A method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with a user device

Abstract

The present invention provides a method to ensure a user device (1) performing beamforming and beam steering to communicate with a target communication device (2) by focusing and directing the communication signal of the user device (1) toward the target communication device (2). The method comprises the steps of setting a communication between the user device (1) and a remote server (3); determining the user device (1) data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data; sending the determined data to the remote server (3); getting target communication device (2) data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data; calculating the beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device (1) to directly communicate with the target communication device (2); sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data from the remote server (3) to the user device (1); performing beamforming and beam steering with the beamforming and beam steering data by the user device (1).

Description

[0001] A METHOD FOR CONDUCTING BEAMFORMING AND BEAM STEERING TECHNIQUES WITH A USER DEVICE

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with user devices (such as mobile phones, loT devices etc.) to direct the communication signals through a target communication device such as a satellite.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In the wireless communication, besides use of omni-directional antennas, beamforming and beam steering techniques can be used to set a communication between two devices. Beam forming can be defined as the basic formation of a beam of energy from a set of phased arrays. Using phased antenna arrays it is possible to control the shape and direction of the signal beam from multiple antennas based on the antenna spacing and the phase of signal from each antenna element in the array. Accordingly, the creation of the beam using the technique of interfering and constructing patterns is called beamforming. In addition, beam steering can be defined as the way in which a beam pattern can be dynamically altered by changing the signal phase in real time without changing the antenna elements or other hardware. By use of these techniques, focusing and directing a signal which is bearing electromagnetic radiation toward a specific target instead of broadcasting the electromagnetic waves in all directions is able to be ensured. Accordingly, the transmitter and receiver of the communicating devices are able to communicate essentially in a line- of-sight fashion. Besides the advantages use of these techniques requires complex computation, high power consumption and multi-directional antennas i.e. antennas having beamforming capability.

[0006] On the other hand, the user devices (such as mobile phones, loT devices etc.) have omnidirectional antennas and they can communicate directly with satellites in the low frequency band according to 3GPP (i.e S-Band ~ 2GHz). However, the scarcity of the frequency band and the need for higher data rate bring the need for communication in the high frequency bands. Due to the nature of the high frequency and to provide sufficient link budget, it makes it necessary to use multi-directional antennas and beamforming and beam steering techniques in user devices. However, as mentioned above, the mathematical calculations required for beamforming and beam steering on the user device side are both very costly and power consuming.

[0007] All the problems mentioned above have made it necessary to make an innovation in the relevant technical field as a result.

[0008] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention relates to a method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with user devices (such as mobile phones, loT devices etc.) to direct the communication signals through a target communication device such as a satellite by eliminating the above-mentioned disadvantages and bringing new advantages to the relevant technical field.

[0010] An object of the invention is to develop a method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with user devices to direct the communication signals through a target communication device.

[0011] Another object of the invention is to develop a method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with user devices without increasing the cost.

[0012] Yet another object of the invention is to develop a method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with user devices without need of high power consumption.

[0013] To achieve all the objects mentioned above and that will emerge from the following detailed description, the present invention relates to a method which is suitable for being used with a communication network comprising

[0014] §at least one user device which is able to set a wireless communication with a target communication device, and

[0015] §at least one remote server which is able to receive data from the user device, which is capable of making mathematical computations, which has mathematical operations necessary for calculating beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device to ensure the communication with the target communication device, by using the data received from the user device and which is able to send the calculated beamforming and beam steering data to the user device for ensuring the communication between the user device and the target communication device, wherein the method ensures the user device performing beamforming and beam steering to communicate with the target communication device by focusing and directing the communication signal of the user device toward the target communication device instead of broadcasting the communication signal and comprises the steps of:

[0016] • setting a communication between the user device and the remote server;

[0017] • determining the user device data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data by the user device;

[0018] • sending the determined data of the user device from the user device to the remote server;

[0019] • getting target communication device data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data by remote server;

[0020] • calculating the beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device to directly communicate with the target communication device by using the user device data received from the user device and the target communication device data;

[0021] • sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data from the remote server to the user device;

[0022] • performing beamforming and beam steering with the calculated beamforming and beam steering data by the user device to communicate with the target communication device, wherein the data flow between the user device and the remote server occurs continuously and accordingly these steps are performed continuously.

[0023] Thanks to the method of the present invention, user devices can have ability to perform beamforming and beam steering without increasing cost and without need of high power consumption. Therefore, communication between user devices and target communication devices can be performed much more effectively by setting a direct communication link without broadcasting the communication signals. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Exemplary embodiment of the method developed according to the present invention is illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein:

[0025] Figure 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment communication network with which the method developed by the invention is suitable for use.

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic view of another embodiment communication network with which the method developed by the invention is suitable for use.

[0027] All the parts illustrated in the drawings are individually assigned a reference numeral and the corresponding terms of these numbers are listed as follows:

[0028] 1 User device

[0029] 2 Target communication device

[0030] 3 Remote server

[0031] 4 Omni-directional beam

[0032] 5 Device of terrestrial network

[0033] 6a Uplink control channel

[0034] 6b Downlink control channel

[0035] DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] Within the wireless networks, the user devices communicate with a target communication device (such as a satellite) by omni-directional antennas in the low frequency band. However, it is known that next generation applications will need more data rate and high frequency band usage. This increase in data rate is now thought to make it mandatory to switch from omnidirectional antenna structure to a beamformed antenna structure. At the same time, in order to track moving satellites and aerial platforms, there is a need for steering the beamformed antenna beam, i.e. beam steering. However, there are disadvantages and limitations of user devices to calculate beamforming and steering coefficients and angles locally such that the mathematical calculations required for beamforming and beam steering on the user device are both very costly and power consuming. For that reason, the present invention provides a method for conducting beamforming and beam steering techniques with user devices (such as mobile phones, loT devices etc.) to direct the communication signals through a target communication device such as a satellite.

[0037] The method developed by the invention is suitable for use with a communication network, exemplary embodiments of which are given in figures 1 and 2, comprising at least one user device (1 ) which is able to set a wireless communication with a target communication device

[0038] (2), preferably a non-terrestrial device (such as a satellite) and at least one remote server

[0039] (3) (preferably a MEC [Multi- Access Edge Computing] server / cloud) which can receive data from the user device (1 ), which is capable of making mathematical computations, which has mathematical operations necessary for calculating beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device (1 ) to ensure the communication with the target communication device (2), by using the data received from the user device (1 ) and which can send the calculated beamforming and beam steering data to the user device (1 ) for ensuring the communication between the user device (1 ) and the target communication device (2). The method of the present invention, which ensures the user device (1 ) performing beamforming and beam steering to communicate with the target communication device (2) by focusing and directing the communication signal of the user device (1 ) toward the target communication device (2) instead of broadcasting the communication signal, comprises the steps of:

[0040] • setting a communication between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3);

[0041] • determining the user device (1 ) data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data by the user device (1 );

[0042] • sending the determined data of the user device (1 ) from the user device (1 ) to the remote server (3);

[0043] • getting target communication device (2) data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data by remote server (3);

[0044] • calculating the beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device (1 ) to directly communicate with the target communication device (2) by using the user device (1 ) data received from the user device (1 ) and the target communication device (2) data;

[0045] • sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data from the remote server (3) to the user device (1 ); • performing beamforming and beam steering with the calculated beamforming and beam steering data by the user device (1 ) to communicate with the target communication device (2), wherein the data flow between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3) occurs continuously and accordingly these steps are performed continuously.

[0046] Thanks to the method of the present invention, user devices (1 ) also having omni-directional antennas is able to communicate with the target communication devices (2) by setting a direct communication link using beamforming and beam steering techniques. With the method, the necessary calculations to perform beamforming and beam steering, which require too much power, high-cost antenna structure, and high-cost processor, are not done by the user devices (1 ). Therefore, beamforming and beam steering is able to be conducted effectively with the user device (1 ) without too much power consumption and without increasing the cost. Furthermore, since these calculations and send / receive processes are performed very fast, (for instance, if the remote server is on a GEO satellite, maximum response duration can be 250ms-300ms, approximately 270ms; if the remote server is on a LEO satellite, maximum response duration can be 15ms-25ms, approximately 20ms; if the remote server is on a base station, maximum response duration can be 0,5ms-1 ,5ms, approximately 1 ms, which are all below the reaction time of a human-being such as hand rotation of a human being), real-time calculations are able to be performed and every change in position of the user device (1 ) is able to be caught and handled to keep the communication between the user device (1 ) and the target communication device (2).

[0047] In a preferred embodiment, the user device (1 ) data comprises GNSS data of the user device (1 ) and / or, rotation angle information (pitch, roll, yaw) of the user device (1 ) and / or array antenna configurations of the user device (1 ) (such as number of array sensor elements, positions etc.) and / or local coordinate system of the user device (1 ). Furthermore, the target communication device (2) data comprises the target communication device (2) ID and / or the target communication device (2) uplink / downlink carrier frequency. By use of at least one of these data, the real-time location and / or position of the user device (1 ) with respect to the target communication device (2) is able to be known and effective communication between the user device (1 ) and the target communication device (2) is ensured. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in figure 1 , the remote server (3) is located on a device of a non-terrestrial network such as a satellite, HAPS etc. In that case, setting a communication between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3) step comprises creating an omni-directional beam (4) at low bandwidth and low data rate by the user device (1 ) and performing a handshake with the device of the non-terrestrial network. In addition, sending the determined data of the user device (1 ) step comprises sending the determined data over the uplink channel with a very low data capacity to the device of the non-terrestrial network over the omni directional beam (4) of the user device (1 ). Likewise sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data step comprises sending the calculated data which has coefficients necessary to perform beamforming and beam steering to the user device (1 ) via Downlink (D / L) channel. Furthermore, the device of the non-terrestrial network can be same with the target communication device (2). In this case, remote server (3) gets the target communication device (2) data directly from the device of the non-terrestrial network. On the other hand, the device of the non-terrestrial network can be different from the target communication device (2). In this case, the remote server (3) gets the target communication device (2) data from the user device (1 ). Thanks to the embodiment, beamforming and beam steering can be performed in cases where the location of the target communication device (2) is not precisely known by broadcasting a omni-directional beam (4) just feeding a single antenna element of the user device (1 ).

[0048] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in figure 2, the remote server (3) is located on a device of a terrestrial network (5), such as a base station, different from the target communication device (2). In that case, setting a communication between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3) step comprises providing access to the device of terrestrial network (5) via the uplink control channel (6a), receiving a message from the device of terrestrial network (5) informing the user device (1 ) that it has service access to calculate the beamforming and beam steering data required for beamforming and beam steering. In addition, sending the determined data of the user device (1 ) step comprises sending the determined data over the uplink control channel (6a). Furthermore, getting the target communication device (2) data step comprises sending the target communication device (2) data by the user device (1 ) to the device of terrestrial network (5) over the uplink control channel (6a). Besides, for calculation of the beamforming and beam steering data, target communication device (2) TLE (two-line element) data and antenna boresight are also obtained from the stored information within a memory of the device of the terrestrial network (5) by the remote server (3) with respect to the received target communication device (2) data sent by user device (1 ). Also, the sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data step comprises sending the calculated data, which has coefficients necessary to perform beamforming and beam steering and obtained by using target communication device (2) TLE data and antenna boresight, to the user device (1 ) via downlink (D / L) control channel (6b). For instance, in some cases, the data traffic can be directed to the device of non-terrestrial network (i.e. target communication device (2)) due to insufficient capacity in terrestrial networks; such as in the event of a disaster (earthquake, flood, etc.) when most of the terrestrial network is disabled and few base stations are in service, such as situations where the capacity of the base stations cannot provide service to all user devices (1 ) due to sudden events (meeting, rally, etc.), such as situations where load balancing is needed in data traffic (user device (1 ) can be routed to satellite (i.e. target communication device (2)) instead of terrestrial network connection when requirements are met. Thanks to the embodiment, in these cases, user devices (1 ) can access the remote server (3) services through the control channel of the device of terrestrial network (5), perform the necessary calculations, and then obtain the necessary antenna beamforming and steering coefficients through the control channel. In this embodiment, message from the device of terrestrial network (5) preferably comprises information such that the device of terrestrial network (5) cannot allocate communication resources (data traffic) via downlink control channel (6b). Therefore, communication during insufficient capacity in terrestrial networks can be continued effectively.

[0049] Thanks to the method of the present invention, user devices (1 ) can have ability to perform beamforming and beam steering without increasing cost and without need of high power consumption. Therefore, communication between user devices (1 ) and target communication devices (2) can be performed much more effectively by setting a direct communication link without broadcasting the communication signals.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method which is suitable for being used with a communication network comprising §at least one user device (1 ) which is able to set a wireless communication with a target communication device (2), and§at least one remote server (3) which is able to receive data from the user device (1 ), which is capable of making mathematical computations, which has mathematical operations necessary for calculating beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device (1 ) to ensure the communication with the target communication device (2), by using the data received from the user device (1 ) and which is able to send the calculated beamforming and beam steering data to the user device (1 ) for ensuring the communication between the user device (1 ) and the target communication device (2), characterized in that the method ensures the user device (1 ) performing beamforming and beam steering to communicate with the target communication device (2) by focusing and directing the communication signal of the user device (1 ) toward the target communication device (2) instead of broadcasting the communication signal and comprises the steps of:• setting a communication between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3);• determining the user device (1 ) data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data by the user device (1 );• sending the determined data of the user device (1 ) from the user device (1 ) to the remote server (3);• getting target communication device (2) data required for calculating beamforming and beam steering data by remote server (3);• calculating the beamforming and beam steering data necessary for the user device (1 ) to directly communicate with the target communication device (2) by using the user device (1 ) data received from the user device (1 ) and the target communication device (2) data;• sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data from the remote server (3) to the user device (1 );• performing beamforming and beam steering with the calculated beamforming and beam steering data by the user device (1 ) to communicate with the target communication device (2),wherein the data flow between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3) occurs continuously and accordingly these steps are performed continuously.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein; the user device (1 ) data comprises GNSS data of the user device (1 ) and / or, rotation angle information of the user device (1 ) and / or array antenna configurations of the user device (1 ) and / or local coordinate system of the user device (1 ).

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein; the target communication device(2) data comprises the target communication device (2) ID and / or the target communication device (2) uplink / downlink carrier frequency.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein; the remote server(3) is located on a device of a non-terrestrial network.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein; setting a communication between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3) step comprises creating an omni-directional beam(4) at low bandwidth and low data rate by the user device (1 ) and performing a handshake with the device of the non-terrestrial network.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein; sending the determined data of the user device (1 ) step comprises sending the determined data over the uplink channel with a very low data capacity to the device of the non-terrestrial network over the omni directional beam (4) of the user device (1 ).

7. The method according to claim 5 wherein; sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data step comprises sending the calculated data which has coefficients necessary to perform beamforming and beam steering to the user device (1 ) via Downlink (D / L) channel.

8. The method according to any one of the claims 4-7 wherein; the device of the nonterrestrial network is same with the target communication device (2).

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein; remote server (3) gets the target communication device (2) data directly from the device of the non-terrestrial network.

10. The method according to any one of the claims 4-7 wherein; the device of the nonterrestrial network is different from the target communication device (2).

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein; the remote server (3) gets the target communication device (2) data from the user device (1 ).

12. The method according to any one of the claims 1 -3 wherein; the remote server (3) is located on a device of a terrestrial network (5) which is different from the target communication device (2).

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein; setting a communication between the user device (1 ) and the remote server (3) step comprises providing access to the device of terrestrial network (5) via the uplink control channel (6a), receiving a message from the device of terrestrial network (5) informing the user device (1 ) that it has service access to calculate the beamforming and beam steering data required for beamforming and beam steering.

14. The method according to claim 12 or claim 13 wherein; sending the determined data of the user device (1 ) step comprises sending the determined data over the uplink control channel (6a).

15. The method according to claim 12 or claim 13 or claim 14 wherein; getting the target communication device (2) data step comprises sending the target communication device (2) data by the user device (1 ) to the device of terrestrial network (5) over the uplink control channel (6a).

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein; for calculation of the beamforming and beam steering data, target communication device (2) TLE data and antenna boresight are also obtained from the stored information within a memory of the device of the terrestrial network (5) by the remote server (3) with respect to the received target communication device (2) data sent by user device (1 ).

17. The method according to claim 16 wherein; sending the calculated beamforming and beam steering data step comprises sending the calculated data, which has coefficients necessary to perform beamforming and beam steering and obtained by using targetcommunication device (2) TLE data and antenna boresight, to the user device (1 ) via downlink control channel (6b).

18. The method according to claim 13 wherein; the message from the device of terrestrial network (5) comprises information such that the device of terrestrial network (5) cannot allocate communication resources via downlink control channel (6b).

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