A beam alignment method and apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a beam alignment method and device, the method comprising: a network device receiving a first uplink signal from a terminal device, the network device calculating a conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal, and determining a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal as a target transmission beam for aligning the network device and the terminal device according to the conjugate phase, and the network device communicating with the terminal device through the target transmission beam, thereby reducing the number of beam scanning and reducing the time consumption of beam alignment, improving the convergence speed of beam forming and improving the precision of beam forming.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a beam alignment method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) incorporates the abundant millimeter-wave band into the fifth-generation (5G) cellular communication system standard to meet users' high-speed communication needs. However, millimeter-wave signals, due to their high frequency and short wavelength, experience severe path loss and penetration loss during propagation. Furthermore, in high-speed mobile scenarios, the short coherence time and large Doppler spread of millimeter-wave signals significantly restrict user mobility. Since 5G systems simultaneously possess high mobility and high data rates, this presents a significant challenge for the application of millimeter waves in 5G systems. Additionally, 5G systems suffer from poor mobility in high-frequency channels. This is because user equipment (UE) movement, UE rotation, or path obstruction can rapidly degrade communication link quality, leading to reduced access and handover reliability and impacting the user's mobility experience.

[0003] Currently, to overcome the severe signal attenuation caused by path loss, millimeter wave technology requires beamforming to ensure link transmission quality. Beamforming, originating from the concept of adaptive antennas, can be divided into transmitter / receiver beamforming. Beamforming technology adjusts the phase of each antenna to effectively superimpose signals, focusing the wireless signal energy to form a directional beam. This generates significant signal gain to overcome path loss, fundamentally guaranteeing the quality of 5G wireless signal transmission; the narrower the beam, the greater the signal gain. However, if the base station's beam direction deviates from the user terminal, the user terminal cannot receive a high-quality wireless signal. Therefore, how to quickly align the beam with the user has become a pressing problem for 5G systems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a beam alignment method and apparatus to achieve rapid beam alignment and automatically calibrate multipath effects caused by buildings or trees.

[0005] In a first aspect, a beam alignment method is provided, which can be applied to a first communication device, which may be a network device, or a chip or chipset in the network device. The method includes: the network device receiving a first uplink signal from a terminal device; the network device calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal; and determining a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal as a target transmission beam for alignment between the network device and the terminal device based on the conjugate phase; and the network device communicating with the terminal device through the target transmission beam.

[0006] In this embodiment of the application, the above method can constrain the beam scanning behavior of the base station and the terminal, so that the beam scanning behavior of the base station and the terminal can be aligned, thereby reducing the number of beam scans and the beam alignment time, improving the beamforming convergence speed, and thus improving the beamforming accuracy.

[0007] In one possible design, the network device may also receive a second uplink signal from the terminal device, the second uplink signal including the measurement result of the target receiving beam of the terminal device or the identifier of the target receiving beam of the terminal device; the network device determines the target downlink receiving beam aligned with the target downlink transmitting beam based on the second uplink signal.

[0008] In this embodiment of the application, the above method can achieve precise pairing of the target downlink transmit beam and the target downlink receive beam.

[0009] In one possible design, before the network device receives the first uplink signal from the terminal device, the network device can also transmit wireless signals to the terminal device using fixed wide beams with different orientations. The set of orientations of the fixed wide beams with different orientations covers the signal coverage area of ​​the network device. In this embodiment, the base station can complete the alignment of the wide beams through a scanning process.

[0010] In one possible design, the network device may include a conjugate phase processing unit capable of constructing an array system with beamback directivity. Specifically, the conjugate phase processing unit of the network device can calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal based on the direction of arrival (AOA) of the first uplink signal. In this embodiment, calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal does not require prior AOA information or channel estimation information, does not require pilot overhead, and the entire process is frequency-independent. Since the AOA calculation is performed in the analog domain, it is simple to implement and has low latency.

[0011] In one possible design, after the network device communicates with the terminal device via the target beam, the network device can further calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal based on the third uplink signal from the terminal device; the network device then adjusts the target downlink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third uplink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal. In this embodiment, when the UE moves, the base station can achieve automatic beam tracking and alignment using the above method.

[0012] Secondly, this application provides a beam alignment method that can be applied to a second communication device, which may be a terminal device, or a chip or chipset in the terminal device. The method includes: the terminal device receiving a first downlink signal from a network device; the terminal device calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal; the terminal device determining a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal as the target uplink transmission beam of the terminal device based on the conjugate phase; and the terminal device communicating with the network device through the target uplink transmission beam.

[0013] In this embodiment of the application, the above method can constrain the beam scanning behavior of the base station and the terminal, so that the beam scanning behavior of the base station and the terminal can be aligned, thereby reducing the number of beam scans and the beam alignment time, improving the beamforming convergence speed, and thus improving the beamforming accuracy.

[0014] In one possible design, the terminal device may also receive a second downlink signal from the network device, the second downlink signal including a measurement result of the target receiving beam of the network device or an identifier of the target receiving beam of the network device; the terminal device determines the target uplink receiving beam aligned with the target uplink transmitting beam based on the second downlink signal.

[0015] In this embodiment of the application, the above method can achieve precise pairing of the target uplink transmit beam and the target uplink receive beam.

[0016] In one possible design, before the terminal device receives the first downlink signal from the network device, the terminal device can also transmit wireless signals to the network device using fixed wide beams with different orientations. The set of orientations of the fixed wide beams with different orientations covers the signal coverage area of ​​the network device. In this embodiment, the base station can complete the alignment of the wide beams through a scanning process.

[0017] In one possible design, the terminal device may include a conjugate phase processing unit capable of constructing an array system with beamback directional capability. Specifically, the conjugate phase processing unit of the terminal device can calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the reference signal based on the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal. In this embodiment, calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the reference signal does not require prior AOA information and channel estimation information, does not require pilot overhead, and the entire process is frequency-independent. Since the direction of arrival calculation is performed in the analog domain, it is simple to implement and has low latency.

[0018] In one possible design, after the network device communicates with the terminal device via the target beam, the terminal device can further calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal based on the third downlink signal from the network device; the terminal device then adjusts the target uplink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third downlink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal. In this embodiment, when the UE moves, the base station can achieve automatic beam tracking and alignment using the above method.

[0019] Thirdly, this application provides a beam alignment device, which can be a communication device, or a chip or chipset within a communication device. The communication device can be a terminal device or a base station. The device can include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the device is a communication device, the processing module can be a processor, and the transceiver module can be a transceiver. The device can also include a storage module, which can be a memory. The storage module stores instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to perform the corresponding functions described in the first aspect or the second aspect. When the device is a chip or chipset within a communication device, the processing module can be a processor, and the transceiver module can be an input / output interface, pin, or circuit, etc. The processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to perform the corresponding functions described in the first aspect or the second aspect. The storage module can be a storage module within the chip or chipset (e.g., a register, cache, etc.), or a storage module located outside the chip or chipset within the base station (e.g., a read-only memory, random access memory, etc.).

[0020] Fourthly, a beam alignment device is provided, comprising: a processor, a communication interface, and a memory. The communication interface is used for transmitting information, and / or messages, and / or data between the device and other devices. The memory is used to store computer-executable instructions, and when the device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to cause the device to perform the methods proposed in the first aspect or any design in the first aspect, or the second aspect or any design in the second aspect.

[0021] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the methods of the first aspect and any possible design of the embodiments of this application, or the second aspect and any possible design of the embodiments.

[0022] Sixthly, the embodiments of this application provide a computer program product that, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the methods of the first aspect and any possible design thereof, and the second aspect and any possible design thereof, of the embodiments of this application.

[0023] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a chip coupled to a memory to execute the method of the first aspect of the embodiment of this application and any possible design thereof, or the second aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0024] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a chip including a communication interface and at least one processor. The communication interface is used for transmitting information, and / or messages, and / or data between the device and other devices. The processor executes program instructions to perform a method of the first aspect or any design of the first aspect, or the second aspect and any possible design thereof, of embodiments of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the use of beamforming to generate directional beams in the related technologies provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the principle of beam alignment in the related technologies provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0027] Figure 3 This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system.

[0028] Figure 4A This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 4B A schematic diagram of the architecture of a conjugate phase processing device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a beam alignment method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating the principle of beam alignment provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 7This is a schematic flowchart of a beam alignment method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0035] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following terms related to the embodiments of this application are introduced:

[0036] 1. Beam: A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be wide, narrow, or other types of beams. The technology used to form a beam can be beamforming or other techniques. Beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming, analog beamforming, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming. Different beams can be considered different resources. The same or different information can be transmitted through different beams. Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered as a single beam. A beam can include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and detection signals, etc. For example, a transmitting beam can refer to the signal strength distribution in different directions of space after a signal is transmitted through an antenna, and a receiving beam can refer to the signal strength distribution in different directions of space of the wireless signal received from the antenna. It is understood that one or more antenna ports forming a beam can also be considered as a set of antenna ports.

[0037] Beams can be divided into transmit and receive beams for network devices and transmit and receive beams for terminal devices. The transmit beam of a network device describes the beamforming information transmitted by the network device, and the receive beam describes the beamforming information received by the network device. Similarly, the transmit beam of a terminal device describes the beamforming information transmitted by the terminal device, and the receive beam describes the beamforming information received by the terminal device. In other words, beams are used to describe beamforming information.

[0038] A beam can correspond to time resources and / or spatial resources, or frequency domain resources. Optionally, a beam can also correspond to a reference signal (RS) resource (e.g., a beamforming RS resource) or beamforming information.

[0039] Optionally, the beam can also correspond to information associated with the RS resources of the network device. The RS can be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a synchronous signal / PBCH block (SS / PBCH block, also known as an SSB), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), etc. The information associated with the RS resources can be an RS resource identifier or quasi-collocation (QCL) information (especially type D QCL). The RS resource identifier corresponds to a transmit / receive beam pair previously established based on measurements of that RS resource. Through this RS resource index, the terminal can infer the beam information.

[0040] Alternatively, the beam can also correspond to a spatial filter or spatial domain filter, or a spatial domain transmission filter.

[0041] In this context, the receiving beam can be equivalent to a spatial transmission filter, a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial domain receiving filter, and a spatial receiving filter; the transmitting beam can be equivalent to a spatial filter, a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial domain transmitting filter, and a spatial transmitting filter. Information about spatially relevant parameters can be equivalent to a spatial filter (spatial domain transmission / receive filter). Optionally, a spatial filter generally includes a spatial transmitting filter and a spatial receiving filter. This spatial filter can also be called a spatial transmitting filter, a spatial receiving filter, a spatial transmission filter, or a spatial transmission filter, etc. Specifically, the receiving beam on the terminal device side and the transmitting beam on the network device side can be downlink spatial filters, and the transmitting beam on the terminal device side and the receiving beam on the network device side can be uplink spatial filters.

[0042] Currently, 5G NR is adding high-frequency bands, such as 28GHz, 39GHz, or 60GHz. Introducing higher frequencies allows for greater bandwidth and higher transmission rates. However, due to the higher frequencies, signals experience significant fading during propagation. Therefore, 5G NR employs beamforming (BF) technology to achieve good directional gain, thereby increasing directional power in the transmit direction, improving the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the receiver, and ultimately enhancing system performance. Since both gNB and UE use hybrid beamforming technology, the resulting transmit and receive beam management issues have become a central problem in the 5G NR standardization discussion.

[0043] In related technologies, base stations using beamforming technology must use multiple beams pointing in different directions to fully cover the cell. The base station needs to transmit wireless signals sequentially using beams pointing in different directions, and find the best transmission beam to be aimed at the user terminal by traversing and scanning all beams. Figure 1 This diagram illustrates how base stations currently employ beamforming to generate directional beams in related technologies. (See also...) Figure 1 Base station 101 uses beamforming technology to adjust the phase of each antenna so that the signals are effectively superimposed, focusing the wireless signal energy to form a directional beam that points towards user terminal 102.

[0044] Beam training involves scanning the transmit and receive beams of network and terminal devices. The purpose of beam training is to find beam pairs, which consist of a transmit beam and a receive beam. Optimal received signal gain occurs when the transmit and receive beam directions are aligned (or aligned). Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the principle of beam alignment in related technologies is shown. See also Figure 2 5G base stations employing beamforming must use multiple beams pointing in different directions to fully cover the cell. Base station 201 uses eight beams, namely beams t1 to t8, to cover the cell served by base station 201. During downlink, base station 201 performs beam sweeping, sequentially transmitting wireless signals using beams pointing in different directions. For example, Figure 2 The beam scanning step 21 shown in the diagram: Base station 201 sequentially transmits wireless signals using beams t1 to t8. Simultaneously, the user terminal performs beam measurement, measuring the wireless signals emitted by different transmitted beams of the base station, and sends beam reporting to the base station, reporting the relevant beam measurement results. For example, Figure 2Steps 22 and 23 are shown in the diagram. Step 22 involves user terminal 202 sending a beam report to base station 201, and step 23 involves user terminal 203 sending a beam report to base station 201. The base station determines the optimal transmission beam (beam determination) for the user terminal based on the beam reports submitted by the user terminals. On the other hand, considering that the user terminal is also equipped with an antenna array, for example… Figure 2 User terminals 202 and 203 each use four beams, namely beams r1 to r4. Therefore, during beam alignment, both the transmit and receive beams must be considered simultaneously. The 5G wireless communication network allows user terminals to change the corresponding receive beam for the transmit beam, thus altering the mapping relationship between the transmit and receive beams. The optimal receive beam is determined and selected, resulting in an optimal transmit and receive beam mapping relationship. (See also...) Figure 2 The optimal beam mapping relationship between user terminal 202 and base station is (t4, r3), and the optimal beam mapping relationship between user terminal 203 and base station is (t6, r2).

[0045] However, in order to ensure sufficient signal gain, considering that the narrower the beam, the greater the signal gain, the beam generated by a large-scale antenna array usually needs to be very narrow. This requires the base station to use a large number of narrow beams to ensure that users in any direction within the cell can be effectively covered. In this case, the current related technologies scan all narrow beams to find the best transmission beam, which has the problems of excessive scanning time and slow beamforming speed, which seriously affects communication quality and causes a decline in user experience.

[0046] Furthermore, current beamforming technology requires a large number of phase shifters during beam training. Because it necessitates channel estimation and feedback of the estimation results to the transmitter, this beamforming technology is highly complex and has a long beam alignment time. While current technologies in millimeter-wave heterogeneous networks utilize mobility enhancement techniques such as dual connectivity, cell range extension, and beamforming to fully leverage the spectrum resources of millimeter waves and effectively address the challenge of high-speed data transmission under high mobility, dual connectivity, while providing preliminary solutions to handover and network configuration issues in millimeter-wave heterogeneous networks, still fails to effectively address the problem of uneven load distribution and only supports heterogeneous network architectures, exhibiting significant limitations.

[0047] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a beam alignment method applicable to terminal devices and network devices. At least one of the network device side and the terminal device side can be equipped with a conjugate phase processing device in the analog domain, capable of constructing an array system with reverse functionality. The method includes: the conjugate phase processing device of the transmitting device calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the incoming signal from the receiving device; the transmitting device then determining a narrow beam opposite to the incoming signal direction as the target transmission beam for alignment between the transmitting and receiving devices based on the conjugate phase; the receiving device reporting the target receiving beam determined by its own scanning to the transmitting device; thus, the receiving and transmitting devices complete beam alignment; and a communication link is established between the receiving and transmitting devices based on the target receiving and target transmission beams. It should be noted that in this application embodiment, when the transmitting device is a network device, the receiving device is a terminal device; and when the transmitting device is a terminal device, the receiving device is a network device.

[0048] The beam alignment method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to a communication system 300 in which two communication devices establish a beam link for communication through beam training. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the communication system 300 includes at least one or more network devices 301 and one or more terminal devices 303. The network devices 301 and the terminal devices 303 determine matching uplink and downlink beams in beam set 302 and beam set 304 respectively through beam training to establish beam link communication.

[0049] like Figure 4A The diagram shown is a schematic representation of a wireless communication scenario provided in an embodiment of this application. Specifically, Figure 4A It includes a transmitting device, a wireless channel, and a receiving device. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, when the network device is the transmitting device, the terminal device is the receiving device; and when the terminal device is the transmitting device, the network device is the receiving device.

[0050] The transmitting equipment may include an encoding unit 401A for error correction coding and interleaving of information bits; a baseband processor 401B for modulation, framing, filtering, shaping, and pre-distortion correction; a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 401C for digital-to-analog conversion; a mid-transmit radio frequency (RF) unit 401D for modulating baseband signals to RF signals and filtering; and a transmitting antenna 401E for radiating electromagnetic energy into space. When a conjugate phase processing device is added to the transmitting equipment, it can be integrated into the RF unit 401D and the transmitting antenna 401E.

[0051] Wireless channel 402 refers to the wireless transmission of electromagnetic waves in media such as atmosphere, vacuum, and water.

[0052] The receiving device includes a receiving RF unit 403A for down-converting the received RF signal to a lower frequency or baseband; a receiving antenna 403B for receiving electromagnetic wave signals in space; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 403C for performing analog-to-digital conversion; and a receiving baseband processor 403D for recovering the received baseband signal, including synchronization, equalization, and decoding units. When a conjugate phase processing device is added to the receiving device, the added conjugate phase processing device can be integrated into the receiving RF unit 403A and the receiving antenna 403B.

[0053] like Figure 4B As shown, the conjugate phase processing device added to the transmitting equipment side may include an inverting array system 4011, a phase conjugate calculation circuit 4012, a conjugate phase extraction unit 4013, and a signal modulation unit 4014; wherein, the inverting array system 4011 may be integrated into Figure 4A The transmitting or receiving antenna shown is used to transmit electromagnetic wave signals in space. Figure 4B The system receives the incoming wave (as shown) or transmits a wave in the opposite direction to the incoming wave. A phase conjugate calculation circuit 4012 calculates the conjugate phase of the incoming wave, implemented in the analog domain. Through this RF mixing method, when the local oscillator frequency is twice the RF frequency, the output intermediate frequency is equal to the RF frequency, but the phase is opposite to the input RF, thus achieving phase conjugation. A conjugate phase extraction unit 4013 extracts the output phase after the conjugate phase calculation is completed. A signal modulation unit 4014 modulates the wireless signal to be transmitted to the receiving device onto the current conjugate phase before transmitting it to the receiving device.

[0054] The communication system used in this application can be any type of communication system, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), long term evolution (LTE), fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, hybrid LTE and 5G architectures, 5G NR systems, and new communication systems emerging in future communication development. The 5G communication system described in this application can include at least one of non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) 5G communication systems. The communication system can also be a public land mobile network (PLMN), a device-to-device (D2D) network, a machine-to-machine (M2M) network, or other networks.

[0055] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of this application is an entity on the user side used to receive or transmit signals. The terminal device can be a device that provides voice and data connectivity to the user, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. The terminal device can also be other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks through a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be referred to as a wireless terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, user device, or user equipment, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and data with the radio access network. For example, the terminal device can also be a Personal Communication Service (PCS) telephone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and other devices. Common terminal devices include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and wearable devices such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, and pedometers, but the embodiments of this application are not limited to these. The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of this application can also be terminal devices that will appear in future evolution PLMNs, and the embodiments of this application are not limited to this.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection. In this embodiment, IoT technology can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low terminal power consumption through technologies such as narrowband (NB).

[0057] In addition, in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Its main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0058] The network device involved in the embodiments of this application is an entity on the network side used for transmitting or receiving signals. The network device in the embodiments of this application can be a device in a wireless network, such as a RAN node that connects a terminal to the wireless network. For example, the network device can be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in LTE, a new radio controller (NR controller), a gNode B (gNB) in a 5G system, a centralized unit (CU), a new wireless base station, a remote radio module, a micro base station, a relay, a distributed unit (DU), a femtobase station, a transmission reception point (TRP) or transmission point (TP), or any other wireless access device, but the embodiments of this application are not limited to these. The network device can cover one or more cells.

[0059] It should be noted that as technology continues to develop, the terminology used in the embodiments of this application may change, but all of them are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0060] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0062] Based on the above analysis, the following specific embodiments are proposed. The beam alignment process provided in the following embodiments of this application is used to constrain the beam scanning behavior of base stations and terminals, so as to improve the accuracy and speed of narrow beam alignment. The methods and apparatus are based on the same technical concept. Since the principles by which the methods and apparatus solve problems are similar, the implementations of the apparatus and methods can be referred to each other, and repeated details will not be repeated.

[0063] like Figure 5 The image shows a beam alignment process provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0064] Step 501: The terminal device sends a first uplink signal to the network device. The first uplink signal may include uplink data information or system information.

[0065] Step 502: The network device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal based on the received first uplink signal.

[0066] Specifically, the conjugate phase processing device of the network device can calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal based on the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal.

[0067] Step 503: The network device determines the narrow beam that is opposite to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal as the target downlink transmission beam based on the conjugate phase. The target downlink transmission beam points opposite to the direction of arrival.

[0068] Step 504: The network device communicates with the terminal device via the target downlink transmission beam.

[0069] In one possible embodiment, before executing step 501, the network device transmits wireless signals to the terminal device using fixed wide beams with different directions. The set of directions of the fixed wide beams with different directions can cover the signal coverage area of ​​the network device. That is, the network device performs a beam scanning process, and the terminal device can determine the narrow beam with the highest received power as the target receiving beam based on the beam scanning results, and report a second uplink signal to the network device. The second uplink signal includes the measurement result of the target downlink receiving beam of the terminal device (e.g., signal received power) or the identifier of the target downlink receiving beam of the terminal device (e.g., beam ID). In this way, the network device can determine the target downlink receiving beam aligned with the target downlink transmitting beam based on the second uplink signal, thereby achieving narrow beam alignment.

[0070] In one possible embodiment, when the terminal device moves, the network device can also perform beam tracking. Specifically, the network device determines the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal from the terminal device; then, based on the conjugate phase, the network device adjusts the target beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third uplink signal. In this way, the network device can automatically adjust its transmitted wireless signal to point in the direction of arrival without needing to analyze the specific content of the incoming signal, thereby simplifying the scanning process and completing narrow beam alignment and beam tracking.

[0071] It should also be understood that before performing the above steps in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device has already registered with the network device through the initial access process, and the network device knows the terminal device's identifier (UE ID) and location information (terminal orientation angle, coordinates).

[0072] Figure 6 An exemplary method for phased beam alignment between a base station and a UE is shown, for a downlink beam training process, including the following steps.

[0073] 1) The first stage of the coarse scanning process: such as Figure 6 In (a), the base station uses a small number of wide beams to cover the entire cell. The UE in the cell determines the current optimal wide beam by receiving beam scanning. For example, the beam with the highest receiving power is determined as the optimal wide beam. The UE determines the optimal wide beam as the initial center receiving beam in the second stage.

[0074] 2) The second stage of detailed scanning: such as Figure 6In step (b), the UE performs a narrow-beam scan based on the initial center receiving beam determined in the first phase. The UE measures and reports the measurement results corresponding to the optimal receiving beam, such as RSRP, to the base station. After detecting the incoming signal from the UE, the conjugate processing device on the base station side calculates the conjugate phase of the incoming wave in real time and determines the narrow beam in the opposite direction to the incoming wave as the base station side's transmit beam. The base station side uses this transmit beam to modulate the radio signal to be transmitted to the UE onto the current conjugate phase and transmits it to the UE. The transmit beam on the base station side and the receive beam on the UE side are then aligned.

[0075] As can be seen from the figure, the width of the received beam determined by the UE in the second phase is smaller than the width of the received beam determined in the first phase.

[0076] 3) The third stage of the precision alignment process: such as Figure 6 In step (c), the UE performs lateral optimal narrow beam convergence adjustment. When the UE converges to the optimal narrow beam, it feeds back the optimal narrow beam ID to the base station. The base station automatically calculates the conjugate phase in real time based on the transmitted signal from the UE and determines the transmitted beam corresponding to the conjugate phase. At this time, the UE and the base station have completed the precise alignment of the narrow beam.

[0077] 4) The fourth stage of beam tracking process: such as Figure 6 In step (d), when the UE moves, the base station calculates the conjugate phase of the incoming wave in real time based on the received uplink signal from the UE, and determines the narrow beam opposite to the direction of the incoming wave as the base station's transmission beam. The base station uses this transmission beam to modulate the radio signal to be transmitted to the UE onto this current conjugate phase. That is, based on the transmission beam determined in the second or third stage, the base station automatically tracks the beam pointing change of the UE, ensuring that the base station's transmission beam is always opposite to the direction of the incoming wave from the UE.

[0078] like Figure 7 The image shows a beam alignment process provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0079] Step 701: The network device sends a first downlink signal to the terminal device. This first downlink signal may include downlink data information or system information.

[0080] Step 702: The terminal device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal based on the received first downlink signal.

[0081] Specifically, the conjugate phase processing device of the terminal equipment calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal based on the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal.

[0082] Step 703: The terminal device determines the narrow beam that is opposite to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal as the target uplink transmission beam based on the conjugate phase.

[0083] In this case, the uplink transmission beam of the target points in the opposite direction to the direction of the incoming wave.

[0084] Step 504: The terminal device communicates with the network device through the target uplink transmission beam.

[0085] In one possible embodiment, before performing step 701, the terminal device transmits wireless signals to the network device using fixed wide beams with different directions. The set of directions of the fixed wide beams with different directions can cover the signal coverage area of ​​the network device. That is, the terminal device performs a beam scanning process, and the network device can determine the narrow beam with the highest received power as the target receiving beam based on the beam scanning results, and report a second downlink signal to the terminal device. The second downlink signal includes the measurement result of the target uplink receiving beam of the network device (e.g., signal received power) or the identifier of the target uplink receiving beam of the network device (e.g., beam ID). In this way, the terminal device can determine the target uplink receiving beam aligned with the target uplink transmitting beam based on the second downlink signal, thereby achieving narrow beam alignment.

[0086] In one possible embodiment, when the terminal device moves, it can also perform beam tracking. Specifically, the terminal device determines and calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal from the network device. Then, based on the conjugate phase of the third downlink signal, the terminal device adjusts the target beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third downlink signal. In this way, the terminal device can automatically adjust its transmitted wireless signal to point in the direction of arrival without needing to analyze the specific content of the incoming signal, thereby simplifying the scanning process and completing narrow beam alignment and beam tracking.

[0087] It should also be understood that before performing the above steps in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device has already registered with the network device through the initial access process, and the network device knows the terminal device's identifier (UE ID) and location information (terminal orientation angle, coordinates).

[0088] The following exemplifies a phased beam alignment method between the base station and the UE. The uplink beam training process is similar to the downlink beam training process, and the uplink beam training process includes the following steps.

[0089] 1) The first stage of the coarse scanning process: such as Figure 6 In (a), the UE uses a small number of wide beams to cover the entire cell. The base station determines the current optimal wide beam by scanning the receiving beam. For example, the beam with the highest receiving power is determined as the optimal wide beam. The base station then determines the optimal wide beam as the initial center receiving beam for the second stage.

[0090] 2) The second stage of detailed scanning: such as Figure 6In step (b), the base station performs a narrow beam scan based on the initial center receiving beam determined in the first stage. The base station measures and reports the measurement results corresponding to the optimal receiving beam, such as RSRP, to the UE. After the conjugate processing device on the UE detects the incoming signal from the base station, it calculates the conjugate phase of the incoming wave in real time and determines the narrow beam in the opposite direction to the incoming wave as the UE's transmit beam. The UE uses this transmit beam to modulate the radio signal to be transmitted to the base station onto the current conjugate phase and transmits it to the base station. The receiving beam on the base station side and the transmit beam on the UE side are then aligned.

[0091] As can be seen from the figure, the width of the receiving beam determined by the base station in the second stage is smaller than the width of the receiving beam determined in the first stage.

[0092] 3) The third stage of the precision alignment process: such as Figure 6 In step (c), the base station adjusts the convergence of the optimal narrow beam. When the base station converges to the optimal narrow beam, it feeds back the optimal narrow beam ID to the UE. The UE automatically calculates the conjugate phase in real time based on the transmitted signal from the base station and determines the transmitted beam corresponding to the conjugate phase. At this time, the UE and the base station have completed the precise alignment of the narrow beam.

[0093] 4) The fourth stage of beam tracking process: such as Figure 6 In step (d), when the UE moves, it calculates the conjugate phase of the incoming wave in real time based on the downlink signal received from the base station, and determines the narrow beam opposite to the direction of the incoming wave as the UE's transmit beam. The UE uses this transmit beam to modulate the radio signal to be transmitted to the base station onto the current conjugate phase. In other words, based on the transmit beam determined in the second or third stage, the UE automatically aligns its beam with the base station's beam, ensuring that the UE's transmit beam is always opposite to the direction of the incoming wave from the base station.

[0094] Based on and Figure 5 Using the same technical concept as the illustrated method embodiments, this application provides a communication device. The structure of this communication device can be as follows: Figure 8 As shown, it includes a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802.

[0095] In one implementation, the communication device can specifically be used to implement... Figure 5In the embodiments, the method executed by the network device can be the network device itself, or a chip or chipset within the network device, or a part of a chip used to perform the relevant method functions. Specifically, the transceiver module 802 is used to receive a first uplink signal from the terminal device. The processing module 801 is used to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal, and based on the conjugate phase, determine a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal as the target downlink transmission beam aligned between the network device and the terminal device; the transceiver module 802 is also used to communicate with the terminal device through the target downlink transmission beam.

[0096] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to: receive a second uplink signal from the terminal device, the second uplink signal including a measurement result of the target receiving beam of the terminal device or an identifier of the target receiving beam of the terminal device. The processing module 801 is further configured to determine, based on the second uplink signal, a target downlink receiving beam aligned with the target downlink transmitting beam.

[0097] In other embodiments, before receiving the first uplink signal from the terminal device, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to: transmit wireless signals to the terminal device using fixed wide beams with different orientations, the orientation set of the fixed wide beams with different orientations covering the signal coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0098] In some embodiments, the processing module 801 includes a conjugate phase processing device, which is capable of constructing an array system with beam reversal directional functionality; the conjugate phase processing device is used to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal based on the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal.

[0099] In other embodiments, after the transceiver module 802 communicates with the terminal device through the target beam, it is further configured to: calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal based on the third uplink signal from the terminal device; and adjust the target downlink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third uplink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal.

[0100] In one implementation, the communication device can specifically be used to implement... Figure 7In the embodiments, the method executed by the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip or chipset within the terminal device, or a part of the chip used to execute the relevant method function. Specifically, the transceiver module 802 is used to receive a first downlink signal from the network device; the processing module 801 is used to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal, and based on the conjugate phase, determine a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal as the target uplink transmission beam of the terminal device; the receiving module 802 is also used to communicate with the network device through the target uplink transmission beam.

[0101] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to: receive a second downlink signal from the network device, the second downlink signal including a measurement result of the target receive beam of the network device or an identifier of the target receive beam of the network device. The processing module 801 is further configured to determine, based on the second downlink signal, a target uplink receive beam aligned with the target uplink transmit beam.

[0102] In some embodiments, before the transceiver module 802 receives the first downlink signal from the terminal device, it is further configured to: transmit wireless signals to the network device using fixed wide beams with different directions, wherein the direction set of the fixed wide beams with different directions covers the signal coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0103] In some embodiments, the processing module 801 includes a conjugate phase processing device, which is capable of constructing an array system with beam reversal directional functionality; the conjugate phase processing device is used to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the reference signal based on the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal.

[0104] In other embodiments, after the transceiver module 802 communicates with the terminal device via the target beam, the processing module 801 is further configured to: calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal based on the third downlink signal from the network device; and adjust the target uplink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third downlink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal.

[0105] The module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It is understood that the functions or implementations of the modules in the embodiments of this application can be further described in the relevant descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0106] In one possible approach, the communication device can be as follows: Figure 9 As shown, the communication device can be a communication equipment or a chip within a communication equipment. The communication equipment can be a terminal device or a network device. The device may include a processor 901, a communication interface 902, and a memory 903. The processing module 801 can be the processor 901. The transceiver module 802 can be the communication interface 902.

[0107] The processor 901 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a digital processing module, etc. The communication interface 902 can be a transceiver, an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver chip, etc. The device also includes a memory 903 for storing the program executed by the processor 901. The memory 903 can be non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or it can be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM). The memory 903 can be any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, accessible by a computer, but is not limited to these.

[0108] The processor 901 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 903, specifically to perform the actions of the aforementioned processing module 801, which will not be described in detail here. The communication interface 902 is specifically used to perform the actions of the aforementioned transceiver module 802, which will not be described in detail here.

[0109] This application embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the communication interface 902, processor 901, and memory 903. This application embodiment... Figure 9 The memory 903, processor 901, and communication interface 902 are connected via a bus 904. Figure 9 The connections between other components are shown in bold and are for illustrative purposes only, not as limiting information. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 9 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0110] This invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions required to execute the processor, including a program required to execute the processor.

[0111] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0112] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0113] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0114] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0115] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A beam alignment method, characterized in that, include: The network device receives the first uplink signal from the terminal device; The network device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal, including: the network device's conjugate phase processing device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal in the analog domain according to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal; the conjugate phase processing device is capable of constructing an array system with beam reversal directional function; the network device determines the narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal as the target downlink transmission beam aligned between the network device and the terminal device according to the conjugate phase; The network device communicates with the terminal device via the target downlink transmission beam.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The network device receives a second uplink signal from the terminal device, the second uplink signal including the measurement result of the target receiving beam of the terminal device or the identifier of the target receiving beam of the terminal device; The network device determines the target downlink receiving beam aligned with the target downlink transmitting beam based on the second uplink signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before the network device receives the first uplink signal from the terminal device, it also includes: The network device transmits wireless signals to the terminal device using fixed wide beams with different directions, and the direction set of the fixed wide beams with different directions covers the signal coverage area of ​​the network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, After the network device communicates with the terminal device via the target downlink transmission beam, it further includes: The network device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal based on the third uplink signal from the terminal device; The network device adjusts the target downlink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third uplink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal.

5. A beam alignment method, characterized in that, include: The terminal device receives the first downlink signal from the network device; The terminal device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal, including: the conjugate phase processing device of the terminal device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal in the analog domain according to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal, and the conjugate phase processing device can construct an array system with beam reverse directional function; The terminal device determines the narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal as the target uplink transmission beam of the terminal device based on the conjugate phase. The terminal device communicates with the network device via the target uplink beam.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: The terminal device receives a second downlink signal from the network device, the second downlink signal including the measurement result of the target receiving beam of the network device or the identifier of the target receiving beam of the network device; The terminal device determines the target uplink receiving beam aligned with the target uplink transmitting beam based on the second downlink signal.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Before the terminal device receives the first downlink signal from the network device, it also includes: The terminal device transmits wireless signals to the network device using fixed wide beams with different directions, and the set of directions of the fixed wide beams with different directions covers the signal coverage area of ​​the network device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that, After the terminal device communicates with the network device via the target uplink transmission beam, it further includes: The terminal device calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal based on the third downlink signal from the network device; The terminal device adjusts the target uplink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third downlink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal.

9. A beam alignment device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module receives the first uplink signal from the terminal device; A processing module is used to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal. The processing module includes a conjugate phase processing device, which can construct an array system with beamback pointing capability. When the processing module calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal, it is specifically used for: the conjugate phase processing device calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the first uplink signal in the analog domain according to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal; The processing module is further configured to determine, based on the conjugate phase, a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first uplink signal as the target downlink transmission beam aligned between the network device and the terminal device; the transceiver module is further configured to communicate with the terminal device through the target downlink transmission beam.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, The transceiver module is further configured to: receive a second uplink signal from the terminal device, the second uplink signal including the measurement result of the target receiving beam of the terminal device or the identifier of the target receiving beam of the terminal device; The processing module is further configured to determine, based on the second uplink signal, a target downlink receiving beam aligned with the target downlink transmitting beam.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, The transceiver module is further configured to transmit wireless signals to the terminal device using fixed wide beams with different directions before receiving the first uplink signal from the terminal device, wherein the set of directions of the fixed wide beams with different directions covers the signal coverage area of ​​the network device.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The transceiver module is also configured to receive a third uplink signal from the terminal device after communicating with the terminal device via the target downlink transmission beam; The processing module is further configured to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal; and adjust the target downlink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third uplink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third uplink signal.

13. A beam alignment device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to receive the first downlink signal from the network device; The processing module is used to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal; The processing module includes a conjugate phase processing device, which is capable of constructing an array system with beam reverse pointing capability. When the processing module calculates the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal, it is specifically used for: the conjugate phase processing device calculating the conjugate phase corresponding to the first downlink signal in the analog domain according to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal; the processing module is also used for determining the narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the first downlink signal as the target uplink transmission beam of the terminal device according to the conjugate phase. The transceiver module is also used to communicate with the network device via the target uplink transmission beam.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that, The transceiver module is further configured to: receive a second downlink signal from the network device, the second downlink signal including a measurement result of the target receiving beam of the network device or an identifier of the target receiving beam of the network device; The processing module is further configured to determine, based on the second downlink signal, a target uplink receiving beam aligned with the target uplink transmitting beam.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that, Before the transceiver module receives the first downlink signal from the network device, it is also used for: Wireless signals are transmitted to the network device using fixed wide beams with different orientations, the set of orientations of the fixed wide beams covering the signal coverage area of ​​the network device.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The transceiver module is also configured to receive a third downlink signal from the network device after communicating with the network device via the target uplink transmit beam; The processing module is further configured to calculate the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal; and adjust the target uplink transmission beam to a narrow beam opposite to the direction of arrival of the third downlink signal based on the conjugate phase corresponding to the third downlink signal.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a program or instructions that, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or the program or instructions, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement the method of any one of claims 5 to 8.

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