Systems and methods for prioritizing beams to enable efficient determination of suitable communication links
First Claim
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1. A beamforming transmission method comprising:
- transmitting signals on different beams formed by adjusting amplitude and phase applied to a plurality of individual elements of an antenna array to enable a receiver to determine a respective signal quality for each of the beams;
prioritizing a plurality of the different beams in accordance with a metric that depends upon the signal quality for each of the plurality of the different beams measured at the receiver and a direction of departure for each of the plurality of the different beams;
selecting a particular beam from the plurality of the different beams;
transmitting data signals to the receiver on the particular beam;
selecting beams with a signal quality exceeding a threshold for inclusion in the plurality of different beams; and
ordering the beams included in the plurality of different beams in accordance with the direction of departure with respect to the beam resulting in the largest signal quality,wherein either a beam having a direction of departure that is larger or a beam having a direction of departure that is smaller than direction of departures of the other beams is prioritized over the other beams.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for enabling the rectification of deteriorated channel conditions on a communication link are described. In particular, the methods and systems can employ mechanisms that prioritize beams in accordance with signal quality measures, direction of departures of transmission beams and/or direction of arrivals of reception beams to address variable channel conditions.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A beamforming transmission method comprising:
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transmitting signals on different beams formed by adjusting amplitude and phase applied to a plurality of individual elements of an antenna array to enable a receiver to determine a respective signal quality for each of the beams; prioritizing a plurality of the different beams in accordance with a metric that depends upon the signal quality for each of the plurality of the different beams measured at the receiver and a direction of departure for each of the plurality of the different beams; selecting a particular beam from the plurality of the different beams; transmitting data signals to the receiver on the particular beam; selecting beams with a signal quality exceeding a threshold for inclusion in the plurality of different beams; and ordering the beams included in the plurality of different beams in accordance with the direction of departure with respect to the beam resulting in the largest signal quality, wherein either a beam having a direction of departure that is larger or a beam having a direction of departure that is smaller than direction of departures of the other beams is prioritized over the other beams. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A beamforming reception method comprising:
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adjusting amplitude and phase applied to a plurality of individual elements of an antenna array to generate different reception beams to receive a transmission signal; determining a respective signal quality for each of the reception beams; prioritizing a plurality of the different beams in accordance with a metric that depends upon the respective signal quality for each of the plurality of the different beams and a direction of arrival of each of the plurality of the different beams; receiving data signals on a particular beam that is selected from the plurality of the different beams; selecting beams with a signal quality exceeding a threshold for inclusion in the plurality of different beams; and ordering the beams included in the plurality of different beams in accordance with the direction of arrival with respect to the beam resulting in the largest signal quality, wherein either a beam having a direction of departure that is larger or a beam having a direction of departure that is smaller than direction of departures of the other beams is prioritized over the other beams. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A beamforming method comprising:
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determining a signal quality for each combination of a transmission beam transmitted by adjusting amplitude and phase applied to a plurality of individual elements of a transmit antenna array and a reception beam received by adjusting amplitude and phase applied to a plurality of individual elements of a receive antenna array from candidate sets of transmission and reception beams; prioritizing the combinations in accordance with a metric that is based upon a signal quality for a given combination measured at a receiver and at least one of;
a direction of departure of the transmission beam in the given combination and a direction of arrival of the reception beam in the given combination;selecting a particular combination in accordance with the priority of the particular combination; and transmitting or receiving data signals on the beams in the particular combination, wherein the prioritizing comprises; ordering the combinations in accordance with an angular disparity with respect to a combination resulting in the largest signal quality. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification