mobility of the user equipment being greater than a mobility threshold or the channel state information indicating a channel state change being greater than a threshold.

[0009] The downlink data transmission mode may be a coordinated multi-point mode, and the scheduler may adjust the downlink data transmission mode to an alternative downlink data transmission mode based at least in part on the updated channel state information and the additional network system information.

[0010] The scheduler may be further configured to cause a mode indicator to be transmitted to the user equipment, wherein the mode indicator identifies the downlink data transmission mode.

[0011] The scheduler may be further configured to generate a metric indicating at least one of spatial channel information, mobility of the user equipment, link quality between the user equipment and one or more service nodes included in the active set, or network load for transmission to the user equipment, and identify a downlink data transmission mode based at least in part on a comparison between the metric and a threshold.

[0012] The scheduler may be further configured to receive a requested active set from the user equipment, wherein the one or more serving nodes include a node not included in the requested active set.

[0013] The scheduler may be configured to route the first downlink traffic to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode; and route the second downlink traffic to the second user equipment in a coordinated multipoint mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode may include at least one of: synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node.

[0014] The scheduler may be configured to: determine a transmission characteristic of one or more service nodes based at least in part on the channel state information and the additional network system information; and send a control message to the one or more service nodes to adjust the transmitter according to the transmission characteristic, wherein the transmission characteristic includes at least one of the following: transmission mode, transmission time, transmission frequency, transmission power, beamforming matrix, tone allocation, or channel rank. The scheduler may be configured to transmit the control message via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0015] Another aspect of the present application is a method for controlling a downlink data transmission mode of a user equipment. The method includes receiving channel state information of the user equipment by at least one antenna element included in the antenna element. The channel state information identifies the quality of transmission from one or more antenna elements to the user equipment. The method includes determining a downlink data transmission mode to the user equipment based at least in part on the channel state information and additional network system information. The method also includes causing active set data to be transmitted to the user equipment. The active set data identifies one or more service nodes to provide wireless downlink transmission services to the user equipment in the downlink data transmission mode.

[0016] The additional network system information may include load information for coordinating multipoint resources. Alternatively or additionally, the additional network system information may include spatial channel conditions of a channel associated with the user equipment. Alternatively or additionally, the additional network system information may include characteristics of the user equipment, wherein the characteristics include at least one of: an application type utilizing the transmission service, a protocol utilized in the transmission service, or a device type of the user equipment.

[0017] The method may further include generating a metric indicating at least one of: spatial channel information, movement of the user equipment, link quality between the user equipment and one or more serving nodes included in the active set, or network load for transmission to the user equipment; and identifying a downlink data transmission mode based at least in part on a comparison between the metric and a threshold.

[0018] The method may further include receiving a requested active set from the user equipment, wherein the one or more serving nodes include a node not included in the requested active set.

[0019] The method may further include causing the first downlink service to be routed to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode; and causing the second downlink service to be routed to the second user equipment in a coordinated multi-point mode, wherein the alternative downlink data transmission mode includes at least one of the following: synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node.

[0020] The method may further include determining transmission characteristics of one or more service nodes based at least in part on channel state information and additional network system information; and sending a control message to the one or more service nodes to adjust the transmitter according to the transmission characteristics, wherein the transmission characteristics include at least one of the following: transmission mode, transmission time, transmission frequency, transmission power, beamforming matrix, frequency allocation or channel rank.

[0021] The wireless downlink transmission service may include at least one of: a single network node transmission, a synchronous transmission across multiple network nodes for coherent combining, a transmission across multiple network nodes for incoherent combining, and multiple transmissions for user equipment selection.

[0022] Another aspect of the present application is a network system for performing downlink data transmission in multiple modes. The network system includes a scheduler and a transmitter communicating with the scheduler. The scheduler is configured to schedule a first downlink data transmission to a user equipment in a coordinated multipoint mode, and to schedule a second downlink data transmission to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data mode. The transmitter is configured to output first data associated with the first downlink data transmission to be transmitted to the user equipment in the coordinated multipoint mode, and to output second data associated with the second downlink data transmission to be transmitted to the user equipment in the alternative downlink data mode.

[0023] The scheduler may be configured to provide active set data to the transmitter. The active set data may identify one or more service nodes to provide wireless transmission services to the user equipment. The active set data may identify different sets of one or more service nodes for the first downlink data transmission and the second downlink data transmission.

[0024] The scheduler may be configured to schedule a third downlink data transmission to the second user equipment in the alternative downlink data pattern simultaneously with the first downlink data transmission.

[0025] Another aspect of the present application is a user equipment, which includes an antenna element, a receiver configured to process a signal received by the antenna element, and a processor. The processor is configured to receive first active set data identifying one or more service nodes from the receiver to provide downlink data transmission services to the user equipment in a coordinated multipoint mode. The processor is configured to detect a characteristic of the user equipment. The characteristic includes at least one of the following: an application type utilizing a downlink data transmission service, a protocol utilized in a downlink data transmission service, or a device type of the user equipment. The processor is configured to transmit channel state information and the characteristic for the user equipment through at least one of the antenna elements. The channel state information identifies the transmission quality from the network system to the user equipment. The processor is configured to receive updated active set data from the receiver through at least one antenna element, the updated active set data identifying one or more service nodes to provide transmission services to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode includes at least one of the following: synchronous transmission for coherent combining across multiple network nodes, transmission for incoherent combining across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best service node. The processor is configured to cause the receiver to be adapted to process signals in an alternative downlink data transmission mode from one or more serving nodes identified by the updated active set data.

[0026] Another aspect of the present application is a method for downlink transmission control of a user equipment. The method includes receiving first active set data identifying one or more service nodes from a receiver of the user equipment to provide downlink data transmission services to the user equipment in a coordinated multipoint mode. The method also includes detecting characteristics of the user equipment. The characteristics include at least one of the following: an application type utilizing the downlink data transmission service, a protocol utilized in the downlink data transmission service, or a device type of the user equipment. The method includes transmitting channel state information for the user equipment and characteristics of the user equipment through at least one of a plurality of antenna elements. The channel state information identifies the transmission quality from the network system to the user equipment. The method also includes receiving updated active set data identifying one or more service nodes from a receiver through at least one antenna element to provide downlink data transmission services to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode includes at least one of the following: synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, or single transmission from a selected best service node.

[0027] Another aspect of the present application is a user equipment, comprising an antenna element and a processor. The antenna element comprises a first antenna element. The processor is configured to receive information identifying an active set of one or more service nodes from a base station to provide a transmission service to the user equipment. The processor is configured to determine a selected mode for wirelessly receiving data using the first antenna element. The selected mode is a coordinated multi-point mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The processor is configured to transmit, through at least one antenna element, a request to receive data at the first antenna element in the selected mode.

[0028] The processor may be configured to: determine an expected active set of one or more service nodes to provide a transmission service to a user device; and transmit data indicating the expected active set via at least one antenna element. The expected active set may include at least one service node in the active set. Alternatively or additionally, the expected active set may identify at least one service node from a neighboring set.

[0029] The processor may be configured to determine the selected mode based on data indicative of a mobility state of the user equipment.The data indicative of the mobility state may include at least one of Doppler estimation data or channel state change data.

[0030] The processor may be configured to determine the selected mode based on a spatial channel condition of a channel associated with the user equipment. The processor may be configured to: detect a spatial parameter of the channel; and generate a channel state estimate based at least in part on the spatial parameter of the channel, wherein the channel state estimate indicates the spatial channel condition.

[0031] The processor may be configured to determine that the selected mode is a coordinated multi-point mode based on the mobility metric being less than a first threshold and the channel state information change being less than a second threshold.

[0032] The processor may be configured to: determine that the selected mode is an alternative downlink data transmission mode based on at least one of a mobility metric being greater than a first threshold or a change in channel state information being greater than a second threshold. The processor may be further configured to: detect a characteristic of a user equipment, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of: an application type utilizing a transmission service, a protocol utilized in the transmission service, or a device type of the user equipment; and generate a first threshold based at least in part on the characteristic.

[0033] The processor may be configured to maintain data identifying a neighbor set of one or more neighbor serving nodes to provide a transmission service to the user equipment, wherein the request identifies at least one neighbor serving node from the neighbor set.

[0034] The user equipment may further comprise a signal processing circuit configured to combine data received at the antenna elements in the coordinated multi-point mode and to separately process data received by the first antenna element in the downlink data transmission mode.

[0035] The downlink data transmission mode may include at least one of: synchronous transmission with coherent combining across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combining across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node. When the downlink data transmission mode is a single transmission from a selected best serving node, the selected best serving node may be identified by at least one of a user equipment or a network entity providing a transmission service.

[0036] The transmission service may include at least one of: a single network node transmission, a synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, a transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, and multiple transmissions for selection by a user equipment.

[0037] Another aspect of the present application is a method for requesting a selected communication mode. The method includes receiving an active set of one or more service nodes from a base station and using a processor of a user device to provide transmission services to the user device. The method includes determining, using the processor of the user device, a selected mode for wirelessly receiving data using a first antenna element of the user device. The selected mode is a coordinated multi-point mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The method also includes wirelessly sending a request to receive data at the antenna element in the selected mode.

[0038] The method may further include: determining, by a processor of the user equipment, an expected active set of one or more service nodes for wirelessly receiving data; and wirelessly sending data indicating the expected active set. The expected active set may include at least one service node in the active set. Alternatively or additionally, the expected active set may include at least one service node from a neighboring set.

[0039] The method may further include determining the selected mode based at least in part on data indicative of a mobility state of the user equipment, wherein the data indicative of the mobility state includes at least one of Doppler estimation data or channel state change data.

[0040] The method may further include determining the selected mode based at least in part on a spatial channel condition of a channel associated with the user equipment.

[0041] The method may further include detecting a characteristic of a user device, wherein the characteristic includes at least one of: an application type utilizing a transmission service, a protocol utilized in a transmission service, or a device type of the user device; generating a first threshold and a second threshold based at least in part on the characteristic; and determining that the selected mode is a coordinated multi-point mode based on a mobility metric being less than the first threshold and a channel state information change being less than the second threshold.

[0042] The method may further include detecting a characteristic of a user device, wherein the characteristic includes at least one of: an application type utilizing a transmission service, a protocol utilized on a transmission service, or a device type of the user device; generating a first threshold and a second threshold based at least in part on the characteristic; and determining that the selected mode is an alternative downlink data transmission mode based on at least one of a mobility metric value being greater than the first threshold or a channel state information change being greater than the second threshold.

[0043] The alternative downlink data transmission modes may include at least one of: synchronous transmission with coherent combining across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combining across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node, wherein the selected best serving node is identified by at least one of a user equipment or a network entity providing the transmission service.

[0044] The transmission service may include at least one of: a single network node transmission, a synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, a transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, and multiple transmissions for selection by a user equipment.

[0045] Another aspect of the present application is a network system, which includes an antenna element and a scheduler in communication with the antenna element. The scheduler is configured to receive a request from a user equipment through at least one antenna element included in the antenna element to wirelessly receive data in a specific mode, wherein the specific mode is a coordinated multi-point mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The scheduler is configured to determine a downlink data transmission mode and active set data to the user equipment based on the request and additional network system information. The active set data identifies one or more service nodes to provide a wireless downlink transmission service to the user equipment through the downlink data transmission mode. The scheduler is configured to transmit the active set data to the user equipment.

[0046] The scheduler may be configured to cause an indication of the downlink data pattern to be transmitted to the user equipment.

[0047] The request may identify a user equipment active set. The scheduler may be configured to dynamically generate active set data identifying one or more service nodes. The one or more service nodes may include nodes not included in the user equipment active set. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more service nodes may include nodes included in the user equipment active set.

[0048] The additional network system information may include load information for coordinating multipoint resources. The additional network system information may include spatial channel conditions of a channel associated with the user equipment. The additional network system information may include characteristics of the user equipment. The characteristics may include at least one of: an application type utilizing the transmission service, a protocol utilized in the transmission service, a mobility state of the user equipment, or a device type of the user equipment.

[0049] The scheduler may be configured to cause downlink traffic to be routed to the user equipment in the alternative downlink data transmission mode and to the second user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode.

[0050] The alternative downlink data transmission mode may include at least one of: synchronous transmissions with coherent combining across multiple network nodes, transmissions with incoherent combining across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node. In some applications, the alternative downlink data transmission mode may include a single transmission from a selected best serving mode, the scheduler may be configured to identify the selected best serving node, and the one or more serving nodes include the selected best serving node.

[0051] The scheduler may be configured to: determine a transmission power of the one or more serving nodes based on the request and the additional network system information; and send a control message to the one or more serving nodes to adjust the transmitter according to the transmission power.

[0052] The wireless downlink transmission service may include at least one of: single network node transmission, synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, and multiple transmissions for selection by user equipment.

[0053] Another aspect of the present application is a method for determining and implementing a downlink service mode to a user equipment. The method includes receiving a request from a user equipment to wirelessly receive data in a specific mode through at least one antenna element, wherein the specific mode is a coordinated multi-point mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The method includes determining a downlink data transmission mode and active set data for wirelessly transmitting data to the user equipment based on the request and additional network system information. The active set data identifies one or more service nodes to provide wireless downlink transmission services to the user equipment through the downlink data transmission mode. The method also includes transmitting the active set data to the user equipment.

[0054] The method may further comprise transmitting an indication of the downlink data transmission mode to the user equipment.

[0055] The request may identify a user equipment active set. The method may further include dynamically generating active set data identifying one or more service nodes. The one or more service nodes may include nodes not included in the user equipment active set.

[0056] The additional network system information may include load information for coordinating multipoint resources. The additional network system information may include spatial channel conditions of a channel associated with the user equipment. The additional network system information may include characteristics of the user equipment. The characteristics may include at least one of: an application type utilizing the transmission service, a protocol utilized on the transmission service, a mobility state of the user equipment, or a device type of the user equipment.

[0057] The method may further include causing downlink traffic to be routed to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode and to a second user equipment in a coordinated multipoint mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode may include at least one of: synchronous transmission with coherent combining across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combining across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node.

[0058] The method may further include determining a transmission power for one or more serving nodes based at least in part on the request and additional network system information; and sending a control message to the one or more serving nodes to adjust a transmitter according to the transmission power.

[0059] The wireless downlink transmission service may include at least one of: a single network node transmission, synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, or multiple transmissions for selection by the user equipment.

[0060] To summarize the present application, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the innovations have been described herein. It should be understood that not all of these advantages may be achieved according to any particular embodiment. Therefore, the innovation may be embodied or implemented in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or a group of advantages taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages taught or suggested herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Embodiments of the present application will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0062] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a heterogeneous multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) network according to an embodiment, in which a user equipment (UE) and a network system communicate wirelessly.

[0063] Figure 2 is a logical diagram that shows which operating modes can provide which types of wireless communications in a heterogeneous MIMO network.

[0064] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example environment for coordinated multi-point communications for UEs.

[0065] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example environment including macro-diversity communications for a UE.

[0066] Figure 5 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a scheduler of a network system in a heterogeneous MIMO wireless network according to an embodiment.

[0067] Figure 6 is a message flow diagram of an embodiment for configuring downlink data transmission for a user equipment.

[0068] Figure 7 is a message flow diagram of an embodiment for updating a downlink data transmission configuration of a user equipment.

[0069] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a network system including an exemplary baseband unit according to an embodiment.

[0070] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for dynamically configuring a downlink data traffic pattern for a user equipment in a network.

[0071] Fig.10is a flow chart illustrating an example method for dynamically configuring a downlink data traffic pattern for a user equipment in a network from the perspective of the user equipment.

[0072] Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating representative communications and events in a heterogeneous MIMO network associated with a user equipment requesting to receive downlink data in a desired mode according to an embodiment.

[0073] Fig.12 is a schematic block diagram of an example UE according to an embodiment.

[0074] Fig.13 is a flow chart of an example process for requesting a selected communication mode for receiving data at an antenna of a UE according to an embodiment.

[0075] Fig.14 is a flow chart of an example process for controlling a downlink data transmission mode to a UE based on a request from the UE according to an embodiment.

[0076] Fig.15 is a diagram illustrating allocation of active sets and transmission modes in a heterogeneous MIMO environment.

[0077] Fig.16A is a diagram illustrating active set and transmission mode allocation in a heterogeneous MIMO environment.

[0078] Fig. 16B is used to show the need for an updated network Fig.16A Fig. 2 shows the updated active set and transmission mode assignments for heterogeneous MIMO networks. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0079] Various descriptions of specific embodiments are given below for certain embodiment descriptions. However, the innovations described herein may be embodied in a variety of different ways, such as defined and covered by the claims. In this description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals may represent identical or functionally similar elements. It will be understood that the elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In addition, it will be understood that certain embodiments may include more elements than those shown in the drawings and / or a subset of the elements shown in the drawings. In addition, some embodiments may include any suitable combination of features from two or more drawings. The titles provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claims.

[0080] Distributed coordinated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) networks designed to provide high uniform data rates throughout the network may face some significant challenges. Such challenges can include providing services to devices on the move and / or providing reliable data services in poor channel conditions (e.g., when most devices are clustered around a few antenna nodes). The technology disclosed herein can provide high data rates and high reliability for devices across Doppler and different channel conditions in a distributed MIMO network, thereby reliably extending the advantages of distributed MIMO across the network to a larger set of devices. Such a network can provide low latency and high throughput with low jitter. Efficient service quality at high user density can also be achieved using such a network. Highly robust connections can enable mobile edge computing.

[0081] Additionally, there may be challenges with scalability across wide area networks and / or the complexity of implementing distributed MIMO networks at scale. The techniques disclosed herein can scale across wide area networks without significantly increasing the complexity of scale.

[0082] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a unified coordinated MIMO network across multiple transmit-receive points (TRPs) to serve devices under different channel conditions. Available network resources can be dynamically partitioned to be used between coordinated multi-point (CoMP) operation and alternative downlink data transmission operation modes (e.g., single frequency network (SFN), non-coherent combining (soft switching), best server selection SIMO (single input multiple output), best server selection single user MIMO (SU-MEMO), best server selection multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), etc.). Accordingly, a unified framework for operating in CoMP or alternative downlink data transmission working modes is provided. The network and UE (user equipment) can use a set of metrics-based criteria to determine the best operating scheme for serving a given antenna and / or device for downlink data transmission. The metrics may include device mobility states, Doppler estimates, metrics of network-to-UE channel matrix conditions (e.g., eigen-value spread, network congestion metrics (e.g., network load), etc.), or any suitable combination thereof. UEs that are in mobility or have a poor channel matrix may operate in an alternative downlink data transmission mode to gain reliability, while other UEs may use CoMP services to increase and / or maximize overall system capacity.

[0083] The technology disclosed herein relates to a wireless communication system having resources operable in both CoMP mode and at least one alternative downlink data transmission mode. In addition, the technology described herein provides a mechanism that enables the network to select the best operation mode between CoMP mode and at least one alternative downlink data transmission mode. A user device may request to receive data in CoMP mode or in alternative downlink data transmission mode. The wireless system disclosed herein may enable robust, continuous high data rate, ultra-low latency wireless connections within a dense network. The wireless system disclosed herein is applicable to user devices with various mobility and / or link conditions.

[0084] The network and the UE may collect a set of monitoring metrics, which may include monitoring the channel matrix conditions for each UE by measuring intrinsic spread, monitoring UE mobility by Doppler estimation, monitoring network load by scheduling metrics, and one or more of the metrics of UE channel state information (CSI) or throughput over time. The channel state information may identify the quality of transmission from one or more antenna elements (e.g., a MIMO antenna array) to the user equipment. The network may determine the best downlink data transmission mode for a particular UE based on these metrics. When conditions are suitable for CoMP mode, the network may serve the UE in CoMP mode. However, in response to detecting a condition indicating that CoMP mode is undesirable, the network may serve the UE with an alternative downlink data transmission mode. For example, for UEs whose Doppler estimates exceed a threshold or whose channel intrinsic spread is greater than another threshold, the network may serve the UE with an alternative downlink data transmission mode. As another example, if the network is over-congested in CoMP mode, UEs with poor channel conditions may be served with an alternative downlink data transmission mode.

[0085] The technology disclosed herein can use UE channel conditions to significantly improve the robustness of coordinated MIMO networks to ensure the reliability of services to users under adverse channel conditions while achieving high data capacity across the network for low mobility users. The technology disclosed herein comprehensively considers the operation scenarios and can flexibly select the best scenario for specific conditions.

[0086] Heterogeneous MIMO Networks

[0087] Figure 1is a diagram illustrating a heterogeneous multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) network according to an embodiment, in which a user equipment (UE) and a network system communicate wirelessly. The heterogeneous MIMO network can implement downlink cooperative joint transmission and / or reception across distributed antennas in a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) mode. The heterogeneous MIMO network can also implement a macrodiversity mode for wireless communication between the UE and the network system. The network system can allocate system resources between different operating modes. For example, carriers in the frequency domain can be used to divide resources between different operating modes. Alternatively or additionally, time slots can be used to divide resources between different operating modes in the time domain.

[0088] Heterogeneous MIMO networks provide a unified approach to serve both low-mobility and high-mobility UEs. In addition, heterogeneous MIMO networks can implement robust processing to handle singularities. Heterogeneous MIMO networks can address a variety of channel conditions to provide spectrum-efficient services. Network system spectrum efficiency can be improved through dynamic load balancing.

[0089] Figure 1 An example environment for distributed MIMO wireless communication is shown. Various standards and protocols may be included in environment 100 to wirelessly communicate data between a base station and a wireless communication device. Some wireless devices may communicate using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) digital modulation scheme via a physical layer. OFDM standards and protocols may include the third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard (e.g., 802.16e, 802.16m). WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) and the IEEE 802.11 standard, which may be referred to as Wi-Fi. In some systems, a radio access network (RAN) may include one or more base stations associated with one or more evolved Node Bs (also commonly represented as enhanced Node Bs, eNodeBs or eNBs, gNBs, or any other suitable Node Bs (xNBs)). In other embodiments, a radio network controller (RNC) may be provided as a base station. The base station provides a bridge between a wireless network and a core network (e.g., the Internet). A base station may be included to facilitate data exchange for wireless communication devices for a wireless network.

[0090] A wireless communication device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE). A UE may be a device used by a user, such as a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a cellular phone, a wearable computing device (e.g., smart glasses or a smart watch or a headset), one or more networked devices (e.g., a consumer networked device or an industrial factory device), an industrial robot or a vehicle with connectivity. In some embodiments, a UE may include a sensor or other networked device that is configured to collect data and provide the data wirelessly to a device (e.g., a server) connected to a core network such as the Internet. Such a device may be referred to as an Internet of Things device (IoT device). Downlink (DL) transmissions typically refer to communications from a base transceiver station (BTS) or eNodeB to a wireless communication device, while uplink (UL) transmissions typically refer to communications from a wireless communication device to a BTS.

[0091] Figure 1 A collaborative or cloud radio access network (C-RAN) environment 100 is shown. In the environment 100, the eNodeB functionality is subdivided into a baseband unit (BBU) 110 and multiple remote radio units (RRUs) (e.g., RRU 125, RRU 135, and RRU 145). The RRU may include multiple antennas, and one or more antennas may be used as a transmit receive point (TRP). The RRU and / or TRP may be referred to as a serving node. The BBU 110 may be physically connected to the RRU, for example, via an optical fiber connection. The BBU 110 may provide operational details to the RRU to control the transmission and reception of signals from the RRU and control data and payload data to be transmitted. The RRU may provide the network with data received from UEs within a service area associated with the RRU. As shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, RRU 125 provides services to devices in service area 120. RRU 135 provides services to devices in service area 130. RRU 145 provides services to devices in service area 140. For example, wireless downlink transmission services may be provided to service area 140 to communicate data to one or more devices in service area 140.

[0092] The RRU may include multiple antennas to provide multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications. For example, the RRU may be equipped with various numbers of transmit antennas (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or more) that may be used simultaneously for transmission to one or more receivers (e.g., user equipment (UE)). The receiving device may include more than one receive antenna (e.g., 2, 4, etc.). The receive antenna array may be configured to simultaneously receive transmissions from the RRU. Each antenna included in the RRU may be individually configured to transmit and / or receive according to a specific time, frequency, power, and direction configuration. Similarly, each antenna included in the UE may be individually configured to transmit or receive according to a specific time, frequency, power, and direction configuration. The configuration may be provided by the BBU 110. The direction configuration may be generated based on a network estimate using channel reciprocity, or determined based on feedback from the UE by selecting a beamforming codebook index, or based on a combination of both.

[0093] Figure 1 The service area shown can provide communication services to different types of user equipment. For example, service area 120 may include UE group 160, such as a device group associated with users participating in a large public event. Mobile user equipment 170 can move from service area 130 to service area 140. Another example of a mobile user device is a vehicle 156, which may include a wireless communication transceiver for real-time navigation, in-vehicle data services (e.g., streaming video or audio) or other data applications. Environment 100 may include semi-mobile or fixed equipment, such as robot equipment 158 ​​(e.g., a robot arm, an autonomous drive unit or other industrial or commercial robot), or television 154 is also configured for wireless communication.

[0094] User device 152 may be located in an area with overlapping services, such as service area 120 and service area 130. Each device in environment 100 may have different performance requirements, which may conflict with the requirements of other devices in some cases.

[0095] Figure 2 is a logical diagram illustrating which types of wireless communications may be provided in which modes of operation in a heterogeneous MIMO network. Macrodiversity communications may be assigned to messages related to acquiring services, requesting access to services, and control messages for services. Data services may use either macrodiversity communication mode or coordinated multipoint mode for communication of data services. Accordingly, macrodiversity mode is an alternative downlink data transmission mode. An alternative downlink data mode may be a mode in which acquisition, access, and control communications are communicated. Macrodiversity mode or coordinated multipoint mode may be selected based on any suitable criteria disclosed herein.

[0096] Figure 3300 is a diagram illustrating an example environment for coordinated multi-point communication for a UE. In environment 300, UE 152 may receive downlink data traffic from RRU 125 and RRU 135, each of which transmits one or more spatial layers via a corresponding TRP included in the RRU. Each spatial layer may correspond to a beam. The spatial layers may be coordinated, for example, by using a weighted combination for each layer to provide transmissions to a particular UE. Different sets of weighted combinations may be provided for different UEs. Transmissions from RRU 125 and RRU 135 may be coordinated by baseband unit 110. Coordination may include coordinating the timing of transmissions for UE 152 and data included in the transmissions. RRU 125 may transmit data to UE 152 using a first channel 310, and RRU 135 may transmit data to UE 152 using a second channel 320, wherein the first and second channels are the same for CoMP.

[0097] Figure 4 4 is a diagram illustrating an example environment including macro-diversity communications for a UE. In environment 400, a UE 410 may receive data traffic from an RRU 125 over a channel 420. The BBU 110 may select the RRU 125 as the best serving node for the UE 410. The evaluation may be based on signal strength, channel state information (CSI) reports received from the UE 410, mobility of the UE 410, spatial channel conditions of a channel of the UE 410, or other factors of the environment 400 detectable by the BBU 110. In some embodiments, the UE 410 may request a serving node. The UE 410 may identify the RRU 125 based on signal strength, expected data to be transmitted to or from the UE 410, or a control message received from the BBU 110. Another example of a macro-diversity communication mode is a single network node transmission from a selected node.

[0098] Another example of a macrodiversity communication mode is synchronized transmissions across multiple RRUs that are coherently combined by the UE 410. In this mode, each RRU can transmit downlink data traffic, and the UE 410 can decode portions of the different transmissions to assemble the data. The decoding can be based on transmission information (e.g., coefficients) shared between the transmitting RRU and the UE 410. Another example of a macrodiversity communication mode is non-coherent combining of transmissions from multiple RRUs. In a non-coherent system, the UE 410 can decode the received transmissions based on statistical information (e.g., coefficients) obtained from the received signal characteristics of one or more RRUs (which do not have to be time aligned) and combine or decode the data as part of the demodulation process. In CoMP mode, different TRPs transmit different spatial layers (e.g., different data) to one or more UEs. In macrodiversity mode, transmissions can be made from one TRP or the same data can be made across multiple TRPs.

[0099] Existing systems are configured to use one communication mode system-wide for downlink data traffic. By using only one downlink data traffic mode, the system may provide suboptimal service to at least some of the devices served. For example, where a service area includes a high density of UEs concentrated near one of many RRUs in the area, the beamforming and other transmission coordination required to provide high quality service to all UEs in the dense area may result in a significant reduction in communication rates within the service area using a coordinated multi-point approach. Similarly, in the case of fast UE movement, the CoMP approach may incur a large amount of overhead to provide service to the mobile UEs.

[0100] To indicate the downlink data service mode, the BBU 110 may send one or more identifiers to the UE. The identifier indicates the RRU that provides the downlink data service to the UE. The set of identifiers may be referred to as the active set of the UE. In macrodiversity mode, the active set may include identifiers of a single RRU or a group of RRUs that transmit the same data to the UE for soft combining (SFN) or incoherent combining (soft handover). In coordinated multipoint mode, the active set may include identifiers of RRUs that coordinate one or more spatial layers that provide downlink data services to the UE.

[0101] As described in further detail below, the BBU 110 can dynamically evaluate characteristics of the network or the UE to determine which mode to use for downlink data traffic for the UE. This allows the BBU 110 to selectively communicate with the UE based on network conditions or the operational requirements of the UE. This also allows the BBU 110 to allocate transmission resources with consideration of the overall network impact, rather than treating each UE as an independent allocation that has no impact on the traffic patterns allocated to other devices.

[0102] Figure 1 The illustrated environment 100 may represent a portion of a larger environment that includes additional or alternative baseband units coupled with additional or alternative remote radio units.

[0103] Mode determination

[0104] In a heterogeneous MIMO network, the downlink data transmission mode can be dynamically determined. As described above, the downlink data transmission mode can be a CoMP mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode can be any of the macrodiversity modes disclosed herein. The alternative downlink data transmission mode can be a mode in which acquisition, access, and control communications are transmitted. The network scheduler can determine the downlink data transmission mode from the base station to the UE and / or to one or more specific antennas of the UE. The downlink data transmission mode can be selected based on network-centric determination or UE-assisted determination. The network-centric determination can be based on UE reports and system load data. UE-assisted determination can be based on a request for the UE to receive downlink transmission data in a selected mode. This article provides more details on the technical features of network-centric mode determination and UE-assisted mode determination.

[0105] The desired operating mode may be selected by the scheduler based on any suitable information. One or more of the following types of information may be used to determine the downlink data transmission mode: UE link quality, UE mobility data, network-to-UE channel matrix conditions, or network load. Mobility data such as Doppler estimates and / or channel state information (CSI) changes may be used to determine the desired mode. With increased mobility, CoMP mode may be more difficult and / or less efficient. For example, when a mobile phone is used on a fast-moving train, CoMP may be difficult due to, for example, poor channel estimation caused by rapidly changing channel conditions, and an alternative downlink data transmission mode may be selected. Network-to-UE channel matrix conditions (e.g., CSI estimates) may be used to determine the desired mode. When the network-to-UE channel matrix is ​​not ideal and / or not suitable for CoMP, an alternative downlink data transmission mode may be used. Network load data may be used to generate interference data in a base station. Such network load data may be used by the scheduler to determine the selected operating mode. As an example, the scheduler may select an alternative downlink data transmission mode in response to network data indicating a relatively high load on CoMP resources.

[0106] The scheduler may select a mode for downlink data transmission from one or more serving nodes to the user equipment. In response to determining that conditions are suitable for CoMP, the network scheduler may select CoMP as the selected mode. Otherwise, the network scheduler may select an alternative downlink data transmission mode as the desired mode.

[0107] The scheduler may select CoMP as the selected mode in response to determining that mobility is less than a threshold. Mobility may be determined by a mobility metric of the UE such as CSI or Doppler estimation. Alternatively or additionally, the scheduler may select CoMP as the selected mode in response to determining that a difference between maximum and average eigenvalues ​​of a downlink channel matrix is ​​less than a threshold. For example, the scheduler may select CoMP as the selected mode in response to determining that (1) mobility is less than a first threshold, (2) the difference between maximum and average eigenvalues ​​of a downlink channel matrix is ​​less than a second threshold; (3) an estimated relative spectral efficiency of the CoMP mode serving the UE is higher than an alternative downlink data transmission mode, or (4) any appropriate combination of the foregoing (1) to (3). For example, the CoMP mode may be selected by (1), (2), and (3). As another example, the CoMP mode may be selected by any two of (1), (2), or (3). In some cases, the CoMP mode may be selected by any one of (1), (2), or (3). The first threshold and / or the second threshold may be adjusted based on one or more characteristics associated with the UE. The one or more characteristics of the UE may include device type, software programs running on the UE, protocols, use cases, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0108] The scheduler may select an alternative downlink data transmission mode as the selected mode in response to determining that a condition indicates that the CoMP mode is not desirable. Such conditions may include one or more of: sufficiently high mobility, low intrinsic spread of a downlink channel matrix for the UE, or sufficiently high load detected on the CoMP resources. Thus, the scheduler may select the alternative downlink data transmission mode as the selected mode in response to determining that (1) the mobility is sufficiently high or (2) the intrinsic spread of a downlink channel matrix for the UE is low or (3) sufficiently high load is detected on the CoMP resources or (4) an estimated relative spectral efficiency of providing the alternative downlink data mode to the UE is higher than the CoMP mode. The mobility may be sufficiently high when the mobility exceeds a first threshold. The load on the CoMP resources may be based on a relatively large number of UEs detecting interference and / or being in proximity to each other. Sufficiently high load on the CoMP resources may involve a number of UEs being significantly greater than a number of distributed antennas of the heterogeneous MIMO network.

[0109] The scheduler may be implemented as a discrete hardware device. The scheduler may include one or more communication ports to send and / or receive messages over a network. For example, the scheduler may be communicatively coupled to the BBU to provide at least a portion of the scheduling features described. In some embodiments, the scheduler may be integrated within the BBU. The scheduler may be implemented using a specifically configured circuit to provide at least a portion of the scheduling features described. In some embodiments, the scheduler may include a processor configured by specific instructions stored in a non-transitory data memory. When the processor executes the specific instructions, it may cause the scheduler to perform at least a portion of the scheduling features described.

[0110] Figure 5 5 is a schematic diagram showing a heterogeneous MIMO wireless network 500 according to an embodiment, which includes a baseband unit 510. As shown in the figure, the baseband unit 510 includes a user data queue block 512, a scheduler control 514, a time / frequency resource allocation block 516, an active set and beam management block 518, a transceiver 520, a CSI calculation block 522, and an active set serving node update block 524. The baseband unit 510 may include any suitable physical hardware to implement the blocks shown. For example, the baseband unit 510 may include a processor and a computer readable memory to implement Figure 5 Heterogeneous MIMO wireless network 500 also includes user equipment 560 and 565 and serving nodes 570 , 580 , and 590 .

[0111] The baseband unit 510 includes a scheduler that schedules user data for wireless transmission from service nodes 570, 580, and 590 to user equipment 560 and 565. The scheduler can schedule downlink data traffic in CoMP mode and in alternative downlink data transmission mode. For example, the scheduler can schedule downlink data traffic to one UE in CoMP mode and to another UE in alternative downlink data. As another example, the scheduler can schedule downlink data traffic to the UE in CoMP mode at a first time and to the UE in alternative downlink data at a second time. The service node can alternatively be referred to as a transmission point for downlink data transmission. The scheduler can schedule data from any suitable number of service nodes to any suitable number of user equipment. The scheduler can include a user data queue block 512, a scheduler control 514, a time / frequency resource allocation block 516, an active set and beam management block 518, a CSI calculation block 522, and an active set service node update block 524.

[0112] The transceiver 520 may provide a UE report from the user equipment 560 and / or 565 to the scheduler. The UE report may include CSI information and active set information. The UE report may also include any other suitable information from the UE, such as other information from which the selected mode of downlink data transmission is determined. The CSI calculation block 522 may calculate CSI data from the data in the UE report. The active set serving node update block 524 may determine an updated active set for one or more UEs. In some instances, the active set serving node update block 524 may determine an updated active set for a subset of one or more antennas of the UE. The active set serving node update block 524 may use any suitable indicator disclosed herein to determine the selected downlink data transmission mode and update the active set associated with the UE.

[0113] The updated active set data is provided to the scheduler control 514. The user data queue block 512 may provide the user data to the scheduler control 514. The scheduler control 514 provides the user data to the transceiver 520 and also provides instructions to the time / frequency resource allocation block 516. The time / frequency resource allocation block 516 may schedule the timing and frequency of downlink data transmissions from the service nodes 570, 580, and 590. This may avoid timing conflicts and frequency domain conflicts. The active set and beam management block 518 may identify the service nodes 570, 580, and 590 to provide wireless transmission services to the UEs 560 and 565 from the active set data. The active set and beam management block 518 may group downlink data transmissions and manage beamforming from the service nodes 570, 580, and 590 to the UEs 560 and 565. The transceiver 520 provides data for transmission by the service nodes 570, 580, and 590 to the UEs 560 and 565.

[0114] like Figure 5 As shown, the scheduler can enable the network system of the heterogeneous MIMO wireless network 500 to wirelessly transmit the first user data to the first user equipment 565 in the CoMP mode, and to wirelessly transmit the second user data to the second user equipment 560 in the alternative downlink data transmission mode. In addition, the scheduler can enable the network system of the heterogeneous MIMO wireless network to wirelessly transmit the user data to any suitable number of UEs in the CoMP mode, and to wirelessly transmit the user data to any suitable number of UEs in the alternative downlink data transmission mode.

[0115] Determination of Network-Centric Communication Mode

[0116] Figure 66 is a message flow diagram of an embodiment for configuring downlink data transmission for a user equipment. Message flow 600 illustrates example messages that may be sent between a user equipment 610, a remote radio unit 620, and a baseband unit 630. Additional or alternative entities may be included to communicate one or more of the interactions shown, such as network routers, switches, security devices, etc.

[0117] Through message 650, UE 610 may request network services through RRU 620. The connection request may include an identifier for UE 610, such as a MEID or UUID of UE 610. In some embodiments, the identifier may be associated with account information indicating a service level and other network services accessible to UE 610. Message 650 may be received through a wireless communication channel connecting UE 610 and RRU 620.

[0118] RRU 620 may request a connection for UE 610 from BBU 630 via message 652. The request may include an identifier for UE 610 and an identifier of RRU 620 that received the connection request from UE 610. Message 652 may be transmitted from RRU 620 to BBU 630 using a wired or wireless communication channel.

[0119] Through message 654, BBU 630 may generate an active set of one or more service nodes (e.g., RRUs or TRPs) to provide the requested service to UE 610. The generation of the active set may include generating scheduling information for UE 610. The scheduling information may identify one or more of a transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank for downlink data transmission to UE 610. The generation of the active set may include consideration of network system information (e.g., network load). For example, if the number of UEs served by RRU 620 exceeds a threshold, it may be desirable to allocate an active set representing a macrodiversity transmission mode.

[0120] Through message 656, BBU 630 may send downlink scheduling parameters to RRU 620. The parameters may include transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency tone allocation, or channel rank. RRU 620 may send message 658 to UE 610 indicating an active set for the requested downlink transmission service. Message 658 may include transmission parameters (e.g., transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency tone allocation, or rank) that UE 610 may obtain from the active set.

[0121] UE 610 may adjust a transceiver or other signal processing circuitry based on the parameters received via message 658 via message 660. The adjustment may include tuning one or more antennas of UE 610. The adjustment may include changing a demodulation and / or decoding pipeline for UE 610 to properly interpret downlink messages. For example, if UE 610 was initially assigned a CoMP mode, subsequent conditions may cause BBU 630 to change UE 610 to a macrodiversity mode. The manner in which received messages are processed (e.g., decoded) may require changes to a demodulation and / or decoding pipeline or other elements of UE 610 to ensure continuity of data transactions when the mode changes.

[0122] Via message 662, RRU 620 may adjust the transceiver or other signal processing circuitry based on the downlink scheduling parameters received via message 656. The adjustments by RRU 620 may occur simultaneously with the adjustments by UE 610 or at overlapping times.

[0123] After both the RRU 620 and the UE 610 are configured to the downlink data transmission mode identified by the BBU 630, the messaging 664 can carry data between the UE 610 and the RRU 620. Other RRUs (not shown) can be configured by the BBU 630 to provide downlink data transmission services. For example, if the downlink transmission mode is a coordinated multi-point mode, the RRU 620 and at least one additional RRU can be configured to send data to the UE 610. The uplink and downlink data transmissions can be different modes. Alternatively or additionally, the uplink and downlink data transmissions can have different associated activity sets. For example, there can be a downlink activity set and an uplink activity set.

[0124] Figure 6 The messaging in FIG. 1 shows how to identify an initial active set and network adjustment parameters for a first transmission mode for a UE. As described above, today's networks are dynamic ecosystems where devices move, power on, power off, etc. These dynamic conditions may cause the initial evaluation of the downlink transmission mode to change based on changing network and / or UE characteristics.

[0125] Figure 7 7 is a message flow diagram of an embodiment for updating a downlink data transmission configuration of a user equipment. Message flow 700 illustrates example messages that may be transmitted between a user equipment 710, a remote radio unit 720, and a baseband unit 730. Additional or alternative entities may be included to communicate one or more of the interactions shown, such as network routers, switches, security devices, etc.

[0126] Through the message 750, the UE 710 can detect UE conditions. The detectable UE conditions include channel conditions connected to the RRU 720. Channel conditions may include signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, spatial characteristics, Doppler information, UE capability changes (e.g., active receiving and / or transmitting antennas). The UE conditions may include operating characteristics of the UE 710, such as applications executed on the UE 710, communication protocols used by applications executed on the UE 710, or movement of the UE 710 (e.g., Doppler estimation or channel state changes). The UE conditions may include information about the UE 710, such as device type, operating system, peripheral devices connected to the UE 710, etc.

[0127] Through message 752, UE 710 may provide at least a portion of the UE conditions detected through message 750 to RRU 720. Message 752 may include a channel state information (CSI) report. In some embodiments, message 752 may include multiple messages, each message including a different UE condition.

[0128] The RRU 720 may send the condition information to the BBU 730 via the message 754. The message 754 may include identifiers for the UE 710 and the RRU 720 to allow the BBU 730 to associate the condition information with a specific downlink channel (eg, a UE and RRU combination).

[0129] Based at least in part on the UE condition information and network condition information that may be detected by the BBU 730, the BBU 730 may generate a downlink schedule for the UE 710 via message 756. The generation of message 756 may be similar to Figure 6 The generation of message 654 is shown. However, in Figure 7 In the example, UE 710 may have identified an initial active set and a transmission mode. The initial active set and / or transmission mode may change due to changes in network conditions or UE condition information.

[0130] The BBU 730 may provide downlink scheduling parameters to the RRU 720. The parameters may include one or more of a transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank. The RRU 720 may send a message 760 to the UE 710 indicating an active set and / or scheduling parameters for the requested downlink transmission service. The message 760 may include transmission parameters (e.g., transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank) that the UE 710 may expect to obtain from the active set. The message 760 may include an indication of the transmission mode identified for the UE 710.

[0131] UE 710 may adjust a transceiver, a receiver (e.g., a receiver of a transceiver), or other signal processing circuitry based on the parameters received via message 760 via message 762. The adjustment may include tuning one or more antennas of UE 710. The adjustment may include changing a demodulation and / or decoding pipeline for UE 710 to properly interpret downlink messages. For example, if UE 710 was initially assigned a CoMP mode, subsequent conditions may cause BBU 730 to change UE 610 to a macrodiversity mode. The manner in which received messages are processed (e.g., decoding) may require changes to demodulation and / or decoding pipelines or other elements of UE 710 to ensure continuity of data transactions when the mode changes.

[0132] Via message 764, RRU 720 may adjust transceiver or other signal processing circuitry based on the downlink scheduling parameters received via message 758. The adjustments by RRU 720 may occur simultaneously with the adjustments by UE 710 or at overlapping times.

[0133] After both the RRU 720 and the UE 710 are configured for a downlink data transmission mode recognized by the BBU 730, the message 766 may carry data between the UE 710 and the RRU 720. Other RRUs (not shown) may be configured by the BBU 730 to provide downlink data transmission services. For example, if the downlink transmission mode is a coordinated multi-point mode, the RRU 720 and at least one additional RRU may be configured to send data to the UE 710.

[0134] Figure 8 890. The baseband unit 820 may be coupled to at least one remote radio unit 890. The remote radio unit 890 may include at least a first antenna 896 and a second antenna 898 for MIMO wireless communication. Any antenna disclosed herein, such as antenna 896 or antenna 898, may be referred to as an antenna element. The first antenna 896 and the second antenna 898 may be coupled to a radio frequency (RF) front end 894. The RF front end 894 may process signals received through the first antenna 896 and the second antenna 898. Part of processing the signal may include sending the signal to a transceiver 820 included in the BBU 802.

[0135] The processor 805 may receive a signal received by the transceiver 820. The processor 805 may be configured to determine the type of the signal. For example, if the signal includes a request for a connection service, the processor 805 may provide the signal to the active set selector 835. The active set selector 835 may be configured to identify the active set of the service node to provide the requested downlink data transmission service. The active set selector 835 may identify the active set of the UE based on information associated with the UE. Alternatively or additionally, the active set selector 835 may identify the active set for the UE based on information associated with one or more other UEs. In some cases, the active set selector 835 may determine the transmission mode of the downlink data transmission service. The BBU 802 may include a network monitor 825 to detect characteristics of the network, such as the number of UEs served by each RRU, network data transmission load, etc. The active set selector 835 may receive network characteristics from the network monitor 825 as a factor to be considered when identifying the active set and / or transmission mode for the UE request. A beamformer 815 may be included in the BBU 802 to further identify parameters of service nodes (e.g., RRUs) included in the active set. The parameters may include one or more of a transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank. The beamformer 815 may determine optimal parameters for the RRUs coupled to the BBU 802, which are conducive to network-wide optimization of downlink data transmission. In some embodiments, the UE may provide the requested active set. The BBU 802 may include an active set arbitrator 830 to coordinate the requested active set with the active set selected by the active set selector 835. The active set arbitrator 830 may compare the requested service node set with the service nodes identified by the active set selector 835. The comparison may include sorting the service nodes according to the UE recommendation. In some embodiments, the active set arbitrator 830 may provide a message to the UE indicating confirmation or other evaluation of the requested active set. For example, if the UE requests nodes A and B, but the BBU 802 identifies only B in the active set, the message may include a code indicating a partial match in the active set. Other status codes may be included to facilitate efficient communication and evaluation of the requested active set. The active set arbiter 830 may additionally or alternatively compare the requested transmission mode to the transmission modes identified by the active set selector 835 or other elements of the BBU 802.

[0136] The BBU 802 may include a data memory 810. The data memory 810 may include instructions executable by the processor 805 to implement the described features. In some embodiments, the data memory 810 may retain active sets or other scheduling information assigned to UEs served by the BBU 802. The data memory 810 may be indexed by UE identifier and / or RRU identifier. This may speed up identification of previously transmitted scheduling information for UEs and be used to monitor network conditions (e.g., the number of UEs assigned to an RRU or antenna elements of the RRU).

[0137] In addition to providing scheduling information to the UE, the scheduling information may also be used to configure the RRU 890. The configuration may include adjusting the first antenna 896, such as by frequency modulation, time modulation, changing the transmission power from the power supply 892, or adjusting the direction of transmission, frequency tone allocation, or beamforming.

[0138] Fig. 9 900 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for dynamically configuring a downlink data service mode for a user equipment in a network. The method 900 may be performed in whole or in part under the control of a coordination device such as a baseband unit. The method 900 illustrates features for identifying coordinated multipoint communications or alternative modes for downlink data service to a UE. The identification includes an evaluation of network conditions and attributes of the UE to be served. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store specific instructions that, when executed, perform some or all of the method 900 disclosed herein and / or some or all of any other suitable method.

[0139] Method 900 may start at block 902. At block 904, a coordination device may receive channel state information for a user equipment. The channel state information may be received as part of a CSI report sent by the user equipment. The channel state information may include a channel quality indicator for one or more channels available to the UE. The channel state information may include precoding information such as a preferred beamforming matrix for preprocessing a signal to be sent to the UE. The channel state information may include channel rank information, a desired modulation and coding selection (MCS), and an associated active set for channels available to the UE. The channel rank may indicate the number of spatial layers / channels available for communication with the UE.

[0140] At box 906, the coordination device may detect additional network system information. In some embodiments, the additional network system information may include characteristics of the UE. The characteristics of the UE may be received simultaneously or separately from the channel state information. The characteristics of the UE that may be received include applications executed on the UE that may require downlink data services, communication protocols or data protocols (e.g., HTTPS, FTP, IMS, VoIP, MPEG-DASH, etc.) that the UE intends to use for downlink data services, UE mobility (e.g., Doppler data or other motion estimation), device type, operating system, antenna capabilities (e.g., the number of receiving antennas), power levels, or service quality indicators (e.g., delay and throughput specifications). The additional network system information may include the characteristics of the RRU currently serving the UE. For example, the number of UEs currently served by the RRU can be used to determine the load within the service area of ​​the RRU. The additional network system information may include features of other UEs. The characteristics of multiple UEs or RRUs may be aggregated to generate metrics for the network. For example, an average signal-to-noise ratio may be generated for sampling of the UE.

[0141] At box 908, the coordination device may determine whether to use a dynamic threshold. The determination may be based on a configuration value accessible to the coordination device. In some embodiments, the configuration value may indicate whether a dynamic threshold should be generated. In some embodiments, the configuration value may be implemented as a lookup table that identifies different threshold techniques based on, for example, UE characteristics, channel state information, time, date, network conditions, etc. If the determination at box 908 is positive, then at box 910, the coordination device may generate a selection threshold for selecting a downlink service mode for the UE. The generation may be based on the average mobility of the UE within the network or within the service area of ​​the RRU. The generation may be based on the maximum or average eigenvalue of the channel matrix of the UE within the network. The generation may be based on the total number of antennas within the network. In a MIMO system, because each RRU may include multiple antennas, the number of available antennas may be much larger than the number of RRUs.

[0142] Returning to block 908, if the coordinating device determines that the threshold will not be dynamically generated, then at block 912, a statically selected threshold is obtained. The statically selected threshold may be obtained from a memory or other configuration data store accessible to the coordinating device.

[0143] At box 914, using dynamic thresholds or static thresholds, the coordination device can identify a downlink data transmission mode for the UE. The evaluation can compare one or more thresholds with specific values ​​of the UE or network to identify the mode. The comparison can be specified in a memory or other configuration data storage accessible to the coordination device. For example, a truth table can be used to select a mode, where meeting certain conditions will result in the selection of a specific mode. Table 1 provides an example of such a truth table. The truth table can be organized by priority so that the mode corresponding to meeting the first set of conditions will be used.

[0144] Table 1

[0145]

[0146] In some embodiments, the truth table can be generated using machine learning. For example, observed network and / or UE characteristics can be provided as input to a neural network trained using historical activity sets / mode decisions. The neural network can provide an output vector including one or more values ​​indicating a predicted activity set, transmission mode, or transmission parameter (e.g., time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank).

[0147] At block 920 , the coordinating device may select a service node to provide the transmission service based on the transmission mode identified at block 914 .

[0148] The coordination device may perform the selection at box 920 using the network system information detected at box 906. In some embodiments, the UE may identify a neighboring active set of service nodes. The neighboring active set of service nodes may include nodes that the UE can detect (e.g., receive transmissions from). The selection may take into account any service nodes currently assigned to the UE as well as neighboring nodes. The coordination device may consider the load of the node, the current and expected location of the UE compared to the node, or other detectable information. The service node may be selected based on one or more of the following: (1) the link quality to one or more TRPs in the current active set deteriorates below a threshold; (2) there are one or more new TRPs where the link quality exceeds a threshold; or (3) a redirection command is received from the network to redirect the UE so as to distribute the load to a more balanced distribution on the network.

[0149] As part of the selection, the coordinating device may also identify scheduling information for the serving node. The scheduling information may be selected to reduce interference between downlink transmissions to the UE and other downlink transmissions. Interference reduction may be achieved by adjusting one or more of a transmission mode, time, frequency, power, beamforming matrix, tone allocation, channel rank, or transmission direction relative to other transmissions from the serving node or other serving nodes adjacent to the selected serving node.

[0150] At box 922, the coordination device may configure the network to the selected downlink transmission mode. Configuration of the network may include adjusting one or more transceivers at the UE or RRU. Configuration may also include causing the UE to switch the signal processing pipeline for received data transmission (e.g., enabling coordinated multi-point decoding and disabling coherent / incoherent combining). In some embodiments, configuration may include transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message including at least a portion of the configuration information. Configuration information (e.g., active set and / or transmission mode) may be provided to the UE via another control channel message attached to an identifier of the RRU / TRP in the active set, radio resource control signaling, a mobility management protocol, or other messaging from the coordination device to the UE.

[0151] After implementing a network configuration suitable for network conditions and UE conditions, method 900 can end at box 990. However, the UE can be configured to provide channel state information reports periodically or irregularly. The coordination device can repeat method 900 to evaluate the updated report. In some embodiments, the coordination device can identify the difference between the updated report and the previous report. If the difference does not meet the threshold, method 900 may not expend resources to re-evaluate the downlink service configuration for the UE.

[0152] Method 900 describes how a network device (eg, a BBU) can direct downlink traffic configuration of a UE.

[0153] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for dynamically configuring a downlink data traffic mode for a user equipment in a network from the perspective of the UE. The method 1000 may be performed in whole or in part under the control of a coordination device such as a UE. The method 1-00 illustrates features for identifying coordinated multipoint communications or alternative modes for downlink data traffic to a UE. The identification includes providing an accurate and updated report of the characteristics of the UE to the BBU and adjusting the UE based on the identified downlink traffic mode.

[0154] Method 1000 may begin at block 1002. At block 1004, a coordination device may receive a first active set including one or more serving nodes to provide downlink data transmission services to a UE in a first mode. Identifiers of the first active set and the first mode may be received from one or more TRPs serving the UE. The first active set and / or the first mode may be identified by a BBU controlling the RRU. The first active set and / or the first mode may be identified by the BBU using method 900.

[0155] At box 1006, the coordination device may detect characteristics of the UE. The characteristics of the UE may include channel state information. The channel state information may include channel quality indicators of one or more channels available to the UE. The channel state information may include precoding information such as a preferred channel matrix for processing signals received from the antenna of the UE. The channel state information may include a channel rank. Additional or alternative characteristics of the UE that may be received include applications executed on the UE that may require downlink data services, communication protocols or data protocols that the UE intends to use for downlink data services (e.g., HTTPS, FTP, IMS, VoIP, MPEG-DASH, etc.), UE mobility (e.g., Doppler data or other motion estimation), device type, operating system, antenna capabilities (e.g., the number of receiving antennas), power level, or quality of service.

[0156] At block 1014, the coordinating device may send the channel state information and characteristics to the BBU (eg, base station). The channel state information may be provided using a channel state information report. Additional characteristics may be provided as part of the report or via a separate message sent by the coordinating device.

[0157] At block 1015, the coordination device may receive a second active set of one or more service nodes to provide downlink data transmission services in a second mode. At this point in method 1000, the UE is required to switch the mode from the first mode to the second mode. The coordination device may first determine which mode will be used for the downlink data service based on the received message and then adjust accordingly.

[0158] At block 1016, the coordination device may determine whether the second transmission mode is CoMP. The determination at block 1016 may include comparing a transmission mode identifier included in the message received from the RRU with a predetermined value associated with CoMP. If the determination at block 1016 is negative, then at block 1018, the coordination device may configure (e.g., adjust) the user equipment for macrodiversity downlink data transmission. If the determination at block 1016 is positive, then at block 1010, the coordination device may configure (e.g., adjust) the user equipment for coordinated multi-point downlink data transmission.

[0159] After configuring the UE to the selected downlink data service mode, at box 1022, the coordination device may determine whether the UE is still actively using the downlink channel. The determination may be based on receiving or sending a message to or from the UE. The determination may be based on the execution state of an application or an operating system. For example, the operating system of the UE may include an airplane mode or a mode in which all wireless communications are turned off. The determination may be based on the power state of the UE (e.g., power off). If the UE is no longer active, method 1000 may end at box 1090. If the UE is still active, method 1000 may return to box 1006 to detect and send updated characteristics, thereby receiving additional downlink transmission configuration information selected based on the updated characteristics.

[0160] Determination of user equipment assisted communication mode

[0161] The user equipment may determine the desired mode for receiving downlink data transmission. The desired mode may be a CoMP mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The user equipment may then send a request to a network system such as a base station to provide downlink data transmission of the desired mode. The request may include desired activity set data, which identifies the desired activity set of one or more service nodes associated with the desired mode. The request may include an identifier for the desired transmission mode. The identifier may be a value in a mode selection bit included in the request, a message sent by the UE, or one or more identifiers attached to the desired activity set of one or more service nodes. The network system may determine the mode of downlink data transmission to the user equipment based on the request and other data. This may contribute to the operation of wireless networks with high data rates and high reliability.

[0162] The user equipment may determine the desired pattern for all antennas of the user equipment. In some cases, the desired pattern may be determined for a specific antenna or subset of antennas of the user equipment. Thus, in some cases, an antenna subset of the user equipment may receive first user data in CoMP mode, and a different antenna subset of the same user equipment may receive second user data in alternative downlink data transmission mode.

[0163] The user equipment may determine the desired operating mode based on any suitable information available to the user equipment, such as any suitable information associated with mode determination disclosed herein. Such information may, for example, include mobility data, channel matrix conditions from the network to the user equipment, inference data, metrics or other data associated with the serving node of the current active set, metrics or other data associated with neighboring nodes, etc., or any suitable combination thereof. Examples of metrics or other data associated with a node include a received signal strength indicator, a signal-to-noise ratio estimate, or an error rate statistic. Accordingly, based on the information available to the UE, the UE may generate a request to receive data in the desired operating mode.

[0164] The request to operate in the desired mode may include information indicating that the user equipment wants to change from one mode to another mode. For example, the request may include information indicating a switch between receiving data in CoMP mode and an alternative downlink data mode. In some cases, the requested active set data may indicate operation in the same mode with a different set of service nodes. As an example, the request may indicate to continue receiving data in CoMP mode from a different set of service nodes than the current active set. As another example, the request may indicate to continue receiving data in an alternative downlink data mode from a different set of service nodes than the current active set.

[0165] Fig.11 Representative communications and events associated with a user equipment 1100 requesting to receive downlink data in a desired mode in a heterogeneous MIMO network 1100 are shown. Fig.11 The communications and events are associated with the user equipment 1110, the remote radio unit (RRU) 1120 and / or the baseband unit (BBU) 1130 of the heterogeneous MIMO network 1100. Fig.11 In the communication and event, UE 1110 selects a desired mode to receive downlink data transmission, and BBU 1130 generates a downlink schedule to schedule downlink data transmission from one or more service nodes to UE 1110.

[0166] exist Fig.11 In event 1150 of , UE 1110 detects a condition. UE 1110 may collect any suitable information from which to determine a desired mode for receiving downlink data transmission. UE 1110 may detect any suitable information disclosed herein for mode determination. UE 1110 selects a desired mode for receiving downlink data transmission based on the collected information. The determination may be based on any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein.

[0167] UE 1110 stores and updates an active set of one or more service nodes that provide wireless transmission services to UE 1110. The active set data is provided by a network system including RRU 1120 and BBU 1130. UE 1110 also stores and updates a neighbor set of one or more service nodes that are available for providing wireless transmission services to UE 1110 and are not included in the active set. UE 1110 may also store scheduling information, such as a transmission mode or other parameters for transmission to or from UE 1110.

[0168] UE 1110 generates a requested downlink schedule at event 1152. The requested downlink schedule includes desired active set data identifying one or more service nodes from which UE 1110 requests to receive downlink wireless transmission services. The desired active set data may include one or more service nodes from the active set and / or one or more service nodes from the neighbor set. The desired active set data is based on a determination of a desired mode by UE 1110. The schedule may include information identifying a desired transmission mode.

[0169] At event 1154, UE 1110 and RRU 1120 establish a wireless connection. This may include providing a UE identifier and a requested downlink schedule. RRU 1120 and BBU 1130 communicate at event 1156. The downlink schedule is provided from RRU 1120 to BBU 1130. RRU 1120 may also provide the UE identifier and the RRU identifier to BBU 1130.

[0170] BBU 1130 includes a scheduler that generates a downlink schedule at event 1158. BBU 1130 may receive information from multiple UEs and consider more information than is available to a single UE when determining a downlink data transmission mode to UE 1110. Thus, the network system may advantageously determine a downlink data transmission mode to UE 1110 even if UE 1110 requests to receive downlink data in a particular mode. The network system may additionally or alternatively identify an active set of serving nodes for data transmission for UE 1110.

[0171] The serving node scheduling may be determined based on a request from UE 1110 to receive downlink data in an expected mode and additional network system information. The additional network system information may include, for example, one or more system load information, such as load information for coordinated multi-point resources, data indicating a mobility state of UE 1110, spatial channel conditions of a channel associated with UE 1110, one or more characteristics of UE 1110 (e.g., an application type utilizing a transmission service, a protocol utilized in a transmission service, or a device type of UE 1110), one or more characteristics of one or more UEs other than UE 1110, one or more conditions of one or more UEs other than UE 1110, one or more behaviors of one or more UEs other than UE 1110, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0172] Based on the request and additional network system information, the scheduler of BBU 1130 may (1) grant the request, (2) continue scheduling downlink data transmission to UE 1110 without changing the operating mode or active set for the UE 1110, or (3) cause a change in the manner in which UE 1110 is served that is different from the manner requested by UE 1110.

[0173] The request may be granted when the additional network system information is consistent with providing downlink data transmission in the desired mode to UE 1110. To grant the request, the scheduler may update the active set of UE 1110 to match the desired active set in the request. The scheduler may then cause downlink data transmission to be provided to UE 1110 in the desired mode from one or more serving nodes of the desired active set.

[0174] In some cases, the additional network system information may indicate that the active set and current operating mode may provide better overall network service than granting the request. Therefore, in this case, the scheduler may continue to route downlink data to UE 1110 without changing the operating mode or active set for UE 1110.

[0175] The scheduler may change the manner in which UE 1110 is served to be different from the manner requested by UE 1110 based on the request and the additional network system information. For example, the scheduler may determine to update the active set of UE 1110 in a manner different from the manner requested by UE 1110 based on the request and the additional network system information. According to some other examples, the scheduler may adjust the power level of downlink data transmission to UE 1110 based on the request and the additional network information. Any other parameters of transmissions from the network system, such as frequency and / or time, may be similarly adjusted.

[0176] Return to reference Fig.11At event 1160, BBU 1130 may provide downlink scheduling parameters to RRU 1120. This may include providing updated active set data for UE 1110. Any other suitable scheduling information may be provided to RRU 1120. In some cases where the downlink scheduling parameters do not change, an acknowledgement that the downlink scheduling parameters do not change is sent in place of the downlink scheduling parameters. Fig.11 The same RRU 1120 is shown receiving a request downlink scheduling from the UE 1110 and providing downlink scheduling to the UE 1110, but different RRUs may facilitate communications between the UE 1110 and the BBU 1130 for different communications as appropriate.

[0177] like Fig.11 As shown, in event 1162, RRU 1120 may provide downlink parameters to UE 1110. This may include providing updated active set data and / or one or more other parameters to UE 1110 to configure UE 1110 to receive downlink data from the network based on the downlink data transmission schedule determined by the scheduler. In some cases where the downlink UE parameters are unchanged, a confirmation is made that the downlink UE parameters are unchanged and the confirmation is sent in place of the downlink UE parameters.

[0178] UE 1110 may adjust a receiver of UE 1110 to receive data for the selected downlink transmission mode in event 1164. The receiver of UE 1110 may be adjusted to process downlink data received from one or more service nodes in the active set provided by the network system in the selected mode. The receiver of UE 1110 may be adjusted to receive signals with different power, direction, timing, frequency, or any suitable combination thereof. This may involve adjusting any suitable circuitry of the receiver. The receiver of UE 1110 may be included in a transceiver.

[0179] At event 1166, a transmitter of the RRU 1120 may be adjusted to transmit downlink data to the UE 1110 in the selected mode. This may involve adjusting one or more of the transmission power, direction, timing, or frequency of downlink data transmissions from the RRU 1120. Adjusting the transmitter may involve adjusting any suitable circuitry of the transmitter. The transmitter may be included in a transceiver of the RRU 1120.

[0180] At event 1168, UE 1110 and RRU 1120 wirelessly exchange downlink data and uplink data. During this data exchange, UE 1110 may provide updated data to BBU 1130, including an updated request downlink scheduling request and additional data associated with the UE, from which the selected downlink data transmission mode is determined. Thus, the scheduler of BBU 1130 may dynamically select a mode for downlink data traffic in heterogeneous MIMO network 1100.

[0181] As described above, various UEs can communicate wirelessly with a serving node in a heterogeneous MIMO network. Fig.12 Discuss UE.

[0182] Fig.12 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example UE 1200 according to an embodiment. UE 1200 is configured to wirelessly communicate with base stations in a heterogeneous MIMO network. As shown, UE 1200 includes a processor 1240, a user interface 1245, a data memory 1250, a beamformer 1255, antennas 1262 and 1264, a transceiver 1265, a motion detector 1270, a signal quality analyzer 1275, and an active set selector 1280. Some other UEs may include additional elements and / or Fig.12 A subset of the elements shown in .

[0183] UE 1200 includes multiple antennas 1262 and 1264. Any suitable number of antennas may be included for wireless communication in CoMP mode and / or alternative downlink data transmission mode. UE 1200 may include one or more antenna arrays. Radio frequency (RF) front end 1260 may process RF signals received by antennas 1262 and 1264. The RF front end may also provide RF signals to antennas 1262 and 1264 for transmission. Transceiver 1265 includes a transmitter and a receiver. Transceiver 1265 may provide processing for sending and receiving RF signals associated with antennas 1262 and 1264.

[0184] The processor 1240 communicates with the transceiver 1265. The processor 1240 is implemented by physical hardware that is arranged to perform specific operations to implement functions related to determining the desired mode and causing requests related to the desired mode to be sent from the UE 1200. According to any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein, the processor 1240 can determine the desired mode for receiving downlink data and generate a request to receive downlink data in the desired mode. The processor 1240 can cause the active set and neighbor set data to be stored and updated. The processor 1240 can perform any other suitable processing for the UE 1200.

[0185] Processor 1240 may communicate with motion detector 1270 and signal quality analyzer 1275. Thus, processor 1240 may receive and process information associated with the condition of UE 1200. Motion detector 1270 may include any suitable hardware arranged to detect mobility information associated with UE 1200. Signal quality analyzer 1275 may analyze the quality of signals received and / or transmitted by antennas 1262 and 1264. This may provide information associated with the spatial channel conditions of UE 1200. Information associated with the condition of UE 1200 may be provided to processor 1240 to determine a desired mode for receiving downlink data. In some cases, some or all of the functionality of motion detector 1270 and / or signal quality analyzer may be implemented by processor 1240.

[0186] Active set selector 1280 may identify a desired active set of one or more serving nodes associated with the desired mode determined by processor 1240. Active set selector 1280 may select the desired active set based on data associated with one or more of: one or more serving nodes in the active set, one or more serving nodes in the neighbor set, mobility data associated with UE 1200, spatial channel conditions associated with UE 1200, or one or more characteristics of UE 1200. The desired active set data may be provided with a request to operate in the desired mode. Active set selector 1280 may be implemented by dedicated circuitry and / or circuitry of processor 1240.

[0187] The beamformer 1255 may perform any suitable beamforming functions for the UE 1200. The beamformer 1255 may set and / or adjust one or more parameters associated with receiving and / or transmitting signals associated with the antennas 1262 and 1264 of the UE 1200. The beamformer 1255 may be implemented by dedicated circuits and / or circuits of the processor 1240.

[0188] UE 1240 includes data memory 1250. Data memory 1250 may store instructions executable by processor 1240 to implement the described features. Data memory 1250 may store active set data and neighbor set data for UE 1200. Data memory 1250 may store any other suitable data for UE 1200. Data memory 1250 may include any suitable memory element arranged to store data.

[0189] Several elements included in the UE 1200 may be coupled via a bus 1290. The bus 1290 may be a data bus, a communication bus, other buses, or any suitable combination thereof to enable the various components of the UE 1200 to exchange information.

[0190] As shown, UE 1200 also includes a user interface 1245. User interface 1245 can be any suitable user interface, such as a display and / or audio component. In some cases, user interface 1245 can include one or more of a touch screen function, a button, a knob, a switch, or a slider.

[0191] Fig.13 1 is a flow chart of an example process 1300 for requesting a selected communication mode for receiving data at an antenna of a UE according to an embodiment. The process 1300 can be performed by any suitable UE, such as any suitable UE disclosed herein. The process 1300 illustrates various aspects of a UE generating and sending a request to receive downlink data in a desired operation mode. The process 1300 can be performed in each of multiple UEs that are simultaneously communicating wirelessly with the same base station.

[0192] Process 1300 begins at block 1302. At block 1304, the UE receives active set data sent from a base station. The active set data identifies a set of one or more serving nodes to provide downlink data to the UE. The UE stores the active set data and updates the active set data in response to receiving updated active set data from the base station. For example, the active set data may be received by processor 1240 and stored in Fig.12 In the data memory 1250 of the UE 1200.

[0193] At block 1306, the UE detects conditions. Detecting conditions associated with the UE may provide useful information from which the UE generates a request to receive downlink data in a selected mode. The detected conditions may include any suitable conditions and / or metrics disclosed herein. For example, the UE may detect a mobility state of the UE and / or a spatial channel condition of the UE. For example, the motion detector 1270 and / or the signal quality analyzer 1275 of the UE 1200 may be used to detect one or more conditions.

[0194] The UE determines a selected mode for wirelessly receiving data using antenna elements. The selected mode is a coordinated multi-point mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The selected mode may be determined based on any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein. A processor, such as processor 1240 of UE 1200, may be used to determine the selected mode. The selected mode may be for some or all antennas of the UE. At decision block 1308, the UE may determine whether the conditions are suitable for CoMP. If the conditions are suitable for CoMP mode, then at block 1310, CoMP mode is selected as the desired mode. Alternatively, if one or more conditions are not suitable for CoMP mode, then at block 1312, an alternative downlink data transmission mode is selected as the desired mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode may be any suitable alternative downlink data transmission mode disclosed herein.

[0195] The determination of the selected mode may be based on the conditions detected at block 1306. For example, the selected mode may be determined based on the mobility state of the UE and / or the spatial channel condition of the UE. A threshold level of a mobility state associated with operating in CoMP mode may be determined based on the conditions detected at block 1306. Alternatively or additionally, a threshold level of a spatial channel state condition associated with operating in CoMP mode may be determined based on the conditions detected at block 1306.

[0196] In some implementations, the UE may additionally or alternatively identify a desired active set of serving nodes for wirelessly receiving data. The desired serving node may be identified based on the conditions detected at block 1306. For example, the UE may detect a signal from a TRP and determine a quality of a transmission received from the TRP based on a received signal strength or other metric of one or more signals from the TRP.

[0197] At block 1314, the UE may send a request via at least one antenna to receive data in the selected mode. The processor of the UE may cause a transmission via at least one antenna of the UE. For example, in UE 1200, processor 1240 may cause a transmission of the request using antenna 1262. The request may include a desired active set. The request may include information identifying the selected mode, such as one or more mode selection bits. The process ends at block 1316.

[0198] Some or all of process 1300 may be repeatedly performed while the UE is in an active state. Accordingly, the UE may provide a request to receive data in a desired mode based on the latest conditions detected by the UE. The request may be updated periodically and / or dynamically. As an example, the UE may be located in a crowded football stadium and request to receive data in a CoMP data transmission mode because, for example, there may be a larger number of TRPs in the stadium. After the UE leaves the football stadium and is located in a residential area, the UE may request to receive data in an alternative downlink mode because the distribution of TRPs in a residential area may be more sparse than in a stadium. As another example, when the UE has relatively low mobility, the UE may receive data in CoMP mode. In response to a significant increase in mobility, such as being in a vehicle on a highway, the UE may request to receive data in an alternative downlink data transmission mode.

[0199] Fig.14 1 is a flow chart of an example process 1400 for controlling a downlink data transmission mode to a UE based on a request from the UE according to an embodiment. Process 1400 may be performed by any suitable network system (e.g., any suitable base station). For example, some or all of process 1400 may be performed by Figure 5 The baseband unit 510 and / or Figure 8 The process 1400 illustrates aspects of a network system determining a downlink data transmission mode based on a request from a UE to receive data in a specific mode and additional network system information.

[0200] Process 1400 begins at box 1402. At box 1404, a scheduler of a network system receives network system information. The network system information may be received by one or more antennas of a base station. The network system information may be received from multiple UEs. Accordingly, the scheduler may obtain additional data that is not available to the UE requesting to receive downlink data in a specific mode. The network system information may include any suitable information from which the network scheduler determines the downlink data transmission mode disclosed herein to the UE. The network system information may include mobility state information of one or more UEs, spatial channel state conditions of one or more UEs, system load information, characteristics of one or more UEs, etc., or any suitable combination thereof. At box 1406, the scheduler receives a request from the UE to receive downlink data in a specific mode. The request may include desired active set data and / or one or more mode selection bits.

[0201] Based on the request and additional network system information, the scheduler determines a downlink data transmission mode for wirelessly transmitting data to the UE. The scheduler may also determine an active set of the UE and / or a subset of antennas of the UE. The determined downlink data transmission mode is a CoMP mode or an alternative downlink data transmission mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode is a non-CoMP mode. The alternative downlink data transmission mode may be, for example, a synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, a transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node.

[0202] Reference Fig.14 , at decision block 1408, the scheduler determines whether to grant the request. The request may be granted or denied based on any suitable information and / or method disclosed herein. If the request is granted at block 1408, the specific mode identified in the request is set as the downlink data transmission mode to the UE in block 1410. Alternatively, if the request is denied at block 1408, the scheduler may determine whether to adjust the downlink data transmission parameters based on the request at decision block 1412. In response to determining to adjust the downlink data parameters at block 1412, the scheduler may cause the downlink data transmission parameters to be adjusted at block 1414. One or more of the following downlink data transmission parameters may be adjusted: power, time, frequency, or direction. Alternatively or additionally, the active set data may be adjusted without granting the request.

[0203] At block 1416, active set data is sent to the UE. The active set data may include any suitable data identifying an active set. The active set data may identify an active set for the UE. In some cases, the active set data may identify a change in the active set for the UE. According to certain instances, the active set data may indicate that the active set for the UE does not change. In response to setting the specific mode as the downlink data transmission mode at block 1410, the active set data sent at block 1416 may identify the desired active set provided by the UE as the active set for the UE. In response to the request being denied at block 1408 and determining at block 1412 not to adjust downlink data transmission, the active set data sent at block 1416 may indicate that the active set does not change. In response to the request being denied at block 1408 and determining at block 1412 to adjust downlink data transmission, the active set data sent at block 1416 may indicate that the active set does not change in some cases and changes the active set in some other cases.

[0204] At block 1418, downlink data is sent to the UE in a downlink data transmission mode determined based on the request and the additional network system information. The UE receives downlink data from one or more serving nodes in the active set.

[0205] Some or all of process 1400 may be performed repeatedly. Accordingly, the scheduler may set a downlink data transmission mode to the UE based on the latest request and the latest network system data. Process 1400 may be performed for each UE communicating with the network system. Process 1400 may be performed for two or more different subsets of one or more antennas of the same UE.

[0206] Further embodiments

[0207] refer to Figures 15 to 16B Further embodiments are described.These figures show examples of a heterogeneous MIMO network serving UEs in different modes with active set allocation.

[0208] Fig.15 1500 is a diagram illustrating the allocation of active sets and transmission modes in a heterogeneous MIMO environment 1500. The figure shows that different UEs can be served in different downlink data transmission modes. As shown, the heterogeneous MIMO environment 1500 includes four RRUs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 and three UEs 1512, 1514, and 1516.

[0209] The first UE 1512 is static. Therefore, the first UE 1512 has low mobility. The first UE 1512 is also located near several RRUs 1502, 1504, and 1506. Therefore, the network system can schedule downlink data transmission to the first UE 1512 in CoMP mode. The network system can identify RRUs 1502, 1504, and 1506 as an active set of serving nodes for the first UE 1502 in CoMP mode.

[0210] The second UE 1514 is close to a single RRU 1508. In the absence of multiple serving nodes available, the network system may schedule downlink data transmission to the second UE 1514 in an alternative downlink data transmission mode, such as a best server mode (e.g., best server selection SIMO, best server selection SU-MIMO, best server selection MU-MIMO). The network system may identify the RRU 1508 as an active set for the second UE 1508 in the best server mode.

[0211] The third UE 1516 moves at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. Therefore, the third UE 1516 has relatively high mobility. The first UE 1515 is also close to the RRUs 1502 and 1504. In the case of relatively high mobility and more than one service node available, the network system can schedule downlink data transmission to the third UE 1516 in an alternative downlink data transmission mode such as SFN mode. The network system can identify RRUs 1502 and 1504 as the active set of service nodes for the third UE 1506 in SFN mode.

[0212] Fig.16A and Fig. 16B 1600 are diagrams illustrating different allocations of active sets and transmission modes in a heterogeneous MIMO environment 1600 with dynamic network requirements. These diagrams illustrate that the active set and / or downlink data transmission mode may change due to changing network conditions in the heterogeneous MIMO environment. For example, the active set and downlink data transmission mode may change depending on the UEs that are active in the heterogeneous MIMO environment 1600. Fig.16A and 16B An example is provided in which an active set of a UE may be determined based on network information associated with one or more other UEs.

[0213] exist Fig.16A In FIG. 1 , there is a single UE 1612 in a heterogeneous MIMO environment 1600. As shown, the network may schedule downlink data to the UE 1612 in the best server mode with the active set RRU 1606. In this case, the RRUs 1602, 1604, and 1608 may not be used.

[0214] Additional UEs may enter the heterogeneous MIMO environment 1600. Fig. 16B As shown, relative to Fig.16A , there are two additional active UEs 1614 and 1616 in the heterogeneous MIMO environment 1600. Both UEs 1614 and 1616 are relatively close to UE 1612 and RRU 1606. The network can schedule downlink data to each of UEs 1612, 1614, and 1616 in CoMP mode with active set RRUs 1602, 1604, and 1608. Fig.16A 1606. However, upon evaluation of changing network conditions (e.g., the additional presence of UE 1614 and UE 1616 and the associated wireless communication expectations of these UEs), environment 1600 may be reconfigured to allocate resources to serve UE 1612, UE 1614, and UE 1616. The reconfiguration may include, for example, allocating a new active set of one or more serving nodes for UE 1612. Alternatively or additionally, the reconfiguration may include changing, for example, a downlink data transmission mode for UE 1612 from 1 to 2. Fig.16A The BSM in is changed to Fig. 16B Compared with the case where RRU 1606 is used alone to separate beams for three concurrent UEs, Fig. 16B The configuration in can provide improved spatial channel conditions.

[0215] Although the embodiments discussed herein provide various examples of operating in CoMP mode or alternative downlink data transmission modes, in many use cases, one or the other is preferred.Some other examples will be briefly discussed.

[0216] CoMP mode may be preferred for high-definition video streaming. CoMP mode may be preferred for downlink data transmission associated with virtual reality and / or augmented reality. CoMP mode may be preferred for larger file transfers. When the UE is in a mobile state, the best server mode may be preferred for high-definition video streaming, virtual and / or augmented reality data, and relatively large file transfers.

[0217] For high quality audio with lower latency, soft merge mode may be preferred. For voice calls and video calls, soft merge mode may be preferred.

[0218] For relatively low latency robotic control, the incoherent combining mode may be preferred. For industrial automation control, the incoherent combining mode may be preferred. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) may prefer the incoherent combining mode.

[0219] Terminology, Applications, and Conclusions

[0220] Depending on the embodiment, certain actions, events, or functions of any process or algorithm described herein may be performed in a different order, may be added, combined, or omitted entirely (e.g., not all described operations or events are necessary for the practice of the algorithm). In addition, in some embodiments, operations or events may be performed concurrently, such as through multithreading, interrupt handling, or multiple processors or processor cores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially.

[0221] Conditional language used herein, such as "can", "can", "may", "may", "can", "for example", etc., unless otherwise specifically stated or otherwise understood in the context of use, is generally intended to express that certain embodiments include and other embodiments do not include certain features, elements and / or steps. Therefore, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements and / or steps are required by one or more embodiments in any way, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether to include or perform these features, elements and / or steps in any particular embodiment, regardless of whether there are other inputs or prompts. The terms "include", "comprise", "have", etc. are synonyms, used inclusively in an open manner, and do not exclude other elements, features, actions, operations, etc. In addition, when used in this application, the words "herein", "above", "below" and words of similar meanings should be the entirety of this application, rather than any specific part of this application. Where the context permits, the words used in the singular or plural in the detailed description of the above-mentioned specific embodiments may also include the plural or singular, respectively. Additionally, the term "or" is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that, for example, when used to connect a list of elements, the term "or" means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

[0222] Unless otherwise specifically stated, disjoint language such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y, Z" is generally understood in the context to present that an item, term, etc. can be X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and / or Z). Therefore, such disjoint language is generally not intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z.

[0223] Unless expressly stated otherwise, articles such as "a" or "an" should generally be interpreted as including one or more of the recited items. Thus, phrases such as "a device is configured to" are intended to include one or more of the recited devices. Such one or more recited devices may also be collectively configured to perform the stated statements. For example, "a processor is configured to perform A, B, and C" may include a first processor configured to perform statement A working together with a second processor configured to perform statements B and C.

[0224] As generally used herein, the term "coupled" means that two or more elements can be coupled to each other directly, or can be coupled through one or more intermediate elements. Likewise, as generally used herein, the term "connected" means that two or more elements can be connected directly or can be connected through one or more intermediate elements.

[0225] As used herein, the term "determine" or "determine" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determine" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, generating, acquiring, searching (e.g., searching in a table, a database, or another data structure), determining, etc., by a hardware element without user intervention. Moreover, "determine" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc., by a hardware element without user intervention. Moreover, "determine" may include parsing, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc., by a hardware element without user intervention.

[0226] As used herein, the term "providing" or "supplying" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "providing" may include storing a value in a location on a storage device for subsequent retrieval, sending a value directly to a recipient via at least one wired or wireless communication medium, sending or storing a reference to a value, etc. "Providing" may also include encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, verifying, authenticating, etc. via hardware elements.

[0227] As used herein, the term "message" encompasses various formats for communicating (e.g., sending or receiving) information. A message may include a machine-readable collection of information such as an XML document, a fixed field message, a comma-delimited message, etc. In some embodiments, a message may include a signal for transmitting one or more representations of information. Although described in the singular, it should be understood that a message may be composed of multiple parts, sent, stored, received, etc.

[0228] As used herein, a "user interface" (also referred to as an interactive user interface, graphical user interface, or UI) may refer to a web-based interface that includes data fields and / or other controls for receiving input signals or providing electronic information and / or providing information to a user in response to any received input signals. The UI may be implemented in whole or in part using technologies such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Flash, Java, .net, Web services, and Rich Site Summary (RSS). In some embodiments, the UI may be included in a stand-alone client (e.g., thick client, fat client) that is configured to communicate (e.g., send or receive data) according to one or more aspects described.

[0229] As used herein, a "transmit-receive point" (TRP) (which may alternatively be referred to as a transmit-receive point) may refer to a transceiver device or a transceiver element included in a device. When included as a transceiver element, the device may include multiple TRPs. The TRP may include one or more antennas coupled to a signal processing circuit. The signal processing circuit may be included in the device. The TRP may include additional elements to facilitate the transmission or reception of wireless signals for one or more UEs. Examples of such elements may include power supplies, amplifiers, digital-to-analog converters, analog-to-digital converters, etc. When a TRP is assigned (such as by a BBU) to provide service to a UE, the TRP may be said to be a "service node" for the UE.

[0230] As used herein, a "remote radio unit" (RRU) may refer to a device for controlling and coordinating the transmission and reception of wireless signals for one or more UEs. The RRU may include or be coupled to one or more TRPs. The RRU may receive signals from the TRPs and include signal processing circuitry. The signal processing circuitry may be selectively operated to facilitate processing of signals associated with different TRPs.

[0231] Although the above detailed description has shown, described and pointed out the novel features applied to various embodiments, it is understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made to the form and details of the illustrated device or algorithm without departing from the spirit of the present application. For example, the circuit blocks and / or method blocks described herein may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, arranged in different orders and / or modified. Each of these blocks may be implemented in various different ways. Any part of any method disclosed herein may be performed in association with specific instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium executed by one or more processors. It is recognized that certain embodiments described herein may be implemented in a form that does not provide all the features and advantages set forth herein, because some features may be used or practiced separately from other features. The scope of certain embodiments disclosed herein is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes within the meaning and equivalent scope of the claims should be included within their scope.

Claims

1. A network system, comprising: Antenna elements; as well as a scheduler in communication with the antenna elements, the scheduler being configured to: receiving, from at least one antenna element included in the antenna elements, channel state information for a user equipment, the channel state information identifying a quality of transmission from one or more antenna elements to the user equipment; determining to route first downlink data to the user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode based at least in part on (i) the channel state information indicating that a network-to-user equipment channel matrix condition is suitable for the coordinated multi-point mode and (ii) mobility data indicating that a mobility metric associated with the user equipment is less than a threshold; causing transmission of active set data to the user equipment, wherein the active set data identifies one or more service nodes to provide wireless downlink transmission services to the user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode; determining to route second downlink data to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode based at least in part on updated mobility data indicating that the mobility metric associated with the user equipment is greater than the threshold, wherein the updated mobility data indicates a higher mobility of the user equipment than the mobility data; as well as Based at least in part on updated channel state information indicating that the channel matrix condition from the network to the user equipment is not suitable for the coordinated multi-point mode, when the mobility metric associated with the user equipment is less than the threshold, determine to route third downlink data to the user equipment in the alternative downlink data transmission mode.

2. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is further configured to cause a mode indicator to be transmitted to the user equipment, wherein the mode indicator identifies a downlink data transmission mode, and wherein the downlink data transmission mode is the coordinated multi-point mode or the alternative downlink data transmission mode.

3. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is also configured to: generating a metric indicative of at least one of: spatial channel information, mobility of a user equipment, link quality between the user equipment and one or more serving nodes included in the active set, or network load for transmission to the user equipment; as well as A downlink data transmission mode is identified based at least in part on a comparison between the metric and a threshold, wherein the downlink data transmission mode is the coordinated multi-point mode or the alternate downlink data transmission mode.

4. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is also configured to: receiving a requested activity set from the user device, and The one or more service nodes include nodes that are not included in the requested activity set.

5. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is configured to determine to route the first downlink data to the user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode further based on load information for coordinated multi-point resources.

6. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is configured to determine to route the first downlink data to the user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode also based on characteristics of the user equipment, wherein the characteristics include at least one of the following: an application type utilizing a wireless downlink transmission service, a protocol utilized on the wireless downlink transmission service, a device type of the user equipment, or a mobility state of the user equipment.

7. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is configured to: The fourth downlink traffic is caused to be routed to the second user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode.

8. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The alternative downlink data transmission mode includes at least one of: synchronous transmission with coherent combining across multiple network nodes, transmission with non-coherent combining across multiple network nodes, or a single transmission from a selected best serving node.

9. The network system according to claim 1, wherein: The scheduler is configured to: determining transmission characteristics of one or more serving nodes based at least in part on the channel state information and the mobility data; as well as sending a control message to the one or more service nodes so that the transmitter is adjusted according to the transmission characteristic, The transmission characteristics include at least one of the following: transmission mode, transmission time, transmission frequency, transmission power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank.

10. The network system according to claim 9, wherein: The scheduler is configured to send the control message via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

11. A method for controlling a downlink data transmission mode for a user equipment, the method comprising: receiving, via at least one antenna element among a plurality of antenna elements included in a network system, channel state information for the user equipment, the channel state information identifying a quality of transmission from one or more of the plurality of antenna elements to the user equipment; determining to route first downlink data to the user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode based at least in part on (i) the channel state information indicating that a network-to-user equipment channel matrix condition is suitable for the coordinated multi-point mode and (ii) mobility data indicating that a mobility metric associated with the user equipment is less than a threshold; causing transmission of active set data to the user equipment, wherein the active set data identifies one or more service nodes to provide wireless downlink transmission services to the user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode; determining to route second downlink data to the user equipment in an alternative downlink data transmission mode based at least in part on updated mobility data indicating that the mobility metric associated with the user equipment is greater than the threshold, wherein the updated mobility data indicates a higher mobility of the user equipment than the mobility data; as well as Based at least in part on updated channel state information indicating that the channel matrix condition from the network to the user equipment is not suitable for the coordinated multi-point mode, when the mobility metric associated with the user equipment is less than the threshold, determine to route third downlink data to the user equipment in the alternative downlink data transmission mode.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: receiving a requested activity set from the user device, The one or more service nodes include nodes not included in the requested active set.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The determination to route the first downlink data is also based on load information for coordinated multi-point resources.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The determination to route the first downlink data is also based on characteristics of a user equipment, wherein the characteristics include at least one of: an application type utilizing a wireless downlink transmission service, a protocol utilized on the wireless downlink transmission service, or a device type of the user equipment.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: The fourth downlink data is routed to the second user equipment in the coordinated multi-point mode, while the second downlink data is routed to the user equipment in the alternative downlink data transmission mode.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on the channel state information and the mobility data, transmission characteristics for the one or more serving nodes; as well as transmitting a control message to the one or more serving nodes so that the transmitter is adjusted according to the transmission characteristic, The transmission characteristics include at least one of the following: transmission mode, transmission time, transmission frequency, transmission power, beamforming matrix, frequency modulation allocation, or channel rank.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The wireless downlink transmission service in the alternative downlink data transmission mode includes at least one of: a single network node transmission, a synchronous transmission with coherent combination across multiple network nodes, a transmission with incoherent combination across multiple network nodes, and multiple transmissions for user equipment selection.

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