60 GHz Beamforming via Lookup Table Adaptation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication systems at 60 GHz face challenges in adapting to changing channel conditions, such as link blockage and deterioration, due to the need for complex and resource-intensive adaptive beamforming techniques that require accurate phase and amplitude estimation, and additional hardware for diversity and relays.
Innovation Solution
The system prioritizes and selects transmission and reception beams based on signal quality and angular information, using a combination of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), direction-of-arrival (DoA), and direction-of-departure (DoD) to establish new communication links, allowing for quick adaptation to varying channel conditions without increasing hardware complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adaptive beamforming techniques are used to track the best pair of beams, then communication reliability is improved, but hardware complexity increases due to requirements for fast and accurate phase estimation at the receiver
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex hardware-based adaptive beamforming with a software-defined approach using a lookup table that stores pre-computed beamforming weights. This substitution eliminates the need for complex real-time phase and amplitude estimation hardware at the receiver, while maintaining the ability to track optimal beams through software processing of channel quality indicators.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-computes and stores beamforming weights for various channel conditions in a lookup table before actual communication occurs. This preliminary action allows the system to quickly retrieve appropriate beamforming parameters without performing complex real-time calculations, thereby reducing hardware complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If multiple distributed receiver antennas are deployed to address link blockage, then communication reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional antenna sub-assemblies and coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a lookup table that contains pre-computed beamforming weights for multiple spatial directions and channel conditions. This virtual copying of beamforming capabilities across different spatial directions allows the system to handle link blockage scenarios without physically deploying multiple distributed antenna sub-assemblies, thereby maintaining reliability while reducing device complexity.
3Productivity
If beamforming is used to improve link budget at 60 GHz, then communication performance is improved, but adaptability to changing channel conditions deteriorates without complex adaptive techniques
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adaptability through a lookup table that stores beamforming weights for multiple channel conditions and spatial directions. The system can dynamically switch between different beamforming configurations based on channel quality indicators, enabling adaptation to changing channel conditions without requiring complex real-time adaptive beamforming hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
A method implemented in a wireless communications system is disclosed. The method includes determining a first candidate set of transmit beams for a wireless transmitter having a transmit antenna array and a second candidate set of receive beams for a wireless receiver having a receive antenna array, transmitting, from the wireless transmitter, each transmit beam in the first candidate set, and applying, at the wireless receiver, receive beams in the second candidate set to receive said each transmit beam in the first candidate set. Other methods, systems, and apparatuses also are disclosed.