Millimeter Wave Base Station Resource Partitioning for Wireless Backhaul

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Solution Overview

Problem

In millimeter wave wireless communication systems, the deployment of a large number of base stations with limited or no connectivity to a network entity poses challenges for backhaul operations, requiring efficient resource partitioning and coordination to ensure adequate resources for both backhaul and user equipment access.

Innovation Solution

A method where a first mmW base station identifies access demand and determines access and backhaul communication parameters to establish a wireless backhaul link with a neighboring base station, partitioning resources between access and backhaul links to meet communication requirements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If wireless backhaul links are established between mmW base stations to enable backhaul operations without wired connections, then deployment flexibility and cost are improved, but resource coordination complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedeployment flexibilityVSAvoidresource coordination complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments resource coordination by dividing time into dedicated access slots and backhaul slots. Base stations independently manage their own resource partitioning based on local access demand, rather than requiring complex centralized coordination. This segmentation allows wireless backhaul deployment while maintaining manageable coordination complexity through temporal separation of access and backhaul operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If resources are allocated for wireless backhaul operations between base stations, then backhaul connectivity is improved, but resources available for user equipment access decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebackhaul connectivityVSAvoiduser equipment access capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements periodic time-division multiplexing where each base station alternates between access operations and backhaul operations in dedicated time slots. During access slots, base stations serve UEs; during backhaul slots, they establish wireless backhaul links with neighboring base stations. This periodic alternation ensures both backhaul connectivity and UE access capacity are maintained through temporal separation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Productivity

If base stations operate in mmW frequency ranges to provide wireless communication, then coverage area is reduced, but spectral efficiency is improved

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvespectral efficiencyVSAvoidcoverage area
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple small coverage areas of individual mmW base stations into a larger network coverage area through wireless backhaul interconnection. By combining the resources and coverage zones of multiple base stations that can communicate via wireless backhaul, the system achieves extended effective coverage while maintaining the high spectral efficiency benefits of mmW operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3269176B1Resource partitioning between wireless backhaul and access communications in millimeter wave networks
Publication Date: 2020.04.01 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP3269176B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3269176B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3269176B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Techniques are described for backhaul operations in a millimeter wave wireless communication system. A first base station of the millimeter wave wireless communication system identifies an access demand and one or more access communication parameters associated with the first base station. The first base station sends information to a second base station indicative of the access demand and the one or more access communication parameters, and determines one or more backhaul communication parameters associated with the second base station of the millimeter wave wireless communication system. The first base station establishes a wireless backhaul link with the second base station via the millimeter wave wireless communication system. The first base station partitions resources between an access link with one or more user equipments and the established wireless backhaul link based at least in part on the access demand, the one or more access communication parameters, or the backhaul communication parameters.