Hierarchical Beamforming for Scalable Antenna Array Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current telecommunications systems face challenges in efficiently distributing and processing signal beams across antenna arrays, leading to suboptimal performance in wireless communication systems such as 2G/3G/4G, LTE, LTE Advanced, and 5G due to limitations in beamforming technologies.
Innovation Solution
A hierarchical beamformer apparatus is introduced, comprising a primary beamformer processor and distributed secondary beamformer processors that assign and distribute beamforming weights to form a full beamforming matrix, allowing for efficient transmit and receive beamforming operations across transceiver IC subarrays, thereby improving signal processing and distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single centralized beamformer processor is used to manage all beamforming operations across the antenna array, then beamforming control and coordination is simplified, but the processing capacity and scalability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The beamforming system is segmented into a hierarchical structure with a primary beamformer processor and multiple secondary beamformer processors. Each secondary processor is responsible for a specific subset of antenna elements, allowing distributed processing while maintaining coordinated control. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by dividing the centralized control function into manageable segments that can process signals in parallel.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimensional centralized processing model to a multi-dimensional hierarchical structure. The primary processor operates at one level of the hierarchy while secondary processors operate at another level, each handling specific portions of the beamforming task. This dimensional change enables both simplified control at the primary level and enhanced processing capacity at the secondary level.
2Stability of the object's composition
If beamforming weights are calculated and distributed to all transceiver ICs from a central processor, then weight consistency is maintained, but the distribution overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The beamforming weight matrix is segmented and distributed selectively to secondary processors based on their assigned antenna subsets. Each secondary processor receives only the weights relevant to its portion of the array, reducing distribution overhead while maintaining consistency within each segment. The primary processor maintains overall weight consistency by coordinating the segmented distributions.
Solution Approach 2:
The primary beamformer processor pre-calculates the full beamforming weight matrix before distribution to secondary processors. This preliminary calculation ensures weight consistency is established upfront, and the pre-computed weights are then efficiently distributed to secondary processors who apply them to their respective antenna subsets, reducing real-time distribution time.
3Area of stationary object
If the beamforming system is designed to support large antenna arrays with many transceiver ICs, then coverage and signal quality improve, but the system complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The large antenna array is segmented into multiple subsets, each managed by a secondary beamformer processor. This segmentation allows the system to scale to large arrays by adding more secondary processors rather than increasing the complexity of a single centralized processor. Each secondary processor handles a manageable subset of antenna elements, maintaining system complexity at acceptable levels while supporting large overall array sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system architecture transitions from a single centralized processing dimension to a multi-level hierarchical dimension. The primary processor manages high-level coordination while secondary processors handle local processing tasks. This dimensional change enables the system to support large antenna arrays by distributing processing across multiple levels rather than concentrating all complexity in a single processor.
4Productivity
If distributed secondary beamformer processors are used to process signals locally at different antenna subsets, then processing speed and scalability improve, but coordination and synchronization become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The hierarchical beamforming system implements feedback mechanisms where secondary processors report their processing status and results to the primary processor, which coordinates adjustments to maintain synchronization. This feedback loop enables distributed processors to operate independently at high speed while the primary processor ensures overall coordination and consistency across the distributed system.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for uplink and/or downlink beamforming operation are disclosed. In one embodiment, each of a plurality of distributed secondary beamformer processors is associated with a respective region of an antenna array and associated with a respective beamforming submatrix. Each transmit or receive beamforming submatrix contains beamforming combining weights associated with antenna elements in the respective region of the antenna array. Further, each secondary beamformer processor uses the respective beamforming submatrix and a respective set of frequency-domain IQ data points (representing user data layers for transmission, or received FDIQ data from a corresponding set of transceiver ICs) to form a respective plurality of sets of beamformed frequency-domain IQ data points.