Macro Cell Beamforming Selection Based on Small Cell Availability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Beamforming by macro cells can cause interference that degrades the performance of other user equipment in wireless networks, as side lobes of the beamform can affect radio communications of untargeted UE.
Innovation Solution
Disabling beamforming to UE from macro cells when small cells are available to serve them, based on factors like small cell positioning, loading, and coverage areas, to prevent interference and improve overall network performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If beamforming is used by macro cell to communicate with UE, then communication performance between macro cell and UE is improved, but interference is caused to other UE in the cell
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful side lobes from the beamforming process by selectively disabling beamforming in specific spatial regions where small cells are present. The macro cell identifies geographic areas covered by small cells and excludes these areas from beamforming operation, thereby removing the harmful interference component while preserving the beneficial main lobe transmission in other regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the beamforming behavior across different spatial locations. Instead of applying uniform beamforming across the entire cell, the system adjusts beamforming parameters locally - enabling it in regions without small cells and disabling it in regions where small cells are present. This spatially-dependent approach allows optimal communication performance where needed while preventing interference where small cells operate.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If beamforming is disabled for UE when small cell is available, then interference to other equipment is eliminated, but communication performance may be impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces small cells as intermediary devices that mediate between the macro cell and UE. When a small cell is available and positioned to serve a particular UE, it acts as an intermediary that takes over the communication function from the macro cell's beamforming operation. This transfer eliminates the interference problem while maintaining communication performance through the small cell's localized service.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the service area into regions served by macro cells and regions served by small cells. By dividing the geographic coverage into these distinct segments, the system can apply different communication strategies in each segment - beamforming in macro-only regions and non-beamforming (or alternative) modes in small-cell regions. This segmentation allows interference elimination in small-cell areas while preserving beamforming benefits in macro-only areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes communicating data to a plurality of user equipment (UE) in a cell using a plurality of beamforms. Each of the plurality of beamforms has a main lobe and side lobes, where the main lobe is directed toward a corresponding UE of the plurality of UE. For each beamform of the plurality of beamforms, a position of the beamform is determined. Furthermore, it is determined that one or more small cells of the plurality of small cells are available to serve the corresponding UE based on determining that the one or more small cells are positioned within the main lobe of the beamform using the determined position of the beamform and one or more positions of the one or more small cells. Based on the one or more small cells being determined as available to serve the corresponding UE, beamforming is disabled to the corresponding UE from the cell, thereby preventing the side lobes of the beamform from interfering with other radio communications in the cell.