Apparatus, system and method of wireless backhaul and access communication via a common antenna array

• US 9,621,248 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2015
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Maltsev, Alexander, Sadri, Ali S., Arefi, Reza, Sergeyev, Vadim, Davydov, Alexei
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLS, DONALD L
• Application Number:
  US14/953,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20160094286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/1555 Selecting relay station antenna mode, e.g. selecting omnidirectional -, directional beams, selecting polarizations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/045 between access point and backbone network device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/10 between terminal device and access point, i.e. wireless air interface

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include apparatuses, systems and/or methods of wireless backhaul and access communication via a common antenna array. For example, an apparatus may include a wireless communication unit to control an antenna array to form one or more first beams for communicating over one or more access links and to form one or more second beams for communicating over one or more backhaul links, the access links including wireless communication links between a wireless communication node and one or more mobile devices, and the backhaul links including wireless communication links between the wireless node and one or more other wireless communication nodes.

Claims

1. A wireless apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors configured to;

cause one or more first sub-arrays of an antenna array of a wireless communication node to form one or more first directional beams to allow communications on one or more backhaul links between the wireless communication node and one or more other wireless communication nodes;

cause one or more second sub-arrays of the antenna array to form one or more second directional beams to allow communications on one or more access links between the wireless communication node and one or more mobile devices; and

process Multi-User (MU) Multi-Input-Multi-Output (MIMO) communications over the backhaul links and the access links,

wherein said one or more processors comprise;

a beamforming processor component configured to cause the one or more first sub-arrays to form the one or more first directional beams, and to cause the one or more second sub-arrays to form the one or more second directional beams;

a backhaul processor component configured to process the communications on said one or more backhaul links; and

an access processor component configured to process the communications on said one or more access links.

2. The wireless apparatus of claim 1 comprising:

a first plurality of baseband processor components configured to perform baseband processing between said backhaul processor component and said beamforming processor component; and

a second plurality of baseband processor components configured to perform baseband processing between said access processor component and said beamforming processor component.

3. The wireless apparatus of claim 2, wherein one or more baseband processor components of said first plurality of baseband processor components are configured to decode the communications on said one or more backhaul links from said beamforming processor component, and to encode the communications on said one or more backhaul links from said backhaul processor component.

4. The wireless apparatus of claim 2, wherein one or more baseband processor components of said second plurality of baseband processor components are configured to decode the communications on said one or more access links from said beamforming processor component, and to encode the communications on said one or more access links from said access processor component.

5. The wireless apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one or more processors are configured to cause the wireless communication node to perform the communications on said backhaul links during one or more first time periods, and to perform the communications on said access links during one or more second time periods, different from the first time periods.

6. The wireless apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one or more processors are configured to trigger the wireless communication node to transmit, during a first time period, transmissions over said backhaul links and transmissions over said access links, and to process reception, during a second time period, which is different from the first time period, of received communications over said backhaul links and received communications over said access links.

7. The wireless apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one or more processors are configured to cause the wireless communication node to simultaneously perform communications over said backhaul links and over said access links during a same time period.

8. The wireless apparatus of claim 1, wherein said backhaul links comprise links to communicate traffic between said mobile devices and a core network.

9. The wireless apparatus of claim 1, wherein said access links and said backhaul links comprise links over a millimeter-wave (mmWave) band or a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) band.

10. The wireless apparatus of claim 1 comprising said antenna array.

11. The wireless apparatus of claim 1 comprising a network interface configured to communicate between said wireless communication node and a core network.

12. The wireless apparatus of claim 1 comprising said wireless communication node.

13. A product comprising a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a machine, result in performing one or more operations at a wireless communication node, the operations comprising:

causing, by a beamforming processor, one or more first sub-arrays of an antenna array of said wireless communication node to form one or more first directional beams to allow communications on one or more backhaul links between the wireless communication node and one or more other wireless communication nodes;

causing, by said beamforming processor, one or more second sub-arrays of the antenna array to form one or more second directional beams to allow communications on one or more access links between the wireless communication node and one or more mobile devices; and

processing Multi-User (MU) Multi-Input-Multi-Output (MIMO) communications over the backhaul links and the access links, said processing comprises performing first baseband processing of the communications on said one or more backhaul links, and performing second baseband processing of the communications on said one or more access links.

14. The product of claim 13, wherein the operations comprise performing the first baseband processing separate from the second baseband processing.

15. The product of claim 13, wherein the operations comprise causing the wireless communication node to perform the communications on said backhaul links during one or more first time periods, and to perform the communications on said access links during one or more second time periods, different from the first time periods.

16. The product of claim 13, wherein the operations comprise causing the wireless communication node to transmit, during a first time period, transmissions over said backhaul links and transmissions over said access links, and to process reception, during a second time period, which is different from the first time period, of received communications over said backhaul links and received communications over said access links.

17. The product of claim 13, wherein the operations comprise causing the wireless communication node to simultaneously perform communications over said backhaul links and over said access links during a same time period.

18. The product of claim 13, wherein said backhaul links comprise links to communicate traffic between said mobile devices and a core network.

19. The product of claim 13, wherein said access links and said backhaul links comprise links over a millimeter-wave (mmWave) band or a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) band.

20. The product of claim 13, wherein the operations comprise communicating between said wireless communication node and a core network.

21. A method to be performed at a wireless communication node, the method comprising:

causing, by a beamforming processor, one or more first sub-arrays of an antenna array of said wireless communication node to form one or more first directional beams to allow communications on one or more backhaul links between the wireless communication node and one or more other wireless communication nodes;

causing, by said beamforming processor, one or more second sub-arrays of the antenna array to form one or more second directional beams to allow communications on one or more access links between the wireless communication node and one or more mobile devices; and

processing Multi-User (MU) Multi-Input-Multi-Output (MIMO) communications over the backhaul links and the access links, said processing comprises performing first baseband processing of the communications on said one or more backhaul links, and performing second baseband processing of the communications on said one or more access links.

22. The method of claim 21 comprising performing the first baseband processing separate from the second baseband processing.

23. The method of claim 21 comprising causing the wireless communication node to perform the communications on said backhaul links during one or more first time periods, and to perform the communications on said access links during one or more second time periods, which are different from the first time periods.