Active Coordination Set Beam Searching for 5G Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of identifying a satisfactory beam for communication between user equipment and base stations in Active Coordination Sets (ACS) increases at higher radio frequencies, especially due to blockage and rapidly changing radio-channel conditions, which existing beam search techniques fail to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
The method involves base stations transmitting an active-coordination-set beam-sweep with multiple time slots containing candidate beams, where user equipment determines link-quality metrics and selects beams for communication, and sends a beam-acquired indication at a predetermined time offset to direct base stations to use the selected beams, allowing for dynamic beam selection and adaptation to changing conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional beam search techniques are used at higher radio frequencies, then the system can maintain simpler procedures, but the ability to identify satisfactory beams deteriorates due to blockage and rapidly changing radio-channel conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The beam search procedure is segmented into multiple stages: initial beam sweeping to establish baseline connections, followed by refined beam searching with multiple candidate beams per time slot. This segmentation allows the system to handle higher frequency challenges by breaking down the complex beam identification into manageable steps, improving reliability without overwhelming system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic beam selection where the UE evaluates multiple candidate beams across different time slots and selects the best beam based on real-time channel conditions. The beam search adapts to rapidly changing radio-channel conditions at higher frequencies by continuously updating beam selections, making the system dynamic rather than static, thereby improving beam identification reliability.
2Measurement precision
If multiple candidate beams are transmitted over multiple time slots, then the beam selection accuracy improves, but the time required for beam acquisition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary beam sweeping in initial time slots to identify candidate beams before refined selection occurs. This preliminary action allows subsequent beam selection to focus only on promising candidates rather than searching all possible beams, thereby improving selection accuracy while limiting the total time required for beam acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The UE autonomously determines link-quality metrics for multiple candidate beams and independently selects the best beam without requiring extensive network coordination. This self-service approach enables rapid beam selection at the UE side, improving accuracy through local measurements while minimizing the time loss associated with network-wide beam coordination.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the user equipment autonomously determines link-quality metrics and selects beams, then the adaptability to changing conditions improves, but the processing complexity at the user equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UE is empowered to autonomously determine link-quality metrics for multiple candidate beams and select the best beam based on real-time measurements. This self-service capability enables the UE to adapt quickly to changing radio-channel conditions without waiting for network instructions, improving adaptability while the standardized measurement procedures keep processing complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter being measured from simple signal presence to detailed link-quality metrics across multiple candidate beams. By focusing measurements on specific quality parameters (such as RSRP, SINR) rather than exhaustive beam characterization, the UE achieves high adaptability to changing conditions while maintaining reasonable processing complexity through targeted parameter evaluation.
Data Source
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AI summary
This document describes methods, devices, systems, and means for enhanced beam searching for an active coordination set. A user equipment (110) receives an active-coordination-set beam-sweep (602) including multiple time slots (610), each of the multiple time slots including one or more candidate beams. The user equipment (110) determines a respective link-quality metric for each of the received one or more candidate beams in each of the time slots. Based on the link-quality metrics, the user equipment (110) selects the one or more candidate beams in a time slot (610) to use for wireless communication. The user equipment (110) transmits a beam-acquired indication (620) at a first time offset (604) after the time slot (610) in which the selected one or more candidate beams are received, the transmitting directing the base stations (120) to use the selected one or more candidate beams for the wireless communication.