Antenna Array Beam Configuration for Millimeter Wave Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Antenna arrays used in millimeter wave communications have a relatively low signal gain and low utilization due to fixed beam directions, which limits their effectiveness in omnidirectional coverage.
Innovation Solution
A beam configuration method that dynamically adjusts the state of antenna array units based on the included angle between the electronic device and the peer device, switching between end-fire and broadside configurations to optimize beam direction and utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If omnidirectional beam coverage is implemented by using broadside antenna and end-fire antenna separately, then different spatial areas can be covered, but the antenna array unit has relatively low signal gain and low utilization when peer device location changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by enabling the antenna array to dynamically switch between broadside and end-fire operating states based on the peer device's location. The antenna array configuration is no longer fixed but can be adjusted in real-time to track the peer device, ensuring high signal gain is maintained across different spatial areas while preserving omnidirectional coverage capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating state parameter of the antenna array between broadside and end-fire modes. By detecting the peer device's angular position and switching the antenna array's operating state accordingly, the system maintains high signal gain across different directions, resolving the contradiction between fixed configuration and adaptive coverage
2Stability of the object's composition
If antenna array configuration is fixed in broadside or end-fire state, then the array form remains stable, but the beam direction becomes fixed and antenna array units are not effectively utilized when peer device moves outside beam coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static antenna array configuration into a dynamic system that can switch between broadside and end-fire states. This allows the beam direction to adapt to the peer device's location while maintaining stable array structures, resolving the contradiction between configuration stability and directional adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the antenna array multi-functional by enabling it to operate in both broadside and end-fire modes. This universal capability allows the same antenna array to serve different directional coverage needs, improving both beam direction adaptability and overall system utilization
3Reliability
If only one antenna array unit points to the peer device, then that unit provides high gain, but other antenna array units are not effectively utilized leading to low overall utilization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically switches the entire antenna array between broadside and end-fire states based on peer device location. This dynamic operation ensures that multiple antenna array units work together effectively in each state, improving overall utilization while maintaining high signal gain through coordinated operation of all units
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functionality of multiple antenna array units by operating them together in unified broadside or end-fire modes. This merging approach ensures all units contribute to the beam formation simultaneously, maximizing overall utilization while achieving high gain through collective operation
Data Source
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AI summary
A beam configuration method and a device relate to the field of communications technologies, and can resolve problems in the prior art that a signal gain is a relatively low and utilization of an antenna array unit is low in a process of implementing omnidirectional coverage of a millimeter wave by using a broadside antenna and an end-fire antenna. A specific solution is as follows: determining whether an included angle between a ray that is perpendicular to a first plane and that extends outward from an electronic device and a ray pointing from the electronic device to a peer device is less than or equal to a preset angle (101), and when the included angle between the ray that is perpendicular to the first plane and that extends outward from the electronic device and the ray pointing from the electronic device to the peer device is less than or equal to the preset angle, performing end-fire state configuration on antenna array units in the first plane (102).