Uplink Beam Reconfiguration via Misalignment Angle Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless telecommunications networks, particularly in 5G systems, uplink and downlink beams often become misaligned, leading to poor communication performance between user equipment and network nodes, which existing alignment procedures fail to adequately address, resulting in suboptimal gain and potential radio link failures.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines misalignment angles between initial uplink and downlink beams by analyzing power differences and using prestored information to reconfigure the uplink beam, avoiding transmission nulls and increasing gain along misalignment angles, either by adjusting antenna array configurations or phase shifters, or creating sub-array beams.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing beam alignment procedures are used, then beam configuration is maintained, but uplink and downlink beams become misaligned leading to poor communication performance
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from downlink beam measurements to adjust uplink beam configuration. The network node measures downlink beam quality and provides feedback to the user equipment, which then reconfigures the uplink beam based on this feedback, creating a closed-loop system that maintains beam alignment despite changes in channel conditions or device orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes beamforming parameters based on measured misalignment angles. By calculating the angle between downlink and uplink beams and adjusting uplink beamforming parameters accordingly, the system adapts to maintain optimal communication performance without requiring complete beam realignment procedures.
2Reliability
If full beam realignment procedures are performed, then beam alignment is improved, but system complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing complete beam realignment procedures, the system applies partial action by only adjusting the uplink beam configuration based on measured misalignment angles. This selective adjustment achieves the necessary alignment correction without the overhead and complexity of full beam sweeping and realignment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam alignment process is segmented into separate downlink measurement and uplink adjustment phases. The network node independently measures downlink beam characteristics and provides feedback, while the user equipment separately performs uplink beam reconfiguration based on this feedback, allowing each component to be optimized independently.
3Power
If uplink beam reconfiguration is applied, then gain along misalignment angles is increased, but transmission gain along original direction may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes uplink beamforming parameters based on calculated misalignment angles to redirect transmission power towards the network node. By adjusting phase and amplitude parameters across antenna elements, the beam is reconfigured to compensate for misalignment while maintaining controlled directionality through mathematical optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprises: determining, from an indication that an initial uplink beam between a user equipment and a network node is misaligned with respect to a downlink beam between the network node and the user equipment, at least one misalignment angle between the initial uplink beam and the downlink beam; and reconfiguring the uplink beam based on the misalignment angle to produce a reconfigured uplink beam.