Base Station Antenna Switching Control for Signal Interference

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current base station technologies face challenges in efficiently controlling antenna switching and signal parameters like phase, timing, frequency, and power across multiple antennas sharing the same frequency channel, leading to increased circuit complexity, cost, and reduced communication throughput due to interference and reaction time differences among various control units.

Innovation Solution

A base station configuration with multiple antenna sets, antenna switch units, and signal change units that sequentially control the phase, timing, frequency, and power of signals based on reaction times, using a notification unit to arrange control information in order of decreasing reaction time and perform switching and changing operations within designated times, allowing for high-speed signal processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a base station transmits pilot signals in all resource blocks to ensure complete channel estimation coverage, then channel estimation accuracy is improved, but uplink resource waste increases due to unnecessary transmissions in weak interference regions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvechannel estimation accuracyVSAvoiduplink resource waste
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The base station performs channel estimation separately for different resource block groups rather than uniformly across all resource blocks. By determining interference characteristics locally for each resource block group and selectively transmitting pilot signals only where needed, the system achieves accurate channel estimation in weak interference regions while avoiding unnecessary transmissions in strong interference regions, thus resolving the contradiction between estimation accuracy and resource efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If a base station transmits pilot signals in all resource blocks to ensure complete channel estimation coverage, then channel estimation accuracy is improved, but signaling overhead increases for indicating pilot transmission positions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvechannel estimation accuracyVSAvoidsignaling overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides resource blocks into multiple resource block groups and performs channel estimation separately for each group. This segmentation allows the base station to indicate pilot transmission positions group-by-group rather than individually for each resource block, significantly reducing the signaling overhead while maintaining complete channel estimation coverage across all resource blocks

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The base station transmits pilot signals selectively in resource block groups identified as weak interference regions, rather than uniformly across all resource blocks. This partial action approach reduces the number of pilot transmissions and corresponding signaling requirements while still achieving sufficient channel estimation accuracy for the regions that need it

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Measurement precision

If channel estimation is performed uniformly across all resource blocks, then estimation completeness is improved, but processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveestimation completenessVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The base station determines interference characteristics locally for each resource block group and applies different channel estimation strategies accordingly. In weak interference regions, pilot signals are transmitted and processed for accurate estimation, while in strong interference regions, pilot transmission is avoided and alternative estimation methods are used, thereby reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining estimation completeness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the channel estimation process into separate operations for different resource block groups. By processing each group independently based on its interference characteristics, the base station reduces the computational burden compared to uniform processing of all resource blocks, while still achieving complete coverage through coordinated estimation across all segments

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3576313B1Base station and control method thereof
Publication Date: 2021.09.15 NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE CORP
  • EP3576313B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3576313B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3576313B1 patent drawingFigure 3(1)~3(3)

AI summary

Included are n antenna sets, each of which contains multiple antennas; n antenna switch units selecting one antenna from each of the antenna sets; n signal change units each changing a combination of one or more of a phase, a timing, a frequency, and a power of each signal transmitted or received in n antennas being selected from the antenna sets, respectively, in the antenna switch units; a notification unit outputting a notification signal, in which control information on the antenna switch units and the signal change units according to a target terminal being a destination or source of the signals transmitted or received in the n antennas, are arranged according to a switch time of each of the antenna switch units and a change time of each of the signal change units; and a control unit sequentially starting control of switching by each of the antenna switch units and control of changing by each of the signal change units in order in which the control information on the each unit in the notification signal is notified.