Spatial Interference Mitigation via UE Feedback Steering

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Wireless communication networks face challenges in mitigating spatial interference on the downlink, which affects data transmission quality due to strong non-serving base stations, leading to reduced performance and increased interference.

Innovation Solution

The method involves user equipment (UE) determining and providing spatial feedback information (SFI) to interfering cells, which use this information to adjust their transmission and reduce interference, employing techniques like channel direction indicators, precoding matrices, and nulling gains to steer transmissions away from the UE, thereby mitigating spatial interference.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a UE is served by a base station while strong non-serving base stations are present, then the UE can receive data transmission, but the UE experiences high interference from non-serving base stations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata transmission performanceVSAvoidinterference from non-serving base stations
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The UE measures downlink channel responses from non-serving base stations and provides spatial feedback information (SFI) back to those base stations. This feedback enables the non-serving base stations to adjust their precoding matrices and steer nulls toward the UE, thereby reducing interference while maintaining data transmission performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system proactively mitigates interference by having the UE measure and report channel responses from non-serving base stations before interference severely degrades performance. The non-serving base stations use this advance information to pre-adjust their beamforming strategies and prevent harmful interference from reaching the UE.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

2Area of stationary object

If non-serving base stations transmit data, then network coverage is extended, but interference to served UEs increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork coverage areaVSAvoidinterference to served UEs
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Each non-serving base station applies local spatial processing by adjusting its precoding matrix based on channel responses from specific UEs. This enables the base station to transmit data over extended coverage areas while simultaneously creating localized nulls in the directions of served UEs, thus extending coverage without proportionally increasing interference.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the UE provides spatial feedback information to interfering cells, then interference is reduced, but signaling overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinterference levelVSAvoidsignaling overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The spatial feedback information comprises parameters such as channel direction indicators (CDI) and precoding matrix indicators (PMI) that concisely represent the spatial channel characteristics. By using these compressed parameter representations rather than full channel matrices, the system achieves effective interference reduction while minimizing the signaling overhead required to convey the feedback information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3054637B1Spatial interference mitigation for wireless communication
Publication Date: 2021.08.11 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP3054637B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3054637B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3054637B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3D

AI summary

Techniques for transmitting and receiving data with spatial interference mitigation in a wireless network are described. In one design of transmitting data with spatial interference mitigation, a first station (e.g., a cell) may receive spatial feedback information (SFI) from a second station (e.g., an interfered UE) that is not communicating with the first station. The second station may also receive precoding information from a third station (e.g., a served UE). The first station may send a data transmission to the third station based on the precoding information and the SFI in order to reduce interference to the second station. In one design, the SFI may include spatial nulling information. The first station may send the data transmission based on the spatial nulling information to steer the data transmission in a direction away from the second station.