Partial Antenna Port Sounding for Lower-Power UE Channel Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communication systems, performing full port sounding procedures using all antenna ports at a user equipment (UE) increases power consumption and unnecessarily consumes processing resources at the network entity due to the network being unaware of muted antenna ports.
Innovation Solution
The UE transmits a capability message indicating its ability to perform a partial port sounding procedure using a subset of antenna ports, and receives control signals to perform the partial port sounding procedure, reducing power consumption and resource usage by muting or deactivating unused antenna ports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If full port sounding procedure is performed using all antenna ports, then measurement precision is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the antenna ports into two groups: muted ports and active ports. The UE performs sounding only on the active subset of ports rather than all ports, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining adequate channel measurement precision for the selected ports. This segmentation allows the network to receive channel state information for a manageable number of ports without requiring the UE to activate all antenna ports.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial port sounding where the UE performs sounding on a subset of antenna ports rather than all ports. The network configures which ports should be sounded based on expected channel conditions and scheduling needs. This partial action approach reduces UE power consumption by avoiding activation of all antenna ports while still obtaining sufficient channel measurements for effective scheduling decisions.
2Measurement precision
If full port sounding procedure is performed using all antenna ports, then measurement precision is improved, but baseband processing resources at network entity are unnecessarily consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary subset of antenna port measurements from the complete set of available ports. The network configures the UE to perform sounding only on specific active ports that are expected to be scheduled, rather than requiring measurements on all ports. This extraction approach reduces the baseband processing burden at the network entity by receiving and processing fewer measurement results while maintaining adequate scheduling accuracy.
3Use of energy by moving object
If UE mutes antenna ports to reduce power consumption, then power consumption is reduced, but network entity becomes unaware of muted ports
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the UE reports its muted port configuration to the network entity through uplink signaling. This feedback allows the network to maintain awareness of which ports are muted and which ports are active for sounding, enabling the network to make informed scheduling decisions. The network receives information about the UE's port configuration and adjusts its scheduling and measurement expectations accordingly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by having the UE report its antenna port configuration (including muted ports) to the network before actual data transmission occurs. This preliminary information exchange allows the network to pre-configure the sounding procedure appropriately, knowing in advance which ports will be active and which will be muted, thereby avoiding information loss during the actual communication process.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may transmit a capability message indicating that the UE is capable of performing a partial port sounding procedure via a first quantity of antenna ports that is less than a second quantity of antenna ports for a full port sounding procedure associated with a total set of antenna ports of the UE. The UE may receive a control signal instructing the UE to perform the partial port sounding procedure using a first subset of antenna ports of the UE, where the control signal identifies the first subset of antenna ports from the total set of antenna ports according to the first quantity of antenna ports. In response to the control signal, the UE may perform the partial port sounding procedure and deactivating a subset of receive chains using the first subset of antenna ports.