Multi-RAT Antenna Port Switching for Unused Antenna Sharing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication systems face inefficiencies in sharing antennas or antenna ports between different radio access technologies (RATs), leading to underutilization of resources and suboptimal communication capabilities.
Innovation Solution
User equipment (UE) is enabled to share unused antennas or antenna ports dedicated for one RAT with another RAT by transmitting an indication of capability to switch these ports, allowing communication with a network entity using both RATs, thereby optimizing resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If antennas or antenna ports are dedicated to a specific radio access technology (RAT), then communication reliability for that RAT is improved, but resource utilization efficiency deteriorates when the dedicated antennas remain unused
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables antenna ports to serve multiple RATs (e.g., NR and E-UTRA) by implementing a switching mechanism that dynamically assigns antenna ports between different radio access technologies. The UE can indicate capability to switch antenna ports between RATs, allowing the same physical antenna infrastructure to support multiple communication standards, thereby improving resource utilization while maintaining reliable communication for each RAT through dedicated time periods.
2Reliability
If separate antenna sets are allocated for different RATs, then communication performance for each RAT is maintained, but device complexity and resource overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple RAT communications into a shared antenna infrastructure by implementing antenna port switching between different radio access technologies. Instead of requiring separate antenna sets for NR and E-UTRA, the system merges their antenna requirements into a single pool of antenna ports that can be dynamically allocated to different RATs based on communication needs, reducing device complexity while maintaining performance through time-division multiplexing.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. Techniques described herein provide for a user equipment (UE) to share unused antennas dedicated or configured for a one radio access technology (RAT) for communications with a network entity of another RAT. The UE may communicate, via a first set of antennas using a first RAT. The UE may also communicate, via a second set of antennas, using a second RAT. To share the one or more antennas dedicated or configured for the second RAT, the UE may transmit, to the network entity of the first RAT, an indication of a capability to switch the second set of antennas from the second RAT to the first RAT. The UE may communicate with the network entity of the first RAT via the first set of antennas and via the second set of antennas.