# US 12,015,461 B2 · Methods, apparatus and machine-readable mediums relating to adjusting beam gain in wireless communication networks > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,015,461 B2 - Document ID: US12015461B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/424,495 - Filed: 2020-01-09 - Published: 2022-01-13 - Granted: 2024-06-18 - Earliest claimed: 2019-01-21 - Assignees: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) - Applicants: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) - Inventors: Torbjörn Wigren - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12015461B2 ## CPC - H04B 7/0465: {taking power constraints at power amplifier or emission constraints, e.g. constant modulus, into account} - H04B 7/0617: {for beam forming} - H04B 7/086: {using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming} - H04B 7/0862: {receiver computing weights based on information from the transmitter} - H04B: TRANSMISSION ## Abstract A method for adjusting beam gain in a radio network node. The method comprises: obtaining a channel estimate based on a reference signal transmitted by a target wireless device; applying a set of weights to the channel estimate to obtain a weighted channel estimate; and outputting the weighted channel estimate for use in determining beamforming weights to be applied to signals output to a plurality of antenna elements for transmission to the target wireless device, wherein the beamforming weights are determined as a function of the weighted channel estimate. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for adjusting beam gain in a radio network node, the method comprising: obtaining a channel estimate based on a reference signal transmitted by a target wireless device; determining a set of weights to be applied to the channel estimate, wherein the set of weights is determined so as to achieve a given reduction in beam gain, wherein determining the set of weights comprises iteratively adjusting the set of weights until the given reduction in beam gain is achieved, and wherein determining the set of weights comprises solving G(1)−ΔG−G(ρ)=0, where G(1) denotes a maximum beam gain without weighting of the channel estimate, G(ρ) denotes a maximum beam gain with weighting as a function of a parameter ρ, and ΔG is the given reduction in beam gain; applying the determined set of weights to the channel estimate to obtain a weighted channel estimate; and determining, as a function of the weighted channel estimate, beamforming weights to be applied to signals output to a plurality of antenna elements for transmission to the target wireless device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of weights are initialized to a set of initial values to achieve the given reduction in beam gain assuming a flat channel. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein the set of initial values is obtained from a table of predetermined values associated with given reductions in beam gain assuming the flat channel. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of weights depends on a single configured parameter. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method according to claim 4, wherein the set of weights comprise values selected from ρx where ρ is the single configured parameter and x is an integer. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein the set of weights is equal to ρ = ( ρ 0 … ρ N - 1 ⋮ ⋱ ⋮ ρ 0 … ρ N - 1 ) where N is a number of antenna elements. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the weighted channel estimate is a Hadamard matrix product of the set of weights and the channel estimate. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the channel estimate comprises: receiving the reference signal transmitted by the target wireless device; and calculating the channel estimate based on the received reference signal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the channel estimate comprises: receiving the channel estimate from a processing node associated with the radio network node. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the beamforming weights comprises utilizing a minimum mean square error algorithm. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the beamforming weights comprises determining beamforming weights W according to W=(H+Γ)−1 where is the weighted channel estimate, Γ is a covariance matrix of a channel estimation error, and H is a complex transpose of . ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the channel estimate comprises one or more zeros located on or close to a unit circle of the channel estimate, and wherein the set of weights are configured such that the one or more zeros are moved from the unit circle and the weighted channel estimate comprises no zeroes on the unit circle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed in the radio network node. ### Claim 14 A network node comprising: processing circuitry; and a memory comprising instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the network node to: obtain a channel estimate based on a reference signal transmitted by a target wireless device; determine a set of weights to be applied to the channel estimate, wherein the set of weights is determined so as to achieve a given reduction in beam gain, wherein to determine the set of weights comprises iteratively adjusting the set of weights until the given reduction in beam gain is achieved, and wherein to determine the set of weights comprises solving G(1)−ΔG−G(ρ)=0, where G(1) denotes a maximum beam gain without weighting of the channel estimate, G(ρ) denotes a maximum beam gain with weighting as a function of a parameter ρ, and ΔG is the given reduction in beam gain; apply the determined set of weights to the channel estimate to obtain a weighted channel estimate; and determine, as a function of the weighted channel estimate, beamforming weights to be applied to signals output to a plurality of antenna elements for transmission to the target wireless device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The network node according to claim 14, wherein the set of weights depends on a single configured parameter. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The network node according to claim 15, wherein the set of weights comprise values selected from ρx where ρ is the single configured parameter and x is an integer. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The network node according to claim 16, wherein the set of weights is equal to ρ = ( ρ 0 … ρ N - 1 ⋮ ⋱ ⋮ ρ 0 … ρ N - 1 ) where N is a number of antenna elements.