Dormant mode measurement optimization

User Equipment Procedures for Controlling Uplink Beamforming Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless devices in mobile communication networks, and more particularly to techniques for controlling antenna beamforming by such devices.

Background technique

In today's widely deployed wireless communication networks, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless data networks developed by members of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), wireless terminals (referred to in 3GPP documents as "User Equipment" " or "UE") is not configured to perform beamforming in uplink (wireless terminal to base station) transmissions. This is expected to change in so-called fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks, where at least some wireless terminals will be able to beamform in uplink transmissions using multiple transmitter chains driving multiple antenna elements.

[0003] It should be understood that, in general, beamforming is the combination of radio signals from a set of small non-directional (or low gain) antennas to simulate a large directional antenna. By controlling the phase and amplitude of the signal at each antenna, the resulting antenna pattern can be shaped and steered electronically to create a certain beamwidth or maximize its gain in the desired direction.

In general, beamforming can be either analog, using analog phase shifters to create a phase difference between the signals provided to each antenna element, or digital, using digital techniques between several antennas of a transmitter array The desired phase shift of the transmitted signal is created at the element. Digital beamforming technology is expected to be used in 5G wireless devices. Several transmitter (TX) chains are required, where each transmitter chain in the digital beamformer includes a digitally controllable signal source feeding a high power amplifier, which is then coupled to one of several transmitter elements in the array. The antenna elements together form an antenna aperture. The more transmitter chains used to drive the antenna aperture, the narrower the beam can be.

[0005] In each transmitter chain, the phase shift and amplitude of the signal driving the antenna elements can be individually controlled. Beamforming is achieved by using multiple transmit chains and controlling the phase and amplitude of the signals sent from each chain so that they add constructively in one direction and destructively in the other direction. Especially when there are more than two transmitters, this results in overall antenna gain in some directions and loss in other directions. Figure 1 shows an example transmit beamformer with four antenna elements. As shown, each antenna element is fed by a high power amplifier, which in turn is fed by a composite weighting element that removes the phase and the magnitude weights a_kApplies to a copy of the signal to be sent. The phase shift and amplitude weights together form the composite weight w_k. In a digital beamformer, such phase shifting and amplitude weighting is performed digitally, for example, before upconverting a baseband version of the weighted signal to a radio frequency signal for amplification and transmission.

[0006] The benefits of beamforming are manifold, including enhanced coverage, longer implementation range using the same output power, and in many cases, less multipath at the receiver side. The potential for interference to other radio links can be significantly reduced because wireless terminals do not transmit significant amounts of energy in directions other than the direction of the intended receiver. This also increases efficiency as the transmitted signal is not wasted in the form of interference to other receivers in other directions.

[0007] While uplink beamforming can be used to provide significant performance gains, a key trade-off is the power consumption of the device. Each of the different transmit chains in the beamforming device includes a power amplifier, and possibly additional analog components such as mixers and local oscillator amplifiers. Each of these components consumes additional power, some of which is independent of the amplitude of the signal produced by the chain. As a result, even if the total output power from the combined transmitters is

The total output power is the same when using one transmitter, but the total power consumption may actually be higher when using several transmitter chains. Therefore, narrow beams produced by combining signals from several transmitter chains require higher power consumption than non-directional beams with the same transmit power.

[0008] Another problem with narrow beams is that they are more sensitive to changes in the orientation of the wireless device than wider or non-directional beams.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention provide a beamforming solution for a wireless device that addresses the above-mentioned problems. This may include wireless devices (eg, UEs) controlling the number of active transmit antennas used for communication in order to minimize power consumption while still maintaining uplink coverage.

[0010] According to some embodiments, a method in a wireless device having a plurality of transmitter chains that can be selectively used to transmit beamformed signals includes determining a target received power for a beamformed signal with respect to a target receiving device. The method also includes selecting a number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains for beamforming based on the target received power and based on the estimated power consumption for each transmitter chain of the plurality of transmitter chains signal, wherein the selection is performed to minimize the total power consumption in consideration of the estimated power consumption. The method also includes transmitting the beamformed signal using a selected number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains.

[0011] According to some embodiments, a wireless device includes a plurality of transmitter chains selectively operable to transmit beamforming signals, and processing circuitry operatively associated with the plurality of transmitter chains. The processing circuit is configured to determine a target received power for the beamformed signal with respect to the target receiving device, and to select a plurality of transmissions based on the target received power and based on the estimated power consumption for each transmitter chain of the plurality of transmitter chains A certain number of transmitter chains in the transmitter chain for forming beamforming signals. The selection is performed to minimize the total power consumption taking into account the estimated power consumption. The processing circuit is configured to transmit the beamforming signal using a selected number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains.

[0012] Other aspects of the present invention relate to an apparatus, computer program product or computer readable storage medium corresponding to the method outlined above and the functional implementation of the apparatus and wireless device outlined above.

[0013] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the features and advantages described above. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize additional features and advantages from reading the following detailed description and reviewing the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

[0014] FIG. 1 shows an example transmit beamformer with four antenna elements.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example process in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a wireless device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a method in a wireless device according to some embodiments.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional implementation of a wireless device in accordance with some embodiments.

Detailed ways

[0019] The following description is a detailed example of several embodiments of techniques and apparatus for beamforming of control signals. These techniques may be particularly beneficial in wireless terminals, but are not limited thereto, and may be implemented in any transmitting wireless device having multiple transmit antennas. Furthermore, although terms such as "5G" are used in this disclosure to describe the technology and devices of this disclosure

Placed in an example context, but this should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention to 5G systems only. Other wireless systems may also benefit from utilizing the concepts covered by this disclosure.

Because the techniques described herein are not limited to their application to wireless terminals, terms such as base station and UE should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in nature unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, and in particular Some hierarchical relationship between the two is not implied; in general, a "base station" can be thought of as device 1 and a "UE" can be thought of as device 2, where the two devices communicate with each other over some radio channel.

[0021] As noted above, while beamforming in wireless devices can be used to achieve substantial performance benefits, such as improving link quality while reducing interference, in some cases the overall power consumption of the beamforming device may not be acceptable. Need to be high. As mentioned above, each distinct transmit chain in a beamforming device includes a power amplifier and possibly other analog components, each of which consumes additional power, some of which is independent of the amplitude of the signal produced by that chain. Therefore, even though the total output power of the beamforming transmitter is the same as when only one transmitter is used, the total power consumption resulting from using several transmitter chains may actually be higher.

[0022] As noted above, narrow beams are more sensitive to changes in the direction of the wireless device than wider or non-directional beams. Although a narrow beam can provide the highest possible link gain and thus support the highest possible data rate, this only happens if it is properly directed at the receiving base station or device. With portable wireless terminals, this can be difficult to achieve consistently because the orientation of the terminal changes frequently. Therefore, another tradeoff to consider when forming a beamforming signal is the tradeoff between beamwidth and the accuracy required to point that beam.

[0023] The power consumption of the wireless device transmitter is determined by the total transmit power and the number of transmit chains. According to several techniques of this disclosure, power consumption of a wireless device is optimized by varying the number of transmit antennas used to perform beamforming signals based on the desired received signal power at the target device. By reducing the number of transmit antennas when circumstances permit, the power consumption associated with the number of transmit chains is reduced. Of course, at the same time the maximum possible antenna gain in the desired direction (ie at the peak of the antenna main lobe) is reduced. As a result, when reducing the number of transmit antennas used to form the beamformed signal, it may be necessary to increase the transmit power because in the worst case the maximum uplink power is not sufficient to reach the target device with the expected data rate (e.g., 5G base station).

According to several embodiments of the disclosed technology, the UE or other wireless device then controls the number of active transmit antennas based on the desired received signal power at the target device and the estimated propagation loss between the transmitting and receiving devices, in order to minimize power consumption while still maintaining uplink coverage. The target received signal power at the receiving device may in turn be determined from the desired data rate for the link.

[0025] Therefore, depending on the link coverage, there is a trade-off in optimizing power consumption and power efficiency. These tradeoffs are basically based on optimizing long-term power consumption based on the improvement in coverage when the number of transmit antennas is increased (compared to the reduction in power consumption when the number of transmit antennas is decreased). This may be performed in the UE or wireless device based on the device's knowledge of the power consumption of the transmit chain, estimates of propagation losses in the downlink and/or uplink, and expected data rates in the link. Using an estimate of propagation loss, it is possible to estimate the required transmission power for a particular data rate. The data rate to be optimized may be based on the expected data rate or the amount of data in the transmit buffer.

[0026] There are other potential benefits for UEs or other wireless devices to vary the number of transmitter chains used to form beamforming signals. For example, when wider antenna lobes are used, the radio link is less sensitive to moving UEs. A handheld UE in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode in a car can change direction due to a change in how the UE is held and a change in the direction of the vehicle. If the measurements of link quality are not taken frequently enough so that the direction of the beam can be quickly adjusted to track these changes, there is a risk of the beam being transmitted in the wrong direction. If the probability is high, have a wider antenna beam

may be beneficial. Accordingly, some embodiments of the disclosed technology include information about the motion and/or type of wireless device when determining how many transmitter chains should be used to form a beamforming signal.

[0027] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed techniques, a UE or other wireless device thus selects multiple active transmit chains for generating beamforming signals in order to save power with limited receive data rate losses. The immediate advantage of reducing the number of transmit chains is that power consumption can be reduced. At the same time, however, there is a trade-off in antenna gain. When the gain is reduced by using fewer transmit chains, it also means that the transmit power of the device needs to be increased to maintain the same data rate. This increase in transmit power is also taken into account when choosing the number of transmit chains to use.

[0028] When the coverage is good, ie, when the estimated propagation loss between the wireless device and the target receiver is relatively low, the required transmit power will be relatively low. In this case, the additional transmit power required to compensate for the reduced antenna gain when selecting a smaller number of transmit chains may be lower than the power required to use more transmit chains. Thus, overall power consumption is reduced by reducing the number of transmit chains. Conversely, when the propagation loss between the wireless device and the target receiver is relatively high, a narrower beam and higher antenna gain may be required to maintain the desired link quality and data rate. Of course, these conditions change from time to time, sometimes rapidly. Therefore, the UE or other wireless device periodically evaluates whether power consumption can be improved by changing the number of transmit antenna chains used.

[0029] According to some embodiments, the evaluation is based on the following steps.

[0030] First, the wireless device determines the antenna gain required to reach a target device (eg, a base station in a wireless network). This requirement is based on the propagation loss between the wireless device and the target receiver, which can be estimated based on the link quality measurement performed by the wireless device, or the link quality measurement performed by the target device and fed back to the wireless device, or both The combination. The required antenna gain is also based on the desired data rate, which will in turn dictate the minimum signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SINR) at the receiving device for any given modulation and coding scheme.

[0031] Second, the wireless device determines the number of transmitters to use based on the antenna gain required to reach the target device. The number of transmitters in a wireless device can be specified based on the following parameters: power consumption per transmitter as a function of transmit power; for each configurable number of transmitters used, up to in the main lobe of the antenna pattern the antenna gain; the estimated propagation loss between the wireless device and the target receiver; and the expected received power at the target receiver.

[0032] The wireless device may also determine the number of transmit chains to use based on the amount and quality of available spatial channel knowledge at the wireless device, where the spatial channel knowledge provides an indication that the wireless device may assume that by narrowing and widening the beam can be How much to increase or decrease the receiver power. With knowledge of the low quality channel, the narrower transmission beam cannot be expected to produce full gain in practice.

[0033] The decision regarding the number of transmit chains may be based, at least in part, on an estimate of how high data rates can be achieved, given the antenna gain achievable using each of the considered number of transmit chains. The estimate of the achievable data rate is based on the estimated propagation loss of the link, and may be based on the power command for the current configuration and the achieved data rate during active communication.

In some embodiments, the estimated propagation loss for the uplink and/or the estimated data rate for the uplink may be based on uplink measurements in the base station that are signaled to the wireless device to Used by the wireless device to determine how many transmit chains to use for beamforming uplink transmissions. The estimated uplink propagation loss and/or data rate may also or alternatively be based on downlink propagation loss and interference levels measured in the UE.

[0035] The period during which the wireless device performs the above-described evaluations or the repetition rate at which these evaluations are repeated may be predetermined or fixed. The period and/or repetition rate may also be dynamically determined based on any of several different factors. In one example, the

The period may be a function of the speed of the wireless device, and may decrease as the UE moves faster. In another example, the period may be a function of the device type, which also defines the type of application for which the device is intended to be used. For example, a device connected to a high-speed train may be configured for a shorter period of time than a device connected to a low-speed vehicle. In yet another example, the period may be a function of the power consumption setting/mode the UE is configured to use. For example, if the UE is set to operate in a power save mode due to battery limitations or any other reason, this period may be relatively larger than other power settings. [0036] FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example process in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology. This procedure is illustrated and described with respect to UEs performing uplink transmissions. However, it should be understood that similar techniques may be applied by other devices to other types of wireless links, such as downlinks between base stations and UEs, or point-to-point transmissions from one UE to another. The same is true for other techniques shown and described herein.

[0037] As represented by block 210, the UE is configured to transmit data in the uplink (UL). Then, for a given number of transmit antenna chains, it estimates the UL coverage and data rate based on an estimate of the propagation loss from the UE to the receiving base station, or based on the count of retransmissions, or some combination of the two. This is shown at block 220 . Based on this, it estimates possible performance gains/losses that would result in an increase or decrease in the number of transmit chains in the UE. This is shown at blocks 230 , 240 , 250 and 260 . As seen in blocks 230 and 240, if it is determined that uplink coverage needs to be improved due to the increased data rate that can be transmitted over the link and/or due to deteriorating propagation conditions, i.e., increasing the received power at the target receiver, the uplink The number of transmitters in the link increases. It will be appreciated that this typically requires increased power consumption, but in this case the need for improved link performance may be a priority. However, if there is no need to increase the link performance, the UE evaluates whether the uplink antenna gain can be reduced by reducing the number of transmit chains used to form the beamformed signal, so that even if the total transmit power is increased, there is a overall decrease. This is shown at block 250 . If so, the number of transmit chains in the uplink beamformer is reduced as indicated by block 260 . Otherwise, do not change.

[0038] In some embodiments, the procedures described above are dynamically enabled in a UE-specific configuration step. In other words, in some embodiments and/or instances, the UE may receive configuration information that activates or deactivates the evaluation and adjustment shown in FIG. 2, or some similar process. In some embodiments, this configuration may be done in accordance with a system broadcast message. For example, the configuration can be done according to the traffic situation in the network. For example, this feature can be enabled under low traffic loads when any potential increase in interference will not affect network performance. In some embodiments, this configuration is done according to UE class, ie, the feature is enabled for UEs where battery life is important, but disabled for high traffic, best effort UEs. In some embodiments, some UE classes may be designed to always use the techniques described in this disclosure without any configuration steps.

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a wireless device 50 configured to transmit a signal to a target receiving device. Wireless device 50 can be considered to represent any wireless transmitter that can operate in a network, such as a UE in a cellular network. Some examples may include communication devices, target devices, device-to-device (D2D) UEs, machine-type wireless devices or wireless devices capable of machine-to-machine communication (M2M), UE-equipped sensors, PDAs (personal digital assistants), tablets Computers, Mobile Terminals, Smartphones, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), etc. Although in various embodiments wireless device 50 may be a UE, this does not preclude the possibility that wireless device 50 may represent some kind of network node or part of a network node that will utilize the techniques described herein.

[0040] In this example, the wireless device 50 is configured to communicate with a radio node or base station in a wide area cellular network via a plurality of antennas 54 and transmitter circuitry 56. Transmitter circuitry 56 may include amplifiers, converters, filters, and any associated control circuitry, which together are configured to transmit signals according to the radio access technology for the purpose of using cellular communication services. For discussion purposes, the radio access technology is a 5G radio access technology, but in various embodiments, the wireless device may be adapted to other radio access technologies. Typically, the wireless device 50 also includes a receiver for receiving signaling

device circuit. Antenna 54 may include antenna elements that together form an antenna aperture capable of beamforming operations.

Wireless device 50 also includes one or more processing circuits 52 operatively associated with radio transceiver circuitry 56. The processing circuit 52 includes one or more digital processors 62, eg, one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices ( CPLD), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or any hybrid thereof. More generally, processing circuitry 52 may comprise fixed or programmable circuitry that is specially adapted by executing program instructions to implement the functions taught herein, or may comprise some mixture of fixed and programmed circuits. Processing circuit 52 may be multi-core.

[0042] The processing circuit 52 also includes a memory 64. In some embodiments, memory 64 stores one or more computer programs 66 and, optionally, configuration data 68. Memory 64 provides non-transitory storage for computer program 66, and it may include one or more types of computer-readable media, such as disk memory, solid-state storage memory, or any mixture thereof. Here, "non-transitory" means permanent, semi-permanent, or at least temporary persistent storage, and includes both long-term storage in non-volatile memory and storage in working memory, eg, for program execution. By way of non-limiting example, memory 64 includes any one or more of SRAM, DRAM, EEPROM, and FLASH memory, which may be within and/or separate from processing circuit 52 . Typically, memory 64 includes one or more types of computer-readable storage media that provide non-transitory storage of computer program 66 and any configuration data 68 used by user device 50 . Processing circuitry 52 may be configured to perform one or more of the methods and/or signaling procedures detailed below, eg, through the use of appropriate program code stored in memory 64 .

[0043] Transmitter circuitry 56 may include multiple transmitter chains that drive the antenna aperture. These transmitter chains, which typically include high power amplifiers and may include other analog circuits such as filters, upconversion mixers, etc., are functionally represented by separate portions 56A-56D of transmitter circuit 56 . These transmitter chains may be selectively used by processing circuit 52 . That is, some transmitter chains are turned on or activated for beamformed transmissions, while other transmitter chains are not turned on or activated for beamformed transmissions. This provides better management of transmission power resources.

[0044] In some instances of the digital approach, processing circuitry 52 performs signal generation and baseband processing. These signals are fed to selected transmitter chains, which may include simple transmitter elements to drive corresponding ones of the antennas 54 . In an example of an analog approach, the signal from the processing circuit 52 may pass through certain transmitter chain weights and phase shifters before being amplified and transmitted through the corresponding antenna. Figure 1 illustrates some of the analog components of the transmitter chain.

[0045] According to some embodiments, the processing circuit 52 is configured to determine a target received power for the beamformed signal with respect to the target receiving device. The processing circuit 52 is also configured to select a number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains for forming a Beamforming the signal, wherein the selection is performed to minimize the total power consumption in consideration of the estimated power consumption. Processing circuit 52 is also configured to transmit beamforming signals using a selected number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains.

[0046] According to some embodiments, the processing circuit 52 performs the method 400 shown in FIG. 4, which includes determining a target received power for a beamformed signal with respect to a target receiving device (block 402). The method 400 also includes selecting a number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains for forming a beamforming signal based on the target received power and based on the estimated power consumption for each transmitter chain of the plurality of transmitter chains , wherein the selection is performed to minimize the total power consumption considering the estimated power consumption (block 404). The method 400 also includes transmitting a beamforming signal using a selected number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains (block 406).

[0047] The method 400 can include determining the target received power based on the estimated path loss between the wireless device and the target receiver. Since the uplink antenna beam in the wireless device is the target, reception can be measured in the uplink

power. The wireless device cannot measure this received power, so the target receiver (eg, eNodeB) may have to signal the received power. Therefore, the estimated path loss can be obtained from the signaling received by the wireless device. The wireless device may receive the received power of the uplink signal and/or the transmit power of the downlink signal from the target receiver. In some cases, it may be easier to measure the received power of the downlink signal, which may be similar to the received power of the uplink signal. Depending on the frequency used or other factors, the received power of the downlink signal may be similar but not the same as the received power of the uplink signal. The determination of the target received power may also be based on an estimated interference level and/or a target data rate for transmission to the target receiving device.

In some embodiments, selecting the number of the plurality of transmitter chains comprises: for at least one set of transmitters in the transmitter chain based on the target received power and based on each transmitter chain's estimated contribution to the target received power The chain determines the desired output power for each transmitter chain in the group. This determination may involve making a determination of the desired output power based on the target received power and based on the estimated contribution of each transmitter chain or the use of a look-up table (where the target power and estimated contribution are input parameters) or some combination of the two calculate. The selecting also includes determining an estimated power consumption for each transmitter chain in the group based on the desired output power of the respective transmitter chain. Furthermore, such determination of estimated power consumption may involve calculations, look-up tables, or some combination of the two. The estimated contribution may be an estimate of the power and gain in the antenna lobes. The estimate may also be based on an estimated interference level. Accordingly, method 400 can include determining the contribution of each transmitter chain to the estimate of target received power based on the quality of the estimated channel information possessed by the wireless device.

[0049] The determination, selection and transmission may be repeated one or more times. In some cases, the determination, selection and transmission are repeated periodically. There may be time intervals for repeated determination, selection and transmission. The time interval may be based on the estimated speed and/or configured power mode of the wireless device.

[0050] The time interval may also be based on changes in estimates of the environment. For example, changing path loss or the need to adjust transmit power more frequently may indicate changes in the indoor or outdoor environment. The wireless device may also receive information about the environment or the location of the wireless device and the target receiving device. In some embodiments, the time interval may be decreased based on detected changes in the environment to increase the frequency with which the determination, selection and transmission will be repeated.

[0051] The wireless device may be a UE in a wireless communication network, and the target receiving device may be a base station in the wireless communication network. The method 400 may also include receiving configuration information from the wireless communication network to activate the optimized mode, and performing the above-described determining, selecting and transmitting steps according to the configuration information.

[0052] As discussed in detail above, the techniques described herein (eg, as shown in the process flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4) may be implemented in whole or in part using computer program instructions executed by one or more processors. It will be appreciated that functional implementations of these techniques may be represented in terms of functional modules, where each functional module corresponds to a functional unit of software executing in an appropriate processor or a functional digital hardware circuit, or some combination of the two.

[0053] For example, FIG. 5 illustrates example functional blocks or circuit architectures that may be implemented in a wireless device 50 having multiple transmitter chains that can be selectively used to transmit beamforming signals. The implementation includes a determination module 502 for determining a target received power for a beamformed signal with respect to a target receiving device. The implementation also includes a selection module 504 for selecting a number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains to select a number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains based on the target received power and based on the estimated power consumption for each transmitter chain of the plurality of transmitter chains For forming a beamforming signal, wherein the selection is performed so as to minimize the total power consumption considering the estimated power consumption. The implementation also includes a transmit module 506 for transmitting beamforming signals using a selected number of transmitter chains of the plurality of transmitter chains.

[0054] The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from its essential characteristics. The embodiments of the present invention are considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive.

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