APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BEAM LOCKING IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20130040682A1
• Filed: 05/07/2012
• Published: 02/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHANG, Young-Bin, TAORI, Rakesh
• Granted Patent: US 9,318,794 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/517
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0018 Transmission from mobile station to base station
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/00 Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system means for positioning H01Q1/125
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0417 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0623 Auxiliary parameters, e.g. power control [PCB] or not acknowledged commands [NACK], used as feedback information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0628 Diversity capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/063 Parameters other than those covered in groups H04B7/0623 - H04B7/0634, e.g. channel matrix rank or transmit mode selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/32 by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/322 by location data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/324 by mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 : the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/51 : based on terminal or device properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 : Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 : Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 : Transfer of terminal data

Abstract

To retain a beam direction of beamforming in a wireless communication system, an apparatus for the beamforming includes a detector for measuring change of at least one of a movement and a motion of the apparatus; and a processor for determining a beam control parameter for aligning a beam direction with a counterpart apparatus by compensating for the change of the beam direction according to at least one of the movement and the motion.

Claims

1. An apparatus for performing beam locking in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one physical value indicating at least one of a movement and a motion of the apparatus; and

a processor for calculating a difference value indicating a difference between the at least one physical value and a reference value of a reference direction, for determining a beam control parameter, using the difference value, for aligning a beam direction of a beam of the apparatus with a counterpart apparatus, and for adjusting the beam direction according to the beam control parameter.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one physical value comprises at least one of a direction of the motion or the movement, a distance of the motion or the movement, a speed of the motion or the movement, an acceleration of the motion or the movement, a direction of a tilt of the apparatus, an angle of the tilt, an angular speed of the tilt, an angular acceleration of the tilt, a direction of a rotation of the apparatus, an angle of the rotation, an angular speed of the rotation and an angular acceleration of the rotation in a three-dimensional space, a current direction of the apparatus, a change in a direction of the apparatus, location coordinates and a change in location coordinates in a horizontal direction, and an altitude of the apparatus and a change of the altitude.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one motion recognition sensor comprises at least one of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a compass sensor, an altitude sensor and a Global Positioning System (GPS) module.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor calculates the difference value when at least one of the movement and the motion of the apparatus occurs.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, after calculating the difference value, the processor determines whether the beam direction is misaligned with the counterpart apparatus.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication interface for performing beam locking by multiplying a signal stream for transmission in antenna paths by a beamforming vector or a beamforming matrix indicated by the beam control parameter.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a beamformer for performing beam locking by adjusting a phase and a magnitude of a signal for transmission in each antenna path according to phase and magnitude values of signals per antenna indicated by the beam control parameter.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a beamformer for performing beam locking by adjusting a signal radiation direction of each antenna according to a control value of each antenna indicated by the beam control parameter.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a beamformer for activating an antenna group indicated by the beam control parameter.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor determines the beam control parameter according to a predefined rule that uses a beam control parameter of the reference direction and the difference value as input variables.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor determines a new beam control parameter using a mapping table that defines beam control parameters according to a change from a beam control parameter of the reference direction.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a beam trainer for setting the reference direction through beam training,

wherein the processor sets at least one physical value corresponding to the reference direction as the reference value.

13. A method for performing beam locking in a wireless communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring at least one physical value indicating at least one of a movement and a motion of an apparatus using at least one motion recognition sensor;

calculating a difference value indicating a difference between the at least one physical value and a reference value of a reference direction;

determining a beam control parameter, using the difference value, for aligning a beam direction of a beam of the apparatus with a counterpart apparatus; and

adjusting the beam direction according to the beam control parameter.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one physical value comprises at least one of a direction of the motion or the movement, a distance of the motion or the movement, a speed of the motion or the movement, an acceleration of the motion or the movement, a direction of a tilt of the apparatus, an angle of the tilt, an angular speed of the tilt, an angular acceleration of the tilt, a direction of a rotation of the apparatus, an angle of the rotation, an angular speed of the rotation and an angular acceleration of the rotation in a three-dimensional space, a current direction of the apparatus, a change in a direction of the apparatus, location coordinates and a change in location coordinates in a horizontal direction, and an altitude of the apparatus and a change of the altitude due to at least one of the motion and the movement.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one motion recognition sensor comprises at least one of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a compass sensor, an altitude sensor and a Global Positioning System (GPS) module.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining whether at least one of the movement and the motion occurs,

wherein the difference value is calculated when at least one of the movement and the motion occurs.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

after calculating the difference value, determining whether the beam direction is misaligned with the counterpart apparatus.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the beam direction comprises multiplying a signal stream for transmission in antenna paths by a beamforming vector or a beamforming matrix indicated by the beam control parameter.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the beam direction comprises adjusting a phase and a magnitude of a signal for transmission in each antenna path according to phase and magnitude values of signals per antenna indicated by the beam control parameter.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the beam direction comprises adjusting a signal radiation direction of each antenna according to a control value of each antenna indicated by the beam control parameter.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the beam direction comprises activating an antenna group indicated by the beam control parameter.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the beam control parameter comprises determining the beam control parameter according to a predefined rule that uses a beam control parameter of the reference direction and the difference value as input variables.

23. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the beam control parameter comprises determining a new beam control parameter using a mapping table that defines beam control parameters according to a change from a beam control parameter of the reference direction.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

setting the reference direction through beam training; and

setting at least one physical value corresponding to the reference direction as the reference value.

25. A method for an operation of a user station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a first control message comprising information about at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one of movement and motion of the user station; and

transmitting the first control message to a base station.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a time taken to compensate for misalignment of a beam direction when the misalignment occurs, a measurable resolution of an angle in tilt or rotation of the user station in a three-dimensional space, and a resolution for a velocity according to the motion of the user station.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

transmitting a second message that informs that a beam locking scheme is supported, wherein the beam locking scheme retains a beam direction of a beam of the user station in a reference direction by compensating for a change in the beam direction according to at least one of the movement and the motion of the user station.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a type of the at least one motion recognition sensor in the user station and a measurement resolution of the at least one motion recognition sensor.

29. A method for an operation of a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a first control message comprising information about at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one of movement and motion of a user station; and

obtaining the information about the at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one of the movement and the motion of the user station via the first control message.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a value indicating whether a beam locking scheme is supported, a time taken to compensate for misalignment of a beam direction when the misalignment occurs, a measurable resolution of an angle in tilt or rotation of the user station in a three-dimensional space, and a resolution for a velocity according to the motion of the user station.

31. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

receiving a second message that informs that a beam locking scheme is supported, wherein the beam locking scheme retains a beam direction of a beam of the user station in a reference direction by compensating for a change in the beam direction according to at least one of the movement and the motion of the user station.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a type of the at least one motion recognition sensor in the user station and a measurement resolution of the at least one motion recognition sensor.

33. An apparatus for a user station in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

a controller for generating a first control message comprising information about at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one of movement and motion of the user station; and

a transceiver for transmitting the first control message to a base station.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a time taken to compensate for misalignment of a beam direction when the misalignment occurs, a measurable resolution of an angle in tilt or rotation of the user station in a three-dimensional space, and a resolution for a velocity according to the motion of the user station.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the controller generates a second message which informs that a beam locking scheme is supported, and wherein the beam locking scheme retains a beam direction of a beam of the user station in a reference direction by compensating for a change in beam direction according to at least one of the movement and the motion of the user station, and

wherein the transceiver transmits the second message.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a type of the at least one motion recognition sensor in the user station and a measurement resolution of the at least one motion recognition sensor.

37. An apparatus for a base station in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver for receiving a first control message comprising information about at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one of movement and motion of a user station; and

a controller for obtaining the information about the at least one motion recognition sensor for measuring at least one of the movement and the motion of the user station via the first control message.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a value indicating whether a beam locking scheme is supported, a time taken to compensate for misalignment of a beam direction when the misalignment occurs, a measurable resolution of an angle in tilt or rotation of the user station in a three-dimensional space, and a resolution for a velocity according to the motion of the user station.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the transceiver receives a second message which informs that a beam locking scheme is supported, and wherein the beam locking scheme retains a beam direction of a beam of the user station in a reference direction by compensating for a change in beam direction according to at least one of the movement and the motion of the user station.

40. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first control message comprises at least one of a type of the at least one motion recognition sensor in the user station and a measurement resolution of the at least one motion recognition sensor.

41. An article of manufacture for performing beam locking in a wireless communication system, comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:

measuring at least one physical value indicating at least one of a movement and a motion of an apparatus using at least one motion recognition sensor;

calculating a difference value indicating a difference between the at least one physical value and a reference value of a reference direction;

determining a beam control parameter, using the difference value, for aligning a beam direction of a beam of the apparatus with a counterpart apparatus; and

adjusting the beam direction according to the beam control parameter.

42. An apparatus for hybrid beamforming comprising:

an encoder and a modulator for converting an information bit stream into complex symbols;

a plurality of precoders, each on one of a plurality of paths, that each multiply the complex symbols by a respective beamforming parameter;

a plurality of IFFT operators, each on one of the plurality of paths, for converting the multiplied complex symbols into OFDM symbols, which are digital signals;

a plurality of digital to analog converters, each on one of the plurality of paths, for converting the digital signals into analog signals;

a plurality of mixers, each on one of the plurality of paths, for converting the analog signals into Radio Frequency (RF) signals;

a plurality of phase/magnitude converters on each of the plurality of paths for changing the magnitude and phase of the RF signals, wherein each phase/magnitude converter of a respective path provides an RF signal to a different one of a plurality of antennas; and

the plurality of antennas for transmitting respective summed RF signals from the plurality of paths.

43. A method for hybrid beamforming comprising the steps of:

converting an information bit stream into complex symbols at an encoder and a modulator;

multiplying the complex symbols by a respective beamforming parameter at a plurality of precoders, each on one of a plurality of paths;

converting the multiplied complex symbols into OFDM symbols, which are digital signals, at a plurality of IFFT operators, each on one of the plurality of paths;

converting the digital signals into analog signals at a plurality of digital to analog converters, each on one of the plurality of paths;

converting the analog signals into Radio Frequency (RF) signals at a plurality of mixers, each on one of the plurality of paths;

changing the magnitude and phase of the RF signals at a plurality of phase/magnitude converters on each of the plurality of paths, wherein each phase/magnitude converter of a respective path provides an RF signal to a different one of a plurality of antennas; and

transmitting respective summed RF signals from the plurality of paths at the plurality of antennas.