MULTIPLE-INPUT MULTIPLE-OUTPUT CELLULAR NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20160065290A1
• Filed: 03/27/2014
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qinghua Li, Sreepadaraj Karanam, Xiaogang Chen, Yuan Zhu
• Inventors: ZHU, YUAN, LI, QINGHUA, CHEN, XIAOGANG, SHIRANI-MEHR, HOOMAN
• Granted Patent: US 9,954,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0417 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/0008 arrangements for allowing a transmitter or receiver to use more than one type of modulation negotiating modulation type for two-way transmission paths H04L5/1453
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/362 Modulation using more than one carrier, e.g. with quadrature carriers, separately amplitude modulated H04L27/366 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/006 Quality of the received signal, e.g. BER, SNR, water filling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/041 Key generation or derivation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0209 in terminal devices terminal devices per se H04W88/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 : Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A technology for an enhanced node B (eNB) that is operable to perform beamforming using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) in a cellular network. One or more user equipment (UEs) can be configured to use a same or different multiple port (multi-port) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) pattern. Feedback reports can be received from the one or more UEs associated with the multi-port CSI-RS pattern at the eNB. A UE-specific or more UEs at the eNB using the feedback report from the one or more UEs.

Claims

1. An enhanced node B (eNB) operable to perform beamforming using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) in a cellular network, having computer circuitry configured to:

configure one or more user equipment (UEs) to use a same or different multiple port (multi-port) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) pattern;

receive feedback reports from the one or more UEs associated with the multi-port CSI-RS pattern at the eNB; and

construct a UE-specific or group UE-specific cell for the one or more UEs at the eNB using the feedback report from the one or more UEs.

2. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to make multiple antenna ports visible to the one or more UEs to enable the one or more UEs to receive the multi-port CSI-RS pattern.

3. The computer circuitry of claim 2, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to make the multiple antenna ports visible to the one or more UEs by sending the one or more UEs a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message describing the CSI-RS pattern.

4. The computer circuitry of claim 3, wherein the RRC configuration message indicates a number of antenna ports available, a resource element position, or a CSI-RS to physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) energy per resource element (EPRE) ratio.

5. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to receive a feedback report that includes at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) report or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) report.

6. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to beamform using a three dimensional (3D) MIMO or a full dimension (FD) MIMO with a 2D antenna array.

7. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to form a virtual UE-specific or a virtual group UE-specific cell comprising at least one virtual antenna port.

8. The computer circuitry of claim 7, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to associate with a plurality of antenna elements in a 2D antenna array.

9. The computer circuitry of claim 8, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to construct the UE specific or group UE-specific cell to form a desired radiation pattern by changing a number of antenna elements used in the virtual antenna port or changing an electrical tilting level of the virtual antenna port by adjusting the beamforming weight on each antenna element of the virtual antenna port in the 2D antenna array based on the feedback report from the one or more UEs.

10. The computer circuitry of claim 8, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to configure the one or more UEs using the CSI-RS pattern with X_max antenna elements, wherein X_max is selected based on a maximum number of CSI-RS ports that is less than or equal to a selected number of antenna elements in the 2D antenna array.

11. The computer circuitry of claim 10, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to use consecutive X_max antenna elements with a same polarization in a column of the 2D antenna array for the maximum number of CSI-RS ports.

12. The computer circuitry of claim 6, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to adjust a vertical beamforming portion of the 3D beamforming or FD beamforming, wherein the computer circuitry adjusts the vertical beamforming portion by changing a number of the antenna elements for the vertical beamforming portion or changing a beamforming weight of at least one of the antenna elements based on the feedback report from the one or more UEs that is associated with the multi-port CSI-RS pattern.

13. A user equipment (UE) operable to communicate in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cellular network, having computer circuitry configured to:

receive a multiple port (multi-port) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) pattern from an enhanced node B (eNB) at the UE, wherein the multi-port CSI-RS pattern is associated with multiple antenna ports;

calculate a reference signal received power (RSRP) or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) for each antenna port associated with the CSI-RS pattern; and

communicate a feedback report to the eNB, wherein the feedback report includes the RSRP or the RSRQ for each antenna port.

14. The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to:

select an antenna port having a highest received power or a highest received quality; and

provide feedback to the eNB of the selected antenna port.

15. The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry configured to receive the multi-port CSI-RS pattern is further configured to receive the multi-port CSI-RS pattern for the multiple antenna ports, wherein the multiple antenna ports are associated with:

multiple antennas in a 2D antenna array;

each antenna in a column of the 2D antenna array;

multiple antennas in the column of the 2D antenna array;

multiple columns in the 2D antenna array;

or

each antenna in the 2D antenna array.

16. The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to use a codebook for X antennas to derive a beamforming weight for the X antennas, wherein X is a number of antennas associated with the multiple antenna ports.

The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to use a codebook with only discrete Fourier transform (DFT) vectors for the X antennas, wherein the codebook is defined as:

W_X,l=[w_1,l, w_2,l, . . . , w_X,l]^T and

17. The computer circuitry of claim 14, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to select an antenna port by determining a greatest RSRP or a greatest RSRQ of the multiple antenna ports.

18. The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to report a desired beamforming weight index for selected antenna elements in a 2D antenna array of the eNB.

19. The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to communicate the feedback report to the eNB using a closed-loop MIMO.

20. The computer circuitry of claim 13, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to receive a beamformed signal from a virtual UE-specific or group UE-specific cell based on closed-loop feedback from the UE to the eNB for the multiple antenna ports.

21. A method for beamforming in a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) cellular network, the method comprising:

configuring a user equipment (UE) to use a multiple port (multi-port) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) pattern from an enhanced node B (eNB), wherein the multi-port CSI-RS pattern is associated with multiple antenna ports at the eNB;

receiving a reference signal received power (RSRP) report from the UE associated with the multi-port CSI-RS pattern at the eNB; and

constructing a virtual UE-specific cell for the UE at the eNB using the RSRP report.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein constructing the virtual UE-specific cell further comprises beamforming using a three dimensional (3D) MIMO or a full dimension (FD) MIMO with a 2D antenna array at the eNB.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein constructing the UE-specific or group UE-specific cell further comprises forming a virtual UE-specific cell comprising at least one virtual antenna port.

24. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising associating the virtual antenna port with a plurality of antenna elements in a 2D antenna array.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises configuring the UE using the CSI-RS pattern with X_max antenna elements, wherein X_max is selected based on a maximum number of CSI-RS antenna ports supported by an antenna array of the eNB.

26. The method of claim 25, the method further comprising using consecutive X_max antenna elements with a same polarization in a column of the antenna array for the maximum number of CSI-RS antenna ports.

27. The method of claim 21, the method further comprising selecting a defined number of antennas associated with an antenna port based on the feedback report from the UE.

28. The method of claim 21, further comprising beamforming by:

adjusting an electrical tilt of one virtual antenna port by adjusting the beamforming weight of the antenna elements in an antenna column to map to the virtual antenna port;

adjusting an antenna array tilt;

or

changing a number of antenna element that are used in each antenna column of a 2D antenna array.