System and method for wireless channel information sharing

Abstract

System and method embodiments are disclosed for wireless channel information sharing to improve system performance in a wireless communication system. A software convergence layer is incorporated to query and maintain tracking of all clients connected to a wireless communication system through different wireless technologies, such as 5G and / or WLAN. The shared channel information may be modeled as a set of coordinates. For each coordinate, a set of operating parameters is determined, such as beamforming weight, Tx and Rx rates, Tx power, and Rx gain based on each channel. These operating parameters are passed to schedulers of different wireless technologies, which are then used by the schedulers when the clients are in the vicinity of the corresponding coordinates.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 17 / 852,579, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WIRELESS CHANNEL INFORMATION SHARING,” filed on June 29, 2022, listing Venkatesh Sukumaran, Sriram Rajagopal, and Rahul Sawhney as inventors. The entire contents of each of the above patent documents are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and more particularly to systems and methods for wireless channel information sharing to improve system performance. Background Art

[0004] Those skilled in the art fully understand the importance of wireless communication in today's society. Advances in wireless technology have enabled communication systems to support wireless communications of different standards, such as 5G New Radio (NR), 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0005] Different wireless technologies (e.g., 4G / 5G and WLAN) operate very differently in the medium access control (MAC) layer and the physical layer (PHY). Each wireless technology has a different method of determining certain operating parameters (e.g., beamforming weights, transmit and receive rates, and / or the location of client devices). Determining these operating parameters quickly and accurately can greatly improve the system performance of wireless communications. However, each wireless technology has its own challenges in determining operating parameters quickly and accurately.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for systems, devices and methods that solve the above problems to improve the performance of wireless communication systems. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Reference will be made to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which may be shown in the accompanying drawings. These drawings are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Although the attached disclosure is generally described in the context of these embodiments, it should be understood that this is not meant to limit the scope of the present disclosure to these specific embodiments. The items in the drawings may not be drawn to scale.

[0008] Figure 1 (“ Figure 1 ”) depicts a block diagram of wireless channel information sharing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2A set of coordinates for modeling a shared wireless channel in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is graphically depicted.

[0010] Figure 3 A flow chart of wireless channel information sharing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be implemented without these details. In addition, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the present disclosure described below can be implemented in various ways, such as a process, device, system / equipment or method on a tangible computer readable medium.

[0012] The components or modules shown in the schematic diagram are illustrations of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and are intended to avoid obfuscation of the present disclosure. It should also be understood that throughout the discussion, components may be described as separate functional units, which may include subunits, but those skilled in the art will recognize that various components or portions thereof may be divided into separate components or may be integrated together, including, for example, in a single system or component. It should be noted that the functions or operations discussed herein may be implemented as components. Components may be implemented with software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

[0013] In addition, the connections between components or systems in the drawings are not intended to be limited to direct connections. Instead, the data between these components may be modified, reformatted, or otherwise changed by intermediate components. In addition, additional or fewer connections may be used. It should also be noted that the terms "coupled," "connected," "communicatively coupled," "docking," "interface," or any derivatives thereof, should be understood to include direct connections, indirect connections through one or more intermediate devices, and wireless connections. It should also be noted that any communication (such as a signal, response, reply, confirmation, message, query, etc.) may include one or more information exchanges.

[0014] References in the specification to "one or more embodiments," "preferred embodiments," "an embodiment," "an embodiment," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in conjunction with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, and may be in more than one embodiment. In addition, the above phrases appearing in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same one or more embodiments.

[0015] Certain terms are used in various places in the specification for the purpose of explanation and should not be interpreted as limiting. The terms "include", "including", "comprise" and "comprising" should be understood as open terms, and any examples are provided by way of illustration and shall not be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0016] Services, functions or resources are not limited to a single service, function, or resource; the use of these terms may refer to a group of related services, functions or resources, which may be distributed or aggregated. The use of memory, database, information base, data storage, table, hardware, cache, etc. may be used herein to refer to one or more system components that can input or otherwise record information. The terms "data", "information" and similar terms may be replaced by other terms referring to a group of one or more bits and may be used interchangeably. The terms "packet" or "frame" should be understood to mean a group of one or more bits. The terms "frame" or "packet" should not be interpreted as limiting the embodiments of the present invention to 5G networks. The terms "packet", "frame", "data" or "data service" may be replaced by other terms (such as "datagram" or "cell") referring to a group of bits. The words "optimal", "optimization", "optimization" and the like refer to improvements in results or processes, and do not require the specified results or processes to reach an "optimal" or peak state.

[0017] It is important to note that: (1) certain steps may be performed selectively; (2) the steps may not be limited to the specific order described herein; (3) certain steps may be performed in a different order; and (4) certain steps may be performed simultaneously.

[0018] A. Current wireless positioning methods

[0019] In wireless communication systems, it is desirable to accurately, reliably, and quickly locate a client or user equipment (UE) to maintain a stable wireless link. In addition, UE location information can be used in determining multiple operating parameters of wireless base stations, access points, etc. The operating parameters may include, but are not limited to, beamforming weights, transmit (Tx) power, receive (Rx) gain settings, and / or Tx / Rx rates, etc.

[0020] Different wireless technologies have their own methods and challenges for UE positioning. In a Wi-Fi communication system, multiple Wi-Fi hotspots or access points may be involved for UE positioning. Common positioning techniques for Wi-Fi positioning can be based on received signal strength indicator (RSSI), angle of arrival (AoA) and / or time of flight (ToF). RSSI positioning is based on measuring the signal strength from the UE at several different access points and then combining these measurements to determine the distance between the UE and the access point through trilateral measurement or multilateral measurement. RSSI measurements can fluctuate depending on changes in the surrounding environment, which has a negative impact on the accuracy of RSSI-based UE positioning. In addition, when the number of Wi-Fi access points is limited or when the location accuracy of the access points is imprecise, the accuracy of UE positioning is also limited.

[0021] Wi-Fi access points with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Wi-Fi interfaces can use antenna arrays to estimate the AoA of multipath signals received at the antenna arrays and apply triangulation to calculate the UE position. The Wi-Fi preamble can be used for AoA-based positioning. While this technique is generally more accurate than other techniques, it may require special hardware to deploy, such as multiple antenna arrays.

[0022] In 5G NR systems, positioning reference signals (PRS) in downlink and sounding reference signals (SRS) in uplink can be used for UE positioning. Power, angle or time measurements can be used for PRS. 5G base stations (such as gNodeB (gNB)) can use beam scanning across various directions for UE positioning. Beamforming can be achieved by adjusting the beamforming weights between multiple antenna elements of the transmission to produce patterns of constructive and destructive interference in the wavefront, thereby producing a focused beam toward a specific direction. Beam steering can be achieved by changing the beamforming weights on multiple antenna elements. Different frequency beams can be directed in different directions to serve different UEs. The beam direction can be dynamically determined by the base station to allow effective UE tracking. 5G can use synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) blocks, secondary synchronization signal (SSS) blocks, physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks) to find a position with AoA. In addition, the UE can report the observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) of the time delays from different 5G cells for UE positioning.

[0023] With accurate UE location, the base station can achieve the desired or fine-tuned beamforming weights, Tx power, Rx gain, and Tx / Rx rates to better serve the UE. Although 5G positioning can provide better accuracy and multipath resolution, 5G positioning still faces some challenges, such as the lack of a framework dedicated to low-power specifications.

[0024] The following sections describe system and method embodiments for sharing wireless channel information across different wireless technologies (such as between 5G and Wi-Fi) to improve system performance.

[0025] B. Example of wireless channel information sharing

[0026] Figure 1 A block diagram of wireless channel information sharing in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted. Figure 1 As shown, the software convergence layer 120 is instantiated in the system to interact with the MAC software layer 110 of different wireless technologies (such as 4G / 5G cellular and WLAN). The software convergence layer 120 queries and tracks UEs or clients connected to the system via 4G / 5G cellular and / or WLAN. The wireless channel information of the connected UE is shared across different wireless technologies. In one or more embodiments, the information is modeled as a set of coordinates. For each coordinate, a set of operating parameters is determined. The set of operating parameters may include beamforming weights, Tx and Rx rates, Tx power, Rx gain, etc. based on each channel. The determined operating parameters are then passed to the schedulers of each wireless technology, such as the 5G scheduler 102 and the WLAN scheduler 104, which use these operating parameters when the client is near the coordinate.

[0027] Figure 2 A set of coordinates for shared wireless channel modeling in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is graphically depicted. UE 220 is connected to wireless station 210 via wireless channel 225. Wireless station 220 can be configured to support wireless communications in different wireless technologies (such as 4G LTE / 5G NR or Wi-Fi). Therefore, wireless channel 225 can be a 4G / 5G channel or a Wi-Fi channel. Alternatively, wireless station 220 can communicate with UE 220 via a first channel 225 in a first wireless technology (e.g., 4G / 5G cellular) and a second channel 226 in a second wireless technology (e.g., Wi-Fi).

[0028] The coverage 214 of the wireless station 210 can be modeled as a set of coordinates 216, 218, ..., which may be evenly distributed or unevenly distributed. When the UE 220 is located in one coordinate 216, one or more operating parameters of the wireless station 210 may be applied based on the coordinate. The one or more operating parameters may include beamforming weights, Tx and Rx rates, Tx power, Rx gain, etc. of multiple antenna elements 212 at the wireless station 210 based on each channel. One or more operating parameters may be shared or partially shared across different wireless technologies. For example, the beamforming weights for 5G communication may also be applied to Wi-Fi communication, especially when the 5G channel and the Wi-Fi channel are in the same frequency band.

[0029] Figure 3 A flow chart of wireless channel information sharing in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted. In step 305, a software (SW) convergence layer is instantiated in a wireless station to interact with a MAC software layer for a first wireless technology (e.g., 5G) and a second wireless technology (e.g., Wi-Fi). The wireless station may be a radio base station, such as a 4G LTE eNodeB (eNB), an NG-eNB, or a 5G gNB, which may include multiple antenna elements to support beamforming for directional communication with one or more UEs. In step 310, the SW convergence layer queries the MAC software layer for information about UE connectivity. When a new UE or client is connected via a first wireless link corresponding to a first wireless technology (e.g., 4G / 5G or WLAN), the convergence layer is notified. One or more operating parameters associated with the first wireless link connecting the UE, such as UE location, Tx / Rx data rate, and beamforming weights, are tracked and fed back to the convergence layer. In one or more embodiments, a mapping of channel information may be constructed at the convergence layer. The mapping includes a set of coordinates, where each coordinate is associated with one or more operating parameters (e.g., Tx / Rx data rate, Tx power, Rx gain, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to be used, beamforming weights on a per-spatial stream basis, etc.) on a given channel or operating frequency.

[0030] In step 315, the SW convergence layer determines whether the query information or part of the query information can be shared across different wireless technologies. For example, when the query information is related to the Wi-Fi link to which the UE is connected, the SW convergence layer determines whether the query information related to the Wi-Fi link can be shared to the 4G / 5G cellular link. Shareability can be determined based on one or more shareability factors, such as whether different wireless technologies use the same frequency band, whether one or more operating parameters in the query information about the first wireless link corresponding to the first wireless technology meet the connection threshold for the second wireless technology, etc. For example, when the SW convergence layer determines that the first wireless link to which the UE is connected is a Wi-Fi link at 5GHz, and the wireless station and the UE are capable of supporting a 5G cellular link at 5GHz, the SW convergence layer can then determine that the query information or part of the query information for the 5GHz Wi-Fi link can be directly shared to the 5GHz cellular link. The shared information may include one or more of the one or more operating parameters related to the first wireless link, such as beamforming weights, Tx / Rx data rates, Tx power, Rx gain, etc.

[0031] In step 320, in response to "yes" of step 315, the SW convergence layer applies the query information or part of the query information across wireless technologies. In response to "no" of step 315, the process proceeds to step 325 to further analyze the query information.

[0032] In one or more embodiments, an accuracy assessment may be implemented in step 325, where the accuracy of the UE's position in the coordinate is assessed against a predetermined threshold (e.g., 1 m for indoor applications). If the accuracy does not meet the predetermined threshold, the process returns to step 310 to query again. If the accuracy meets the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step 330, where an algorithm based on machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to derive or optimize one or more operating parameters for the first and second wireless technologies at the coordinate. In step 335, one or more optimal operating parameters are applied to another UE at the coordinate. For example, the same beamforming weights, Rx / Tx data rates, Tx power, or Rx gain may be applied at least initially to another UE at the same coordinate. In step 340, the applied one or more operating parameters may be adjusted to determine whether the performance of wireless communication with the other UE is improved. Performance may be evaluated by one or more indices (such as SNR, power cost, error rate, communication latency, etc.). In response to determining that the performance is improved, the process returns to step 330 for further operating parameter updates or optimizations. In response to determining that there is no performance improvement, the process returns to step 310 to query again regarding UE connectivity, or query the same UE from 4G / 5G and Wi-Fi.

[0033] In one or more embodiments, wireless channel information sharing may be applied to various types of deployments, including:

[0034] (1) Wi-Fi and 4G / 5G NR channels at different frequencies; for example, a Wi-Fi channel may use a 5 GHz frequency while a 5G NR channel operates at 3.6 GHz.

[0035] (2) 5G New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U), where two channels operate at the same frequency and a listen-before-talk (LBT) implementation is used for channel access.

[0036] In the case where different frequencies are used for different channels, the channel information at the higher frequency can be used and the operating frequency can be adjusted by the channel information at the lower frequency. In the case of the same frequency, the granular feedback of the channel information can be used for operating parameter optimization.

[0037] In one or more embodiments, if the aggregation layer already has this data from the 5G stack, the aggregation layer can also optimize channel utilization by reducing the need for explicit positioning or soliciting beamforming feedback on the WLAN. This also applies to other situations.

[0038] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing examples and embodiments are exemplary and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. It is intended that all permutations, enhancements, equivalents, combinations, and improvements that are apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification and studying the drawings are included within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It should also be noted that the elements of any claim may be arranged differently, including having multiple dependencies, configurations, and combinations.

Claims

1. A method for sharing wireless channel information, comprising: instantiating a convergence layer in a wireless station to interact with a medium access control (MAC) software layer in the wireless station for a first wireless technology and a second wireless technology; querying the MAC software layer from the software convergence layer regarding user equipment (UE) connectivity, notifying the convergence layer upon the UE connecting to the wireless station via one or more wireless channels; tracking one or more operating parameters associated with the one or more wireless channels and feeding them into the convergence layer; determining, at the software convergence layer, whether at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters are shareable across the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology; In response to at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters being determined to be shareable, the at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters are shared across the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first wireless technology is 4G / 5G cellular communication, and the second wireless technology is Wi-Fi communication.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The one or more operating parameters are selected from the group consisting of: beamforming weights for a plurality of antennas in the wireless station; Send / receive data rate; Transmit power; receive gain; and Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS).

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters being determined to be shareable, performing steps comprising: evaluating an accuracy of the position of the UE in a set of coordinates constructed at the convergence layer against a predetermined threshold, the set of coordinates corresponding to a mapping of channel information constructed by the software convergence layer, wherein each coordinate is associated with one or more operating parameters based on each channel; responsive to the accuracy satisfying the predetermined threshold, deriving the one or more operating parameters for both the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology at the coordinates; as well as The derived one or more operating parameters are communicated to a MAC scheduler of the first radio technology and the second radio technology.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: At the wireless station, the derived one or more optimal operating parameters are applied to another UE in wireless communication with the wireless station at the coordinates.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: determining, at the wireless station, whether performance of the wireless communication with the other UE is improved by adjusting the applied one or more optimal operating parameters; as well as In response to determining a performance improvement, the one or more operating parameters for both the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology at the coordinates are updated.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The performance of the wireless communication with the other UE is determined by one or more indices including a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), throughput, power cost, error rate, or communication delay.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The wireless station is a radio base station.

9. A wireless station, comprising: a plurality of antenna elements that support wireless communications in at least one of a first wireless technology and a second wireless technology; A convergence layer interacting with a medium access control (MAC) software layer in the wireless station, the convergence layer being configured to perform operations including: querying the MAC software layer about user equipment (UE) connectivity, notifying the convergence layer upon the UE connecting to the wireless station via one or more wireless channels; tracking one or more operating parameters associated with the one or more wireless channels; determining whether at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters are shareable across the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology; In response to at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters being determined to be shareable, the at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters are shared across the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology.

10. The wireless station according to claim 9, wherein: The first wireless technology is 4G LTE or 5G communication, and the second wireless technology is Wi-Fi communication.

11. The wireless station according to claim 9, wherein: The one or more operating parameters are selected from the group consisting of: beamforming weights for a plurality of antennas in the wireless station; Send / receive data rate; Transmit power; receive gain; and Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS).

12. The wireless station according to claim 9, wherein: The convergence layer is configured to perform operations further comprising: In response to at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters being determined to be shareable, performing steps comprising: evaluating an accuracy of the position of the UE in a set of coordinates constructed at the convergence layer against a predetermined threshold, the set of coordinates corresponding to a mapping of channel information constructed by the software convergence layer, wherein each coordinate is associated with one or more operating parameters based on each channel; responsive to the accuracy satisfying the predetermined threshold, deriving the one or more operating parameters for both the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology at the coordinates; as well as The derived one or more optimal operating parameters are applied to another UE in wireless communication with the wireless station at the coordinates.

13. The wireless station according to claim 12, wherein: The convergence layer is configured to perform operations further comprising: determining whether performance of the wireless communication with the other UE is improved by adjusting the applied one or more optimal operating parameters; as well as In response to determining a performance improvement, the one or more operating parameters for both the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology at the coordinates are updated.

14. The wireless station according to claim 12, wherein: The performance of the wireless communication with the other UE is determined by one or more indices including a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), throughput, power cost, error rate, or communication delay.

15. One or more non-transitory computer readable media comprising one or more sequences of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause execution of steps comprising: instantiating a convergence layer in a wireless station to interact with a medium access control (MAC) software layer in the wireless station for a first wireless technology and a second wireless technology; querying the MAC software layer from the software convergence layer regarding user equipment (UE) connectivity, notifying the convergence layer upon the UE connecting to the wireless station via one or more wireless channels; tracking one or more operating parameters associated with the one or more wireless channels and feeding them into the convergence layer; determining, at the software convergence layer, whether at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters are shareable across the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology; In response to at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters being determined to be shareable, the at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters are shared across the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to claim 15, wherein: The first wireless technology is 4G LTE or 5G communication, and the second wireless technology is Wi-Fi communication.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein: The one or more operating parameters are selected from the group consisting of: beamforming weights for a plurality of antennas in the wireless station; Send / receive data rate; Transmit power; receive gain; and Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS).

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein: The one or more non-transitory computer readable media also include one or more sequences of instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause execution of steps including: In response to at least a portion of the one or more operating parameters being determined to be shareable, performing steps comprising: evaluating an accuracy of the position of the UE in a set of coordinates constructed at the convergence layer against a predetermined threshold, the set of coordinates corresponding to a mapping of channel information constructed by the software convergence layer, wherein each coordinate is associated with one or more operating parameters based on each channel; responsive to the accuracy satisfying the predetermined threshold, deriving the one or more operating parameters for both the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology at the coordinates; as well as At the wireless station, the derived one or more optimal operating parameters are applied to another UE in wireless communication with the wireless station at the coordinates.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein: The one or more non-transitory computer readable media also include one or more sequences of instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause execution of steps including: determining, at the wireless station, whether performance of the wireless communication with the other UE is improved by adjusting the applied one or more optimal operating parameters; as well as In response to determining a performance improvement, the one or more operating parameters for both the first wireless technology and the second wireless technology at the coordinates are updated.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein: The performance of the wireless communication with the other UE is determined by one or more indices including a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), throughput, power cost, error rate, or communication delay.

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