Bidirectional iterative beam forming

• US 8,626,080 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2008
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sutskover, Ilan, Kasher, Assaf, Li, Qinghua, Niu, Huaning
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): AYOTUNDE, AYODEJI O
• Application Number:
  US12/262,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20090233545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,894 Days
• Field of Search: 455/522, 455/60, 455/63.4, 455/66.1, 455/67.11, 455/67.14, 455/67.16, 455/68, 455/69
• US Class Current: 455/69
• 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 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0632 Channel quality parameters, e.g. channel quality indicator [CQI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0682 using phase diversity (e.g. phase sweeping)
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams

Abstract

Bidirectional iterative beam forming techniques are described. An apparatus may include a wireless device having an antenna control module operative to initiate beam formation operations using an iterative training scheme to form a pair of communications channels for a wireless network, the antenna control module to communicate training signals and feedback information with a peer device via the transceiver and phased antenna array using partially or fully formed high rate channels, and iteratively determine antenna-array weight vectors for a directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array using feedback information from the peer device. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A wireless device, comprising:

a phased antenna array;

a transceiver communicatively coupled to the phased antenna array; and

an antenna control module communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the phased antenna array, the antenna control module operative to;

initiate beam formation operations using an iterative training scheme between a first device and a second device of a wireless personal area network,

communicate training signals and feedback information between the first device and the second device using only high rate physical channels, and

during a beam refinement phase, iteratively determine antenna-array weight vectors for a directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device using feedback information from the second device and send feedback information to the second device using the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device determined from feedback information from the second device until a determined signal to noise ratio (SNR) value for a reliable data communication is reached.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, the antenna control module operative to send receiver training signals to the second device for use in forming a directional receive beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, the antenna control module operative to send transmitter training signals to the second device for use in forming the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array.

4. The wireless device of claim 1, the antenna control module operative to receive receiver training signals from the second device to form a directional receive beam pattern for the phased antenna array.

5. The wireless device of claim 1, the antenna control module operative to receive transmitter training signals from the second device to form a directional transmit beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device.

6. The wireless device of claim 4, the antenna control module operative to receive feedback information from the peer second device using the directional receive beam pattern for the phased antenna array.

7. The wireless device of claim 1, the feedback information for use in determining antenna-array weight vectors for a directional transmit beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device.

8. The wireless device of claim method of claim 1, the antenna control module operative to continue beam forming operations using multiple iterations until a determined number of iterations is reached.

9. A method of beamforming comprising:

initiating beam formation operations using an iterative training scheme between a first device and a second device of a wireless personal area network;

communicating training signals and feedback information between the first device and the second device using only high rate physical channels; and

during a beam refinement phase, determining antenna-array weight vectors for a directional transmit beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the first device using feedback information from the second device, and sending feedback information from the first device to the second device using the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device determined from feedback information from the second device until a determined signal to noise ratio (SNR) value for a reliable data communication is reached.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising sending receiver training signals from the first device to the second device to form a directional receive beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device.

11. The method of claim 9, comprising sending transmitter training signals from the first device to the second device to form the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device.

12. The method of claim 9, comprising receiving receiver training signals by the first device from the second device to form a directional receive beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device.

13. The method of claim 9, comprising receiving transmitter training signals by the first device from the second device channel to form a directional transmit beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device.

14. The method of claim 9, comprising:

receiving feedback information by the first device from the second device using a directional receive beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device; and

determining antenna-array weight vectors for the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device using the feedback information from the second device.

15. The method of claim 9, the feedback information for use in determining antenna-array weight vectors for a directional transmit beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device using the feedback information from the first device.

16. The method of claim 9, comprising:

communicating training signals and feedback information, and determining antenna-array vector weights for the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device, using multiple iterations until a determined number of iterations is reached.

17. An article comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that when executed enable a system to:

initiate beam formation operations using an iterative training scheme between a first device and a second device of a wireless personal area network;

communicate training signals and feedback information between the first device and the second device using only high rate physical channels; and

during a beam refinement phase, determine antenna-array weight vectors for a directional transmit beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the first device using feedback information from the second device, and send feedback information from the first device to the second device using the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device determined from feedback information from the second device until a determined signal to noise ratio (SNR) value for a reliable data communication is reached.

18. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable a system to send receiver training signals from the first device to the second device to form a directional receive beam pattern for a phased antenna array of the second device.

19. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable a system to send transmitter training signals from the first device to the second device to form the directional transmit beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device.

20. The article of claim 17, further comprising instructions that when executed enable a system to receive receiver training signals by the first device from the second device to form a directional receive beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device.

21. The article of claim 20, further comprising instructions that when executed enable a system to receive feedback information by the first device from the second device using the directional receive beam pattern for the phased antenna array of the first device.