Beamforming Receiver Architecture With Selective Digital Subbands
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital beamforming in wireless communications requires a large number of expensive and power-consuming analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analog converters (DACs), which generate significant raw data that needs to be processed, posing challenges in terms of cost and power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A receiver and transmitter apparatus configured to switch between hybrid beamforming, analog beamforming, and digital beamforming by using multiplexing and demultiplexing means, allowing for the combination of antenna signals in different configurations to optimize the use of ADCs and DACs, enabling hybrid or analog beamforming across a bandwidth and digital beamforming across a subsection of the bandwidth, thereby reducing the number of components and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital beamforming is implemented, then communication reliability is improved, but the number of ADCs and DACs increases leading to higher cost and power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beamforming functionality by implementing a hybrid architecture that divides the signal processing between analog domain (for full bandwidth) and digital domain (for selected subbands). This segmentation allows the system to achieve digital beamforming reliability where needed while avoiding the need for full digital beamforming across all bandwidths, thus reducing the number of ADCs and DACs required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by enabling digital beamforming selectively in specific frequency subbands where it is most beneficial, rather than uniformly across the entire bandwidth. The system identifies and processes only the subbands requiring digital beamforming, thereby reducing the overall number of converters needed while maintaining reliability in critical frequency regions.
2Reliability
If digital beamforming is implemented, then beamforming performance is improved, but power consumption increases due to high-power ADCs and DACs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frequency spectrum into multiple subbands and applies digital beamforming only to selected subbands rather than the entire bandwidth. This segmentation reduces the number of ADCs and DACs operating at high power, thereby reducing overall power consumption while maintaining beamforming performance in the most critical frequency regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial digital beamforming by processing only a subset of subbands with digital beamforming algorithms, rather than applying it excessively across all subbands. This partial action approach reduces power consumption by limiting the operation of high-power ADCs and DACs to only where necessary, while still achieving the desired beamforming performance.
3Productivity
If digital beamforming is implemented, then processing capability is improved, but data processing burden increases due to large amount of raw data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wide bandwidth into multiple narrower subbands and processes each subband separately with digital beamforming. This segmentation reduces the raw data volume for each processing stage compared to processing the entire bandwidth simultaneously, thereby reducing the overall data processing burden while maintaining enhanced processing capability through selective digital beamforming.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies digital beamforming processing to only a partial set of subbands rather than all subbands, reducing the total volume of raw data that needs to be processed. This partial processing approach maintains productivity in critical frequency regions while reducing the overall data processing burden on the system.
Data Source
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AI summary
Examples of the disclosure relate to receiver apparatus and corresponding transmitter apparatus that can be configured in different operational states at different times. An example receiver apparatus comprises a plurality of downconverting means for downconverting separate antenna signals, one or more analog to digital converters, and one or more multiplexing means configurable in at least a first configuration and a second configuration. When the multiplexing means is configured in the first configuration the plurality of downconverting means and the one or more analog to digital converters are configured to enable separate antenna signals to be combined to provide hybrid beamforming or analog beamforming. The hybrid beamforming or analog beamforming can be provided across the bandwidth of the apparatus. When the multiplexing means is configured in the second configuration the plurality of downconverting means and the one or more analog to digital converters are configured to enable separate antenna signals to be used to enable digital beamforming. The digital beamforming can be provided across a sub-section of the bandwidth.