Radio Transceiver Beam Management via Frequency-Dependent Phase Shifts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current beam management techniques in high-frequency communications networks face challenges with frequent and fast beam switching due to challenging radio propagation properties, leading to high overhead signaling costs and time consumption, especially in scenarios with many candidate beams and analog beamforming configurations.
Innovation Solution
A method and device for efficient beam management involving the simultaneous reception of a reference signal in a set of beams with unique frequency-dependent phase shifts, allowing each beam to cover a part of the frequency interval, reducing the need for exhaustive beam search and overhead signaling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If exhaustive beam search is performed to evaluate all possible beam combinations, then beam selection accuracy is improved, but time consumption and overhead signaling increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beam search process into two phases: a fast initial search using a reduced beam set to identify candidate beams, followed by a more precise evaluation only on these candidates. This segmentation avoids exhaustive search of all beam combinations while maintaining adequate beam selection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing beam search on a subset of beams rather than all possible beams. Specifically, it uses a reduced beam set that covers the most probable signal directions, achieving sufficient beam selection accuracy without the excessive time cost of evaluating all beam combinations.
2Power
If narrow beams are used for high-gain beamforming at higher frequency bands, then link budget is improved, but susceptibility to blocking and need for frequent beam switching increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary beam search and beam pair identification before actual data transmission. By pre-establishing a set of candidate beam pairs and selecting the best ones in advance, the system prepares for potential blocking events, enabling faster beam switching when needed without sacrificing link budget during normal operation.
3Productivity
If many candidate beams are configured for beam management, then coverage and throughput are improved, but overhead signaling and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large set of candidate beams into a reduced beam set for initial search and a full beam set for final selection. This segmentation reduces the complexity of beam management by limiting the number of beams that need to be actively monitored and managed at any given time, while still maintaining the ability to select from many candidate beams for optimal throughput.
4Device complexity
If analog beamforming is used with sequential beam sweeping, then hardware complexity is reduced, but beam search time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing beam sweeping only on a reduced beam set rather than all possible beams. This maintains the hardware simplicity of analog beamforming with sequential sweeping, while significantly reducing beam search time by limiting the number of beams that need to be swept through.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided mechanisms for a radio transceiver device to participate in beam management. A method is performed by the radio transceiver device. The method comprises receiving a reference signal from another radio transceiver device as part of participating in the beam management. The reference signal occupies time/frequency resources that extend over a frequency interval. The reference signal is simultaneously received in a set of beams where each beam has a unique frequency dependent phase shift such that all beams in the set of beams point in mutually different directions and each beam covers its own part of the frequency interval.