Early Beam Failure Termination for Foldable Multi-Panel UE
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beam failure detection mechanisms in wireless communication systems are ineffective for managing beam failures caused by the folding of flexible and foldable user equipment (UE) with multi-antenna arrays, as they are designed for external events and not controllable or predictable from the UE's perspective, leading to lengthy and resource-intensive detection processes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves the UE detecting and predicting beam failures initiated by its own actions, such as folding, allowing it to directly declare a beam failure without going through the traditional detection process, by identifying impacted beam pair links and communicating with the base station to stop communication on affected links without measuring Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), or other signal quality metrics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the existing beam failure detection mechanism is used for foldable UEs, then the beam failure can be detected through standard procedures, but the detection process is lengthy and resource-intensive due to multiple measurement stages
Solution Approach 1:
The UE performs preliminary identification of beam failure events caused by folding actions before initiating the full detection process. By detecting the folding event early and identifying which beam pair links will be impacted, the system can terminate the detection process early without completing all standard measurement stages, thus reducing detection time while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows skipping of intermediate measurement stages when a beam failure event is identified as being caused by UE folding. Instead of progressing through all standard detection stages (initial detection, confirmation measurements, final declaration), the system can rush through to early termination once the folding-caused failure is confirmed, significantly reducing the detection duration
2Reliability
If the traditional beam failure detection process is followed, then comprehensive signal quality measurements are performed, but battery power and system resources are consumed unnecessarily for predictable folding events
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of folding events using sensors or other low-power mechanisms before initiating comprehensive signal quality measurements. By identifying the folding event in advance and determining the impacted beam pair links, the system can avoid or truncate the energy-intensive measurement stages while maintaining detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The UE uses its own folding event detection capability (through sensors or internal state monitoring) to self-identify beam failure events without relying entirely on external signal quality measurements. This self-service approach allows the UE to proactively declare beam failures caused by its own actions, reducing the need for continuous power-consuming measurement processes
3Loss of time
If the UE proactively declares beam failure without traditional detection, then detection time and energy are reduced, but the need for accurate beam failure identification must be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where the UE identifies folding events (using sensors or internal state) as a trigger, which then leads to the declaration of beam failure. This intermediary step connects the physical folding action to the communication protocol's beam failure concept, ensuring accurate identification without requiring full traditional detection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional signal-quality-based detection mechanism (which relies on measuring RSRP, SINR, etc.) with a folding-event-based detection mechanism. Instead of using complex radio signal measurements to detect beam failure, the system substitutes this with detection of the physical folding event itself, which is a simpler and more direct indicator of the cause
Data Source
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AI summary
A beam failure caused by an event initiated by the UE such as folding of the UE or shutting down of a UE antenna penal may be predictable. Accordingly, the UE may declare a beam failure detection (BFD) without going through a potentially long detection procedure. Disclosed herein are apparatus and methods for detecting beam failure and terminating BFD earlier than the current DFD process would have. The method may include identifying a beam failure (BF) event at the UE that impacts at least one beam pair link (BPL) and communicating a request to an associated base station to stop communicating on an impacted beam pair link, without going through an entire BFD process.