Wireless communication system to communicate using different beamwidths

• US 10,193,733 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2017
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Maltsev, Alexander, Sergeyev, Vadim, Davydov, Alexei, Sadri, Ali, Maslennikov, Roman, Khorvaev, Alexey
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Warner
• Application Number:
  US15/590,968
• Publication Number:
  US 20170373906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 370310-350
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2126 using a reference station
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2656 Frame synchronisation, e.g. packet synchronisation, time division duplex [TDD] switching point detection or subframe synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Communication signals using a first and a second frequency band in a wireless network is described herein. The first frequency band may be associated with a first beamwidth while the second frequency band may be associated with a second beamwidth. An apparatus may include receiver circuitry arranged to receive first signals in a first frequency band associated with a first beamwidth and second signals in a second frequency band associated with a second beamwidth, the first signals comprising a frame synchronization parameter and the second signals comprising frame alignment signals. The apparatus may further include processor circuitry coupled to the receiver circuitry, the processor circuitry arranged to activate or deactivate the receiver circuitry to receive the frame alignment signals based on the frame synchronization parameter. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

Claims

1. A communication system to communicate in a wireless network via a wireless frequency band, the system comprising:

an input to receive intermediate frequency signals;

radio frequency (RF) filter circuitry coupled to the input to receive the intermediate frequency signals therefrom, the RF filter circuitry including a mixer and a filter;

a frequency synthesizer coupled to the mixer; and

an amplifier coupled to the filter;

wherein;

the frequency synthesizer is to provide a carrier frequency to the mixer;

the mixer is to combine the intermediate frequency signals with the carrier frequency from the frequency synthesizer to generate combined carrier signals;

the filter is to filter the combined carrier signals to generate filtered carrier signals;

the amplifier is to amplify the filtered carrier signals to generate signals to be wirelessly transmitted by one or more antennas; and

the signals to be wirelessly transmitted include;

first signals corresponding to a first beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the first signals to include first control signals comprising first beamforming control information to facilitate an initial beamforming for wireless communication via the wireless frequency band, the first control signals to include control signals to facilitate one or more of carrier frequency offset estimation, timing synchronization, and signal detection; and

second signals corresponding to a second beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the second signals to include second control signals comprising second beamforming control information to facilitate a fine beamforming to supplement the initial beamforming, the first beamwidth to comprise a wider beamwidth than the second beamwidth.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless frequency band includes a millimeter-Wave wireless frequency band.

3. The system of claim 1, further including a controller to control the frequency synthesizer to provide the carrier frequency to the mixer.

4. The system of claim 1, further including a controller to control the RF filter circuitry.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the amplifier is a first amplifier, the system further including a second amplifier disposed ahead of the RF filter circuitry, the second amplifier to amplify the intermediate frequency signals prior to providing the intermediate frequency signals to the RF filter circuitry.

6. The system of claim 4, further including a physical storage medium coupled to the controller to store instructions to enable the controller to control the frequency synthesizer.

7. The system of claim 1, further including the one or more antennas, wherein the one or more antennas include multi-element antennas adaptively configured to selectively transmit the first signals and the second signals according to the first beamwidth and the second beamwidth, respectively.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes circuitry to provide the intermediate frequency signals to the input, wherein, within the circuitry to provide the intermediate frequency signals, the intermediate frequency signals include first intermediate frequency signals including in-phase signals, and second intermediate frequency signals including quadrature signals.

9. The system of claim 1, the second control signals to include control signals to facilitate one or more of carrier frequency offset estimation, timing synchronization, and signal detection.

10. The system of claim 1, the second signals to include data signals.

11. The system of claim 1, further including a controller to configure a beam direction for transmission of the second signals.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the signals to be transmitted include third signals corresponding to a third beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the first beamwidth to comprise a wider beamwidth than the third beamwidth, the third signals to include signals comprising third beamforming control information, the third beamforming control information to facilitate the fine beamforming.

13. The system of claim 12, the third signals to include data signals.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the signals to be transmitted include fourth signals corresponding to the first beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the fourth signals to include signals comprising fourth beamforming control information, the fourth beamforming control information to facilitate the fine beamforming.

15. A method to be performed at a communication system to communicate in a wireless network via a wireless frequency band, the method including:

combining intermediate frequency signals with a carrier frequency from a frequency synthesizer to generate combined carrier signals;

filtering the combined carrier signals to generate filtered carrier signals; and

amplifying the filtered carrier signals to generate signals to be wirelessly transmitted by one or more antennas;

wherein the signals to be wirelessly transmitted include;

first signals corresponding to a first beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the first signals to include first control signals comprising first beamforming control information to facilitate an initial beamforming for wireless communication via the wireless frequency band, the first control signals to include control signals to facilitate one or more of carrier frequency offset estimation, timing synchronization, and signal detection; and

second signals corresponding to a second beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the second signals to include second control signals comprising second beamforming control information to facilitate a fine beamforming to supplement the initial beamforming, the first beamwidth to comprise a wider beamwidth than the second beamwidth.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the wireless frequency band includes a millimeter-Wave wireless frequency band.

17. The method of claim 15, further including using a controller to control the frequency synthesizer to provide the carrier frequency for combining.

18. The method of claim 15, further including using a controller to control the filtering and the combining.

19. The method of claim 15, further including amplifying the intermediate frequency signals prior to combining.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more antennas include multi-element antennas, the method further including using the multi-element antennas to selectively transmit the first signals and the second signals according to the first beamwidth and the second beamwidth, respectively.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the system includes circuitry to provide the intermediate frequency signals, wherein, within the circuitry to provide the intermediate frequency signals, the intermediate frequency signals include first intermediate frequency signals including in-phase signals, and second intermediate frequency signals including quadrature signals.

22. The method of claim 15, the second control signals to include control signals to facilitate one or more of carrier frequency offset estimation, timing synchronization, and signal detection.

23. The method of claim 15, the second signals to include data signals.

24. The method of claim 15, further including configuring a beam direction for transmission of the second signals.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the signals to be transmitted include third signals corresponding to a third beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the first beamwidth to comprise a wider beamwidth than the third beamwidth, the third signals to include signals comprising third beamforming control information, the third beamforming control information to facilitate the fine beamforming.

26. The method of claim 25, the third signals to include data signals.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the signals to be transmitted include fourth signals corresponding to the first beamwidth when transmitted by the one or more antennas, the fourth signals to include signals comprising fourth beamforming control information, the fourth beamforming control information to facilitate the fine beamforming.