BEAM MANAGEMENT FOR A RADIO TRANSCEIVER DEVICE

• US 20190268117A1
• Filed: 02/27/2018
• Published: 08/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: NILSSON, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 10,673,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0408 using two or more beams, i.e. beam diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0695 using beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0828 with delay elements in antenna paths
• 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: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation

Abstract

There is provided mechanisms for a radio transceiver device to participate in beam management. A method is performed by the radio transceiver device. The method comprises receiving a reference signal from another radio transceiver device as part of participating in the beam management. The reference signal occupies time/frequency resources that extend over a frequency interval. The reference signal is simultaneously received in a set of beams where each beam has a unique frequency dependent phase shift such that all beams in the set of beams point in mutually different directions and each beam covers its own part of the frequency interval.

Claims

1. A method for participating in beam management, the method being performed by a radio transceiver device, the method comprising:

receiving a reference signal from another radio transceiver device as part of participating in the beam management, wherein the reference signal occupies time/frequency resources that extend over a frequency interval, and

wherein the reference signal is simultaneously received in a set of beams where each beam has a unique frequency dependent phase shift such that all beams in the set of beams point in mutually different directions and each beam covers its own part of the frequency interval.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each beam covers a part of the frequency interval corresponding to a sub-carrier.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

measuring received power of the reference signal in each beam.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the beams are divided into groups (g1, g2, . . . , g1′

, g2′

, . . . , g1″

, g2″

) of adjacent beams, where each group (g1, g2, . . . , g1′

, g2′

, . . . , g1″

, g2″

) corresponds to a frequency band (f1, f2, . . . , f1′

, f2′

, . . . , f1″

, f2″

), and wherein one received power value is determined per group from all individual measurements of received power for the beams in that group.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein how to divide the beams into the groups (g1, g2, . . . , g1′

, g2′

, . . . , g1″

, g2″

) of adjacent beams is either preconfigured in the radio transceiver device or dynamically configurable by the radio transceiver device.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the reference signal is received in a first set of beams, the method further comprising:

determining which beam from a second set of beams to use for subsequent data and/or a control signalling from said another radio transceiver device based on in which group (g1, g2, . . . , g1′

, g2′

, . . . , g1″

, g2″

) of beams or individual beam in the first set of beams the reference signal was received with highest received power.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein there are more beams in the first set of beams than in the second set of beams, and wherein determining which beam to use involves mapping a beam index of the beam in which the reference signal was received with highest received power to a beam in the second set of beams.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

receiving data and/or a control signal from said another radio transceiver device in the determined beam.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal is received using an antenna array comprising at least two antenna elements, wherein all antenna elements of the antenna array are coupled to a single baseband chain.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein reception of the reference signal at any adjacent antenna elements of the antenna array differ by a time delay value τ

, the time delay value τ

causing the beams to have mutually unique frequency dependent phase shifts.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the time delay value τ

is determined according to τ

=β

/(2π

·

B) where B is the frequency interval in Herz, and β

is total phase shift in radians over the frequency interval B.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein β

≥

2π

.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the time delay value τ

is implemented in a time delay component, one time delay component being operatively connected between the baseband chain and each but one of the antenna elements.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the antenna array comprises N antenna elements, where N≥

2, and wherein one time delay component is operatively connected between the baseband chain and each of all but one of the antenna elements.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the time delay component for antenna element k, where k=2, . . . , N, has time delay value (k−

1)·

τ

.

16. The method according to claim 9, wherein all the antenna elements are single-polarized and have one and the same polarization.

17. The method according to claim 8, wherein the time delay component is not connected to the antenna elements when the data and/or control signal is received.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal is received using analog beamforming.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the radio transceiver device is a terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal is composed of a single reference signal resource and is provided in one single OFDM symbol.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal, or is defined by a synchronization signal, SS, block.

25. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program, the computer program comprising computer code which, when run on processing circuitry of a radio transceiver device, causes the radio transceiver device to perform the method of claim 1.

22. A radio transceiver device for participating in beam management, the radio transceiver device comprising processing circuitry, the processing circuitry being configured to cause the radio transceiver device to:

receive a reference signal from another radio transceiver device as part of participating in the beam management, wherein the reference signal occupies time/frequency resources that extend over a frequency interval, and

wherein the reference signal is simultaneously received in a set of beams where each beam has a unique frequency dependent phase shift such that all beams in the set of beams point in mutually different directions and each beam covers its own part of the frequency interval.

24. The radio transceiver device according to claim 22 wherein, the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the radio transceiver device to measure received power of the reference signal in each beam, wherein

the beams are divided into groups (g1, g2, . . . , g1′

, g2′

, . . . , g1″

, g2″

) of adjacent beams, where each group (g1, g2, . . . , g1′

, g2′

, . . . , g1″

, g2″

) corresponds to a frequency band (f1, f2, . . . , f1′

, f2′

, . . . , f1″

, f2″

), and wherein one received power value is determined per group from all individual measurements of received power for the beams in that group.

23. A radio transceiver device for participating in beam management, the radio transceiver device comprising:

a receive module configured to receive a reference signal from another radio transceiver device as part of participating in the beam management, wherein the reference signal occupies time/frequency resources that extend over a frequency interval, and

wherein the reference signal is simultaneously received in a set of beams where each beam has a unique frequency dependent phase shift such that all beams in the set of beams point in mutually different directions and each beam covers its own part of the frequency interval.

26. (canceled)