Beam Shape Adaptation via Common Transmit Weight Vector
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cell specific beamforming methods in wireless communication systems are slow and inefficient due to their reliance on blind or semi-blind algorithms, which require trial and error to optimize beam shapes, leading to suboptimal performance and increased interference between cells.
Innovation Solution
A method that calculates a common transmit weight vector for cell specific beams by obtaining spatial channel characteristics of served and interfered users, estimating long-term interference, and performing phase normalization to optimize received signal power while minimizing interference, allowing for flexible and efficient beam shape adaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If blind or semi-blind algorithms are used for cell specific beamforming optimization, then the system can operate with limited feedback from users, but the optimization process becomes slow and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a feedback mechanism where user equipment (UE) reports channel quality indicators (CQI) and beam measurement information to the base station. This feedback enables the base station to adaptively adjust beamforming weights and shapes in real-time, resolving the contradiction by providing just enough feedback to achieve fast optimization without requiring complete channel state information from all users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optimization parameters from blind trial-and-error approaches to explicit channel quality metrics reported by users. By using CQI and beam measurement reports as optimization parameters, the system can directly compute optimal beamforming weights rather than relying on slow iterative blind algorithms, thus improving optimization speed while maintaining manageable feedback complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If trial and error methods are used to optimize beam shapes, then the system can explore different beam configurations, but the process requires excessive time and reduces system efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating beamforming weights based on channel quality indicators and beam measurement reports before actual data transmission. The base station uses these preliminary calculations to prepare optimal beam configurations in advance, eliminating the need for time-consuming trial and error during live operation while maintaining beam shape flexibility through adaptive reconfiguration when channel conditions change.
3Ease of operation
If cell specific beams are optimized to cover all users in a cell, then the beam must cover a larger solid angle, but this increases interference to users in adjacent cells
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by optimizing beamforming weights specifically for users in the serving cell based on their channel quality indicators, rather than using a uniform broad beam for all directions. The beamforming algorithm concentrates energy toward users with better channel conditions and reduces gain in directions where adjacent cell users are located, thus maintaining coverage uniformity for served users while minimizing interference to neighboring cells through spatially selective beam shaping.
4Productivity
If user specific beamforming is used to optimize the channel for a single user, then the data rate for that user increases, but the complexity of managing multiple user-specific beams increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the cell-specific beamforming mechanism universal by using a common beamforming approach that serves multiple users simultaneously based on their reported channel quality indicators. Instead of managing separate user-specific beam configurations, the system uses a unified beamforming framework that adapts to different users' channel conditions through feedback-based weight adjustment, thus achieving high data rates for individual users without increasing beam management complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for adapting a beam shape of a beam in a wireless communication system having multiple nodes. Each node is provided with an antenna system configured to provide radio coverage in a cell by a cell specific beam. The method comprises: obtaining 71 information of users to be served by a given cell, and obtaining information of users that the given cell should avoid interfering with and that are served by other cells; obtaining 72 information of a spatial channel characteristics for each of the users to be served by the given cell; obtaining 73 aggregated information of spatial channel characteristics for users that the given cell should avoid interfering with, to estimate a long term interference characteristics; calculating 75 a transmit weight vector for each of the users to be served by the given cell based on the information of spatial channel characteristics for the user to be served by the given cell and the estimated long term interference characteristics; performing 76 phase normalization of the calculated transmit weight vector for each of the users to be served by the given cell; and aggregating 78 all transmit weight vectors of the users to serve to establish a common transmit weight vector used to form the beam shape for the cell specific beam.