Antenna Group Configuration for Millimeter-Wave Beamforming Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless communications in millimeter wave frequencies face challenges due to increased signal attenuation and path loss, necessitating efficient beamforming techniques to overcome these losses, but existing systems struggle to optimize antenna element configurations for enhanced efficiency and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A wireless device selects and configures specific sets of antenna elements for communication, determining transmission control parameters based on the number of antenna elements, including power control, digital beamforming codebooks, and modulation and coding schemes, to enhance efficiency and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If more antenna elements are used for millimeter wave communications, then signal quality and reliability are improved, but power consumption and thermal overheads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the complete set of antenna elements into multiple antenna groups, where each group contains a subset of antenna elements. The wireless device can selectively activate only the necessary antenna groups based on communication conditions, rather than using all antenna elements continuously. This segmentation allows the system to maintain communication reliability when needed while reducing power consumption by keeping other antenna groups inactive.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic configuration of antenna groups through signaling between wireless devices. The first wireless device can indicate to the second wireless device which antenna groups are available and configured, allowing the system to adaptively adjust the number and configuration of active antenna elements based on real-time communication requirements, channel conditions, and power constraints.
2Reliability
If more antenna elements are configured for beamforming, then signal quality is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting antenna elements into predefined groups with specific configurations (such as different beamforming parameters, power control settings, and modulation schemes), the patent reduces the complexity of managing individual antenna elements. Each antenna group can be configured with specific parameters optimized for particular communication scenarios, making the overall system more manageable while maintaining high signal quality when multiple groups are activated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent associates different transmission control parameters (power control parameters, digital beamforming codebooks, modulation and coding schemes) with different antenna groups. By changing the configuration parameters based on which antenna group is active, the system can optimize signal quality for different communication conditions without requiring complex real-time adjustment of all antenna elements simultaneously.
3Productivity
If antenna groups are selectively configured based on number of elements, then communication efficiency is improved, but control signaling complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal signaling framework where the same indication mechanisms can convey multiple pieces of information about antenna group configurations. The signaling structure is designed to be multi-functional, capable of indicating both the selection of antenna groups and their associated parameters (power control, beamforming, modulation) in a unified manner, thereby improving communication efficiency without proportionally increasing signaling complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described in which a first wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), may select a set of different groups of antenna elements that are preferred for use in millimeter wave communications at the first wireless device. The first wireless device may provide one or more parameters to a second wireless device that indicates a number of antenna elements of one or more of the groups of antenna elements that is used to determine one or more transmission control parameters. The second wireless device may determine one or more transmission control parameters based on the indicated parameters and number of antenna elements, which may be used for communications with the first wireless device.