Shared Analog Beamformers for Multiple Component Carriers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication systems face challenges in efficiently managing and optimizing beamforming for multiple component carriers (CCs) in 5G networks, particularly in scenarios involving diverse usage scenarios and applications, such as enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low-latency communications, and massive machine type communications.
Innovation Solution
Nodes in a wireless communication system indicate and beamform groups of CCs using the same analog receiver or transmitter beamformer, allowing coordinated antenna resource management across multiple CCs, thereby improving communication quality and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If beamforming is applied to multiple component carriers independently, then communication reliability is improved, but device complexity and resource management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple component carriers into groups that share common analog beamformers. Instead of managing beamforming independently for each CC, the system groups CCs (e.g., CC1-CC4 sharing beamformer 205, CC5-CC8 sharing beamformer 210) and applies unified beamforming management at the group level, reducing complexity while maintaining reliability through coordinated spatial processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes a single analog beamformer serve multiple component carriers simultaneously. Each analog beamformer (e.g., 205, 210, 215, 220) is designed to handle multiple CCs within its group, enabling one beamforming resource to perform multiple functions across different frequency carriers, thereby reducing the total number of beamformers needed and simplifying resource management
2Measurement precision
If separate analog beamformers are used for each component carrier, then beamforming precision is improved, but resource overhead and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functionality of multiple separate beamformers into shared analog beamformers for groups of CCs. By combining beamforming resources at the analog front-end to serve multiple CCs collectively, the system reduces the total quantity of beamformers needed while maintaining precision through group-level spatial processing coordination
Solution Approach 2:
Each analog beamformer is designed with multi-functionality to serve multiple component carriers within its group. This universal design allows a single beamformer resource to perform beamforming operations across several CCs, reducing resource overhead while preserving beamforming precision through coordinated spatial processing
3Productivity
If coordinated beamforming groups are implemented across multiple nodes, then network performance is improved, but signaling overhead and coordination complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges beamforming coordination at the group level rather than individual CC level. By establishing beamforming groups across multiple nodes (gNBs and UEs) where groups of CCs share common beamformers, the system reduces signaling overhead by coordinating fewer beamforming entities while maintaining network performance through synchronized spatial processing across the grouped carriers
Data Source
AI summary
Some aspects described herein relate to transmitting, by a first node to a second node, indications of one or more groups of component carriers (CCs) that share a beamformer at the first node. Some aspects additionally or alternatively relate to receiving, by the first node from the second node, indications of one or more groups of CCs that share a beamformer at the second node. The nodes may beamform antenna resources for communications based on the indications.