Hierarchical Beam Deployment for Traffic-Adaptive Resource Utilization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional beam-layouts in non-terrestrial mobile communication systems result in inefficient resource utilization, excessive energy consumption, and signaling overhead due to spatiotemporally-varying user-traffic demands, with some beams becoming congested while others remain underutilized.

Innovation Solution

Deploy signal beams in a hierarchical manner, where lower-level beams enclose higher-level beams, and provide indications for efficient resource utilization, reducing complexity and latency in UE detection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional regular beam-layout is deployed over entire coverage area, then beam coverage is ensured, but resource utilization efficiency deteriorates due to congestion in some beams and underutilization in others

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam coverageVSAvoidresource utilization efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The beam layout is segmented into multiple hierarchical levels (first level, second level, third level beams) with different beam widths and coverage areas. This segmentation allows the system to adapt beam deployment to actual user distribution patterns, avoiding both over-provisioning in sparse regions and under-provisioning in dense regions, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency while maintaining coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different beam levels are deployed with different characteristics tailored to local requirements. Wider beams at lower levels provide coverage in sparse regions, while narrower beams at higher levels serve dense regions. This local quality differentiation optimizes resource allocation according to actual traffic demands in different areas.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If conventional regular beam-layout is deployed over entire coverage area, then beam coverage is ensured, but energy consumption increases due to overprovisioning in regions with sparse UE distribution

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam coverageVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting beams into hierarchical levels, the system can deactivate wider beams in regions with sparse UE distribution and activate only the necessary narrower beams in dense regions. This segmentation enables dynamic energy adjustment while maintaining coverage where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system deploys beams at different levels of granularity depending on actual demand. In sparse regions, only necessary beams are activated (partial action), while in dense regions, multiple beam levels are deployed (excessive action) to handle the higher traffic load, optimizing the balance between coverage and energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Reliability

If conventional regular beam-layout is deployed over entire coverage area, then beam coverage is ensured, but signaling overhead increases due to overprovisioning

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebeam coverageVSAvoidsignaling overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The hierarchical beam structure segments the coverage area into manageable levels, allowing the system to signal only the necessary beam configurations for active regions. This reduces the overall signaling overhead compared to provisioning all beams uniformly across the entire coverage area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Productivity

If capacity is increased by deploying more beams, then user-traffic demand is met, but device complexity increases due to limited number of antennas and RF chains

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovecapacityVSAvoidnumber of antennas and RF chains

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple beam levels are merged into a unified hierarchical structure that can be dynamically activated based on traffic demand. This allows the system to achieve high capacity when needed by activating multiple beam levels simultaneously, while reducing complexity during low-traffic periods by deactivating upper levels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The beam deployment is made dynamic through hierarchical levels that can be activated or deactivated based on real-time traffic conditions. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize the balance between capacity and device complexity, deploying additional beams only when and where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS20250300717A1Communication methods, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable storage devices, and systems for wireless communication using hierarchical beam-layout

Publication Date: 2025.09.25 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD

AI summary

A hierarchical beam-deployment method has the step of transmitting signal beams of multiple levels towards a service area, each signal beam comprising a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB); the footprint of a higher-level beam has a beam-width smaller than that of a lower-level beam, and is at least partially overlapping with the footprint of the lower-level beam. Accordingly, a beam-search method has the steps of detecting a first SSB of a first signal beam; determining, based on the first SSB, a presence of one or more second signal beams having one or more footprints at least partially overlapping with a footprint of the first signal beam; detecting one or more second SSBs of the one or more second signal beams; and selecting at least one of the first and second SSBs for performing an initial-access procedure based on the selected SSB.