Methods for efficient beam training and communications apparatus and network control device utilizing the same

• US 9,954,590 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2015
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Inventors: Yu, Chia-Hao, Chang, Ming-Po, Guey, Jiann-Ching
• Primary Examiner(s): Thompson, Jr., Otis L
• Application Number:
  US14/938,103
• Publication Number:
  US 20160065284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0456 Selection of precoding matrices or codebooks, e.g. using matrices antenna weighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/061 using feedback from receiving side
• 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 7/088 using beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

A network control device includes a wireless communications module and a controller. The wireless communications module uses a preferred transmitting beam to communicate with a communications apparatus in one or more downlink opportunities corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam. The controller schedules signal or data to be transmitted in at least one downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam. When scheduling signal or data to be transmitted, the controller further provides at least one training gap, in which the controller does not schedule any dedicated data to the communications apparatus, in the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam.

Claims

1. A network control device, comprising:

a wireless communications module, using a preferred transmitting beam to communicate with a communications apparatus in one or more downlink opportunities corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam; and

a controller, scheduling signal or data to be transmitted in at least one downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam,

wherein when scheduling signal or data to be transmitted, the controller further provides at least one training gap, in which the controller does not schedule any dedicated data to the communications apparatus, in the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam, and

wherein the controller further assigns an identifier to the communications apparatus after a random access procedure of the communications apparatus is completed, and obtains information regarding a position of the training gap according to the identifier assigned to the communications apparatus.

2. The network control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position of the training gap according to random access resources selected by the communications apparatus.

3. The network control device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the random access resources comprise a random access preamble and a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

4. The network control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position and a duration of the training gap according to random access resources selected by the communications apparatus.

5. The network control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further assigns an identifier to the communications apparatus after a random access procedure of the communications apparatus is completed, and obtains information regarding a position and a duration of the training gap according to the identifier assigned to the communications apparatus.

6. The network control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further determines a position of the training gap in the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam, and the wireless communications module further transmits a signal comprising information regarding the position of the training gap to the communications apparatus.

7. The network control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further determines a position and a duration of the training gap in the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam, and the wireless communications module further transmits a signal comprising information regarding the position and the duration of the training gap to the communications apparatus.

8. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a wireless communications module, capable of supporting a plurality of receiving beams and using a preferred receiving beam to communicate with a network control device in one or more downlink opportunities corresponding to a preferred transmitting beam of the network control device, wherein the preferred receiving beam and the preferred transmitting beam are determined in a previous beam training procedure; and

a controller, training at least one receiving beam other than the preferred receiving beam in at least one training gap of at least one downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam by using the at least one receiving beam other than the preferred receiving beam to receive signals transmitted by the network control device via the preferred transmitting beam in the training gap, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position of the training gap according to an identifier assigned by the network control device after a random access procedure is completed.

9. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller directs the wireless communications module to use the at least one receiving beam other than the preferred receiving beam to receive the signals transmitted by the network control device in the training gap of the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam, and directs the wireless communications module to use the preferred receiving beam to receive signals or dedicated data transmitted by the network control device in the remaining time of the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam.

10. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position of the training gap according to selected random access resources.

11. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the selected random access resources comprise a random access preamble and a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

12. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position and a duration of the training gap according to selected random access resources.

13. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position and a duration of the training gap according to an identifier assigned by the network control device after a random access procedure is completed.

14. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position of the training gap from a signal received from the network control device.

15. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller further obtains information regarding a position and a duration of the training gap from a signal received from the network control device.

16. A method for efficient beam training, comprising:

determining a position of at least one training gap in at least one downlink opportunity corresponding to a preferred transmitting beam of a network control device, wherein the preferred transmitting beam is determined in a previous beam training procedure and the network control device uses the preferred transmitting beam to communicate with a communications apparatus; and

not scheduling dedicated data transmission to the communications apparatus in the training gap,

wherein the position of the training gap is determined according to an identifier assigned to the communications apparatus after a random access procedure is completed.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising:

scheduling dedicate data transmission to the communications apparatus in the remaining time of the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam.

18. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the position of the training gap is determined according to random access resources selected by the communications apparatus.

19. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the random access resources comprises a random access preamble and a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

20. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting a signal comprising information regarding the position of the training gap to the communications apparatus.

21. A method for efficient beam training, comprising:

training at least one receiving beam other than a preferred receiving beam of a communications apparatus in at least one downlink opportunity corresponding to a preferred transmitting beam of a network control device by using the at least one receiving beam other than the preferred receiving beam to receive signals transmitted by the network control device in at least one training gap of the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam, wherein the preferred receiving beam and the preferred transmitting beam are determined in a previous beam training procedure;

using the preferred receiving beam to receive signal or dedicated data from the network control device in the remaining time of the downlink opportunity corresponding to the preferred transmitting beam; and

obtaining information regarding a position and/or a duration of the training gap according to an identifier assigned by the network control device to the communications apparatus after a random access procedure is completed.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

obtaining information regarding a position and/or a duration of the training gap according to selected random access resources.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the selected random access resources comprise a random access preamble and a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

24. The method as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

obtaining information regarding a position and/or a duration of the training gap from a signal received from the network control device.