Beam Coverage Management for Wireless Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
In 5G wireless communication networks, the significant signaling overhead and battery consumption for UEs to report radio conditions due to the increased number of beams required for beamforming lead to inefficient energy use and coverage issues, especially when UEs are in dormant or idle modes.
Innovation Solution
A method where communication devices passively monitor static or semi-static reference signals without reporting back, and upon determining weak or low-quality signals, they request targeted beamforming to switch to an active beam-tracking state, optimizing battery-saving mode and beam coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If UEs actively monitor and report radio conditions for all beams, then beam coverage reliability is improved, but signaling overhead and battery consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beam monitoring process into two distinct modes: passive monitoring mode for dormant UEs and active beam-tracking mode for UEs requiring coverage. This segmentation allows UEs to only actively track beams when necessary, reducing unnecessary energy consumption while maintaining reliability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic switching between passive and active monitoring modes based on UE state and coverage conditions. UEs can transition from passive monitoring to active beam-tracking when signal quality degrades, providing adaptive reliability while minimizing overall energy consumption.
2Reliability
If UEs actively monitor and report radio conditions for all beams, then beam coverage reliability is improved, but signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments reporting requirements by UE state, requiring reports only from UEs in active beam-tracking mode that experience coverage degradation. Dormant UEs performing passive monitoring do not report, significantly reducing signaling overhead while maintaining system reliability through on-demand reporting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables UEs to self-determine when active beam-tracking is needed based on their own passive monitoring of reference signals. UEs autonomously switch to active mode and initiate reporting only when coverage requirements are not met, reducing unnecessary signaling while ensuring reliability when needed.
3Use of energy by moving object
If passive monitoring of reference signals is used, then energy consumption is reduced, but coverage reliability may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary passive monitoring of reference signals to establish baseline coverage conditions before activating energy-intensive active beam-tracking. This preliminary action allows the system to maintain low energy consumption during good coverage conditions while preparing for rapid transition to active mode if coverage degrades.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables UEs to autonomously monitor reference signals and self-determine when coverage degradation occurs, triggering automatic transition to active beam-tracking mode. This self-service mechanism ensures coverage reliability is maintained through on-demand active tracking while minimizing energy consumption during adequate coverage periods.
Data Source
AI summary
Method by a communication device (120) for managing beam coverage. The device receives and evaluates (201) first reference signals transmitted by a network node. The first reference signals are comprised in first beams. The first beams are static or semi-static. The receiving and evaluating is according to a first state, wherein the device refrains from reporting back about the first reference signals. In response to the conclusion that all of the first reference signals are too weak and/or of too low quality by comparison to a threshold, the device sends (202) a request to one or more network nodes (110, 111), requesting a certain procedure for providing, by beamforming, one or more second beams (127, 128) specifically to target the device. The second beams (127, 128) comprise one or more second reference signals. The device switches, to a second state. wherein the device actively participates in the provision of beam coverage and is in a battery-saving mode.