US 11,115,099 B2Granted

System and method for supporting antenna beamforming in a cellular network

AssigneeApple Inc.

InventorsYi Song, Lai King Tee, Jun Li

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Abstract

The present invention is a method and system for supporting a beamforming antenna system in a mobile broadband communication network with an improved beam pattern, beam sweep pattern, pilot channel design with feedback and reporting rules, and control signaling design. Specifically, the improved beam pattern includes a method of supporting wireless communications in a wireless network forming at least two spatial beams within a cell segment where the at least two spatial beams are associated with different power levels, and separately, where at least two spatial beams can be moved across the cell segment according to a unique sweep pattern. The pilot channel design improves network bandwidth performance and improves user mobility tracking. Feedback and reporting rules can be established using a particular field designator, CQI, in the preferred embodiment.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for operating a receiver, the method comprising:

by the receiver:
receiving pilot channel indicator signals from an access node corresponding to a plurality of spatial beams, wherein each of the pilot channel indicator signals is transmitted in a beamformed fashion on one of the plurality of spatial beams;
exchanging layer 3 signaling, wherein the layer 3 signaling indicates a feedback mode;
generating a feedback signal based on the layer 3 signaling, wherein:
when the feedback mode is a first mode, said feedback signal includes a first beam index, wherein the first beam index corresponds to the pilot channel indicator signal of the first beam among the plurality of spatial beams;
and
when the feedback mode is a second mode, said feedback signal includes two beam indices corresponding to two pilot channel indicator signals of two spatial beams among the plurality of spatial beams, wherein the second mode facilitates transmission to the receiver on the two spatial beams simultaneously;
transmitting said feedback signal to the access node from the first receiver;
receiving a transmission from the access node, the transmission at least in part based on an analysis of the feedback signal.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/869,192Filed 7 May 2020 · continuation
Priority: 9 May 2008
Published: US 2020/0266871 A120 Aug 2020
Granted: 7 Sep 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04B 7/0632
Feedback content: channel quality parameters, e.g. channel quality indicator [CQI]
H04B 7/0408
Using two or more spaced independent antennas: using two or more beams, i.e. beam diversity
H04B 7/0617
Of weighted versions of same signal: for beam forming
H04B 7/0639
Feedback format: using selective indices, e.g. of a codebook, e.g. pre-distortion matrix index [PMI] or for beam selection

Family

Application61/052,011Us provisional application · filed 9 May 2008
PCT/US2009/002866Parent of this continuation · filed 8 May 2009
Application14/289,723Parent of this continuation · filed 29 May 2014
Application15/590,151Parent of this continuation · filed 9 May 2017
Application15/969,108Parent of this continuation · filed 2 May 2018
Application16/289,783Parent of this continuation · filed 1 Mar 2019
US 2020/0266871 A1Pre-grant publication · published 20 Aug 2020
US 10,686,510 B2Parent of this continuation
US 10,263,683 B2Parent of this continuation
US 9,985,710 B2Parent of this continuation
US 9,680,536 B2Parent of this continuation
Application12/990,989Parent of this continuation
US 8,750,933 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2011/0065448 A1Published application
US 2014/0269581 A1Published application
US 2017/0244464 A1Published application
US 2018/0254818 A1Published application
US 2019/0268057 A1Published application
US 11,115,099 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.