Method and apparatus for synchronization signal transmission in a wireless communication system
First Claim
1. A method of operation performed by a radio network node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
- configuring synchronization-signal transmissions by the radio network node according to a configured set of beamforming parameters, the configured set of beamforming parameters including a transmit duration value for each beam direction associated with a plurality of directional beams, wherein the transmit duration value for each beam direction defines the duration of synchronization-signal transmission in the beam direction for each synchronization-signal transmission cycle performed by the radio network node via the plurality of directional beams, and wherein the transmit duration value for each beam direction depends on an expected received-signal quality for the synchronization signal in a coverage area corresponding to the beam direction; and
for each synchronization-signal transmission cycle, transmitting the synchronization signal in each beam direction with the duration of synchronization-signal transmission defined by the transmit duration value corresponding to the beam direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one aspect of the teachings herein, a radio network node advantageously adapts the transmission duration of a synchronization signal with respect to transmission of the synchronization signal in different directions. For example, the radio network node uses a shorter transmission duration in beam directions that are associated with better reception conditions and a longer transmission duration in beam directions that are associated with poorer reception conditions. As a consequence of varying the transmission duration according to received-signal qualities known or expected for the different directions, the radio network node can shorten the overall time needed to complete one synchronization-signal transmission cycle and use less energy, as compared to using a more conservative, longer transmission time in all beam directions.
10 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of operation performed by a radio network node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
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configuring synchronization-signal transmissions by the radio network node according to a configured set of beamforming parameters, the configured set of beamforming parameters including a transmit duration value for each beam direction associated with a plurality of directional beams, wherein the transmit duration value for each beam direction defines the duration of synchronization-signal transmission in the beam direction for each synchronization-signal transmission cycle performed by the radio network node via the plurality of directional beams, and wherein the transmit duration value for each beam direction depends on an expected received-signal quality for the synchronization signal in a coverage area corresponding to the beam direction; and for each synchronization-signal transmission cycle, transmitting the synchronization signal in each beam direction with the duration of synchronization-signal transmission defined by the transmit duration value corresponding to the beam direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A radio network node configured for operation in a wireless communication network and comprising:
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transmitter circuitry associated with an antenna array that is configured to transmit signals for wireless communication devices via a plurality of directional beams, each directional beam having a respective beam direction and corresponding coverage area; and processing circuitry included in or operatively associated with the transmitter circuitry and configured to; configure synchronization-signal transmissions by the radio network node according to a configured set of beamforming parameters, the configured set of beamforming parameters including a transmit duration value for each beam direction associated with the plurality of directional beams, wherein the transmit duration value for each beam direction defines the duration of synchronization-signal transmission in the beam direction for each synchronization-signal transmission cycle performed by the radio network node via the plurality of directional beams, and wherein the transmit duration value for each beam direction depends on an expected received-signal quality for the synchronization signal in the coverage area corresponding to the beam direction; and for each synchronization-signal transmission cycle, transmit the synchronization signal in each beam direction with the duration of synchronization-signal transmission defined by the transmit duration value corresponding to the beam direction. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of operation performed by a radio network node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
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transmitting synchronization signals from the radio network node in each one of recurring synchronization-signal transmission cycles, wherein each synchronization-signal transmission cycle comprises transmitting a synchronization signal in each beam direction among a plurality of beam directions; and configuring, for each beam direction, a duration of synchronization-signal transmission to be used in each synchronization-signal transmission cycle, based on an expected received-signal quality statistically determined from past signal-quality reports sent by wireless communication devices operated in a coverage area corresponding to the beam direction, such that the duration of synchronization-signal transmission used for at least a first beam direction is shorter than the duration of synchronization-signal transmission used for at least a second beam direction, based on the first beam direction having a relatively higher expected received-signal quality than the second beam direction.
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Specification