Dual polarized hybrid beamforming

Abstract

Provided are methods of operating a network node in a wireless communication system, for dynamically applying dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam. Operations of such methods include rotating, by analog circuitry, a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane, wherein a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Operations include applying, by the analog circuitry, the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

Description

DUAL POLARIZED HYBRID BEAMFORMINGTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This disclosure relates to analog beamforming and analog circuitry to broaden the analog beam dynamically in time.BACKGROUND

[0002] A standard beamformer may provide high gain in a specific direction where the main beam points and also low gain in other directions (outside of the main beam). In some cases, it may be more beneficial to have a wider beam with lower gain, covering a wider area. One example is for cell specific beams like the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) where it may be beneficial to cover the full cell area with a single wide beam. Other cases may include several users in different directions that could be co-scheduled. When scaling up the size of an array, full digital beamforming (BF) may be considered too expensive to implement. However, pure analog (RF) beamforming may be too inflexible, and hence a combination of digital and analog BF can be implemented. This may be referred to as hybrid beamforming.

[0003] A common implementation may be to provide an analog beam port that is created by analog BF between a number of antenna elements or subarrays. These (analog) beam ports may be combined with digital BF to form the final beam. One example may be depicted in which an analog BF circuit is used to form an analog beam port from 4 (2x1) subarrays in one column. Further digital elevation BF can then be done by the digital BF circuits.SUMMARY

[0004] Provided herein are methods of operating a network node according to some embodiments. For example, operations may be performed in a network node in a wireless communication system for dynamically applying dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam. Operations include rotating, by analog circuitry, a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane. In some embodiments, a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Operations further include applying, by the analog circuitry, the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

[0005] In some embodiments, a signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node. The power amplifiermay be used to perform a polarization switch by a cross-switch between two polarization branches to provide an individual phase shift and a signal inversion.

[0006] In some embodiments, operations may include mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with a physical antenna to form the dual-polarized broadened analog beam. Some embodiments include logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

[0007] Some embodiments include combining, in a digital domain, at least one digitally controlled wide orthogonal beam ports that are configured to communicate dynamically over one or two layers of the network node associated with at least two user devices located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

[0008] In some embodiments, rotating the polarization angle includes rotating the phase of the signals of a physical antenna associated with the network node. In some embodiments, the analog circuitry includes at least one cross bar switch and at least one inverter. Some embodiments include switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

[0009] Some embodiments are directed to a network node for use in a wireless communication system and configured to dynamically apply dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam. Embodiments of the network node may include a physical antenna and analog circuitry configured to perform operations including rotating a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane such that a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Some embodiments include applying the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam. In some embodiments, the network node includes multiple power amplifiers. Some embodiments provide that an analog signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node that are used to perform a polarization switch by a cross-switch between two polarization branches to provide an individual phase shift and a signal inversion for each dual polarized beam of the orthogonally dual polarized pair of beams. Some embodiments provide that the network node is configured to perform operations including mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with the physical antenna to form the dual-polarized broadened analog beam.

[0010] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations including logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

[0011] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations of combining, in a digital domain, at least two elevation ports of the network node associated with at least two user devices located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

[0012] Some embodiments provide that rotating the polarization angle includes rotating the polarization angle to align with a polarization angle of the physical antenna.

[0013] In some embodiments, the analog circuitry includes at least one cross bar switch and at least one inverter. In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations of switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

[0014] Some embodiments herein are directed to analog circuitry for a network node configured to dynamically apply dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam in a wireless communication system. According to some embodiments, the analog circuitry is configured to perform operations including rotating a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane such that a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Operations may further include applying the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

[0015] In some embodiments, a digital signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node excepting an individual phase shift and a signal inversion. Some embodiments provide that the network node is configured to perform operations of mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with a physical antenna to form the dual-polarized broadened analog beam. In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations including logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

[0016] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations including combining, in a digital domain, at least two elevation ports of the network node associated with at least two user devices located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

[0017] Some embodiments provide that rotating the polarization angle includes rotating the polarization angle to align with a polarization angle of a physical antenna associated with the network node.

[0018] In some embodiments, the analog circuitry includes at least one cross bar switch and at least one inverter and the network node is configured to perform operations including switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating examples of a new radio (“NR”) network including a 5G core network, network nodes, and multiple communication devices, also referred to as user equipment according to some embodiments herein.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a solution in which beam weights are aligned with the physical polarizations in a dual polarized beamforming antenna according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one dual polarized antenna element in a dual polarization beam forming method in an analog beam former.

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hybrid digital beamforming circuit.

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an analog beamformer with dual polarization according to some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0024] Figure 6 is a dual polarized (DP) polarization vector example according to some embodiments herein.

[0025] Figure 7 illustrates plots of beamforming including beams on respective polarization and resulting beams after combining beams in accordance with some embodiments herein.

[0026] Figure 8 illustrates plots of DP beamforming in accordance with some embodiments herein.

[0027] Figure 9 illustrates plots of DP beamforming in accordance with some embodiments herein.

[0028] Figure 10 illustrates plots of DP beamforming in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating operations of methods in accordance with some embodiments herein.

[0030] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram that shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a new radio (“NR”) network (e.g., a 5th Generation (“5G”) network) including a 5G core (“5GC”) network 130, network nodes 120a- b (e.g., 5G base station (“gNB”)), and multiple communication devices 110 (also referred to as user equipment (“UE”)).

[0032] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Wider beams can be created with several different techniques like amplitude and / or phase tapering and dual polarized beamforming. When using phase tapering to broaden the beam to the same beamwidth as for dual polarized BF, it may have the disadvantage that it creates larger side lobes and more gain ripple in the main lobe than for dual polarized BF. Such result may not be beneficial for the system. Combining amplitude and phase tapering can circumvent this to some extent, but with a cost of Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) due to less transmit power.

[0033] For digital beamforming, it may be possible to use dual polarized beamforming to broaden the beam. Current digital dual polarized beamforming solutions split, phase shift and then add the split signals with signals from other polarizations. However, this solution may be problematic because it may be difficult to linearize the PAs if different beam ports are combined with analog beamforming before the PA.

[0034] Brief reference is now made to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a solution in which beam weights are aligned with the physical polarizations in a dual polarized beamforming antenna according to some embodiments.

[0035] In some embodiments, the polarization angle in the dual polarized beamforming is rotated in the polarization plane in such a way that the signal in each branch is independent to the signal in the other polarization plane. In this manner, the digital signal that is fed into the analog beamformer may typically be the same as the signal in each PA with exception to an individual phase shift and a signal inversion. This may be beneficial for the DPD to work properly in hybrid beamforming solutions with a shared DPD solution.

[0036] In digital predistortion (DPD), a predistorter may precede the power amplifier, and the cascaded configuration of both exhibits linearity and constant signal gain.By including a predistorter, a power amplifier can be operated up to the saturation region, without compromising the linear characteristics.

[0037] Brief reference is made to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram illustrating one dual polarized element in a dual polarization beam forming method for an analog beam former according to some embodiments. In such embodiments, the digital predistorter may be placed before the split and the combination of the analog signals before they enter the power amplifier (PA). In this case a single pre-distorter may not control the amplitude and phase of an individual PA, which makes the linearization very complicated.

[0038] Some embodiments of a solution herein may provide that small changes to a standard hybrid beamformer can be used to apply dual polarized beamforming that may be very similar to one that can be used with full digital beamforming today.

[0039] Some advantages of embodiments disclosed herein include that the beam width of the hybrid beamforming subarray can be dynamically configured from the smallest beamwidth down to the widest beam width of the individual port with very small changes to a standard hybrid beamforming solution. The configurations may be made in multiples of two in the same way as for standard dual polarized beamforming.

[0040] Merits of some embodiments disclosed herein may be provided below. For example, brief reference is now made to Figure 4, which is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hybrid digital beamforming circuit according to some embodiments. As illustrated, the antenna panel 406 includes elements 412 and is attached to digital circuits 402 and RF beamforming circuits 404. In some embodiments a 2x1 subarray 410 of elements 412 may be provided. In some embodiments a digital port 408 may include four 2x1 subarrays.

[0041] Although illustrated as an 8-8 array, embodiments herein may use more or less than an 8-8 array of RF beamforming circuits. Regarding a mmW solution, n, 2:1 subarrays and 4: 1 analog BF per polarization may be used as illustrated. In some embodiments, eight elements may be encircled in elevation to provide that these elements may constitute one digitally controlled port. In some embodiments, the beamshape of these dual polarized elements may be particularly relevant to widening the beamwidth thereof.

[0042] In some embodiments, an analog beamforming port may include four 2:1 subarrays. In examples generating a pencilbeam using analog beamforming, the 3dB beamwidth may be about -lOdegrees. This may be too narrow and, in many applications, may prohibit accessing all users simultaneously. It may be advantageous to widen the elevation beamwidth to cover all users.

[0043] One way to widen the elevation beamwidth would be to add phase / gain variation on the ports to form a wider beam. The gain variation may not be desired since power may be lost and shared DPD may be inefficient.

[0044] Another way of forming a wide beam is to use array size invariant beamforming (ASI-BF). Then two analog polarization ports may be used to form a wide single polarized beam. In this case all PAs may run at full output power. To form a dual polarized beam, the array can be split in elevation and ASI-BF may be used in each part. Now four analog ports may be used to form a dual polarized beam.

[0045] In contrast with some embodiments herein, the analog port mapping to the antenna may be changed and a dual -polarized wide beam may be formed by only using two analog input ports. One way to benefit from this is to continue splitting the array in two parts and form wide dual polarized beams in both the upper and lower parts. In order to address two users in different elevation directions, the elevation ports in digital domain may be combined and one beam pointing at each user may be generated. Each may have 3dB increased BF-gain compared to other solutions.

[0046] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, hybrid beamforming may be advantageous over pure analog (RF) beamforming, which may be too inflexible.ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION

[0047] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0048] Reference is now made to Figure 5, which is a schematic block diagram illustrating an analog beamformer with dual polarization according to some embodiments disclosed herein. Figure 5 illustrates the analog beamformer as analog circuitry 502 comprising cross bar switches 504 and inverters 506.

[0049] To simplify the DPD solution, the polarization planes may be aligned as described above in relation to Figure 3. When the beam port polarization plane has been aligned with the physical antenna polarization, the dual polarized beamforming may be achieved with a cross bar switch 504 that is configured to switch between the two polarizations in the antenna element and an inverter 506 that can change the sign of the signal. This functionality may be simple to implement, and the inversion functionality cangenerally be included in the phase shifter to the right of the inverter without any extra cost. In such embodiments, the DP beamformer inverter 506 can be removed.

[0050] Brief reference is now made to Figure 6, which is a DP polarization vector example according to some embodiments herein. One way to derive the beam weights for theDP beamforming is to ensure that the resulting vector in each subgroup of 2 in one beam is orthogonal to each other vector in the bore sight. The second beam should be a polarization shift of 90 degrees of the first beam in each subgroup.

[0051] The beam pattern illustrated can also be derived with slight modifications.For example, J = defines an order reversal matrixand (■)* denotes the complex conjugate.

[0052] For this solution the first port is set toWi = [WAIWB,I] =

[0010] , where the other polarization weight is not the conjugate of the first polarization, in contrast with conventional approaches. In this case the polarizations are 1 and 0 to get orthogonal port signals in the two polarizations for each subarray. The rules to build up larger matrices may still be used to build up larger arrays with the same combined beam pattern. The first doubling of the array is given by:

[0053] The full column for one port as in the example above can be derived in the same way, in which

[0054] Calculating the beam weight for the second port may use a slightly different method relative to conventional approaches since the beam weights are not the complex conjugate of the two polarizations. The equation:will give the second port in the example above.

[0055] By rotating the beam weight for the previously made digital DP beamforming schemes 90 degrees in the polarization plane these schemes should be possible to implement with analog hybrid DP beamformers.

[0056] Brief reference is now made to Figure 7, which illustrates plots of beamforming with a single element beam shape in accordance with some embodiments herein. In some embodiments, the element pattern may be for one element and / or may be from a 2x1 subarray of elements. In some example embodiments, each element used for dual polarized beamforming may be based on a 45 degree beam width, which may be more like a 2X1 array.

[0057] As illustrated in Figure 7, the two beams in the previous example have been plotted in antenna diagrams with respect to the elevation angle. The curves may include the two polarizations for each beam. Some embodiments provide that beams are beams on respective polarizations. In some embodiments, the curves represent the beams on each of the two polarizations. The resulting beam pattern envelope for each beam is the power addition of the two polarizations curves in the diagrams. In some embodiments, the curves are the resulting beams after dual polarization beamforming, which may be achieved by combining the beams. The two resulting digital ports can be used to form a single polarized beam with one-layer, same beam shape and twice the power if the same signal is sent to both beam ports. In some embodiments, each beam is generated by a 4-element array.

[0058] Brief reference is now made to Figure 8, which illustrates plots of DP beamforming with a 2 element beam shape in accordance with some embodiments herein. In some embodiments, a beam may be synthesized with half the beam width and 3 dB higher antenna gain in the beam directions with different beam weights, as illustrated in Figure 8.

[0059] Brief reference is now made to Figure 9, which illustrates plots of DP beamforming with a DP beamforming mode for 2 element beam shape in accordance with some embodiments herein. In some embodiments, the beams of Figure 9 comprise a combination of beams illustrated above corresponding to Figures 7 and 8. As illustrated, with a 1 :4 analog hybrid beamformer, 3 different envelop beam widths with 2 orthogonal polarizations may be generated. In some embodiments, the different beam pattern envelopes for the two polarizations are provided.

[0060] Brief reference is now made to Figure 10, which illustrates plots of DP beamforming without and with a direction down tilt in accordance with some embodiments. The analog tilt function in the analog beamformer may still be functional for the different beam widths with DP beamforming. In some embodiments, such as in case of the widestbeam configuration, there may be no beam direction to control. In such cases, the phase shift in the analog beamformer may only change the polarization angle between the two beams. This is illustrated for a down tilt in Figure 10.

[0061] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating operations of methods in accordance with some embodiments herein. For example, operations may be performed in a network node in a wireless communication system for dynamically applying dual -polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam. Operations include rotating (block 1002), by analog circuitry, a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane. In some embodiments, a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Operations further include applying (block 1004), by the analog circuitry, the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

[0062] In some embodiments, a signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node. The power amplifier may be used to perform a polarization switch by a cross-switch between two polarization branches to provide an individual phase shift and a signal inversion.

[0063] In some embodiments, operations may include mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with a physical antenna to form the dual-polarized broadened analog beam. Some embodiments include logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

[0064] Some embodiments include combining, in a digital domain, digitally controlled wide orthogonal beam ports that are configured to communicate dynamically over one or two layers of the network node associated with at least two user devices located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

[0065] In some embodiments, rotating the polarization angle includes rotating the phase of the signals of a physical antenna associated with the network node. In some embodiments, the analog circuitry includes at least one cross bar switch and at least one inverter. Some embodiments include switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

[0066] Some embodiments are directed to a network node for use in a wireless communication system and configured to dynamically apply dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam. Embodiments of the network node may include a physical antenna (QQ310) and analog circuitry (502) configured to perform operations including rotating(block 1002) a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beam forming in a polarization plane such that a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Some embodiments include applying (block 1004) the dual -polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam. In some embodiments, the network node includes multiple power amplifiers. Some embodiments provide that an analog signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node that are used to perform a polarization switch by a cross-switch between two polarization branches to provide an individual phase shift and a signal inversion for each dual polarized beam of the orthogonally dual polarized pair of beams. Some embodiments provide that the network node is configured to perform operations including mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with the physical antenna to form the dualpolarized broadened analog beam.

[0067] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations including logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

[0068] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations of combining, in a digital domain, at least two elevation ports of the network node associated with at least two user devices located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device. Although disclosed herein as being in the elevation plane, embodiments herein may be applicable in the azimuth (horizontal) domain to perform analog beam forming in the azimuth. Some embodiments provide that rotating the polarization angle includes rotating the polarization angle to align with a polarization angle of the physical antenna.

[0069] In some embodiments, the analog circuitry includes at least one cross bar switch and at least one inverter. In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations of switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

[0070] Some embodiments herein are directed to analog circuitry for a network node configured to dynamically apply dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam in a wireless communication system. According to some embodiments, the analog circuitry is configured to perform operations including rotating (block 1002) a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane such that a signal in eachbranch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane. Operations may further include applying (block 1004) the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

[0071] In some embodiments, a digital signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node excepting an individual phase shift and a signal inversion. Some embodiments provide that the network node is configured to perform operations of mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with a physical antenna to form the dual-polarized broadened analog beam. In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations including logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

[0072] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to perform operations including combining, in a digital domain, at least two elevation ports of the network node associated with at least two user devices located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

[0073] Some embodiments provide that rotating the polarization angle includes rotating the polarization angle to align with a polarization angle of a physical antenna associated with the network node.

[0074] In some embodiments, the analog circuitry includes at least one cross bar switch and at least one inverter and the network node is configured to perform operations including switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

[0075] Reference is now made to Figure 12, which is a schematic block diagram that shows a network node QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O- RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0076] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro basestations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0077] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi- TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0078] The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuitry QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ300.

[0079] The processing circuitry QQ302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signalprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components, such as the memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality.

[0080] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0081] The memory QQ304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry QQ302. The memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ302 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 and memory QQ304 is integrated.

[0082] The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface QQ306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) QQ316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes radio front-end circuitry QQ318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna QQ310. Radio front-end circuitry QQ318 comprises filters QQ320 and amplifiers QQ322. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may be connected to an antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-endcircuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ320 and / or amplifiers QQ322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0083] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ318, instead, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ306 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front-end circuitry QQ318, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0084] The antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and connectable to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

[0085] The antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0086] The power source QQ308 provides power to the various components of network node QQ300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source QQ308. As a further example, the power source QQ308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0087] Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 12 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ300 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ300.

[0088] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components describedherein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0089] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a network node (120) in a wireless communication system (100), for dynamically applying dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam, the method comprising: rotating (1002), by analog circuitry (502), a polarization angle of the dualpolarized beamforming in a polarization plane such that a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane; and applying (1004), by the analog circuitry, the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node that are used to perform a polarization switch by a cross-switch between two polarization branches to provide an individual phase shift and a signal inversion.

3. The method of any one of the previous claims, comprising: mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with a physical antenna (QQ310) to form the dual -polarized broadened analog beam.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising: logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts; and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

5. The method of any one of the previous claims, comprising: combining, in a digital domain, at least one digitally controlled wide orthogonal beam ports that are configured to communicate dynamically over one or two layers of the network node associated with at least two user devices (110) located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

6. The method of any one of the previous claims, wherein rotating the polarization angle comprises rotating the phase of the signals of a physical antenna (QQ310) associated with thenetwork node.

7. The method of any one of the previous claims, wherein: the analog circuitry comprises at least one cross bar switch (504) and at least one inverter (506); and the method comprises: switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane; and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

8. A network node (120) for use in a wireless communication system (100) and configured to dynamically apply dual-polarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam, the network node comprising: a physical antenna (QQ310); and analog circuitry (502) configured to perform operations comprising: rotating (1002) a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beam forming in a polarization plane such that a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane; and applying (1004) the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

9. The network node of claim 8, wherein: the network node comprises multiple power amplifiers; and a digital signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node that are used to perform a polarization switch by a cross-switch between two polarization branches to provide an individual phase shift and a signal inversion for each dual polarized beam of the orthogonally dual polarized pair of beams.

10. The network node of any one of claims 8 or 9, wherein the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated withthe physical antenna to form the dual-polarized broadened analog beam.

11. The network node of any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts; and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

12. The network node of any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: combining, in a digital domain, at least two elevation ports of the network node associated with at least two user devices (110) located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

13. The network node of any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein rotating the polarization angle comprises rotating the polarization angle to align with a polarization angle of the physical antenna.

14. The network node of any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein: the analog circuitry comprises at least one cross bar switch (504) and at least one inverter (506); and the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane; and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

15. Analog circuitry (502) for a network node (120) configured to dynamically apply dualpolarized beamforming to broaden an analog beam in a wireless communication system (100), the analog circuitry being configured to perform operations comprising: rotating (1002) a polarization angle of the dual-polarized beamforming in a polarization plane such that a signal in each branch of the network node is independent of a signal in another polarization plane; and applying (1004) the dual-polarized beamforming to broaden the analog beam.

16. The analog circuitry of claim 15, wherein a digital signal received by the analog circuitry is the same as a signal in each of multiple power amplifiers of the network node excepting an individual phase shift and a signal inversion.

17. The analog circuitry of any one of claims 15 or 16, wherein the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: mapping at least two analog input ports of the network node associated with a physical antenna (QQ310) to form the dual -polarized broadened analog beam.

18. The analog circuitry of claim 17, wherein the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: logically splitting an array of the physical antenna into at least two parts; and forming, by the analog circuitry, a dual-polarized broadened analog beam for each of the at least two parts.

19. The analog circuitry of any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: combining, in a digital domain, at least two elevation ports of the network node associated with at least two user devices (110) located in different elevation directions to generate a beam pointing at each user device.

20. The analog circuitry of any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein rotating the polarization angle comprises rotating the polarization angle to align with a polarization angle of a physical antenna (QQ310) associated with the network node.

21. The analog circuitry of any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: the analog circuitry comprises at least one cross bar switch (504) and at least one inverter (506); and the network node is configured to perform operations comprising: switching, via the at least one cross bar switch, between a polarization of the polarization plane and a polarization of the another polarization plane; and changing, via the at least one inverter, a sign of a signal of the analog beam.

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