SSB Frequency Domain Multiplexing for Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face challenges in reducing power consumption associated with synchronization signal block (SSB) beam sweeping procedures, which consume significant energy due to the need for continuous transmission over long time periods.
Innovation Solution
The techniques involve sweeping SSB transmissions across both time and frequency domains, allowing for longer sleep times between SSB beam sweeping occasions. This is achieved by multiplexing multiple SSBs across time and frequency domains and using control signaling to indicate a sweeping pattern that repeats over multiple time periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If SSB beam sweeping is performed continuously over long time periods, then synchronization and beam management reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic SSB beam sweeping by defining a sweeping pattern that repeats over multiple time periods. Instead of continuous transmission, SSBs are transmitted in periodic intervals according to the sweeping pattern, which specifies which SSBs are transmitted in each time period. This periodic action maintains synchronization reliability while reducing power consumption by allowing the network entity to enter sleep modes between sweeping occasions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic adaptability by allowing the sweeping pattern to be configured and updated through control signaling. The network entity can dynamically adjust the sweeping pattern parameters (such as which SSBs are transmitted in which time periods) based on network conditions, enabling flexible trade-off between reliability and power consumption. The pattern can be applied to subsets of SSB occasions, providing dynamic control over the beam sweeping behavior.
2Duration of action of moving object
If multiple SSBs are multiplexed across time and frequency domains, then sleep time between sweeping occasions increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the traditional time-domain multiplexing of SSBs by introducing frequency-domain multiplexing as an additional dimension. Multiple SSBs are multiplexed across both time and frequency domains, allowing the network to transmit multiple synchronization signals in parallel across different frequency resources within the same time period. This dimensional expansion enables longer sleep times between sweeping occasions while distributing the complexity across multiple independent frequency resources that can be managed separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the set of multiple SSBs into different groups that can be multiplexed across time and frequency domains. The sweeping pattern specifies which segmented groups of SSBs are transmitted in each time period and frequency resource. This segmentation allows the network to activate only necessary SSB groups during each sweeping occasion, extending sleep time while managing complexity through modular organization of SSB resources.
3Use of energy by moving object
If SSB transmission time is reduced, then power consumption decreases, but UE initial access performance may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains initial access reliability despite reduced transmission time by implementing periodic SSB sweeping. The sweeping pattern ensures that SSBs are transmitted at regular intervals across multiple time periods, providing UEs with periodic opportunities for synchronization and beam selection. This periodic action maintains access reliability while allowing the network to reduce power consumption during non-sweeping periods through sleep modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent compensates for reduced time-domain transmission by utilizing frequency-domain multiplexing. Multiple SSBs are transmitted simultaneously across different frequency resources, effectively distributing the synchronization information across the frequency dimension. This allows the network to reduce overall transmission time while maintaining adequate coverage and reliability for UE initial access through parallel frequency-domain transmissions.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may receive, from a network entity, control signaling that indicates a sweeping pattern for multiple synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), which repeats over multiple time periods. The multiple SSBs may be multiplexed across a time domain and a frequency domain. The UE may monitor for two or more SSBs that are multiplexed across the time domain and the frequency domain during a time period of the multiple time periods and within an activated bandwidth part. The UE may transmit, to the network entity, an indication of one of the multiple SSBs to facilitate further communications.