Sidelink Discontinuous Reception Beam Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face challenges in optimizing sidelink communications for efficient energy use and low latency, particularly in managing beam directions for discontinuous reception mechanisms in 4G and 5G networks.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method where a UE receives a discontinuous transmission configuration from a peer UE, determines a set of receive beams for discontinuous reception, and transmits a corresponding configuration to indicate these beams, allowing for efficient resource management and improved sidelink communication reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If continuous reception is used for sidelink communications, then reliability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles where the receiver UE alternates between active reception periods and sleep periods. During DRX ON durations, the UE actively monitors for sidelink transmissions; during OFF durations, it enters low-power state. This periodic action pattern allows the system to maintain communication reliability during active periods while significantly reducing energy consumption during sleep periods, directly resolving the contradiction between continuous reception reliability and energy efficiency.
2Reliability
If multiple beam directions are monitored for DRX, then reception reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beam monitoring process by associating each receive beam with specific time-frequency resources and DRX cycles. Instead of monitoring all beams continuously, the receiver UE divides beam monitoring into separate, manageable segments where each beam is monitored during its designated resources. This segmentation reduces the computational complexity of beam management while maintaining comprehensive coverage across multiple beam directions during active DRX periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmitter UE performs preliminary beam alignment and notifies the receiver UE of the beam directions to be used for upcoming transmissions. This preliminary action allows the receiver UE to pre-configure its receive beams before the actual transmission occurs, eliminating the need for complex real-time beam searching and switching during reception. The beam directions are determined in advance and communicated through signaling, simplifying the receiver's beam management complexity.
3Reliability
If beam alignment is performed for each DRX period, then communication reliability is improved, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary beam alignment where the transmitter UE determines and notifies the receiver UE of the beam directions to be used for upcoming transmissions before the DRX period begins. This advance notification allows the receiver UE to pre-configure its receive beams, eliminating the need for time-consuming beam alignment procedures during each DRX period. The beam alignment is performed once in advance, and the same beam configuration is reused across multiple DRX cycles, significantly reducing latency while maintaining communication reliability.
4Reliability
If receiver UE listens on all possible beam directions, then reception reliability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality optimization by having the receiver UE focus its reception efforts on specific beam directions that are most likely to carry transmissions. Based on notifications from the transmitter UE and historical communication patterns, the receiver UE concentrates its listening resources on selected beam directions during DRX ON periods rather than uniformly monitoring all possible directions. This localized approach maintains reception reliability for the most probable transmission paths while reducing energy consumption by avoiding unnecessary monitoring of less likely directions.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. The method includes receiving, from a second UE, a discontinuous transmission configuration for a sidelink connection between the first UE and the second UE, determining, based on the received discontinuous transmission configuration, a set of receive beams for discontinuous reception by the first UE for the sidelink connection, and transmitting, to the second UE, a discontinuous reception configuration that indicates the determined set of receive beams for discontinuous reception for the sidelink connection.