Radio Frequency Beamforming Device with a Cylindrical Lens

Abstract

Some of the techniques and apparatus described herein provide radio frequency (RF) beamforming that uses a cylindrical lens to perform phased array beamforming in one direction and lens effect beamforming in a second direction. In one embodiment, an apparatus for wireless communication may include a cylindrical lens having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. In some cases, the cylindrical lens may include a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the first surface and a non-power direction orthogonal to the power direction. In some aspects, the apparatus may include a plurality of linear antenna arrays disposed proximate to the second surface of the cylindrical lens, and each linear antenna array of the plurality of linear antenna arrays includes a plurality of antenna array elements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication. For example, aspects of the present disclosure relate to radio frequency (RF) beamforming devices having a cylindrical lens.

Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems have been deployed to provide various telecommunications and data services including telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Broadband wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-capable wireless service, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax). Examples of wireless communication systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) systems, and the like. Other wireless communication technologies include, among others, 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®.

[0003] In the 5th generation (5G) mobile standard, among numerous improvements, higher data transfer speeds, a larger number of connections, and better coverage are particularly required. The 5G standard (also referred to as "New Radio" or "NR") is designed to provide a data rate of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, according to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, and 1 gigabit per second is provided to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support the deployment of a large number of sensors, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communication should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G / LTE standard. Furthermore, the signaling efficiency should be enhanced and the latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] In the following, a simplified summary regarding one or more aspects disclosed in this specification is presented. Therefore, the following summary should not be regarded as an extensive overview regarding all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be regarded as identifying the main or important elements regarding all contemplated aspects, nor should it be regarded as defining the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the following summary presents, in a simplified form, a specific concept regarding one or more aspects regarding the mechanism disclosed in this specification, prior to the "Detailed Description of the Invention" presented below.

[0005] In some cases, wireless communication can be performed using a high-frequency range (e.g., sub-terahertz spectrum, terahertz spectrum, etc.). In some embodiments, a device that communicates using such a high frequency may require additional antennas to avoid performance degradation due to path loss resulting from the shorter wavelength. However, configuring additional antennas within a wireless device may result in increased hardware and / or software complexity, increased power consumption, and increased cost.

[0006] The systems and techniques described herein provide radio frequency (RF) beamforming. In some aspects, a beamforming device can be implemented that includes a lens (e.g., a cylindrical lens) and a plurality of phased antenna arrays. In some embodiments, the beamforming device can steer an RF beam along a non-power direction of the cylindrical lens by using phased array beamforming. In some cases, the beamforming device can steer an RF beam along a power direction of the cylindrical lens by using array selection beamforming (e.g., selecting an antenna array based on the array position relative to the power direction of the lens). In some aspects, the beamforming devices provided herein can operate efficiently at higher frequencies with fewer antenna elements, reduced complexity, and lower power consumption.

[0007] In one exemplary embodiment, a wireless communication device is provided. The wireless communication device includes a cylindrical lens having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the cylindrical lens including a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the first surface and a non-power direction orthogonal to the power direction, and a plurality of linear antenna arrays disposed proximate to the second surface of the cylindrical lens, each linear antenna array of the plurality of linear antenna arrays including a plurality of antenna array elements.

[0008] In another embodiment, a method for wireless communication is provided. The method includes steering a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, the plurality of linear antenna arrays being arranged in a parallel configuration and disposed proximate to a first surface of a cylindrical lens having a curved second surface opposite the first surface.

[0009] In another embodiment, an apparatus for wireless communication includes at least one memory including instructions, and at least one processor (e.g., implemented in a circuit) that executes the instructions and is configured to cause the apparatus to steer a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, the plurality of linear antenna arrays being arranged in a parallel configuration and disposed proximate to a first surface of a cylindrical lens having a curved second surface opposite the first surface.

[0010] In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium for performing wireless communication, having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to steer a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, the plurality of linear antenna arrays being arranged in a parallel configuration and disposed proximate to a first surface of a cylindrical lens having a curved second surface on an opposite side of the first surface, is provided.

[0011] In another embodiment, an apparatus for wireless communication is provided. The apparatus includes means for steering a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, the plurality of linear antenna arrays being arranged in a parallel configuration and disposed proximate to a first surface of a cylindrical lens having a curved second surface on an opposite side of the first surface.

[0012] In some aspects, the apparatus is, or is part of, a user equipment (UE) or a network entity. The network entity may include a base station (e.g., a 3GPP® gNodeB (gNB) for 5G / NR, a 3GPP eNodeB (eNB) for LTE, a Wi-Fi access point (AP), or other base stations), or a part of a base station with a split architecture (e.g., a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC) of a gNB or other base stations. In some aspects, the apparatus includes one or more transceivers configured to transmit and / or receive radio frequency (RF) signals. In some aspects, at least one processor includes one or more neural processing units (NPUs), one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), any combination thereof, and / or other processing devices or components.

[0013] Other objectives and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and the "Detailed Description of the Invention".

[0014] The accompanying drawings are presented to assist in the description of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided by way of example rather than limitation of those aspects.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Certain aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below for purposes of illustration. Alternative aspects can be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, well-known elements of the present disclosure will either not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, some of the aspects and embodiments described herein can be applied independently, and some of them can also be applied in combination. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present application. However, it will be apparent that various embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. The figures and the description are not intended to be restrictive.

[0017] The following description provides exemplary embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, the following description of the exemplary embodiments provides an explanation of how the exemplary embodiments can be implemented to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that various changes can be made to the functions and configurations of the elements without departing from the scope of the present application as set forth in the appended claims.

[0018] Wireless communication networks are deployed to provide various telecommunications services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. A wireless communication network can support both access links and sidelinks related to communication between wireless devices. An access link may refer to any communication link between a client device (e.g., a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), or another client device) and a base station (e.g., a 3GPP gNodeB (gNB) for 5G / NR, a 3GPP eNodeB (eNB) for LTE, a Wi-Fi access point (AP), or another base station), or a component of a split base station (e.g., a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), etc.). In one embodiment, the access link between the UE and the 3GPP gNB can be via the Uu interface. In some cases, the access link can support uplink signaling, downlink signaling, connection procedures, etc.

[0019] In some embodiments, the gNB and the UE can be configured to operate using a higher frequency range. For example, the sub-terahertz frequency spectrum can range from 90 gigahertz (GHz) to 300 GHz. In such a frequency range, the wavelength can be as small as about 1 millimeter (mm). As a result, operation using a higher frequency can result in performance degradation due to higher path loss. In some cases, to improve performance at higher frequencies, additional antennas or antenna arrays can be added to a device (e.g., the UE). For example, the number of antenna elements can be increased in proportion to the square of the frequency. However, increasing the number of antenna elements may not be desirable due to factors such as additional cost, increased complexity, and a larger footprint (e.g., consuming more space on a printed circuit board and / or within the device).

[0020] Systems, apparatuses, processes (also referred to as methods), and computer-readable media (collectively referred to as "systems and technologies") for radio frequency (RF) beamforming are described herein. In some aspects, a hybrid beamforming device including a lens (e.g., a cylindrical lens) and a plurality of phased antenna arrays can be implemented. In some embodiments, the beamforming device can steer an RF beam along the elevation direction (e.g., the non-power direction of the cylindrical lens) by using phased array operation (e.g., phased array beamforming). In some cases, the beamforming device can steer an RF beam along the azimuth direction (e.g., the power direction) by selecting an antenna array (e.g., array selection beamforming based on the array position with respect to the power direction of the lens).

[0021] In some aspects, the beamforming device can include a cylindrical lens having a planar surface and a curved (or convex) surface on the opposite side of the planar surface. In some embodiments, the power direction of the cylindrical lens can correspond to the curvature of the curved surface, and the non-power direction can be orthogonal to the power direction. In some cases, a linear antenna array can be positioned or arranged behind the planar surface of the cylindrical lens in a direction perpendicular to the power direction. In some aspects, the UE can select one of the linear antenna arrays to direct an RF beam along the power direction of the cylindrical lens. In some embodiments, the UE can perform phased array beamforming to direct an RF beam along the non-power direction of the cylindrical lens.

[0022] In some aspects, the present system and technology can provide a beamforming device that has reduced complexity (e.g., less hardware / software complexity) and consumes less power than a device including a rectangular antenna array. In some embodiments, the beamforming device can be used to simultaneously steer multiple RF beams in different directions.

[0023] Various aspects of the systems and techniques described herein are discussed below with respect to the figures.

[0024] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "network entity" are not intended to be specific to any particular radio access technology (RAT) or otherwise limited, unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, and / or tracking device, etc.) used by a user to communicate via a wireless communication network, a wearable (e.g., a smartwatch, smart glasses, wearable ring, and / or an extended reality (XR) device, e.g., a virtual reality (VR) headset, augmented reality (AR) headset or glasses, or a mixed reality (MR) headset), a vehicle (e.g., a car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), and / or an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. The UE can be movable or (e.g., at a particular time) stationary and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through that core network, the UE can connect to an external network such as the Internet and other UEs.Of course, for the UE, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the IEEE 802.11 communication standard, etc.) are also possible.

[0025] A network entity can be implemented in a centralized or monolithic base station architecture or, alternatively, in a distributed base station architecture and can include one or more of a Central Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), a Radio Unit (RU), a Near Real-Time (Near RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), or a Non-Real-Time (Non RT) RIC. A base station (e.g., having a centralized / monolithic base station architecture or a distributed base station architecture) can operate according to one of several Radio Access Technologies (RATs) when communicating with User Equipments (UEs), depending on the network in which the base station is deployed. Alternatively, it may be referred to as an Access Point (AP), a network node, a NodeB (NB), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station can be mainly used to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data connections, voice connections, and / or signaling connections for the UEs to be supported. In some systems, a base station may provide an edge node signaling function, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control functions and / or network management functions. A communication link over which a UE can transmit a signal to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link over which a base station can transmit a signal to a UE is called a downlink (DL) channel or a forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, or a forward traffic channel, etc.). The term "traffic channel" (TCH) as used herein can refer to either an uplink channel, a reverse channel, or a downlink channel and / or a forward traffic channel.

[0026] The term "network entity" or "base station" (e.g., having a centralized / monolithic base station architecture or a distributed base station architecture) may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP), or multiple physical TRPs which may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "network entity" or "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, that physical TRP can be the base station's antenna corresponding to the base station's cell (or some cell sectors). When the term "network entity" or "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, those physical TRPs can be an array of the base station's antennas (such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, those physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium), or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can also be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal (or simply "reference signal") the UE is measuring. Since a TRP is the point where the base station transmits and receives wireless signals, when used in this specification, references to transmissions from the base station or receptions at the base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of that base station.

[0027] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a network entity or a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support a data connection, a voice connection, and / or a signaling connection for the UE), but instead can send to the UE a reference signal that will be measured by the UE, and / or can also receive and measure a signal transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when sending a signal to the UE) and / or a position measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0028] An RF signal includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transmit information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal through a multipath channel, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" when the context makes it clear that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0029] According to various aspects, FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system 100. (Sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) The wireless communication system 100 may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. In some aspects, the base stations 102 may also sometimes be referred to as "network entities" or "network nodes". One or more of the base stations 102 can be implemented in an integrated or monolithic base station architecture. Further, or alternatively, one or more of the base stations 102 can also be implemented in a distributed base station architecture and can include one or more of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC. The base stations 102 can include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations can include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs when the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, or gNBs when the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations can include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0030] The base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) through a backhaul link 122, and through the core network 170, interface with one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of the core network 170 or exist outside the core network 170). In addition to other functions, the base station 102 can perform functions related to one or more of user data transfer, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load distribution, distribution related to non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 can communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC or 5GC) with each other via a backhaul link 134 that can be wired and / or wireless.

[0031] The base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each of the base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for the corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base stations 102 within each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resource such as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating via the same carrier frequency or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that can provide access to different types of UEs. Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports that logical communication entity. Furthermore, since a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably in some cases. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station as long as it is possible to detect a carrier frequency within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110 and use it for communication.

[0032] The geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), but some of the geographical coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, the small cell base station 102’ may have a coverage area 110’ that substantially overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs) that are capable of providing services to a restricted group, also known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0033] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (also referred to as forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 can use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 can be through one or more carrier frequencies. The carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and the uplink (e.g., for the downlink, more carriers or fewer carriers may be allocated than for the uplink).

[0034] Wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN AP 150 that communicates with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 gigahertz (GHz)). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available. In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may include devices (e.g., UEs, etc.) that utilize an ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum to communicate with one or more UEs 104, base stations 102, APs 150, etc. The UWB spectrum may range from 3.1 GHz to 10.5 GHz.

[0035] The small cell base station 102' can operate in a licensed frequency spectrum and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE technology or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. By adopting LTE and / or 5G in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can enhance the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0036] The wireless communication system 100 may further include an mmW base station 180 that is capable of operating at millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and / or sub-mmW frequencies and communicates with the UE 182. The mmW base station 180 can be implemented in an integrated or monolithic base station architecture or, alternatively, in a distributed base station architecture (including, for example, one or more of a CU, DU, RU, sub-RT RIC, or non-RT RIC). Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength of 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band are sometimes referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW can drop down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band ranges from 3 GHz to 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW and / or sub-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmission and / or reception) via the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distances. Furthermore, in an alternative configuration, it will be understood that one or more of the base stations 102 can also transmit using mmW or sub-mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be understood that the above illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0037] In some aspects related to 5G, the frequency spectrum in which a wireless network node or entity (e.g., base station 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) operates is classified into multiple frequency ranges, FR1 (450 - 6000 megahertz (MHz)), FR2 (24250 - 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi - carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier", or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers", or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier that operates on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) and is utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell with which the UE 104 / 182 executes the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or starts the RRC connection re - establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE - specific control channels and can be a carrier at an authorized frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier that operates on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) and can be configured when an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier at an unlicensed frequency. Since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE - specific, the secondary carrier may only contain the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, there may be no UE - specific signaling information and signals in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier.The network can change the primary carrier of any UE104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load across different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether it is a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency and / or component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0038] For example, referring further to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or, "PCell"), and other frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). In carrier aggregation, base station 102 and / or UE104 can use a total spectrum of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz per carrier (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 MHz) for transmission in each direction. Those component carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other on the frequency spectrum. The carrier assignment may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., for the downlink, more or fewer carriers may be assigned compared to the uplink). By simultaneously transmitting and / or receiving on multiple carriers, UE104 / 182 can significantly increase its data transmission rate and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz carriers aggregated in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0039] To operate on multiple carrier frequencies, the base station 102 and / or the UE 104 can be equipped with multiple receivers and / or transmitters. For example, the UE 104 can have two receivers, "Receiver 1" and "Receiver 2", where "Receiver 1" is a multi-band receiver capable of tuning to band (i.e., carrier frequency) "X" or band "Y", and "Receiver 2" is a one-band receiver capable of tuning only to band "Z". In this embodiment, when the UE 104 is being served in band "X", band "X" will be referred to as the PCell or the active carrier frequency, and "Receiver 1" will need to tune from band "X" to band "Y" (SCell) in order to measure band "Y" (and vice versa). In contrast, regardless of whether the UE 104 is being served in band "X" or in band "Y", the presence of a separate "Receiver 2" allows the UE 104 to measure band "Z" without interrupting the service on band "X" or band "Y".

[0040] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that can communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via the communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via the mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 can support a PCell and one or more SCell for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 can support one or more SCell for the UE 164.

[0041] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs such as UE190 that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). In the embodiment of FIG. 1, UE190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UE104s connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA152 connected to WLAN AP150 (through which UE190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one embodiment, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported using any well-known D2D RAT such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi-D), Bluetooth®.

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the design of base station 102 and UE104 that enables the transmission and processing of signals exchanged between a UE and a base station according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Design 200 includes components of base station 102 and UE104 that can be one of base stations 102 and one of UE104s in FIG. 1. Base station 102 can be equipped with T antennas 234a - 234t, and UE104 can be equipped with R antennas 252a - 252r, generally T≥1 and R≥1.

[0043] At base station 102, transmission processor 220 receives data from data source 212 regarding one or more UEs, selects one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from that UE, processes (e.g., encodes and modulates) the data regarding each UE based at least in part on the MCS selected for that UE, and can provide data symbols regarding all UEs. Transmission processor 220 can also process system information (e.g., regarding semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.) to provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmission processor 220 can also generate reference symbols regarding reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signal (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) or secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). Transmission (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 can, if applicable, perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols and provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a - 232t. Modulators 232a - 232t are shown as combined modulator-demodulators (MOD-DEMODs). In some cases, the modulator and demodulator can be separate components.Each of the modulators 232a to 232t can obtain an output sample stream by processing a corresponding output symbol stream, for example, with respect to an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme or the like. Each of the modulators 232a to 232t can obtain a downlink signal by further processing the output sample stream (for example, converting it to analog, amplifying it, filtering it, and up-converting it). The T downlink signals can be transmitted from the modulators 232a to 232t via the T antennas 234a to 234t, respectively. According to a particular aspect described in more detail below, a synchronization signal can be generated using position encoding to transmit additional information.

[0044] In UE104, antennas 252a to 252r can receive downlink signals from base station 102 and / or other base stations, and can provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a to 254r respectively. Demodulators 254a to 254r are shown as combined modulator-demodulators (MOD-DEMOD). In some cases, the modulator and the demodulator can also be separate components. Each demodulator of demodulators 254a to 254r can obtain input samples by adjusting (e.g., filtering, amplifying, down-converting, and digitizing) the received signals. Each demodulator of demodulators 254a to 254r can obtain received symbols by further processing the input samples (e.g., with respect to OFDM, etc.). The MIMO detector 256 can obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254a to 254r, and can perform MIMO detection on the received symbols and provide the detected symbols when applicable. The receive processor 258 can process the detected symbols (e.g., demodulate and decode), can provide the decoded data for UE104 to the data sink 260, and can provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The channel processor can determine the reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), etc.

[0045] On the uplink, at UE104, transmission processor 264 can receive and process data from data source 262 and control information (such as for reporting including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.) from controller / processor 280. Transmission processor 264 can also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals (e.g., based at least in part on a beta value or a set of beta values associated with the one or more reference signals). Symbols from those transmission processors 264 can be precoded by TX-MIMO processor 266 when applicable, and further processed by modulators 254a - 254r (e.g., with respect to DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.) and transmitted to base station 102. At base station 102, uplink signals from UE104 and other UEs are received by antennas 234a - 234r, processed by demodulators 232a - 232t, detected by MIMO detector 236 when applicable, and further processed by reception processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by UE104. Reception processor 238 can provide the decoded data to data sink 239 and the decoded control information to controller (processor) 240. Base station 102 can include communication unit 244 and can communicate with network controller 231 via communication unit 244. Network controller 231 can include communication unit 294, controller / processor 290, and memory 292.

[0046] In some aspects, one or more components of UE104 can be included within a housing. Controller 240 of base station 102, controller / processor 280 of UE104, and / or any other component of FIG. 2 can perform one or more techniques associated with implicit UCI beta value determination for NR.

[0047] Memory 242 and memory 282 can each store data and program code related to base station 102 and UE 104. Scheduler 246 can schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink.

[0048] In some aspects, the deployment of a communication system, such as a 5G New Radio (NR) system, can be configured in multiple ways using various components or constituents. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, radio access network (RAN) nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network devices, such as a base station (BS), or one or more units (or one or more constituents) that perform base station functionality, can be implemented in an integrated architecture or a split architecture. For example, a BS (such as a NodeB (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmission and reception point (TRP), or cell) can be implemented as an integrated base station (also known as a stand-alone BS or a monolithic BS) or a split base station.

[0049] The centralized base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. The distributed base station can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central units or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, the CU can be implemented within the RAN node, one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, one or more other RAN nodes can be geographically or virtually distributed across the entire network. The DU can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0050] Base station type operation or network design can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, a split base station can be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as a network configuration supported by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Splitting can include dispersing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations and virtually dispersing functionality related to at least one unit, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a split base station or split RAN architecture can be configured to communicate wired or wirelessly with at least one other unit.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating the architecture of an exemplary distributed base station 300. The architecture of the distributed base station 300 can communicate directly with the core network 320 via a backhaul link or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more distributed base station units (such as a near-real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 325 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both), and may include one or more central units (CUs) 310. The CU 310 can communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 330 via a corresponding midhaul link such as an F1 interface. The DU 330 can communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 340 via a corresponding fronthaul link. The RU 340 can communicate with a corresponding UE 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 104 can be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 340.

[0052] Each of the units, e.g., CU310, DU330, RU340, and the quasi-RT RIC325, non-RT RIC315, and SMO framework 305, may include one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired transmission medium or a wireless transmission medium, or may be coupled to such one or more interfaces. Each of the units, or a related processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of those units, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, those units may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals via a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Further, those units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive, transmit, or receive and transmit signals via a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

[0053] In some aspects, the CU310 can host the control functions of one or more upper layers. Such control functions can include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and the like. Each control function can implement an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU310. The CU310 can be configured to process user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit - User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit - Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU310 can be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU310 can be implemented to communicate with the DU330 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0054] The DU330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU330 hosts one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more upper physical (PHY) layers (such as modules related to forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation), at least partially in accordance with a functional split such as that defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, the DU330 can further host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can implement an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU330, or to communicate signals with control functions hosted by the CU310.

[0055] The lower layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RU340s. In some deployments, the RU340s controlled by the DU330 may correspond to logical nodes that host an RF processing function, or a lower PHY layer function (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, extracting and filtering the physical random access channel (PRACH), etc.), or both, at least partially based on a functional split such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RU340s can be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs104. In some implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control plane and user plane communication with the RU340s can be controlled by the corresponding DU330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU330 and CU310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture such as a vRAN architecture.

[0056] The SMO framework 305 can be configured to support the RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. With respect to non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources related to RAN coverage requirements that can be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as the O1 interface). With respect to virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as the open cloud 390) in order to perform life cycle management of the network elements (such as instantiating the virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as the O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, and the quasi-RT RIC 325. In some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN, such as the open eNB 311, via the O1 interface. Furthermore, in some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 340 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 may also include the non-RT RIC 315, which is configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 305.

[0057] The non-RT RIC 315 can be configured to include logical functions that enable policy-based guidance for non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or applications / functions in the quasi-RT RIC 325. The non-RT RIC 315 can be coupled to the quasi-RT RIC 325 or communicate with the quasi-RT RIC 325 (e.g., via an A1 interface). The quasi-RT RIC 325 can be configured to include logical functions that enable quasi-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface connecting one or more CU 310s, one or more DUs 330s, or both, and an O-eNB to the quasi-RT RIC 325 (e.g., via an E2 interface).

[0058] In some implementations, the non-RT RIC 315 can receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server to generate an AI / ML model that will be deployed in the quasi-RT RIC 325. Such information can be utilized by the quasi-RT RIC 325 and can be received from non-network data sources or network functions in the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the quasi-RT RIC 325 can be configured to adjust the behavior or performance of the RAN. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 can monitor long-term trends and patterns regarding performance and employ an AI / ML model to execute corrective actions through the SMO framework 305 (e.g., reconfiguration via O1) or through the creation of RAN management policies (e.g., A1 policies).

[0059] FIG. 4 shows an example of a computing system 470 of a wireless device 407. The wireless device 407 can include a client device such as a UE (e.g., UE104, UE152, UE190) or other types of devices (e.g., a station (STA) configured to communicate using a Wi-Fi interface) that can be used by an end user. For example, the wireless device 407 can include a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, glasses, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, or an extended reality (XR) device such as a mixed reality (MR) device), an Internet of Things (IoT), an access point, and / or another device configured to communicate via a wireless communication network. The computing system 470 includes software components and hardware components that can be electrically or communicatively coupled via a bus 489 (or, if necessary, can communicate in other ways). For example, the computing system 470 includes one or more processors 484. The one or more processors 484 can include one or more CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, APs, GPUs, VPUs, NSPs, microcontrollers, dedicated hardware, any combination thereof, and / or other processing devices or processing systems. The bus 489 can be used by the one or more processors 484 to communicate between cores and / or to communicate with one or more memory devices 486.

[0060] Computing system 470 may also include one or more memory devices 486, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) 482, one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) 474, one or more modems 476, one or more wireless transceivers 478, one or more antennas 487, one or more input devices 472 (e.g., camera, mouse, keyboard, touch-sensitive screen, touch pad, keypad, microphone, etc.), and one or more output devices 480 (e.g., display, speaker, printer, etc.).

[0061] In some aspects, computing system 470 may include one or more radio frequency (RF) interfaces configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In some embodiments, the RF interface may include components such as a modem 476, a wireless transceiver 478, and / or an antenna 487. One or more wireless transceivers 478 may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., signal 488) from one or more other devices, such as other wireless devices, network devices (e.g., base stations such as eNB and / or gNB, Wi-Fi access points (APs) such as routers, range extenders, etc.), cloud networks, etc., via antenna 487. In some embodiments, computing system 470 may include multiple antennas, or an antenna array, capable of facilitating simultaneous transmit and receive functionality. Antenna 487 can be an omnidirectional antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in all directions. Wireless signal 488 can be transmitted via a wireless network. The wireless network can be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a telecommunications network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), a wireless local area network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network), a Bluetooth (trademark) network, and / or other networks.

[0062] In some embodiments, wireless signal 488 can be transmitted directly to other wireless devices using sidelink communication (e.g., using a PC5 interface, using a DSRC interface, etc.). Wireless transceiver 478 can be configured to transmit an RF signal for performing sidelink communication via antenna 487 according to one or more transmit power parameters that can be associated with one or more adjustment modes. Wireless transceiver 478 can also be configured to receive sidelink communication signals having different signal parameters from other wireless devices.

[0063] In some embodiments, one or more wireless transceivers 478 can include an RF front end that includes one or more components such as, among other components, an amplifier, a mixer for signal downconversion (also referred to as a signal multiplier), a frequency synthesizer (also referred to as an oscillator) that provides a signal to the mixer, a baseband filter, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), one or more power amplifiers, etc. The RF front end can generally process the selection of the wireless signal 488 and the conversion to a baseband frequency or an intermediate frequency, and can convert the RF signal into the digital domain.

[0064] In some cases, the computing system 470 can include an encoding - decoding device (or CODEC) configured to encode and / or decode data transmitted and / or received using one or more wireless transceivers 478. In some cases, the computing system 470 can include an encryption - decryption device or component configured to encrypt and / or decrypt data transmitted and / or received by one or more wireless transceivers 478 (e.g., according to the AES and / or DES standards).

[0065] One or more SIMs 474 can each securely store the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and associated keys assigned to the user of the user device 407. Those IMSIs and keys can be used to identify and authenticate the subscriber when accessing a network provided by a network service provider or carrier associated with that one or more SIMs 474. One or more modems 476 can modulate one or more signals to encode information for transmission using one or more wireless transceivers 478. One or more modems 476 can also demodulate signals received by one or more wireless transceivers 478 to decode the transmitted information. In some embodiments, the one or more modems 476 can include a Wi-Fi modem, a 4G (or, LTE) modem, a 5G (or, NR) modem, and / or other types of modems. The one or more modems 476 and the one or more wireless transceivers 478 can be used to communicate data regarding the one or more SIMs 474.

[0066] The computing system 470 can also include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media or storage devices (e.g., one or more memory devices 486), which can include, but are not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage mechanisms, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, that can be programmable, flash updatable, etc. Such storage devices can be configured to implement any suitable data storage mechanism, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0067] In various embodiments, the various functions can be stored as one or more computer program products (e.g., instructions or code) in the memory device 486 and executed by one or more processors 484 and / or one or more DSPs 482. The computing system 470 can also include software elements (e.g., those present in one or more memory devices 486), such as, for example, an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, and other code. These software elements can include computer programs that implement the functions provided by the various embodiments as described herein and / or can be designed to implement methods and / or configure the system.

[0068] As described above, systems and techniques for radio frequency (RF) beamforming are described herein. In some cases, the systems and techniques can be implemented by a user equipment (UE), such as UE 104. In some aspects, the systems and techniques can be used to perform hybrid beamforming where the direction of the RF beam is based on a selected linear antenna array for beamforming (e.g., array selection beamforming) and / or based on the phase alignment of antenna elements within the selected linear antenna array (e.g., phased array beamforming). In some aspects, array selection beamforming can be used to steer the RF beam along the power direction of a cylindrical lens. In some examples, phased array beamforming can be used to steer the RF beam along the non-power direction of a cylindrical lens, which is orthogonal to the power direction of the cylindrical lens.

[0069] FIG. 5 shows an example of a cylindrical lens 500 for use in a beamforming device. In some aspects, the cylindrical lens 500 may include a curved surface 506 that can be used to converge or diverge a radio frequency (RF) beam. As shown, the curved surface 506 corresponds to a convex surface that can converge the RF beam. In some embodiments, the cylindrical lens may have a planar surface 508 on the opposite side of the curved surface 506. In some cases, the planar surface 508 can be a flat surface with no curvature. In some aspects, the cylindrical lens 500 may have a power direction 504 corresponding to the curvature of the curved surface 506. In some cases, the cylindrical lens 500 may have a non-power direction 502 orthogonal to the power direction 504 (e.g., the non-power direction 502 extends along the length of the lens and has no optical power).

[0070] In some embodiments, the cylindrical lens 500 may have side surfaces 510a and 510b that are on opposite sides of each other and extend along the curvature of the curved surface 506 (e.g., the side surfaces 510a and 510b are parallel to the power direction 504). In some cases, the cylindrical lens 500 may have side surfaces 512a and 512b that are on opposite sides of each other and parallel to the non-power direction 502. The cylindrical lens 500 is shown as having a rectangular form factor, but those skilled in the art will recognize that additional form factors (e.g., square, circular, elliptical, etc.) can be used in accordance with this technology.

[0071] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing portions of a beamforming device having a cylindrical lens according to some embodiments. In some aspects, the beamforming device may include a cylindrical lens 602. In some embodiments, the cylindrical lens 602 may correspond to a plano-convex lens, a biconvex lens, a convex meniscus lens, a biconcave lens, a plano-concave lens, a concave meniscus lens, and / or any other type of cylindrical lens. As shown, the cylindrical lens 602 corresponds to a plano-convex lens, such as the cylindrical lens 500 shown in FIG. 5.

[0072] In some cases, the cylindrical lens 602 may have a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. In some embodiments, the first surface may correspond to a planar surface and the second surface may correspond to a convex surface. For example, the cylindrical lens 602 may include a convex surface 604 (e.g., the first surface) on the opposite side of the planar surface 606 (e.g., the second surface). In some aspects, the cylindrical lens 602 may include a power direction 620 corresponding to the curvature of the first surface (e.g., the curvature of the convex surface 604). In some embodiments, the cylindrical lens 602 may have an optical power in the power direction 620. In some aspects, the power direction 620 may be orthogonal to the non-power direction 622.

[0073] In some cases, the beamforming device may include a plurality of linear antenna arrays disposed proximate to the second surface of the cylindrical lens. For example, it is possible to dispose (e.g., arrange, array, etc.) the linear antenna array 608, the linear antenna array 612, and the linear antenna array 616 proximate to the planar surface 606. In some embodiments, the distance between the linear antenna array (e.g., the linear antenna array 608, the linear antenna array 612, and the linear antenna array 616) and the planar surface 606 may correspond to the back focal length of the cylindrical lens 602. In one non-limiting embodiment, the distance between the linear antenna array and the planar surface 606 can be about 7 millimeters (mm). In some aspects, the linear antenna array can be positioned such that a radio frequency (RF) beam is collimated along the power direction 620 (e.g., perpendicular to the direction of the linear antenna array).

[0074] In some cases, each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays may include a plurality of antenna array elements. For example, linear antenna array 608, linear antenna array 612, and linear antenna array 616 may each include a plurality of antenna elements. In some embodiments, linear antenna array 608 may include antenna elements 610a, antenna element 610b, antenna element 610c, antenna element 610d, antenna element 610e, antenna element 610f, antenna element 610g, and antenna element 610h (collectively referred to as "antenna element 610"). In some cases, linear antenna array 612 may include antenna elements 614a, antenna element 614b, antenna element 614c, antenna element 614d, antenna element 614e, antenna element 614f, antenna element 614g, and antenna element 614h (collectively referred to as "antenna element 614"). In some configurations, linear antenna array 616 may include antenna elements 618a, antenna element 618b, antenna element 618c, antenna element 618d, antenna element 618e, antenna element 618f, antenna element 618g, and antenna element 618h (collectively referred to as "antenna element 618"). FIG. 6 is shown as having three linear antenna arrays with eight antenna elements, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the technology is not limited to a particular number of linear antenna arrays and / or a particular number of antenna elements.

[0075] In some embodiments, for each of a plurality of linear antenna arrays, the plurality of antenna array elements can be aligned in a direction perpendicular to the power direction. For example, antenna elements 610a - h, antenna elements 614a - h, and antenna elements 618a - h can each be aligned in a direction perpendicular to the power direction 620 (e.g., parallel to the non - power direction 622). In some aspects, each linear antenna array (e.g., linear antenna array 608, linear antenna array 612, and linear antenna array 616) can be configured to steer an RF beam along different portions of the power direction 620. For example, linear antenna array 612 can be used to steer an RF beam along the center of the power direction 620. In another embodiment, linear antenna array 608 and linear antenna array 616 can be used to steer RF beams at different angles along the power direction 620 (e.g., as further illustrated and described herein with respect to FIG. 8).

[0076] In some cases, each linear antenna array (e.g., linear antenna array 608, linear antenna array 612, and linear antenna array 616) can be used to steer an RF beam along different portions of the non - power direction 622. For example, each of the linear antenna arrays can be configured as a phased - array antenna in which each of the corresponding antenna elements is configured to transmit or receive a phase - shifted RF signal. In one exemplary embodiment, the phase difference between each of the antenna elements 614 corresponding to the linear antenna array 612 can be used to steer an RF beam (e.g., radiation pattern) in different directions along the non - power direction 622. In some aspects, based on the position of the linear antenna array 612, while maintaining the RF beam at the center of the power direction 620, the phase alignment of the antenna elements 614 can be used to steer the RF beam at different angles with respect to the non - power direction 622.

[0077] In some embodiments, the distance 624 between one or more linear antenna arrays can be less than or equal to the wavelength of the RF signal. For example, an RF signal having a frequency of 150 GHz can have a wavelength of approximately 2 millimeters (mm). In one exemplary embodiment, the distance 624 between the linear antenna array 612 and the linear antenna array 616 can be approximately 1.75 mm. In some cases, the array pitch 626 (e.g., the distance between antenna elements) can be approximately half of the wavelength of the RF signal. For example, if the wavelength is 2 mm, the array pitch 626 can be approximately 1 mm.

[0078] FIG. 7 shows a front view of a user equipment (UE) 700 that includes a beamforming device having a cylindrical lens. In some aspects, the UE 700 can include a cylindrical lens 702. In some cases, the cylindrical lens 702 can correspond to a plano-convex lens, such as the cylindrical lens 500 shown in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, the cylindrical lens 702 can be attached along a side or edge of the UE 700. In some cases, the cylindrical lens 702 can be attached on the UE 700 such that the cylindrical lens 702 is in the same plane or at the same height as the side or edge of the UE 700. In another embodiment, the cylindrical lens 702 can be attached on the UE 700 such that the cylindrical lens 702 is concave with respect to the side or edge of the UE 700. In another embodiment, the cylindrical lens 702 can be attached on the UE 700 such that the cylindrical lens 702 protrudes from the UE 700. In some cases, the width of the cylindrical lens 702 can be less than or equal to the thickness of the UE 700.

[0079] In some aspects, the UE 700 may include one or more linear antenna arrays, such as the linear antenna array 704. In some cases, the UE 700 may include additional linear antenna arrays (not shown) that can be arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the linear antenna array 704. In some embodiments, the linear antenna array 704 may include a plurality of antenna array elements, such as antenna elements 706a, antenna elements 706b, antenna elements 706c, antenna elements 706d, antenna elements 706e, antenna elements 706f, antenna elements 706g, and antenna elements 706h (collectively referred to as "antenna elements 706").

[0080] In some embodiments, the antenna elements 706a - h can be positioned behind the cylindrical lens 702. For example, the antenna elements 706a - h can be arranged behind the planar surface (e.g., planar surface 508) of the cylindrical lens 702. In some cases, the distance 708 between the antenna elements 706a - h and the cylindrical lens 702 can be based on the back focal length of the cylindrical lens 702.

[0081] In some aspects, each linear antenna array can be configured to steer at least one RF beam along the non-power direction of the cylindrical lens. For example, the linear antenna array 704 can be configured to steer one or more RF beams (e.g., RF beam 710a, RF beam 710b, RF beam 710c, RF beam 710c, RF beam 710d, and / or RF beam 710e) along the non-power direction 712 of the cylindrical lens 702. In some embodiments, the linear antenna array 704 can be configured as a phased antenna array such that the antenna elements 706a - h are configured to transmit or receive phase-shifted RF signals. In one exemplary embodiment, the phase difference between each of the antenna elements 706a - h corresponding to the linear antenna array 704 is used to steer the RF beam 710c in a direction perpendicular to the linear antenna array 704 (e.g., to the center of the non-power direction 712). In another embodiment, the phase difference between each of the antenna elements 706a - h corresponding to the linear antenna array 704 is used to steer the RF beam in one or more directions along the non-power direction 712 (e.g., the directions corresponding to RF beam 710a, RF beam 710b, RF beam 710d, and / or RF beam 710e).

[0082] FIG. 8 shows a side view of a user equipment (UE) 800 including a beamforming device having a cylindrical lens. In some aspects, the UE 800 can include a cylindrical lens 802. In some cases, the cylindrical lens 802 can correspond to a plano-convex lens, such as the cylindrical lens 500 shown in FIG. 5. As shown, the cylindrical lens 802 is mounted along the upper surface of the UE 800. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the cylindrical lens 802 can be positioned at any other suitable location on the UE 800 for transmitting and receiving RF signals (e.g., the bottom surface, side surface, front surface, back surface, etc.).

[0083] In some aspects, the UE 800 may include one or more linear antenna arrays, such as linear antenna array 804a, linear antenna array 804b, and linear antenna array 804c. In some embodiments, each linear antenna array may include a plurality of antenna elements. For example, linear antenna array 804a may include antenna element 814. In some aspects, linear antenna array 804b and linear antenna array 804c may also include a series of antenna elements (not shown) that can be arranged in a direction substantially parallel to antenna element 814. In some configurations, each linear antenna array can steer an RF beam along non-power direction 808 by using a phase shift between corresponding antenna elements (e.g., antenna element 814).

[0084] In some embodiments, based on the selection of the linear antenna array, the RF beam can be steered along power direction 810 of the cylindrical lens 802. For example, by using the selection of linear antenna array 804a, the RF beam can be steered in a direction along power direction 810 corresponding to RF beam 806a. In another embodiment, by using the selection of linear antenna array 804b, the RF beam can be steered in a direction along power direction 810 corresponding to RF beam 806b. In another embodiment, by using the selection of linear antenna array 804c, the RF beam can be steered in a direction along power direction 810 corresponding to RF beam 806c.

[0085] In some cases, each linear antenna array can be associated with a corresponding beam angle based on the position of each linear antenna array relative to the surface of the cylindrical lens. For example, each linear antenna array can be configured to direct an RF beam along a power direction 810 based on its position relative to the surface (e.g., planar surface 508 or curved surface 506) of the cylindrical lens 802. In one exemplary embodiment, the linear antenna array 804b can be positioned behind the center of the cylindrical lens 802 and configured to direct the RF beam 806b at an angle of 90 degrees that may coincide with the center of the power direction 810.

[0086] In some embodiments, the distance 812 between the linear antenna array (e.g., linear antenna array 804a, linear antenna array 804b, and linear antenna array 804c) and the cylindrical lens 802 can be based on the back focal length of the cylindrical lens 802. In some cases, the linear antenna array can be positioned such that the corresponding RF beams (e.g., RF beam 806a, RF beam 806b, and RF beam 806c) are collimated along the power direction 810 of the cylindrical lens 802.

[0087] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a beam steering direction 900 for an RF beam 902 with respect to the field of view (FOV) 904 of a lens. As described above, a phase-aligned linear antenna array can be used to steer an RF beam along a non-power direction 910 of the cylindrical lens, and the selection of the linear antenna array can be used to steer the RF beam along a power direction 912 of the cylindrical lens. In some aspects, the overall direction of the RF beam can be based on the linear antenna array selected for beamforming (e.g., array selection beamforming) and the phase alignment of the antenna elements within the selected linear antenna array (e.g., phased array beamforming).

[0088] For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the movement of the RF beam 902 in the direction 908 corresponding to the power direction 912 (e.g., the movement of the RF beam 902 from (906a, 908a) to (906b, 908a)) can be based on the selection of different linear arrays using array selection beamforming. For example, by selecting different antenna arrays, the RF beam 902 can be shifted in the direction 908.

[0089] Similarly, the movement of the RF beam 902 in the direction 906 corresponding to the non-power direction 910 (e.g., the movement of the RF beam 902 from (906a, 908a) to (906a, 908b)) can be based on phased array beamforming (e.g., using the same antenna array with different antenna phase alignments). For example, by phased array beamforming, the RF beam 902 can be shifted in the direction 906.

[0090] In one embodiment, when the array selection beamforming corresponds to the linear antenna array 906c and the phased array beamforming corresponds to the antenna phase alignment 908c, the direction of the RF beam 902 can be located substantially at the center of the lens FOV 904. In another embodiment, by maintaining the antenna phase alignment 908c and selecting the linear antenna array 906b or the linear antenna array 906a, the direction of the RF beam 902 can be steered away from the center of the lens FOV 904 and downward along the power direction 912. In another embodiment, while continuing to use the linear antenna array 906c, by using the antenna phase alignment 908b or the antenna phase alignment 908a, the direction of the RF beam 902 can be steered away from the center of the lens FOV 904 and to the right along the non-power direction 910. Similar operations can be performed when using the linear antenna array 906d or the linear antenna array 906e.

[0091] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing various parts of a beamforming device having a cylindrical lens according to some embodiments. In some aspects, the beamforming device 1000 may include one or more linear antenna arrays, such as linear antenna array 1002a, linear antenna array 1002b, and linear antenna array 1002c. In some cases, each linear antenna array can be positioned to direct a corresponding RF beam along different angles corresponding to the power direction of the cylindrical lens 1008. In some embodiments, each linear antenna array may include a plurality of antenna elements that can be configured to perform phased array beamforming to direct an RF beam along the non-power direction of the cylindrical lens 1008. For example, linear antenna array 1002a, linear antenna array 1002b, and / or linear antenna array 1002c can be configured to direct RF beam 1010a through cylindrical lens 1008 to transmit output signal 1012. In another embodiment, linear antenna array 1002a, linear antenna array 1002b, and / or linear antenna array 1002c can be configured to direct RF beam 1010b through cylindrical lens 1008 to receive input signal 1014.

[0092] In some aspects, each linear antenna array can be coupled to a corresponding switching network that can be used by controller 1006 to handle and / or control each linear antenna array independently. For example, linear antenna array 1002a can be coupled to switching network 1004a, linear antenna array 1002b can be coupled to switching network 1004b, and linear antenna array 1002c can be coupled to switching network 1004c.

[0093] In some configurations, each switching network provides a connection to the controller 1006 for each corresponding linear antenna array. In some embodiments, the controller 1006 can individually handle and control each linear antenna array (e.g., via the corresponding switching network). In some aspects, the controller 1006 can configure each linear antenna array to stream data independently (e.g., transmit or receive RF signals) and / or to direct an RF beam in a specific direction independently. For example, the controller 1006 can configure the linear antenna array 1002a to direct an RF beam in a first direction while simultaneously configuring the linear antenna array 1002b to direct an RF beam in a second direction different from the first direction. In some cases, the controller 1006 can configure multiple linear antenna arrays to direct beams in the same direction. For example, both the linear antenna array 1002b and the linear antenna array 1002c can be configured to receive an input signal 1014 using the RF beam 1010b. In some aspects, the controller 1006 can cause an elevation beam superposition by controlling two or more arrays (e.g., the linear antenna array 1002a and the linear antenna array 1002b) to direct two or more beams in the same direction along the non-power direction (e.g., the elevation direction) of the cylindrical lens 1008.

[0094] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process 1100 for performing wireless communication. In some aspects, the process 1100 can be performed by a UE such as, for example, the user equipment (UE) 104. The dashed boxes in FIG. 11 can indicate optional steps.

[0095] In block 1102, process 1100 includes the UE steering (e.g., directing, positioning, etc.) a first radio frequency beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays. For example, UE 104 may include linear antenna array 608, linear antenna array 612, and linear antenna array 616. In some cases, UE 104 can steer an RF beam along power direction 620 by performing array selection beamforming (e.g., selecting a linear antenna array based on the position of the linear antenna array relative to cylindrical lens 602). In some aspects, UE 104 can steer an RF beam along non-power direction 622 by performing phased array beamforming (e.g., configuring antenna elements within a linear antenna array to transmit or receive phase-shifted signals).

[0096] In some embodiments, the plurality of linear antenna arrays can be arranged in a parallel configuration and disposed proximate to a first surface of a cylindrical lens having a curved second surface opposite the first surface. In some configurations, the first surface can correspond to a planar surface and the curved surface can correspond to a convex surface. For example, linear antenna array 608, linear antenna array 612, and linear antenna array 616 can be arranged in a parallel configuration (e.g., antenna elements 610, antenna elements 614, and antenna elements 618 are each aligned in directions parallel to each other). In some aspects, linear antenna array 608, linear antenna array 612, and linear antenna array 616 can be disposed (arranged, positioned) near a first surface that is a planar surface (e.g., planar surface 508). In some cases, the planar surface can be opposite a convex surface (e.g., curved surface 506).

[0097] In some embodiments, the first direction can be a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the curved surface of the cylindrical lens. For example, the first direction can be the power direction 504 corresponding to (e.g., along) the curvature of the curved surface 506.

[0098] In block 1104, process 1100 may include the UE selecting a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays based on the position of the first linear antenna array relative to the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens to steer a first RF beam in the power direction. For example, UE 800 can select linear antenna array 804a, linear antenna array 804b, or linear antenna array 804c based on the position of the corresponding linear antenna array relative to the curved surface of cylindrical lens 802. In some aspects, UE 800 can select linear antenna array 804a to steer the RF beam in the direction of RF beam 806a. In some embodiments, UE 800 can select linear antenna array 804b to steer the RF beam in the direction of RF beam 806b. In some cases, UE 800 can select linear antenna array 804c to steer the RF beam in the direction of RF beam 806c.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first direction can be a non-power direction perpendicular to the width dimension associated with the curvature of the curved second surface. For example, the first direction can correspond to the non-power direction 502 (e.g., the non-power direction 502 is perpendicular to the power direction 504) that is perpendicular to the width dimension associated with the curved surface 506.

[0100] In block 1106, process 1100 may include configuring, by the UE, a phase shift between one or more antenna array elements within a first linear antenna array to steer an RF beam in a non-power direction. For example, UE 700 may configure a phase shift between antenna elements 706a - h within linear antenna array 704 to steer an RF beam along non-power direction 712. In some aspects, the phase shift may be configured to steer the RF beam in a direction corresponding to RF beam 710a, RF beam 710b, RF beam 710c, RF beam 710d, and / or RF beam 710e.

[0101] In block 1108, process 1100 may include steering, by the UE, a second RF beam in a second direction using a second linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, where the second direction is a power direction corresponding to the curvature of a curved second surface of a cylindrical lens. For example, UE 800 may select a second linear antenna array (e.g., linear antenna array 804c) to steer an RF beam in the direction of RF beam 806c along power direction 810.

[0102] FIG. 11 shows exemplary blocks of process 1100, but in some aspects, process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks of a different configuration than those shown in FIG. 11. Further, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1100 may be executed in parallel.

[0103] In some embodiments, the processes described herein (e.g., process 1100 and / or other processes described herein) can be performed by a computing device or computing apparatus (e.g., a UE or a base station). In one embodiment, process 1100 can be performed by the user equipment 104 of FIG. 2 and / or the wireless device 407 of FIG. 4. In another embodiment, process 1100 can be performed by a computing device having the computing system 1200 shown in FIG. 12.

[0104] In some cases, the computing device or computing apparatus can include various components such as one or more input devices, one or more output devices, one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcomputers, one or more cameras, one or more sensors, and / or other components configured to perform the steps of the processes described herein. In some embodiments, the computing device can include a display, one or more network interfaces configured to communicate and / or receive data, any combination thereof, and / or other components. The one or more network interfaces can be configured to communicate and / or receive wired data and / or wireless data, including data according to 3G, 4G, 5G, and / or other cellular standards, data according to the Wi-Fi (802.11x) standard, data according to the Bluetooth (trademark) standard, data according to the Internet Protocol (IP) standard, and / or other types of data.

[0105] The components of a computing device can be implemented in circuitry. For example, those components can include an electronic circuit or other electronic hardware that can include one or more programmable electronic circuits (e.g., microprocessors, neural processing units (NPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), central processing units (CPUs), and / or other suitable electronic circuits), and / or can be implemented using them, and / or can include computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof for performing the various operations described herein, and / or can be implemented using them.

[0106] Process 1100 is shown as a logical flow diagram, and its operations represent a series of operations that can be implemented in hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, those operations represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform a particular function or implement a particular data type. The order in which those operations are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and the processes can be implemented by combining any number of the described operations in any order and / or in parallel.

[0107] Furthermore, process 1100, and / or other processes described herein, can be executed under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions, and can also be implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or more computer programs, or one or more applications) that is executed en masse on one or more processors by hardware or a combination of hardware. As described above, the code can be stored on a computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium in the form of a computer program, for example, including a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. The computer-readable storage medium or the machine-readable storage medium can be non-transitory.

[0108] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system for implementing a particular aspect of the present technology. In particular, FIG. 12 shows an example of a computing system 1200 that can be any computing device, for example, an internal computing system, a remote computing system, a camera, or any component thereof, and the components of this system communicate with each other using connection 1205. Connection 1205 can be a physical connection using a bus or a direct connection to processor 1210, such as in a chipset architecture. Connection 1205 can also be a virtual connection, a networked connection, or a logical connection.

[0109] In some embodiments, computing system 1200 is a distributed system capable of distributing the functions described in this disclosure across one data center, multiple data centers, within a peer network, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the system components described represent many such components each performing some or all of the functions described with respect to that component. In some embodiments, those components can be physical devices or virtual devices.

[0110] The exemplary system 1200 includes a connection 1205 that communicatively couples a processor 1210, which may be at least one processing unit (CPU or processor), to various system components including a system memory 1215 such as a read-only memory (ROM) 1220 and a random access memory (RAM) 1225. The computing system 1200 may include a cache 1212 of high-speed memory that is directly connected to, very closely connected to, or integrated as part of the processor 1210.

[0111] The processor 1210 may include any general-purpose processor and hardware services or software services, such as services 1232, 1234, and 1236 stored in a storage device 1230 that is configured to control the processor 1210, and a dedicated processor in which software instructions are incorporated into an actual processor design. The processor 1210 can essentially be a fully self-contained computing system that incorporates multiple cores or processors, buses, memory controllers, caches, and the like. The multi-core processor can be symmetric or asymmetric.

[0112] To enable user interaction, the computing system 1200 includes an input device 1245 that can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture input or graphical input, a keyboard, a mouse, motion input, speech, and the like. The computing system 1200 may also include an output device 1235 that can be one or more of several output mechanisms. In some cases, a multimodal system may enable a user to provide multiple types of input / output to communicate with the computing system 1200.

[0113] Computing system 1200 may include a communication interface 1240 that can generally control and manage user input and system output.The communication interface can perform or facilitate the reception and / or transmission of wired or wireless communication using a wired transceiver and / or a wireless transceiver, including those that utilize an audio jack / plug, a microphone jack / plug, a universal serial bus (USB) port / plug, an Apple (trademark) Lightning (trademark) port / plug, an Ethernet port / plug, an optical fiber port / plug, a proprietary wired port / plug, 3G, 4G, 5G, and / or other cellular data network wireless signal transmissions, Bluetooth (trademark) wireless signal transmission, Bluetooth (trademark) low energy (BLE) wireless signal transmission, iBeacon (trademark) wireless signal transmission, radio-frequency identification (RFID) wireless signal transmission, near-field communications (NFC) wireless signal transmission, dedicated short range communication (DSRC) wireless signal transmission, 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless signal transmission, wireless local area network (WLAN) signal transmission, visible light communication (VLC), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), infrared (IR) communication wireless signal transmission, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) signal transmission, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) signal transmission, ad hoc network signal transmission, radio signal transmission, microwave signal transmission, infrared signal transmission, visible light signal transmission, ultraviolet light signal transmission, wireless signal transmission along the electromagnetic spectrum, or any combination thereof.The communication interface 1240 may also include one or more GNSS receivers or GNSS transceivers that are used to determine the location of the computing system 1200 based on the reception of one or more signals from one or more satellites associated with one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) systems. Examples of GNSS systems include, but are not limited to, the United States-based Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russia-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the China-based BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the Europe-based Galileo GNSS. There are no restrictions on operating on any particular hardware configuration, and therefore, the basic features described herein can be easily replaced with those configurations as improved hardware or firmware configurations are developed.

[0114] The memory device 1230 can be a non-volatile and / or non-transitory and / or computer-readable memory device, such as a magnetic cassette, a flash memory card, a solid-state memory device, a digital versatile disc, a cartridge, a floppy disc, a flexible disc, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, a magnetic strip / stripe, any other magnetic storage medium, flash memory, a memristor memory, any other solid-state memory, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) optical disc, a rewritable compact disc (CD) optical disc, a digital video disk (DVD) optical disc, a Blu-ray disc (BDD) optical disc, a holographic optical disc, other optical media, a Secure Digital (SD) card, a micro Secure Digital (microSD) card, a Memory Stick (registered trademark) card, a smart card chip, an EMV chip, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a mini / micro / nano / pico SIM card, other integrated circuit (IC) chips / cards, a random access memory (RAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a read only memory (ROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash EPROM (FLASH EPROM), cache memory (e.g., level 1 (L1) cache, level 2 (L2) cache, level 3 (L3) cache, level 4 (L4) cache, level 5 (L5) cache, or other (L#) cache), resistive random-access memory (RRAM / ReRAM), phase change memory (PCM), spin transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM), another memory chip or cartridge, and / or any combination thereof, a hard disk or other type of computer-readable medium capable of storing data accessible by a computer can be used.;

[0115] The memory device 1230 can include software services, servers, services, etc., and when the code defining such software is executed by the processor 1210, the processor causes the system to perform functions. In some embodiments, a hardware service that performs a specific function can include software components stored in a computer-readable medium in relation to the necessary hardware components such as the processor 1210, the connection 1205, and the output device 1235 in order to perform that function. The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portable storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other media capable of storing, storing, or transporting instructions and / or data. The computer-readable medium can include a non-transitory medium capable of storing data, and this non-transitory medium does not include carrier waves and / or transient electronic signals that propagate wirelessly or via a wired connection. Examples of non-transitory media include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks or magnetic tapes, optical storage media such as compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs), flash memory, memory, or memory devices. Code and / or machine-executable instructions that can represent any combination of procedures, functions, subroutines, programs, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, or instructions, data structures, or program statements can be stored on the computer-readable medium. Code segments can be coupled to other code segments or hardware circuits by passing and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. can be passed, transferred, or transmitted via any suitable means, including shared memory, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0116] To provide a complete understanding of the embodiments and examples provided herein, specific details have been provided in the above description, but those skilled in the art will understand that the present application is not limited thereto. Therefore, although the exemplary embodiments of the present application have been described in detail herein, except when restricted by the prior art, the concept of the present invention can be embodied and adopted in various other ways, and it should be understood that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations. The various features and aspects of the present application described above can be used individually or in combination. Furthermore, the embodiments can be utilized in any number of environments and applications beyond those described herein without departing from the broader scope of the present specification. Therefore, the present specification and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. For purposes of illustration, the methods have been described in a particular order. It should be understood that in alternative embodiments, those methods can be executed in an order different from the one described.

[0117] For clarity of explanation, in some cases, the present technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks, including a device, device components, and steps or routines of methods embodied in software or a combination of hardware and software. Additional components other than those shown in the figures and / or described herein can also be used. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components in the form of block diagrams so as not to obscure the embodiments with unnecessary details. In other cases, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and technologies may be shown without unnecessary details in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

[0118] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementations should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0119] Individual embodiments may have been described above as a process or method shown as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. A flowchart can describe operations as a sequential process, but many of those operations can also be performed in parallel, or concurrently. Further, the order of the operations can be rearranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but it can also have additional steps not included in the figure. A process can correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination can correspond to the function returning to the calling function or the main function.

[0120] The processes and methods according to the above embodiments can be implemented using computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium or otherwise available from a computer-readable medium. Such instructions can, for example, cause a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or a processing device to execute a specific function or group of functions, or alternatively, configure a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or a processing device to execute a specific function or group of functions, and may include instructions and data. A portion of the computer resources used can be made accessible via a network. The computer-executable instructions can, for example, be in binary, or can be in intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, source code, etc. Examples of computer-readable media that can be used to store instructions, the information used, and / or the information created during the methods according to the described embodiments include magnetic disks or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and the like.

[0121] In some embodiments, a computer-readable storage device, medium, and memory can include cable signals or wireless signals, such as bitstreams. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media explicitly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals themselves.

[0122] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of technologies and techniques can be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips, which may be referred to throughout the above description, can in some cases be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, desired design, corresponding technology, etc.

[0123] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof, and can take on any of a variety of form factors. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments necessary to perform the required tasks (e.g., a computer program product) can be stored within a computer-readable or machine-readable medium. A processor can execute the required tasks. Examples of form factors include laptops, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet devices or other space-saving personal computers, personal digital assistants, rack-mounted devices, stand-alone devices, and the like. The functionality described herein can also be embodied in a peripheral device or add-in card. Such functionality can also be implemented, as a further example, between various chips on a circuit board or between various processes executed within a single device.

[0124] Instructions, a medium for conveying such instructions, computing resources for executing those instructions, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are exemplary means for providing the functionality described in this disclosure.

[0125] The techniques described herein may also be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may be implemented in any of a variety of devices, including general-purpose computers, wireless communication device handsets, or integrated circuit devices with multiple applications, including applications in wireless communication device handsets and other devices. Any features described as modules or components may be implemented together in an integrated logic device or implemented separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. When implemented in software, these techniques can be realized at least in part by a computer-readable data storage medium having program code that includes instructions that, when executed, perform one or more of the methods, algorithms, and / or operations described above. The computer-readable data storage medium may form part of a computer program product, which may include packaging material. The computer-readable medium may include memory or data storage media, such as random access memory (RAM), such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FLASH memory, magnetic or optical data storage media, and the like. These techniques may also be realized at least in part by a computer-readable communication medium, such as a propagated signal or wave, that conveys or communicates program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed, read, and / or executed by a computer.

[0126] The program code can be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general-purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated logic circuits or discrete logic circuits. Such processors can be configured to execute any of the techniques described in this disclosure. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Thus, as used herein, the term "processor" can refer to any of the foregoing structures, any combination of the foregoing structures, or any other structure or device suitable for implementation of the techniques described herein.

[0127] One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the symbols or terminology "less than" ("<") and "greater than" (">") used herein can be replaced, without departing from the scope of this description, with the symbols "less than or equal to" ("≦") and "greater than or equal to" ("≧"), respectively.

[0128] When a component is described as being "configured to" perform a particular operation, such a configuration can be achieved, for example, by designing an electronic circuit or other hardware to perform the operation, by programming a programmable electronic circuit (e.g., a microprocessor, or other suitable electronic circuit) to perform the operation, or by any combination thereof.

[0129] The phrases "coupled to" or "communicatively coupled to" refer to any component that is physically connected, either directly or indirectly, to another component, and / or that communicates, either directly or indirectly, with another component (e.g., is connected to another component via a wired or wireless connection and / or via another suitable communication interface).

[0130] The language of the claims or other language that recites "at least one of" a set and / or "one or more" of a set indicates that one member of the set, or multiple members (in any combination), of the set satisfy the claims. For example, the claim language that recites "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" means A, B, or A and B. In another example, the claim language that recites "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of A, B, or C" means A, B, C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, A and B and C, or any overlapping information or data (e.g., A and A, B and B, C and C, A and A and B, etc.), or any other ordering, overlap, or combination of A, B, and C. The phrases "at least one of" a set and / or "one or more" of a set do not limit the items listed within that set. For example, the claim language that recites "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" can mean A, B, or A and B, and may further include items not listed within the set of A and B.

[0131] Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure include the following: Aspect 1. A wireless communication device comprising: a cylindrical lens having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the cylindrical lens including a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the first surface and a non-power direction orthogonal to the power direction; and a plurality of linear antenna arrays disposed close to the second surface of the cylindrical lens, each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays including a plurality of antenna array elements.

[0132] Aspect 2. The wireless communication device according to Aspect 1, wherein the first surface corresponds to a planar surface and the second surface corresponds to a convex surface.

[0133] Aspect 3. The wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 and 2, wherein the plurality of antenna array elements for each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the power direction.

[0134] Aspect 4. The wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays is associated with a corresponding beam angle based on the position of each linear antenna array with respect to the second surface of the cylindrical lens.

[0135] Aspect 5. The wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays is configured to steer at least one radio frequency (RF) beam along the non-power direction of the cylindrical lens.

[0136] Aspect 6. The wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein the distance between the plurality of linear antenna arrays and the first surface of the cylindrical lens corresponds to the back focal length of the cylindrical lens.

[0137] Aspect 7. The wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein the distance between each of the plurality of antenna array elements is based on the wavelength of the radio frequency signal.

[0138] Aspect 8. A wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein a width dimension associated with the curvature of the first surface is less than or equal to the thickness of the wireless communication device.

[0139] Aspect 9. A wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein a plurality of linear antenna arrays are configured to operate in a sub-terahertz frequency range.

[0140] Aspect 10. A wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 9, wherein the wireless communication device is configured as a user equipment (UE).

[0141] Aspect 11. A wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, further comprising a control circuit coupled to a plurality of linear antenna arrays, each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays being coupled to the control circuit via a separate array connection, and each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays being controllable independently of each of the other linear antenna arrays of the plurality of linear antenna arrays.

[0142] Aspect 12: A method of wireless communication, comprising steering a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, wherein the plurality of linear antenna arrays are arranged in a parallel configuration and are disposed proximate to a first surface of a cylindrical lens having a curved second surface on an opposite side of the first surface.

[0143] Aspect 13. The method of Aspect 12, wherein the first surface corresponds to a planar surface and the curved second surface corresponds to a convex surface.

[0144] Aspect 14. The method according to any one of Aspects 12 and 13, wherein the first direction is a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens.

[0145] Aspect 15. The method of Aspect 14, further comprising selecting a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays based on the position of the first linear antenna array relative to the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens, wherein steering the first RF beam in the power direction.

[0146] Aspect 16. The method of either of Aspects 12 or 13, wherein the first direction is a non-power direction perpendicular to the width dimension associated with the curvature of the curved second surface.

[0147] Aspect 17. The method of Aspect 16, further comprising configuring a phase shift between one or more antenna array elements within the first linear antenna array, wherein steering the first RF beam in the non-power direction.

[0148] Aspect 18. The method of any of Aspects 12 to 17, further comprising steering a second RF beam in a second direction using a second linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, wherein the second direction is a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens.

[0149] Aspect 19. The method of any of Aspects 12 to 18, wherein the first RF beam is configured to transmit or receive a radio frequency signal within a sub-terahertz frequency range.

[0150] Aspect 20. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one memory and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform operations according to any one of Aspects 12 to 18.

[0151] Aspect 21. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing operations according to any one of Aspects 12 to 18.

[0152] Aspect 22: A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the operations according to any one of Aspects 12 to 18.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device, A cylindrical lens having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, wherein the cylindrical lens includes a power direction corresponding to the curvature of the second surface and a non-power direction perpendicular to the power direction, A plurality of linear antenna arrays arranged in parallel in close proximity to the first surface of the cylindrical lens, wherein each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays includes a plurality of antenna array elements and is associated with a corresponding beam angle based on the position of each linear antenna array in the parallel configuration with respect to the curvature of the second surface of the cylindrical lens, A wireless communication device equipped with the following features.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first surface corresponds to a planar surface and the second surface corresponds to a convex surface.

3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays, the plurality of antenna array elements are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the power direction.

4. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein each linear antenna array of the plurality of linear antenna arrays is configured to steer at least one radio frequency (RF) beam along the non-power direction of the cylindrical lens.

5. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the plurality of linear antenna arrays and the first surface of the cylindrical lens corresponds to the back focal length of the cylindrical lens.

6. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between each of the plurality of antenna array elements is based on the wavelength of the radio frequency signal.

7. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the width dimension associated with the curvature of the second surface is less than or equal to the thickness of the wireless communication device.

8. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of linear antenna arrays are configured to operate in the subterahertz frequency range.

9. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is configured as a user device (UE).

10. The system further comprises a control circuit coupled to the plurality of linear antenna arrays, each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays being coupled to the control circuit via a separate array connection, and each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays being controllable independently of each of the other linear antenna arrays among the plurality of linear antenna arrays. The wireless communication device according to claim 1.

11. A method of wireless communication, A step of steering a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, wherein the plurality of linear antenna arrays are arranged in a parallel configuration and positioned in close proximity to a first surface of a cylindrical lens, the cylindrical lens having a curved second surface on the opposite side of the first surface, and each linear antenna array of the plurality of linear antenna arrays is associated with a corresponding beam angle based on the respective position of each linear antenna array in the parallel configuration with respect to the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens. Methods that include...

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first surface corresponds to a planar surface and the curved second surface corresponds to a convex surface.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first direction is the power direction corresponding to the curvature of the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens.

14. A device for wireless communication, The system includes means for steering a first radio frequency (RF) beam in a first direction using a first linear antenna array from a plurality of linear antenna arrays, wherein the plurality of linear antenna arrays are arranged in a parallel configuration and positioned in close proximity to a first surface of a cylindrical lens, the cylindrical lens having a curved second surface on the opposite side of the first surface, and each of the plurality of linear antenna arrays is associated with a corresponding beam angle based on the respective position of each linear antenna array in the parallel configuration with respect to the curved second surface of the cylindrical lens. Device.

15. A computer program including instructions, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a step of the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13.

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