True-Time-Delay Analog Arrays for Beam Refinement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face challenges in accurately refining and localizing beams due to limitations in beam management and interference, particularly in multi-user and multi-frequency environments, which affect spectral efficiency and network performance.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a true-time-delay analog array for frequency-domain beam sweeping, allowing each resource element of a wideband signal to have a distinct pointing direction, enabling more precise beam management and refinement by transmitting and receiving signals across multiple directions, and reporting measurements to determine optimal beam directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional beam management techniques are used, then system complexity is reduced, but beam refinement precision and localization accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beam management process into distinct phases: initial beam acquisition using wideband signals with frequency-domain beam sweeping, followed by beam refinement using targeted measurements. This segmentation allows high-precision beam refinement to be applied only where needed rather than across all communication scenarios, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary beam acquisition and coarse alignment using frequency-domain beam sweeping before conducting detailed beam refinement measurements. This preliminary action establishes a foundation that enables more precise subsequent measurements without requiring the full complexity of continuous high-precision beam management, thereby improving beam refinement precision while managing device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If frequency-domain beam sweeping with distinct pointing directions per resource element is implemented, then beam localization accuracy is improved, but spectral efficiency deteriorates due to increased overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies frequency-domain beam sweeping with distinct pointing directions only to specific resource elements that require beam refinement, rather than uniformly across all resources. This local application of high-precision techniques improves beam localization accuracy where needed while minimizing the spectral efficiency overhead associated with extensive beam sweeping.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs beam sweeping and measurements on a partial set of resource elements sufficient to achieve the required beam localization accuracy, rather than exhaustively sweeping all possible directions and frequencies. This partial action achieves adequate localization precision while preserving spectral efficiency by avoiding unnecessary measurements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple beams with different pointing directions are transmitted simultaneously, then beam management granularity is improved, but interference between beams increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic beam sweeping where beams with different pointing directions are transmitted in sequential periods rather than simultaneously. This periodic transmission maintains fine beam management granularity by systematically covering multiple directions while eliminating inter-beam interference that would occur with simultaneous transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the transmission of multi-directional beams into separate time-frequency resources, assigning different pointing directions to different resource elements in a structured manner. This segmentation enables fine-grained beam management coverage while preventing interference by ensuring that beams do not overlap in their transmission resources.
Data Source
AI summary
Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a transmitter device may transmit, using a frequency-domain beam sweeping configuration, a wideband signal, wherein a pointing direction of a first beam conveying the wideband signal changes continuously with respect to a frequency domain, and wherein each resource element of the wideband signal has a different pointing direction. The transmitter device may receive a report associated with a set of measurements of the wideband signal performed by a receiver device. The transmitter device may communicate using a second beam that has a beam direction determined based at least in part on the received report. Numerous other aspects are described.