Angular Power Profile Gap for Inter-Cell Interference Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dynamic elevation beamforming in cellular networks can cause inter-cell interference, which exceeds acceptable thresholds and negatively impacts system performance, as not all elevation beams contribute equally to interference, necessitating a mechanism to identify and avoid specific angular intervals with high interference.
Innovation Solution
A slow-scale coordination method among eNodeBs uses Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) based Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements to identify interfering beams and create an angular power profile 'gap' by removing beams that exceed a high interference threshold, thereby reducing inter-cell interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If dynamic elevation beamforming is used to improve coverage and signal strength, then the antenna gain and coverage range are improved, but inter-cell interference increases beyond acceptable thresholds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the angular power profile by identifying and removing specific elevation beams that cause excessive interference. Instead of uniformly reducing power across all beams, the solution divides the beam set into interfering and non-interfering beams, selectively managing each group to resolve the contradiction between coverage and interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating directional gaps in specific angular intervals where interference occurs. Rather than uniformly adjusting all beams, the solution modifies the angular power profile locally in problematic directions while maintaining full power in non-interfering directions, thus preserving coverage where needed while eliminating interference where harmful.
2Area of stationary object
If all candidate beams are used for transmission to maximize coverage, then the angular coverage is improved, but the interference level in neighboring cells exceeds acceptable thresholds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes specific elevation beams from the candidate beam set that are identified as causing excessive interference. By taking out only the problematic beams while retaining useful beams, the solution maintains angular coverage in non-interfering directions while eliminating the harmful interference components.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If beams are removed to reduce interference, then inter-cell interference is reduced, but the angular coverage and signal strength are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic beam selection where the set of candidate beams is adaptively adjusted based on measured interference levels. The system dynamically identifies interfering beams and removes them from the candidate set, while preserving non-interfering beams, thus maintaining optimal coverage without excessive interference through adaptive, condition-based beam management.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of creating a “gap” in a network node's angular power profile to reduce the amount of inter-cell interference generated at certain critical directions. A plurality of network nodes may jointly derive the “gap” in the angular power profile of each of them. A transmitting node may rely on Discovery Reference Signal, DRS, based Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, measurements of its beams from a neighboring node, which signals an interference metric for each beam indicating a relative beam interference level. The transmitting node utilizes the signaled metrics to determine which beams are causing undesirable interference and are to be removed from its set of candidate beams to create a “gap” in its angular power profile. The remaining candidate beams are used by the transmitting network node for subsequent directional data transmissions. Instead of this distributed approach, a central node-based beam removal approach may be implemented.