Multi-beam MIMO time division duplex base station using subset of radios

Abstract

A system and method may include a plurality of transmit and receive antennas covering one sector of a cellular communication base station; a multi-beam RF beamforming matrix connected to the transmit and receive antennas; a plurality of radio circuitries connected to the multi-beam RF beamforming matrix; and a baseband module connected to the radio circuitries. The multi-beam RF beamforming matrix may be configured to generate one sector beam and two or more directional co-frequency beams pointed at user equipment (UEs) within the sector, as instructed by the baseband module. A number M denotes the number the directional beams and a number N denotes the number of the radio circuitries and wherein M>N.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of radio frequency (RF) multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems and in particular to systems and methods for enhanced performance of RF MIMO systems using RF beamforming and/or digital signal processing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to increase the number of users that can simultaneously use a cell's resources (e.g., spectrum), as well as reducing inter-cell interference by shrinking footprint of downlink signals, Active Antenna Array solutions (AAS) may be used to split cells into sectors; such cell splitting may be done in both Azimuth and Elevation domains, breaking up the cell into horizontal or vertical beams, or 2D (two dimensional) beams. Efficient reuse of spectrum in such sectors apparatus requires knowledge of “cross-talk” between different beams as seen by the UEs. It is also desirable to shape the beams in such a way that will minimize such cross-talk; internal cross-talk created by side-lobes and grating lobes should be controlled by antenna technology means, while external cross-talk sources coming from environmental reflections (multipath) should be handled by informed antennas weight setting.

As typical AAS solutions require multiplication of transceivers and baseband circuitries, sometimes driving costs up, architectures that may implement MU (multiple users) MIMO base station with less hardware may be advantageous in cases where cost sensitivity is significant.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method which may include a plurality of transmit and receive antennas covering one sector of a cellular communication base station; a multi-beam RF beamforming matrix connected to said transmit and receive antennas; a plurality of radio circuitries connected to said multi-beam RF beamforming matrix; and a baseband module connected to said radio circuitries. The multi-beam RF beamforming matrix is configured to generate one sector beam and two or more directional co-frequency beams pointed at user equipment (UEs) within said sector, as instructed by the baseband module. A number M denotes the number said directional beams and a number N denotes the number of said radio circuitries and wherein M>N.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention and in order to show how it may be implemented, references are made, purely by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals designate corresponding elements or sections. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating distribution of UEs in a sector and demonstrates cell/sector splitting in that sector according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an example implementation of a 2D RF beamformer according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows an example implementation of an N out of M beam selection according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a beamformer using independent Femto-cells according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a prior art example implementation, using M*K transceivers, digital beamforming, and M DSP Modems residing in baseband according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an example of a cell with a sector split into two subsectors and supporting two simultaneous users according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an exemplary 4×4 tunable Butler Matrix according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows an example of a base station embodiment implementing a combination of an omni (or a wide sector) antenna and a multi-beam set of radios which is served by a scanning receiver which assists in all matrix antennas channel estimation according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows examples of antenna arrays according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows a method of separation of UEs into categories according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows cross-talk estimation intra beam constellation according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows different constellations of beams that transmit simultaneously over same resources according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 13 shows a procedure for cross-talk estimation in beam constellations according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 14A shows a procedure for weights setting and simultaneous beams calculation process according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 14B shows a procedure for load balancing according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 shows a scheduler process according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are for the purpose of example and solely for discussing the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention. The description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

Before explaining the embodiments of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following descriptions or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is applicable to other embodiments and may be practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cell 100 which is served by a basestation 110 which provides coverage in three sectors 101, 102 and 103. Sector 101 has been split, sectioned or divided into four subsectors 120, 130, 140 and 150 which are serving eight user equipment (UE) devices 160 to 167. The figure shows the UEs distributed or assigned to different sub sectors within sector 101. Assuming all UEs in a sector employ the same communications resources (e.g., the same protocols, channels, etc.), only one UE may normally communicate with the basestation 110 at one time (e.g., during one time period). When the sector is split into several subsectors as shown, it is assumed that some UEs may be active simultaneously and others not. It can be seen that UEs 160 and 161 may not operate simultaneously because they would create interference to each other. However, either may be operated with UE devices 164, 165, or 167 since they reside in non-adjacent or non-contiguous subsectors (e.g., subsectors that are not touching). For this case, it may be possible to operate UE devices 160 or 161 simultaneously with user UE device 162 depending on the interference each sees from the other.

FIG. 2 shows RF Beamformer 200. For this case an antenna array 201 including (in this example) 16 antennas 210 through 225 are combined in beamformer matrices 230 to 237 to output RF signals for 16 beams 240 to 255. Each beam is capable of illuminating (e.g., broadcasting to) one subsector when transmitting/receiving. In this configuration the antenna elements are arranged in four columns of four antennas. Other arrangements and other numbers of beams and antennas are possible. Each column of antennas is capable of creating up to four subsectors, each increasingly further from the basestation than the other. Similarly, each row of antennas is capable of creating up to four subsectors displaced in azimuth but extending from the basestation to the edge of cell. For the 16 antenna array shown, the beamformer may generate a four by four arrangement in coverage. In practice, not all beams would be required to implement complete sector coverage. Also, other antenna array sizes may be deployed and be within the purposes of this invention.

In one embodiment each of the beams (e.g., up to sixteen) may have a radio capable of measuring channel metrics for the communications to users (operating UE devices) in a subsector beam. When one user UE device is transmitting, the other radios may measure and record the amplitude of that signal in the other beams as contamination (interference). After all subsector beams have been characterized for all UE devices in a sector, a decision can be made to assign which UE devices to which subsector beams for operation and to determine which UE devices can be operated simultaneously with which others. Inasmuch as the beams and subsectors overlap in coverage to ensure communications are possible anywhere in the sector, support for one UE device may be provided by more than one beam (e.g., in FIG. 1, a user, e.g., operating UE 163 may be assigned to subsector 130 or 140). This assignment could be dynamic depending which other UE device is active at that time. For example, a user, e.g., operating UE 163 may be assigned to subsector 140 when operating with a user, e.g. operating UE device 162 but assigned to subsector 130 when operating simultaneously with UE devices 164, 165 or 166. It should be noted that if the system is TDD (time division duplex) (i.e., uses the same communications resources for the forward and reverse link), the basestation would normally transmit to a UE device on the same beam it used for receive. However, the scheduler might choose a different beam depending on which UE devices are transmitting versus receiving. The aforementioned beamformer requires a receiver for each subsector/beam. In general only the number of receivers necessary to support the number of simultaneous user UE devices is required.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a system implementation of an N out of M beam selection where K=1.

Beamformer 200 of FIG. 2 feeds or provides its beam RF signals 310 to a matrix switch 320. During the user characterization process, the each of the N radios of the pool 330 records the cross-talk of the active user to all other beams.

The system may include a plurality of transmit and receive antennas covering one sector of a cellular communication base station; a multi-beam RF beamforming matrix connected to said transmit and receive antennas; a plurality of radio circuitries connected to said multi-beam RF beamforming matrix; and a baseband module connected to said radio circuitries 320, wherein the multi-beam RF beamforming matrix is configured to generate two or more directional co-frequency beams pointed at or directed at (e.g., sending signals in the direction of) user equipment (UEs) within a sector, as instructed by the baseband module, wherein a number M denotes the number of said directional beams and a number N denotes the number of said radio circuitries and wherein M>N. Each of the directional co-frequency beams may serve different and independent channels.

A scheduler 301 may implement switch control 340 over M×N switch matrix 320.

FIG. 4 shows a beamformer using independent Femto-cells, each having a radio circuitry 332A and 332B. In some embodiments, schedulers 411, 412 in the independent femto cells coordinate to simultaneously serve non or low cross talk pair via proprietary algorithms and X2 link communications.

FIG. 5 shows a prior art example implementation, using M*K transceivers, digital beamforming, and M DSP Modems residing in baseband. Specifically, it shows how beamformer 200 may be can be implemented digitally. Antennas 410₁ through 410_M feed M receivers 420₁ through 420_M. The signal output together with the measured data is routed to K digital beamformers 430₁ through 430_K, where K is the maximum number of users (e.g., operating UEs) to be simultaneously supported in the cell sector. When discussed herein, a “user” may be a UE operated by a user.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a cell with a sector split into two subsectors and supporting two simultaneous users. FIG. 6 shows base station 510 and supporting two users 540 and 550 in subsector beams 520 and 530. In operation, each of the M receivers provides a channel estimation capability measuring as a minimum the received signal amplitudes and phases for all users. Each digital beamformer combines the outputs from the M radios in a manner to maximize communication performance (e.g., throughput) with its assigned user while reducing cross-talk interference to the other users. The process initially may use a standard approach (e.g., aligning all signals in phase and applying combination weightings such as MRC or optimal combining). This may mean “tilting” or “shaping” its beam and sacrificing performance to its assigned user for the benefit of another user.

According to some embodiments, the system is further configured to: estimate cross-talk level amongst the co-channel beams, and calculate weights for applying to said beamforming matrix, that reduce said cross-talk. According to some embodiments, the system analyzes the cross-talk information derived from said estimation, and identifies victim UEs being UEs affected by victimizer beams being co-frequency neighboring beams beyond a specified signal to interference ratio (SIR) threshold.

According to some embodiments, for each one of the victim UEs, and for each one of the victimizing beams, the system calculates possible weights or other parameters which result in a reduction of the cross-talk, e.g. via weight setting of the antennas of the victimizing beams. According to other embodiments, for each one of the victim UEs, and for each one of the victimizing beams, the system calculates a possible reduction of the cross-talk via weight setting of antennas of the victim UE.

According to some embodiments, the estimated cross-talks carried out or effected over partial uplink channels are extrapolated for using in the downlink channels.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an exemplary 4×4 tunable Butler Matrix which includes Antennas Ports 910-913, Quadrature Hybrid Couplers 901-904, 45±20 deg Variable Phase Shifters 920, 923, 0±20 deg Variable Phase Shifters (example) 921, 922, The tunable Butler Matrix is configured for serving two simultaneous beams in left and right zones.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a base station embodiment implementing a combination of an omni (or a wide sector) antennas and radio (omni section 810), and a multi-beam set of antennas and radios (two radios only are shown) (multi beam section 820) which is served by a scanning receiver 830 which assists in all matrix antennas channel estimation. According to some embodiments, the omni beam operates over a frequency (e.g., uses a frequency) that is different from the frequency used by the directional co-frequency multi-beams.

According to some embodiments, the system may further include a dedicated scanning (e.g., custom made, such as an application specific integrated circuit—ASIC) receiver connected to the directional co-frequency beams, for estimating the signals of UE devices in other directional co-frequency beams, to determine and estimate cross-talk levels. It should be noted however that the scanning receiver may be omitted if Femto receivers are assigned to channel estimate all users (and not only their own beam's users).

According to some embodiments, the sector beam is assigned to cover areas not covered by said beams at a given time. According to some embodiments, the sector beam is assigned to cover UEs (e.g., special UEs) that are in the areas covered by said directional co-frequency beams at a given time. According to some embodiments, the directional co-frequency beams cover all or part of the said sector area on a time-share basis, by switching from one coverage part to another, where each unit of time share matches a time frame or subframe depending on a protocol implemented by the cellular communication base station.

In some embodiments, a scheduler 840 is arranged to schedule all base station of omni section 810 and multi beam section 820.

Following is an exemplary embodiment for implementing the Procedure and algorithm in accordance with the present invention. Other assumptions, definitions, and operations may be used:

Assumptions: flat channel, all UEs are assigned equal number of RBs.

DEFINITIONS

K: MIMO rank=number of antennas of each UE

L: total number of BTS antennas=M*K

N: (total number of radios)/K

T: total number of UEs

R: number of UEs that share the same RBs, 1≦R≦N

H_i: K×L channel matrix from the BTS antennas to UE_i, i=1 . . . T

Φ={φ_i, φ₂, . . . φ_F}: set of F adjustable phases

B=B(Φ): L×L transfer matrix from baseband to the BTS antennas

B can be partitioned into M weight matrices of size L×K:B=[W₁ . . . W_M]

Only one weight matrix is used for transmitting data to a particular UE. The overall K×K channel from BTS to UE_i including weights W_j is: D_i,j=H_i W_j When the BTS transmits data simultaneously to several UEs, sharing the same resources, the K×K cross-talk channel from BTS to UE_i is defined as:

$C_{i,s}=\sum _{W_k\in S}{H}_i{W}_k,$ where S is the set of weight matrices used to transmit data to the interfering UEs (W_i∉S)

For any K×K matrix A with elements a_ij define a power operator P(A) as:

$P\left(A\right)=\sum _{i=1}^K\sum _{j=1}^K{\mathrm{abs}\left(a_{\mathrm{ij}}\right)}^2$

Channel strengths associated with D_i,j and C_i,j (data and cross-talk) are defined as:PD_i,j=P(D_i,j)PC_i,S=P(C_i,S)

The signal to interference ratio for UE_i is defined as:

${\mathrm{SIR}}_{i,j,S}=\frac{{\mathrm{PD}}_{i,j}}{{\mathrm{PC}}_{i,S}}$

Expressing UE_i's data rate, delivered over its selected beam, in the presence of cross-talk coming from other beam's transmissions to other UEs:DataRate_i,j,S=data rate corresponding to SIR_i,j,S  (1)

Define all sets of R non-overlapping beams, R=N, N/2, N/4 . . . 1, based on topology. During operation the BTS will connect radios to the first set of beams and transmit data, then switch radios over to the next set for the next transmission, etc., until all UEs are served (note that when a given beam has no UE assigned to it, transmission of will not take place).

Optimization process may be depicted as follows:

Start with R=N.

Step 1: For all UEs compute PD_i,j, i=1 . . . T,j=1 . . . , i.e., for all UEs compute the channel strength through all possible beams.

Step 2: Grade PD_i,j and select the strongest and 2nd strongest beams for each UE.

Step 3: Compare strongest and 2nd strongest powers, and tag cases where the power difference is smaller than x (e.g. 6 dB); such UEs are categorized as candidates for 2nd best beam allocation; compare combined bandwidth requirements per beam and tag differences larger than 1:y (e.g. 1:2); calculate moving of candidate UEs to 2nd best beams, and pick such candidates moving that improve load balancing.

Step 4: Starting with the first set of non-overlapping beams, compute the total data rate as the sum of the data rates of all UEs in the beam set, where each UE's data rate is expressed in formula (I) above.

Step 5: Scanning the Φ domain for all beams, repeat Step 4, compare results and pick the highest total data rate weights as candidates setting.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for all sets of non-overlapping beams, choosing candidate settings.

Step 7: Repeat Steps 4, 5 and 6 for R=N/2, N/4 . . . 1, choosing candidate settings for each.

Step 8: Calculate global data rates for N, N/2, N/4 . . . 1, and pick highest as chosen Weights settings.

FIG. 9 shows examples of antenna arrays according to some embodiments. The antennas may include a 2D antenna array, where each element may be either single or dual polarization, (so that dual polarization may support 2×2 MIMO). Said antenna array may be fed by an RF beamformer, for example, a 2D Butler matrix, that may be fixed or variable.

According to some embodiments, the system further includes a N×M switch matrix which is connected to the M×N ports, enabling feeding said directional co-frequency beams with one or more base-stations, and the single port with an additional base station.

According to some embodiments, the single port base station which feeds the sector beam is using high power amplifier while the base stations connected to either one of the M×N ports is using a low power amplifier, wherein the ratio between the gain of the high and the low power amplifier is inversely proportional to the ratio between the gain of a directional beam created by the said array and the gain of the sector beam.

According to some embodiments, the base stations connected to the M×N ports are configured to use the same frequency channel on non-adjacent beams.

The process of the embodiment of FIG. 10 is based on a beam cycling mechanism, where for example a 2D 4×4 beam array is sub-divided into 4 groups, each consisted of non-adjacent 4 beams, where the said groups are taking turns in connecting to a one set of 4 base stations; the said sequence is described in this example creates a service duty cycle of ¼ for each one of the said groups. FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a method of separation of UEs into categories. According to some embodiments, the system is configured to categorize UE devices that require maximum transfer delay lower than a predefined threshold. According to some embodiments, the predefined threshold is lower than the cycle period of beams rotation causing the categorized UE devices to be configured for service by the sector beam on a sustainable basis. According to some embodiments, the UE devices having maximum transfer delay requirements not lower than said predefined threshold are provided as candidates to the master scheduler to be served by the directional co-frequency beams.

The process illustrated in FIG. 10 may include for example: Defining a Generic revisit time=10 ms*revisit cycle (stage 1010), wherein the “Revisit cycle” may be defined as (Ratio between # of beams and # of radios)−1; Using recent history, identify UEs' distribution per beam (stage 1015); Calculating worst revisit time based on the above (stage 1020); Identifying the type of service required for each UE (stage 1025); Comparing max revisit time for each type of service (e.g. VoIP requires 20 ms) to worst revisit time (stage 1030); Defining UE with Max revisit time<Worst revisit time, as “high maintenance” (stage 1035); Assigning “high maintenance” UE to the “Sector Transceiver”, the rest to beams (stage 1040); Allocating part of the RBs to Omni section and serve “high maintenance” and low throughput users (stage 1045); and Allocating another part of the RBs to Multi-Beam section and serve “low maintenance”/high throughput users (stage 1050). As with other embodiments shown herein, other or different operations may be used.

FIG. 11 shows cross-talk estimation intra beam constellation. According to some embodiments, the directional co-frequency beams are systematically (e.g., according to a predefined scheme) re-directed from one sector part to another, completing a full round within a given cycle, wherein a number of permutations of constellations per cycle is determined by an angle of the sector divided by a combined average angle of said directional co-frequency beams. According to some embodiments, the full cycle period of beams rotation is the number of permutation times the said time frame or subframe duration. The process illustrated in FIG. 11 comprises the following stages: While normal operation allows for any DL/UL RBs allocation, channel estimation procedure uses a special uplink allocation, described below (stage 1110); Performing 4×10 ms channel estimation, every refresh period (e.g. 10 sec) (stage 1115); Designating beams constellation (i.e. beams that can transmit simultaneous independent Down link signals over same RBs) (stage 1120); Switching each such beam to feed an independent base station (stage 1125); Designating different RBs allocation for each one of the above base stations, e.g. RBx, RBy, RBz, RBq to Beams 1, 2, 3, 4, respectively (stage 1130); Using a Monitoring Receiving function in each of the above beams, to estimate RBs which are not allocated to it, e.g. monitor RBy, RBz, RBq on Beam 1; monitor RBx, RBz, RBq on Beam 2 etc. (stage 1135); and Using results to map intra-constellation cross talk (stage 1140).

FIG. 12 shows different constellations of beams that transmit simultaneously over same resources. FIG. 12 illustrates a 2D beamformer example, where 4 non-overlapping groups are time sequenced in a round-robin 1:4 cycle (top illustration 1210) and a 1D beamformer example, where 2 non-overlapping groups are time sequenced in a round-robin 1:2 cycle (bottom illustration 1220). Beam constellations may be defined as beams using same time/frequency resources (Enabling reuse of same resources).

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of a procedure for cross-talk estimation in beams constellations. The process illustrated in FIG. 13 comprises the following stages: Coordinating non-overlapping uplink resources allocation (i.e. split RBs amongst different beams sharing the same constellation) (stage 1310); in one embodiment: Using dedicated receivers set or a single switchable receiver (scanning receiver) to monitor/channel estimate signal levels of a given beam's UEs, at other co-channel beams (stage 1315); in a second embodiment: Baseband's receivers of each beam performs channel estimation for all RBs, e.g. its own and the ones used by other beams in the constellation (stage 1320); Comparing notes to generate cross-talk matrix (stage 1325); and Performing global weights tuning to reduce cross-talk and optimize through-put (stage 1330).

FIG. 14A shows an embodiment of a procedure for weights setting and simultaneous beams calculation process. The procedure illustrated in FIG. 14A comprises the following stages: Receiving data from the load balance routine (stage 1410); Calculating predicted SINR of each UE served by best beam, per cross-talk and other cells' interference (stage 1415); For each UE, grouping all combination of other UE's cross talks, and identify candidate best weight settings of the BTS beams (stage 1420); calculating Sigma of DL data rates of all UES residing in N simultaneous co-channel beams (stage 1425); Repeating the above for all combinations of N−1, N−2 etc. (stage 1430); Choosing the combination of simultaneous beams that got highest grading of Sigma (stage 1435); and Going to load balancing (FIG. 14B) (stage 1440). The procedure further comprises using Uplink channel estimations to estimate Downlink channels (TD Reciprocity).

FIG. 14B shows an embodiment of a procedure for load balancing. The procedure illustrated in FIG. 14B comprises the following stages: Receiving weights from weight setting routine (FIG. 14A) (stage 1450); Estimating each UE's Data rate assuming service by best power and 2^nd best power beams (stage 1455); Calculating average data rate/UE and Sigma of All UE's data rates, assuming all UEs are served by best and/or 2^nd best (stage 1460); Re-calculating selectively moving of UEs from best to 2^nd best beams (stage 1465); Maximizing Sigma of all UEs DL data rate, to derive assignments of each UE to a beam (stage 1470); Storing results in Scheduler Beams lookup table (stage 1475); and Repeating weight setting calculation every 10 ms×4 for 2D array or 10 ms×2 for a 1D array (stage 1480). The “Best Power beam” may be defined as a beam that measures UE's uplink K×K RMS power to be higher than others.

FIG. 15 Shows a scheduler process according to some embodiments of the present invention. According to some embodiments, the system further includes a master scheduler configured to receive the identified victim UEs and the respective victimizing beams in said sector. According to some embodiments, the system further includes a coordinator configured to reduce co-schedule occurrence of victim UE devices having victimizing beams. The process illustrated in FIG. 15 may include for example stages such as: referring to scheduler beams lookup table (stage 1510); referring to legacy base station scheduler (stage 1520); and defining or determining candidate UEs to be served simultaneously (stage 1530). The process may repeat or iterate, moving from operation 1530 to operation 1510.

According to some embodiments, all non-adjacent beams are being fed by a cluster of co-channel base stations, and wherein the base stations of the cluster are systematically switched between said group of ports so that all the sector's angle is methodically covered via sequential or other cycle, and by doing so serve all assigned UE devices residing in the sector with the directional beams on a time-share basis.

According to some embodiments, the RF beamformer includes variable phase shifters with limited range so that the directional beams can be tilted up or down and left or right.

According to some embodiments, the tilting of both victim and victimizer is used for reducing measured cross-talk via channel estimation and/or blind process.

According to some embodiments, a protocol used by the base station is orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), and wherein at least some of the OFDM subcarriers are allocated to the sector beams and the rest of the OFDM subcarriers are allocated to the directional beams, so that the ratio between the number of subcarriers allocated to the sector beams and the number of subcarriers allocated to the directional beams reflects respective bandwidth requirements of assigned UE devices, based on a specified fairness scheme.

According to some embodiments, the base stations used are operating in a Time Domain duplex TDD mode, in which channel estimation of an uplink channel is used to set weights of a downlink channel.

According to some embodiments, the cross-talk reduction is carried out using periodic (e.g., that is carried repeatedly at a specified duty cycle) look-through configurations, wherein the uplink spectrum allocated to the directional beams is split or divided up to NB subgroups where NB is the number of simultaneous directional co-frequency beams, so that during the look-through, each beam assigns its served UE devices with its allocated 1/NB of the uplink spectrum, so that during the look-through, uplink transmissions of directional co-frequency beams are orthogonal.

In various embodiments, computational modules may be implemented by e.g., processors (e.g., a general purpose computer processor or central processing unit executing software), or DSPs, or other circuitry. The baseband modem may be implemented, for example, as a DSP. A beamforming matrix can be calculated and implemented for example by software running on general purpose processor. Beamformers, a gain controller, switches, combiners, phase shifters may be for example RF circuitries.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or an apparatus. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit”, “module” or “system.”

In various embodiments, computational modules may be implemented by e.g., processors (e.g., a general purpose computer processor or central processing unit executing software), or digital signal processors (DSPs), or other circuitry. The baseband modem may be implemented, for example, as a DSP. A beamforming matrix can be calculated and implemented for example by software running on general purpose processor. Beamformers, gain controllers, switches, combiners, and phase shifters may be implemented, for example using RF circuitries.

The flowchart and block diagrams herein illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In the above description, an embodiment is an example or implementation of the inventions. The various appearances of “one embodiment”, “an embodiment” or “some embodiments” do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments.

Although various features of the invention may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. Conversely, although the invention may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, the invention may also be implemented in a single embodiment.

Reference in the specification to “some embodiments”, “an embodiment”, “one embodiment” or “other embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the inventions.

It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is not to be construed as limiting and are for descriptive purpose only.

The principles and uses of the teachings of the present invention may be better understood with reference to the accompanying description, figures and examples.

It is to be understood that the details set forth herein do not construe a limitation to an application of the invention.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out or practiced in various ways and that the invention can be implemented in embodiments other than the ones outlined in the description above.

It is to be understood that the terms “including”, “comprising”, “consisting” and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude the addition of one or more components, features, steps, or integers or groups thereof and that the terms are to be construed as specifying components, features, steps or integers.

If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

It is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to “a” or “an” element, such reference is not be construed that there is only one of that element.

It is to be understood that where the specification states that a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, “can” or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included.

Where applicable, although state diagrams, flow diagrams or both may be used to describe embodiments, the invention is not limited to those diagrams or to the corresponding descriptions. For example, flow need not move through each illustrated box or state, or in exactly the same order as illustrated and described.

The term “method” may refer to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the art to which the invention belongs.

The descriptions, examples, methods and materials presented in the claims and the specification are not to be construed as limiting but rather as illustrative only.

Meanings of technical and scientific terms used herein are to be commonly understood as by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs, unless otherwise defined.

The present invention may be implemented in the testing or practice with methods and materials equivalent or similar to those described herein.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of some of the preferred embodiments. Other possible variations, modifications, and applications are also within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be limited by what has thus far been described, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A system comprising: a plurality of transmit and receive antennas covering one sector of a cellular communication base station;a multi-beam RF beamforming matrix connected to said transmit and receive antennas;a plurality of radio circuitries connected to said multi-beam RF beamforming matrix; anda baseband module connected to said radio circuitries,wherein the multi-beam RF beamforming matrix is configured to generate one sector beam and two or more directional co-frequency beams,wherein the sector beam operates over a frequency that is different from the frequency used by said directional co-frequency beams,wherein the baseband module assigns each user equipment (UE) to the sector beam or to at least one of said directional co-frequency beams based on a service type, andwherein a number M denotes the number said directional beams and a number N denotes the number of said radio circuitries and wherein M>N.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of said directional co-frequency beams serves a different channel.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is configured to: (a) estimate cross-talk level amongst the co-frequency beams, and(b) calculate weights for applying to said beamforming matrix, that reduce said cross-talk.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the system analyzes the cross-talk information derived from said estimation, and identifies victim UEs, the victim UEs being UEs affected by victimizer beams being co-frequency neighboring beams creating a signal to interference ratio (SIR) above a predetermined threshold.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein for each one of the victim UEs, and for each one of the victimizing beams, the system calculates weights which result in a possible reduction of the cross-talk via weight setting of the antennas of the victimizing beams.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein for each one of the victim UEs, and for each one of the victimizing beams, the system calculates weights which result in a possible reduction of the cross-talk via weight setting of antennas of the victim UE.

7. The system according to claim 4, further comprising a scheduler configured to receive the identified victim UEs and the respective victimizing beams in said sector.

8. The system according to claim 4, further comprising a coordinator configured to reduce co-schedule occurrence of victim UEs having victimizing beams.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein said sector beam is assigned to cover areas not covered by said beams at a given time.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein said sector beam is assigned to cover UEs that are in the areas covered by a plurality of said directional co-frequency beams at a given time.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the said directional co-frequency beams cover all or part of the said sector area on a time-share basis, by switching from one coverage part to another, where each unit of time share matches a time frame or subframe depending on a protocol implemented by the cellular communication base station.

12. The system according to claim 1, where the directional co-frequency beams are systematically re-directed from one sector part to another, completing a full round within a given cycle, wherein a number of permutations per cycle is determined by an angle of the sector divided by a combined average angle of said directional co-frequency beams.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the full cycle period of beams rotation is the number of permutation times the said time frame or subframe duration.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is configured to categorize UE devices that require maximum transfer delay lower than a predefined threshold.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the predefined threshold is lower than the cycle period of beams rotation, causing the categorized UE devices to be configured for service by the sector beam on a sustainable basis.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the UE devices having maximum transfer delay requirements not lower than said predefined threshold, are provided as candidates to the master scheduler to be served by the directional co-frequency beams.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the antennas comprise a 2D antenna array of N rows and M columns which is fed by fixed beamformer RF matrix arrays for each row, and by fixed beamformer RF matrix arrays for each column, so that the total number of such beamformers equals the number of rows+the number of columns N+M, providing N×M input and or output ports, and additionally a single antenna with a similar coverage angle in both azimuth and elevation axis which provides a single input and or output, so that the M×N ports defined as M×N narrow beams and the said single port are redefined as sector beam.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a N×M switch matrix connected to said M×N ports, enabling feeding said directional co-frequency beams with one or more base-stations, and the single port with an additional base station.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the said single port base station which feeds the sector beam uses a high power amplifier while the base stations connected to either one of the M×N ports uses a low power amplifier, wherein the ratio between the gain of the high and the low power amplifier is inversely proportional to the ratio between the gain of a directional beam created by the said array, and the gain of the sector beam.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the base stations connected to the M×N ports are configured to use the same frequency channel on non-adjacent beams.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein, all non-adjacent beams are fed by a cluster of co-channel base stations, and wherein the base stations of said cluster are systematically switched between said group of ports so that all the sector's angle is covered via sequential or other cycle, and by doing so serve all assigned UE devices residing in the sector with the directional beams on a time-share basis.

22. The system according to claim 17, wherein the RF beamformer comprises phase shifters with limited range so that the directional beams can be tilted up or down and left or right.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the tilting of both victim UE and victimizer beam, is used for reducing measured cross-talk via channel estimation and/or blind process.

24. The system according to claim 1, wherein a protocol used by the base station is orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), and wherein at least some of the OFDM subcarriers are allocated to the sector beams and the rest of the OFDM subcarriers are allocated to the directional beams, in a ratio that reflects respective bandwidth requirements of assigned UE devices, based on a specified fairness scheme.

25. The system according to claim 23, where the base stations used are operating in a Time Domain duplex TDD mode, in which channel estimation of an uplink channel is used to set weights of a downlink channel.

26. A system according to claim 23, wherein the cross-talk reduction is carried out using periodic look-through configurations, wherein the uplink spectrum allocated to the directional beams is divided up to K subgroups where K is the number of simultaneous directional co-frequency beams, so that during said look-through, each beam assigns its served UE devices with its allocated 1/K of the uplink spectrum, so that during the look-through, uplink transmissions of directional co-frequency beams are orthogonal.

27. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a dedicated scanning receiver connected to the directional co-frequency beams, for estimating the signals of UE devices in other directional co-frequency beams, to determine and estimate cross-talk levels.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein the baseband modules of the base station are configured to measure all UE devices in all directional co-frequency beams operative in the base station, so that said baseband modules estimate the said cross-talk.

29. The system according to claim 27, wherein the estimated cross-talks carried out over partial uplink channels are extrapolated for using the downlink channels.

30. The system according to claim 1, wherein the sector beam is substantially omnidirectional.