UE INITIATED DISCOVERY IN ASSISTED MILLIMETER WAVELENGTH WIRELESS ACCESS NETWORKS

• US 20150373627A1
• Filed: 06/18/2014
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: RYU, Jung Ho, SUBRAMANIAN, Sundar, LI, Junyi, SAMPATH, Ashwin
• Granted Patent: US 9,451,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0619 using feedback from receiving side feedback signaling for adaptive modulation/coding H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0802 using antenna selection H04B7/0868 takes precedence; antenna beam directivity switching H01Q3/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus may be a UE. The UE transmits a beamformed broadcast request signal to a base station in a plurality of transmissions in transmit spatial directions of the UE, receives a beamformed broadcast response signal from the base station in a resource of a plurality of resources, and determines a preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE based on the resource in which the beamformed broadcast response signal is received. The apparatus may be a base station. The base station scans for a beamformed broadcast request signal from a UE, determines a preferred transmit spatial direction of transmit spatial directions of the UE, determines a resource of a plurality of resources for indicating the determined preferred transmit spatial direction, and transmits a beamformed broadcast response signal to the UE in the determined resource.

Claims

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

transmitting a beamformed broadcast request signal to a base station in a plurality of transmissions in a plurality of transmit spatial directions of the UE;

receiving a beamformed broadcast response signal from the base station in a resource of a plurality of resources; and

determining a preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE based on the resource in which the beamformed broadcast response signal is received.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information indicating a type of beamforming used at the base station, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted based on the received information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted through a first network and the information is received through a second network, the first network having a higher carrier frequency than the second network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information received through the second network further indicates a timing associated with the first network, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted through the first network based on the indicated timing.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the received information further indicates configuration information of the base station, and the beamformed broadcast request signal includes a sequence that is based on the indicated configuration information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sequence is a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of transmissions comprises N transmissions, where N is equal to n*m when the information indicates a first type of beamforming is used and is equal to n*(m/m′

) when the information indicates a second type of beamforming is used, n being a number of transmit spatial directions of the UE, m being a number of scan spatial directions of the base station, and m′

being a number of spatial directions in which the base station can scan concurrently.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first type of beamforming is an analog beamforming and the second type of beamforming is a digital beamforming.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein in the first type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted m times in each of n different transmit spatial directions of the UE, and in the second type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted (m/m′

) times in each of n different transmit spatial directions of the UE.

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

scanning for a beamformed broadcast request signal from a user equipment (UE), the beamformed broadcast request signal being associated with a plurality of transmissions from the UE, each transmission being associated with a transmit spatial direction of a plurality of transmit spatial directions of the UE;

determining a preferred transmit spatial direction of the transmit spatial directions of the UE;

determining a resource of a plurality of resources for indicating the determined preferred transmit spatial direction; and

transmitting a beamformed broadcast response signal to the UE in the determined resource.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising sending information indicating a type of beamforming used at the base station, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned based on the sent information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned through a first network and the information is sent through a second network, the first network having a higher carrier frequency than the second network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the information sent through the second network further indicates a timing associated with the first network, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned through the first network based on the indicated timing.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the sent information further indicates configuration information of the base station, and the beamformed broadcast request signal includes a sequence that is based on the indicated configuration information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sequence is a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of transmissions comprises N transmissions, where N is equal to n*m when the information indicates a first type of beamforming is used and is equal to n*(m/m′

) when the information indicates a second type of beamforming is used, n being a number of transmit spatial directions of the UE, m being a number of scan spatial directions of the base station, and m′

being the number of spatial directions in which the base station can receive concurrently.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first type of beamforming is an analog beamforming and the second type of beamforming is a digital beamforming.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein in the first type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned n times in each of m different scan spatial directions of the base station, and in the second type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned n*(m/m′

) times.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising processing the beamformed broadcast request signal based on at least one scan spatial direction of the base station of m different possible scan spatial directions of the base station when the second type of beamforming used, wherein the preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE is determined based on the processing.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining a preferred receive spatial direction of the base station based on the processing when the second type of beamforming is used.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining a preferred receive spatial direction of the base station when the first type of beamforming is used, the preferred receive spatial direction of the base station being one of the m different scan spatial directions of the base station, the preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE being one of the n different transmit spatial directions of the UE.

22. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being a user equipment (UE), comprising:

means for transmitting a beamformed broadcast request signal to a base station in a plurality of transmissions in a plurality of transmit spatial directions of the UE;

means for receiving a beamformed broadcast response signal from the base station in a resource of a plurality of resources; and

means for determining a preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE based on the resource in which the beamformed broadcast response signal is received.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for receiving information indicating a type of beamforming used at the base station, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted based on the received information.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted through a first network and the information is received through a second network, the first network having a higher carrier frequency than the second network.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the information received through the second network further indicates a timing associated with the first network, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted through the first network based on the indicated timing.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the received information further indicates configuration information of the base station, and the beamformed broadcast request signal includes a sequence that is based on the indicated configuration information.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the sequence is a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the plurality of transmissions comprises N transmissions, where N is equal to n*m when the information indicates a first type of beamforming is used and is equal to n*(m/m′

) when the information indicates a second type of beamforming is used, n being a number of transmit spatial directions of the UE, m being a number of scan spatial directions of the base station, and m′

being the number of spatial directions in which the base station can scan concurrently.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first type of beamforming is an analog beamforming and the second type of beamforming is a digital beamforming.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein in the first type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted m times in each of n different transmit spatial directions of the UE, and in the second type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is transmitted (m/m′

) in each of n different transmit spatial directions of the UE.

31. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being a base station, comprising:

means for scanning for a beamformed broadcast request signal from a user equipment (UE), the beamformed broadcast request signal being associated with a plurality of transmissions from the UE, each transmission being associated with a transmit spatial direction of a plurality of transmit spatial directions of the UE;

means for determining a preferred transmit spatial direction of the transmit spatial directions of the UE;

means for determining a resource of a plurality of resources for indicating the determined preferred transmit spatial direction; and

means for transmitting a beamformed broadcast response signal to the UE in the determined resource.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising means for sending information indicating a type of beamforming used at the base station, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned based on the sent information.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned through a first network and the information is sent through a second network, the first network having a higher carrier frequency than the second network.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the information sent through the second network further indicates a timing associated with the first network, wherein the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned through the first network based on the indicated timing.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the sent information further indicates configuration information of the base station, and the beamformed broadcast request signal includes a sequence that is based on the indicated configuration information.

36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the plurality of transmissions comprises N transmissions, where N is equal to n*m when the information indicates a first type of beamforming is used and is equal to n*(m/m′

) when the information indicates a second type of beamforming is used, n being a number of transmit spatial directions of the UE, m being a number of scan spatial directions of the base station, and m′

being the number of spatial directions in which the base station can scan concurrently.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the first type of beamforming is an analog beamforming and the second type of beamforming is a digital beamforming.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein in the first type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned n times in each of m different scan spatial directions of the base station, and in the second type of beamforming, the beamformed broadcast request signal is scanned n*(m/m′

) times.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising means for processing the beamformed broadcast request signal based on at least one scan spatial direction of the base station of m different possible scan spatial directions of the base station when the second type of beamforming used, wherein the preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE is determined based on the processing.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising means for determining a preferred receive spatial direction of the base station when the first type of beamforming is used, the preferred receive spatial direction of the base station being one of the m different scan spatial directions of the base station, the preferred transmit spatial direction of the UE being one of the n different transmit spatial directions of the UE.