Cross-CC Beam Management Using Carrier Weight Factors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In 5G NR systems, the alignment of beams between base stations and user equipment is challenging due to interference effects and varying signal strengths across different antennas, leading to suboptimal performance in millimeter-wave frequencies, especially when using carrier aggregation, which affects signal-to-noise ratio and beam steering.
Innovation Solution
A method for cross-component carrier (Cross-CC) beam management that utilizes channel measurements from multiple carriers to derive an optimal beam vector, applying a carrier weight factor based on signal-to-noise ratio or reference signal received power to improve beam alignment and performance across multiple component carriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If carrier aggregation is used to aggregate multiple component carriers for simultaneous reception, then bandwidth is extended and system capacity is improved, but beam alignment becomes more difficult due to varying signal strengths and interference effects across different carriers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by individually optimizing beamforming parameters for each component carrier based on its specific channel measurements and signal characteristics. Instead of using a unified beam configuration for all carriers, the system determines separate beamforming weights and vectors for each carrier, allowing each carrier to have optimized beam alignment according to its local signal strength and interference conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the beamforming configuration adaptive and flexible. The system dynamically adjusts beamforming weights, selection of component carriers for beam management, and beam vector calculations based on real-time channel conditions. This allows the beam alignment to adapt to varying signal strengths and interference patterns across different carriers during operation.
2Device complexity
If the same beam is applied to all component carriers within the same band, then device complexity is reduced, but signal quality deteriorates due to inability to optimize for each carrier's specific channel conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by individually optimizing beamforming parameters for each component carrier based on its specific channel measurements and signal characteristics. Instead of using a unified beam configuration for all carriers, the system determines separate beamforming weights and vectors for each carrier, allowing each carrier to have optimized beam alignment according to its local signal strength and interference conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying beamforming parameters such as beam vectors and weights for different carriers. The system calculates different beamforming weights for each component carrier based on its channel measurements, effectively changing the beam parameters to optimize signal quality for each carrier while managing the complexity through systematic approaches.
3Reliability
If channel measurements are performed for all component carriers, then beam optimization is improved, but measurement time and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the beam management process into separate stages: first identifying a subset of component carriers for beam management measurements, then performing channel measurements only on these selected carriers. This segmentation reduces the measurement burden while still achieving effective beam optimization by focusing resources on the most relevant carriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by measuring channel characteristics only for a selected subset of component carriers rather than all carriers. The system determines an appropriate number and selection of carriers for beam management based on system conditions, performing measurements only where necessary to achieve adequate beam optimization without the full computational and temporal cost of measuring all carriers.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances data transmission and reception by optimizing beamforming across multiple carriers, improving signal quality and reducing interference, thereby increasing data throughput and system capacity in 5G NR networks.
Implementation Method 1
The basic idea of analog beamforming is to control the phase of each transmitted signal using phase shifters. Analog beamforming affects the gain of the antenna array, thus improving the coverage. The antenna gain caused by analog beamforming partially compensates for the high millimeter wave path loss.
Implementation Method 2
The first transceiver performs channel measurements based on the received BM-RS for multiple component carriers (CCs) under carrier aggregation. The first transceiver derives a beam vector from the channel measurements over a set of selected CCs.
Implementation Method 3
The mmWave wireless network uses directional communications with narrow beams and can support multi-gigabit data rate. In principle, beam training mechanism, which includes both initial beam alignment and subsequent beam tracking, ensures that base station (BS) beam and user equipment (UE) beam are aligned for data communication.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of cross component carrier (Cross-CC) beam management is proposed. A transceiver uses multiple CCs' channel measurements to obtain a beam vector such that better performance can be achieved by utilizing wideband channel. The transceiver derives the beam vector by using the channel measurements of a set of selected CCs applied with a carrier weight factor. The transceiver utilizes beam management reference signal (BM-RS) of the set of selected CCs to derive the beam vector, e.g., an optimal beam. In one embodiment, the carrier weight factor can be the number of BM-RS REs of each CC. In another embodiment, the channel measurements can be SNR/RSRP, and the carrier weight factor can be the SNR/RSRP of each CC.