Radio Communication Beam Control via Directional User Grouping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid beam control in radio communication systems is unable to steer beams to multiple users at the same power strength due to limitations in digital signal processing, leading to potential communication quality deterioration depending on user location.
Innovation Solution
A radio communication apparatus that estimates signal directions of arrival, calculates trigonometric maps, groups users based on these maps, and determines weight coefficients for forming directional beams, ensuring beams are steered to users at substantially equal power strength by sharing phase among antenna elements connected to the same analog processing unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by stationary object
If hybrid control is used to steer beams to multiple users simultaneously while reducing power consumption, then power consumption is reduced compared to digital control, but the beam power becomes uneven across users due to limitations in digital signal processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the grouping parameter from arbitrary user assignment to grouping based on direction of arrival (DoA) and analog processing unit mapping. Users are grouped such that all users in a group are processed by the same analog processing unit, which ensures uniform beam power while maintaining the power-saving benefits of hybrid control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments users into multiple groups based on their spatial distribution and analog processing unit assignments. Each group is processed independently with dedicated weight coefficients, allowing the system to maintain uniform beam power within each group while overall reducing power consumption through shared analog processing resources.
2Productivity
If digital signal processing is used to adjust beams for multiple users, then beams can be steered to multiple users simultaneously, but the communication quality deteriorates for some users due to insufficient beam power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the beamforming parameter from individual user optimization to group-based optimization with shared analog processing. By grouping users processed by the same analog processing unit and calculating weight coefficients for each group, the system ensures sufficient beam power for all users in a group, maintaining communication quality while serving multiple users simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces user grouping based on analog processing unit assignment as an intermediary between digital signal processing and analog beamforming. This intermediary layer ensures that digital processing adjustments are translated into uniform analog beam power distribution, preventing communication quality deterioration.
Data Source
AI summary
A radio communication apparatus includes an estimating unit that estimates directions of arrival of signals transmitted by a plurality of respective users, a calculating unit that calculates a map as a trigonometric function of an angle representing each of the directions of arrival estimated by the estimating unit, a grouping unit that groups the users based on the maps calculated by the calculating unit, and a determining unit that determines a weight coefficient for forming a directional beam steered to a user belonging to a group, for each group resultant of grouping performed by the grouping unit.