SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BEAM MANAGEMENT

• US 20180220416A1
• Filed: 03/29/2018
• Published: 08/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: ISLAM, Muhammad Nazmul, LUO, Tao, CEZANNE, Juergen, SUBRAMANIAN, Sundar, SAMPATH, Ashwin, SADIQ, Bilal, LI, Junyi
• Granted Patent: US 10,505,615 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0417 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0621 Feedback content
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0639 Using selective indices, e.g. of a codebook, e.g. pre-distortion matrix index [PMI] or for beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0695 using beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/088 using beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0051 of dedicated pilots, i.e. pilots destined for a single user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0833 Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access

Abstract

A first apparatus may send, to a base station in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE. The first apparatus may communicate with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency. A second apparatus may receive, from a base station in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE. The second apparatus may communicate with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

sending, to a base station in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicating with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates the first beam index based on one or more resources associated with a random access channel (RACH).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a request to perform beam tracking with the base station in the second carrier frequency.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a radio link failure associated with communication with the base station through a serving beam in the second carrier frequency,

wherein the sending the request associated with the determination of the first beam is based on the radio link failure.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting the radio link failure comprises:

measuring a value associated with at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality, or a reference signal received power (RSRP);

comparing the value to a threshold; and

detecting the radio link failure based on the comparison of the value to the threshold.

10. A method of wireless communication for a base station, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicating with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates the first beam index based on one or more resources associated with a random access channel (RACH).

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a request to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam is based on a radio link failure between the base station and the UE using a serving beam.

18. A method of wireless communication for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

receiving, from a base station in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicating with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the message associated with the determination of the first beam indicates an instruction to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

23. A method of wireless communication for a base station, the method comprising:

sending, to a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicating with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the message associated with the determination of the first beam indicates an instruction to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

28. An apparatus for wireless communication included in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

means for sending, to a base station in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

means for communicating with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates the first beam index based on one or more resources associated with a random access channel (RACH).

33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a request to perform beam tracking with the base station in the second carrier frequency.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

35. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising:

means for detecting a radio link failure associated with communication with the base station through a serving beam in the second carrier frequency,

wherein the means for sending the request associated with the determination of the first beam is based on the radio link failure.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means for detecting the radio link failure is configured to:

measure a value associated with at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality, or a reference signal received power (RSRP);

compare the value to a threshold; and

detect the radio link failure based on the comparison of the value to the threshold.

62. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the detection of the radio link failure comprises to:

measure a value associated with at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality, or a reference signal received power (RSRP);

compare the value to a threshold; and

detect the radio link failure based on the comparison of the value to the threshold.

37. A apparatus for wireless communication included in a base station, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

means for communicating with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

40. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates the first beam index based on one or more resources associated with a random access channel (RACH).

42. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a request to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

44. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam is based on a radio link failure between the base station and the UE using a serving beam.

45. An apparatus for wireless communication included in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from a base station in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

means for communicating with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

47. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

48. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the message associated with the determination of the first beam indicates an instruction to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

receiving, from the base station in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

transmitting, to the base station in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

50. An apparatus for wireless communication included in a base station, the apparatus comprising:

means for sending, to a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

means for communicating with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the message associated with the determination of the first beam indicates an instruction to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the performance of the beam tracking comprises one or more of:

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam reference signal (BRS);

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a first indication of a first beam index based on the at least one BRS;

transmitting, to the UE in the second carrier frequency, at least one beam refinement reference signal (BRRS); and

receiving, from the UE in the second carrier frequency, a second indication of a second beam index based on the at least one BRRS.

55. An apparatus for wireless communication included in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

send, to a base station in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates the first beam index based on one or more resources associated with a random access channel (RACH).

60. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a request to perform beam tracking with the base station in the second carrier frequency.

61. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

detect a radio link failure associated with communication with the base station through a serving beam in the second carrier frequency,

wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam is sent based on the radio link failure.

63. A apparatus for wireless communication included in a base station, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

receive, from a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

65. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

66. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates the first beam index based on one or more resources associated with a random access channel (RACH).

68. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam indicates a request to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

69. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the request associated with the determination of the first beam is based on a radio link failure between the base station and the UE using a serving beam.

70. An apparatus for wireless communication included in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

receive, from a base station in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

71. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

72. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

73. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the message associated with the determination of the first beam indicates an instruction to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

74. An apparatus for wireless communication included in a base station, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

send, to a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

75. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein the first carrier frequency comprises at least one of a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) band and the second carrier frequency comprises a millimeter wave (mmW) band.

76. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein the first carrier frequency is associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and the second carrier frequency is associated with a second RAT that is different from the first RAT.

77. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein the message associated with the determination of the first beam indicates an instruction to perform beam tracking with the UE in the second carrier frequency.

78. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising code to:

send, to a base station in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

79. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication by a base station, comprising code to:

receive, from a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a request associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the request associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

80. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising code to:

receive, from a base station in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the base station in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.

81. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication by a base station, comprising code to:

send, to a user equipment (UE) in a first carrier frequency, a message associated with determination of a first beam used for communication between the base station and the UE; and

communicate with the UE in a second carrier frequency based on the message associated with the determination of the first beam, the first carrier frequency being different from the second carrier frequency.