CN113273096B

CN113273096B - Antenna array group selection and antenna array column selection method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113273096B
Application number: CN201980068748.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 夏鹏飞; 刘斌; 权荣训
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-28
Filing date: 2019-06-28
Publication date: 2023-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-28
Also published as: WO2020101756A2; WO2020101756A3; CN113273096A

Abstract

A User Equipment (UE) is provided that may include multiple groups of high frequency antenna arrays, where each group includes one or more arrays. Each array is used to form a beam for wireless communication. The UE may determine whether to switch from a first beam of a first array to a second beam of a second array in the same array group by evaluating beam quality and a threshold or margin of the first and second beams according to a predefined criterion. The UE may select one of the plurality of groups for use based on signal quality measured by low frequency antennas located proximate to the respective array group, an orientation of the UE, a grip area on the UE, or a combination thereof.

Description

Antenna array group selection and antenna array column selection method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular embodiments, to methods and apparatus for antenna array group selection and antenna array selection for device communications.

Background

mmWave has been introduced for wireless communication because a large available bandwidth is available in a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band. mmWave bands may be used in communication systems, such as fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) systems, to provide high data throughput, reduce latency, and increase spatial multiplexing. However, mmWave communication has server path loss, which may result in reduced transmission efficiency. Beamforming techniques have been employed to mitigate path loss for high frequency waveforms, wherein multiple high gain transmit and/or receive beams are formed in different angular directions, and possibly over different time slots, for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. A beam management procedure is also defined for managing the beamforming process.

Disclosure of Invention

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method comprising: a wireless communication device receiving wireless signals using a first beam of a first antenna array, the communication device comprising a second antenna array located at a different location on the communication device than the first antenna array; the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array to receive wireless signals when a first measurement indicative of a first quality of the first beam, a second measurement indicative of a second quality of the second beam, and a first quality threshold satisfy a predefined criterion.

The method evaluates the first quality of the first beam, the second quality of the second beam, and the first threshold to determine whether to switch from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array. This helps to avoid or reduce frequent switching back and forth between the first and second arrays ("ping-pong effect"). The method improves the beam switching performance and reduces the power consumption of the beam switching.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the predefined criterion is met when a sum of the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than or equal to the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the predefined criterion is met when the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam is less than the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam, and the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam is less than the first quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the predefined criterion is met when a sum of the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam, and the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam is less than a second quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array and the second antenna array are for generating beams covering respective beam coverage areas.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array and the second antenna array are for operation in the millimeter wave frequency band.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array is located on a first side of the communications device and the second antenna array is located on a second side of the communications device opposite the first side.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the beam coverage area of the first antenna array overlaps with the beam coverage area of the second antenna array.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: the communication device determines the second measurement indicative of a second quality of the second beam of the second antenna array using a third measurement of a third beam of the first antenna array, a beam coverage area of the third beam overlapping a beam coverage area of the second beam by a ratio greater than a predetermined threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: the communication device determines the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam of the second antenna array from historical quality data of the first measurement and historical quality data of a fourth beam of the first antenna array.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, determining the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam of the second antenna array is based on the historical quality data for the first beam and the historical quality data for the fourth beam of the first antenna array, and information provided by a motion sensor of the communication device.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, a beam coverage area of the first beam overlaps with a beam coverage area of a fourth beam of the second antenna array.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: the communication device measuring a first received signal quality of the first antenna; the communication device measuring a second received signal quality of a second antenna, the first and second antennas of the communication device for operating in a frequency band below 6GHz, the communication device including first and second antenna array groups located at different locations of the communication device, the first antenna being closer to one of the antenna arrays in the first antenna array group than the second antenna array group, the second antenna being closer to one of the antenna arrays in the second antenna array group than the first antenna array group; the communication device selects the first antenna array group or the second antenna array group to receive a wireless transmission, the selecting including evaluating the first received signal quality, the second received signal quality, and a first quality threshold.

The method allows a communication device to select a set of high frequency antenna arrays to communicate with using signal quality measured on a low frequency antenna.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, selecting the first antenna array group or the second antenna array group comprises: the communication device selects the first antenna array group when the measure of the first received signal quality is greater than a sum of the measure of the second received signal quality and the first quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, selecting the first antenna array group or the second antenna array group comprises: the communication device selects the first antenna array group when the measure of the second received signal quality is less than the first quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, selecting the first antenna array group or the second antenna array group comprises: the communication device selects the first antenna array group when the measure of the first received signal quality is greater than a sum of the measure of the second received signal quality and the first quality threshold, and when the measure of the second received signal quality is less than a second quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array group and the second antenna array group are for operating in a millimeter wave frequency band.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array set comprises a first array located on a top side of the communication device and a second array located on a bottom side of the communication device, wherein the second antenna array set comprises a first array located on a left side of the communication device and a second array located on a right side of the communication device.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array group or the second antenna array group comprises at least two antenna arrays.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: a communication device wirelessly communicating using one of a first antenna array group of the communication device and a second antenna array group of the communication device; the communication device determines whether to switch between the first antenna array set and the second antenna array set of the communication device to receive a wireless transmission according to an orientation of the communication device, the first antenna array set and the second antenna array set being located at different locations of the communication device, wherein the first antenna array set includes a first array located on a top side of the communication device and a second array located on a bottom side of the communication device, wherein the second antenna array set includes a first array located on a left side of the communication device and a second array located on a right side of the communication device.

The method provides flexibility for the communication device to select an antenna array group from a plurality of antenna array groups based on the orientation of the communication device.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: when the communication device transitions from a landscape orientation to a portrait orientation and the second antenna array group is closer to a grip area on the communication device than the first antenna array group, the communication device switches from the second antenna array group to the first antenna array group.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: when the communication device transitions from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation and the first antenna array group is closer to a grip area on the communication device than the second antenna array group, the communication device switches from the first antenna array group to the second antenna array group.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: measuring a first quality of a first beam of a first antenna array by a communication device, the communication device for receiving wireless signals using the first beam of the first antenna array, the communication device comprising the first antenna array and a second antenna array located at different locations on the communication device; determining, by the communications device, a second quality of a second beam of the second antenna array using at least one of a third quality of a third beam of the first antenna array, and historical quality data for the first and fourth beams of the first antenna array, wherein a beam coverage area of the third beam overlaps a beam coverage area of the second beam by a ratio greater than a predetermined threshold; the communication device determines whether to switch from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array to receive wireless signals by evaluating the first quality of the first beam and the second quality of the second beam according to a first quality threshold.

The method evaluates the first quality of the first beam, the second quality of the second beam, and the first threshold to determine whether to switch from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array. This helps to avoid or reduce frequent switching back and forth between the first and second arrays ("ping-pong effect"). The method improves the beam switching performance and reduces the power consumption of the beam switching. The method also avoids the need to turn off the first antenna array and turn on the second antenna array to measure the second quality of the second beam.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array when a sum of the measure of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than the second quality of the second beam.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array when the first quality of the first beam is less than the second quality of the second beam and the first quality of the first beam is less than the first quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the method further comprises: the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array when a sum of the measure of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than the second quality of the second beam and the measure of the first quality of the first beam is less than a second quality threshold.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the first antenna array and the second antenna array are for operating in a millimeter wave frequency band.

Optionally, in any preceding aspect, the second quality of the second beam is determined from the historical quality data of the first and fourth beams of the first antenna array and information provided by a motion sensor of the communication device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a non-transitory memory including instructions; one or more processors in communication with the non-transitory memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to perform the method according to any preceding aspect.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any preceding aspect.

Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an embodiment wireless communication network;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an embodiment 3-dimensional (3-D) beam;

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a top view of the 3-D beam in FIG. 2;

figure 4 shows a diagram of an embodiment beam coverage area formed by nine beams;

fig. 5 shows a diagram of an embodiment User Equipment (UE) with four antenna arrays;

fig. 6 shows a diagram of an embodiment beam coverage area provided by two antenna arrays;

FIG. 7 shows a graph of beam quality levels over time;

FIG. 8 shows a diagram of another embodiment beam coverage area provided by two arrays;

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment method for predicting a target beam quality;

fig. 10 shows a diagram of an embodiment UE comprising four antenna arrays;

fig. 11 shows a diagram of another embodiment UE comprising four antenna arrays;

fig. 12 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment for wireless communication;

fig. 13 shows a flow diagram of another embodiment for wireless communication;

fig. 14 shows a flow diagram of another embodiment for wireless communication;

fig. 15 shows a flow diagram of another embodiment for wireless communication;

fig. 16 shows a flow diagram of another embodiment for wireless communication;

FIG. 17 shows a diagram of an embodiment processing system;

fig. 18 shows a diagram of an embodiment transceiver.

Detailed Description

A User Equipment (UE) may include multiple high frequency antenna array groups, e.g., operable in frequency bands greater than 6GHz, where each group includes one or more arrays. Each array is used to form a beam for wireless communication. Each antenna array group may be used to form a beam covering a region of interest of the UE. Embodiments of the present invention provide methods for switching between beams of different arrays in the same antenna array group, and for switching or selecting between different antenna array groups for wireless communication.

According to some embodiments, the UE may determine whether to switch from a first beam of a first array to a second beam of a second array in the same antenna array group by evaluating beam quality of the first beam and the second beam according to a predefined criterion and a threshold or margin. The UE may determine to switch from the first beam to the second beam when a predefined criterion is met. Various criteria may be defined. For example, the criterion may require that the sum of the beam quality of the first beam and the margin is less than the beam quality of the second beam. In another example, the criterion may require that the beam quality of the first beam is less than a threshold value and also less than the beam quality of the second beam. In another example, the criterion may require that the beam quality of the first beam is less than a threshold, and that a sum of the beam quality of the first beam and a margin is less than the beam quality of the second beam. The embodiment avoids or reduces frequent switching between the first array and the second array (ping-pong effect), improves the beam switching performance, and reduces the power consumption of the beam switching.

The beam quality of the second beam may be determined by measuring a beam quality of a third beam of the first array, wherein a beam coverage area of the third beam substantially completely coincides with a beam coverage area of the second beam. The beam quality of the second beam may also be determined using predictive techniques, such as least squares based prediction or machine learning based prediction. For example, the beam quality of the second beam may be predicted from historical quality data for the first and fourth beams of the first array. This also avoids the need to switch off the first antenna array and switch on the second antenna array to measure the second quality of the second beam.

According to some embodiments, the UE may determine to select a first array group to use from the plurality of antenna array groups based on signal quality measured near low frequency antennas of the respective plurality of array groups, based on an orientation of the UE, or based on a grip area on the UE, or a combination thereof. Details of the embodiments will be provided below.

Fig. 1 shows a network 100 for transmitting data. Network 100 includes a base station 110 having a coverage area 101, a plurality of mobile devices 120, and a backhaul network 130. As shown, the base station 110 establishes uplink (dashed lines) and/or downlink (dotted lines) connections with the mobile devices 120, which are used to carry data from the mobile devices 120 to the base station 110, and vice versa. The data carried on the uplink/downlink connections may include data communicated between mobile devices 120, as well as data communicated to and from remote locations (not shown) over the backhaul network 130. As used herein, the term "base station" refers to any component (or collection of components) used to provide wireless access to a network, such as an enhanced base station (eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a transmit/receive point (TRP), a macrocell, a femtocell, a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP), or other wireless enabled device. The base station may provide wireless Access according to one or more wireless communication protocols, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE advanced (LTE-a), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad/ax/ay, and so on. As used herein, the term "mobile device" refers to any component (or collection of components) capable of establishing a wireless connection with a base station, such as a User Equipment (UE), a mobile Station (STA), and other wireless enabled devices. In some embodiments, network 100 may include various other wireless devices, such as repeaters, low power nodes, and the like.

The UE may communicate with the base station 100 in a high frequency carrier (e.g., frequencies greater than 6 GHz). High frequency carriers have the advantage of providing high data rates due to their large bandwidth. For example, a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band has been introduced as a carrier frequency of wireless communication (e.g., new Radio (NR) communication) of 5G. The millimeter wave region of the electromagnetic spectrum generally corresponds to radio frequency band frequencies of 28GHz to 300 GHz. Such large bandwidths may help meet the demand for high-speed cellular data and the demand for more spectrum in wireless networks.

However, high frequency communications, particularly millimeter wave high frequency communications (HF), inherently have large path loss and random blocking. To compensate for path loss, beamforming techniques are used, in which a plurality of high gain transmit and receive beams are formed for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. Each beam may cover only a small area in the angular direction. These beams may be referred to as directional beams. Therefore, transmission performed by the formed beam becomes highly directional. Beamforming may be used to simulate an omni-directional transmission or a transmission covering a large area of an angular range by forming multiple beams in different directions, possibly on different time slots. In high frequency communications, a large number of antenna elements are required to obtain sufficient transmit/receive gain.

Beam management may be performed to manage the beamforming process on the UE side or the TRP side. According to the third Generation Partnership project (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 gpp) Technical Report (TR) 38.802V2.0.0 (2017-03), which is incorporated herein by reference, as reproduced in full text, beam management in NR is defined as (see section 6.1.6.1):

a set of L1/L2 procedures for acquiring and maintaining a set of TRP(s) and/or UE beam(s) available for Downlink (DL) and Uplink (UL) transmission/reception, the procedures comprising at least the following:

beam determination: for TRP(s) or UE to select its own Tx/Rx beam(s).

Beam measurement: for the TRP(s) or UE to measure characteristics of the received beamformed signals.

And (3) beam reporting: information for the UE to report the beamformed signal(s) based on the beam measurements.

Beam scanning: the operation of covering a spatial region with beams transmitted and/or received in a predetermined manner over a time interval.

According to 3GPP TR 38.802v2.0.0 (see section 6.1.6.1), one or more TRPs support the following DL L1/L2 beam manager:

p-1: for enabling UE measurements on different TRP Tx beams to support selection of TRP Tx beam/UE Rx beam(s).

For beamforming at a TRP, intra/inter Tx beam scanning from different beam sets is typically included. For beamforming at the UE, UE Rx beam scanning from different beam sets is typically included.

P-2: for initiating UE measurements on different TRP Tx beams to possibly change inter/intra TRP Tx beam(s).

Beam refinement is performed from a set of beams that may be smaller than P-1. It should be noted that P-2 may be a special case of P-1.

P-3: for initiating UE measurements on the same TRP Tx beam to change the UE Rx beam if the UE uses beamforming.

On the device side, e.g., on the UE side, multiple receive beams (e.g., N beams) may be used to receive the transmission. The UE determines which of the N beams to use for signal reception. FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an embodiment beam 200 in a three-dimensional (3-dimensional, 3-D) space. Beam 200 is one of 8*8 beams 210 that covers a corresponding beam coverage area or zone.

Fig. 3 shows a diagram of a top view of the 3-D beam 200 of fig. 2, where the x-axis represents the azimuth domain and the y-axis represents the vertical domain. In each of the azimuth domain and the vertical domain, there is an associated beam direction, beam width, and beam gain.

In general, a plurality of beams may be formed to cover an area required for communication. For example, fig. 4 shows a diagram of a coverage area 400 formed by nine beams b1-b 9. The coverage area 400 may be the entire area of interest of the UE device. Each circle in fig. 4 represents a two-dimensional (2-D) beam in the azimuthal vertical domain. The 9 beams may overlap in the azimuth domain and/or the vertical domain, e.g. to provide continuous coverage. These 9 beams may be provided by an antenna array or antenna sub-array. When a device is capable of generating 9 beams covering area 400 to receive wireless signals, the device may need to select one beam from the 9 beams to receive.

Throughout this disclosure, for illustrative purposes, a circle is used to represent a beam. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other shapes, such as elliptical, may also be used to represent beams. Each circle representing a beam also corresponds to the coverage area of the beam. Thus, in the following embodiments, a circle may refer to a beam and/or a coverage area of a beam. The beams will be distinguished from the coverage area of the beams when needed. The coverage area of a beam may be referred to as a beam coverage area. As used in the present invention, the first beam overlapping the second beam means that the beam coverage area of the first beam overlaps the beam coverage area of the second beam. In the following embodiments, a beam forming antenna array is typically used for operation at high frequencies, e.g. in frequency bands larger than 6 GHz.

The 3GPP P-3 beam management procedure described above may be used to help the UE device determine which beam (from multiple beams, e.g., 9 beams in fig. 4) to use. For example, the gNB (or transmitter) may keep the same transmit beam for transmission for 9 slots, and a receiver (e.g., UE) may use 9 receive beams, e.g., b1, b2, … …, b9, in order, for example, for receiving signals transmitted by the gNB for 9 slots. It should be noted that the beams b1, b2, … …, b9 are not necessarily used in a specific fixed order. The UE may then compare the measurements of the received signals on the 9 receive beams and determine the best beam to use. Generally, the UE selects one reception beam from a plurality of reception beams to use according to the quality of the plurality of reception beams. As used in the present invention, the quality of a beam of a UE is also referred to as the beam quality of the beam. The quality of the beam may be represented or indicated by a quality value or measurement of one or more signals received by the UE using the beam, such as a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ).

In theory, one antenna array or sub-array may be used to generate a beam covering all possible regions of interest, but in practice this is not desirable. This may be because it may be quite inefficient to use only one array to cover the entire range of interest, or because of physical limitations satisfactory coverage may not be achieved. For example, when a UE having a single array (or sub-array) is held by a hand, the array may be blocked by the hand, resulting in degraded or disrupted communication. One solution to this situation is to use multiple arrays (or sub-arrays) to cover all possible regions of interest. This provides flexibility in choosing to use one of the multiple arrays that is not blocked. The terms "antenna array" and "array" are used interchangeably throughout this disclosure. The terms "antenna sub-array" and "sub-array" are used interchangeably throughout the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows a diagram of an embodiment UE 500 with four antenna arrays A, B, C and D. The UE 500 may be a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user device capable of wireless communication using high frequencies. Each of the arrays A, B, C and D may be used to operate in a frequency band greater than 6 GHz. Array a is located on the top side 502 of UE 500. Array D is located on the bottom side 504 of UE 500. Array C is located on the left side 506 of UE 500. Array B is located on the right side 508 of the UE 500. Arrays a and D constitute an antenna array set. Arrays B and C constitute another antenna array set. In this example, the beams generated by arrays a and D collectively cover the entire space of interest of UE 500. The beams generated by arrays B and C also collectively cover the entire space of interest of UE 500. Array a or D may be used if array B or C is blocked, for example due to a hand-held influence. Array B or C may be used if array A or D is blocked, for example, due to a handheld effect. Each of the arrays A, B, C and D may include multiple beams, for example, as shown in fig. 4. Two or more of arrays A, B, C and D may have the same layout of antenna elements or may have different layouts of antenna elements. Antenna element layout here refers to the arrangement or configuration of the antenna elements of the antenna array.

In the case where multiple antenna array groups are deployed in the UE, the UE may need a mechanism to determine (or select) an array to be used from among the antenna array groups, or to determine (or select) one antenna array group to be used from among the multiple antenna array groups. For example, a UE may need to determine whether to switch from one array in an antenna array group to another array of the same antenna array group. In another example, the UE may need to determine whether to switch from one antenna array group to another.

Fig. 6 shows a diagram of an embodiment beam coverage area 600 covered by antenna array a and antenna array D of a UE. Array a and array D may be located at different locations of the UE. Each of the arrays a and D is for operation in a frequency band greater than 6 GHz. Fig. 6 shows an example of a 1-D scenario, where a linear antenna array is used to form a beam covering only the azimuth or vertical domain. The 1-D scenario used herein is for illustration purposes only. The embodiments described below in connection with the 1-D scenario may be similarly applied to a 2-D scenario, where a planar antenna array is used to form multiple beams covering the azimuth and vertical domains. Each array in fig. 6 may have multiple beams to cover a portion of the range of interest. As shown, array A forms beams A1-A4 and array D forms beams D1-D4. Arrays A and D collectively cover the entire range of interest. In this example, the area covered by beams A1-A4 is adjacent to the area covered by beams D1-D4, and the two areas overlap each other.

Typically, the beams from each array cover a particular region of interest in a partially overlapping manner. That is, adjacent beams partially overlap each other. For example, arrays A, A and A2 partially overlap each other. Portions A2 and A3 partially overlap each other, and portions A3 and A4 partially overlap each other. Similarly, beams D1-D4 of array D also partially overlap each other. In particular, the adjacent beams A4 and D1 shown in this example partially overlap each other even though they are from different arrays. The partial overlap between adjacent beams may enable the required smooth and seamless beam switching as a result of environmental changes.

During communication, the UE may switch beams between A1-A4 within array A (i.e., between any two beams of A1-A4) or between D1-D4 within array D (i.e., between any two beams of D1-D4), or between array A and array D (i.e., between any two beams of A1-A4 and any two beams of D1-D4). Switching beams between A1-A4 may be considered seamless beam switching, where analog phase shifters or coefficients on array a may be changed to switch beams. Similarly, the beam switching between D1-D4 is also seamless beam switching.

Switching between array a and array D (e.g., between beams A4 and D1) crosses the boundary of array a and array D and requires closing one array and opening the other. For example, to switch from A4 to D1, the UE needs to turn array a off and array D on. Often, it is not desirable to frequently turn the array on and off, as this requires more time (e.g., switching beams, or switching arrays), consumes more power, and may damage circuitry if the turn-on and turn-off frequency is too high (similar to other switches).

In particular, frequent beam switching between A4 on the boundary of array a and D1 on the boundary of array D can lead to ping-pong problems, which require control. The ping-pong problem will be described below in conjunction with fig. 6 and 7. Fig. 7 shows a graph 700 of beam quality levels over time. The x-axis represents time and the y-axis represents beam quality level. Graph 700 includes a curve 710 showing the beam quality level (Qc) for beam A4 and a curve 720 showing the beam quality level (Qt) for beam D1. In this example, beam A4 is the currently in use beam and beam D1 is the switchable target beam. Throughout the present invention, qc is used to represent the beam quality of the current beam and Qt is used to represent the beam quality of the target beam. As shown, qc of beam A4 decreases over time, and Qt of beam D1 increases over time. The UE may, for example, continuously or periodically check the beam quality levels of beams A4 and D1 and determine to switch from beam A4 to beam D1 or continue to use A4.

In some examples, the UE may wish to switch from beam A4 to beam D1 when Qc is detected to be below Qt. That is, the UE may determine to switch from A4 to D1 when the beam quality level of beam A4 has reached and just passed point 732. Point 732 may be referred to as a beam change point at which the UE may determine to switch from A4 to D1. However, it is possible that after switching from A4 to D1, the UE may detect that Qc is higher than Qt, e.g. due to measurement errors, and therefore determine to switch back from D1 to A4. After switching from D1 to A4, the UE may again determine to switch from A4 to D1. The same may happen repeatedly. Therefore, the UE frequently switches between A4 and D1, thereby causing a ping-pong problem. Ping-pong problems force the UE to frequently turn on and off the antenna array, which is detrimental to the UE.

In some embodiments, the hysteresis margin H may be used for cross border beam switching, i.e. switching a beam from one antenna array to another. For example, the current beam being used is A4, and the potential new (i.e., target) beam to which to switch is D1. It may be determined that beam switching from A4 to D1 may be performed when the following criterion (1) is satisfied:

Qc+H1<Qt， (1)

where H1 is the hysteresis margin, qc is the beam quality of the current beam A4, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam D1. Otherwise, when the above criterion (1) is not satisfied, the UE continues to use A4.

A similar criterion (2) may be used in determining whether to switch from D1 (the current beam) to A4 (the target beam), e.g.,

Qc+H2<Qt， (2)

where H2 is the hysteresis margin, qc is the beam quality of the current beam D1, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam A4. When criterion (2) is satisfied, the UE may switch from D1 to A4. Otherwise, when criterion (2) is not satisfied, the UE continues to use D1.

The margins H1 and H2 may be the same or different. H1 and H2 may be determined according to the beam patterns of A4 and D1, and/or the manner in which A4 and D1 overlap each other. By using the hysteresis margin(s), ping-pong problems can be avoided. Thus, frequent beam switching between one array (e.g., a) and another array (e.g., D) may be avoided.

In some embodiments, beam changes (switching) across the array boundary may be allowed only when the current beam is sufficiently weak (e.g., less than a threshold) and the target beam is stronger than the current beam. For example (using antenna arrays a and D in fig. 6 and 7 as an illustrative example), it may be defined that a switch may be made from A4 (assuming A4 is the current beam being used) to D1 when the following criterion (3) is met:

Qc<T1，AND Qc<Qt， (3)

where T1 is a quality threshold or threshold (for simplicity), qc is the beam quality of the current beam, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam. Otherwise, when criterion (3) is not satisfied, A4 may continue to be used without switching from A4 to D1.

A similar criterion (4) may be used to determine whether to switch from D1 (current beam) to A4 (target beam):

Qc<T2，AND Qc<Qt， (4)

where T2 is the quality threshold, qc is the beam quality of the current beam, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam. When criterion (4) is satisfied, the UE switches from D1 to A4, otherwise, when criterion (4) is not satisfied, the UE may not switch from D1 to A4 and continue to use beam D1.

The thresholds T1 and T2 may be the same or different. The determination of threshold T1 or T2 may depend on the beam patterns of A4 and D1, and/or the manner in which A4 and D1 overlap each other. By using criteria (3) and/or (4), frequent beam switching between one array (e.g., a) and another array (e.g., D) may be avoided.

In some embodiments, the hysteresis margin and threshold described above in connection with criteria (1) through (4) may be combined to determine whether to switch from one array to a different array. For example (using antenna arrays a and D in fig. 6 and 7 as an illustrative example), a switch may be made from beam A4 (the current beam) to beam D1 (the target beam) when the following criterion (5) is met:

Qc<T1，AND Qc+H1<Qt， (5)

where T1 is a quality threshold, H1 is a hysteresis margin, qc is the beam quality of the current beam, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam. Otherwise, when criterion (5) is not satisfied, switching from A4 to D1 may not be performed.

A similar criterion (6) may be used to determine whether to switch from D1 (current beam) to A4 (target beam):

Qc<T2，AND Qc+H2<Qt， (6)

where T2 is a quality threshold, H2 is a hysteresis margin, qc is the beam quality of the current beam, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam. Otherwise, when criterion (6) is not satisfied, a switch from D1 to A4 may not be made.

The thresholds T1 and T2 may or may not be different, and the margins H1 and H2 may or may not be different, depending on the beam patterns of A4 and D1 and/or the manner in which A4 and D1 overlap each other. Frequent beam switching between one array (e.g., a) and another array (e.g., D) may also be avoided by using criteria (5) and/or (6).

The thresholds T1 and T2, and/or hysteresis margins H1 and H2 may use different values depending on whether the beam patterns of arrays a and D overlap each other. For example, if there is some overlap of the beam pattern of array a and the beam pattern of array D, the hysteresis margin and threshold in the overlapping region may be different than the hysteresis margin and threshold in the non-overlapping region. That is, the hysteresis margin or threshold may vary depending on the degree of overlap between the current beam and the target beam. Applying the same hysteresis margin or margins to determine that switching between any two beams may unnecessarily degrade performance.

Each hysteresis margin or quality threshold as described above may be determined for a particular array pair in a particular switch direction. For example, T1 or H1 is specifically determined for arrays a and D and is used to determine whether to switch from array a to array D. Likewise, T2 or H2 is specifically determined for arrays a and D and is used to determine whether to switch from array D to array a. It should be noted that the hysteresis margin or quality threshold may be different for different pairs of arrays, and different switching directions (from the first array to the second array, or from the second array to the first array).

The above criteria may be used to determine switching from any beam of an antenna array to any other beam of another antenna array. The ping-pong problem described above can be avoided by using a hysteresis margin and/or a quality threshold to determine whether to switch from one beam of the array to another beam of the other array. Therefore, the opening and closing of the antenna array can be reduced, the beam switching performance is improved, and the power consumption is reduced.

The above criteria can also be used to determine switching from one beam to another beam of the same antenna array. For example, a switch may be made from A1 (current beam) to A2 (target beam) when the following criterion (7) is satisfied:

Qc<T1，AND Qc+H1<Qt， (7)

where T1 is a quality threshold, H1 is a hysteresis margin, qc is the beam quality of the current beam A4, and Qt is the beam quality of the target beam D1. Both the current beam and the target beam belong to the same array. Criterion (7) is similar to criterion (5). Although criterion (7) is shown to have margin (H1) and threshold (T1), it is generally sufficient to cover those cases where there is no threshold or margin by setting the threshold or margins T1, H1 appropriately.

As described above, when determining whether to switch from a first beam of a first array to a second beam of a second array, the beam quality of the first and second beams may be examined and used for the determination. For example, referring again to fig. 6-7 to determine whether to switch from beam A4 (assuming that A4 is the current beam being used) to beam D1, the beam quality of A4 (Qc) and the beam quality of D1 (Qt) are checked and compared to a criterion to determine whether Qc and Qt satisfy the criterion, e.g., criterion (1), (3) or (5). Since A4 is the current beam being used (array a is being turned on), the UE is able to measure and obtain the beam quality of A4. However, since array D is not used but turned off, the UE cannot measure the beam quality of the target beam D1 of another array D.

In one example, qt may be measured using brute force by switching the measurement logic from array a to array D. That is, array A needs to be turned off and array D turned on so that the beam quality of D1 can be measured. This is necessary because the measurement logic can typically only accept inputs from one array at a time. After measuring Qt, the measured Qt and Qc and the threshold or hysteresis margin may then be examined to determine whether they satisfy a predetermined criterion, e.g., criterion (1), (3), or (5), to determine whether to switch from A4 to D1 or to hold A4.

The above example turns off the current array a, turns on the candidate array (target array D), performs beam quality measurements to make decisions, so the disadvantage of wasting time turning off and on the array is unavoidable and may introduce small traffic interruptions. If there are multiple candidate arrays, it may be necessary to turn on these candidate arrays one by one in order to measure their respective beam quality. Further, after measuring the beam quality of the candidate array and checking the beam quality according to a predetermined criterion, it may be determined not to perform beam switching. In this case, the time consuming and performance degrading process of turning off and on multiple arrays one by one for beam quality measurement greatly reduces efficiency and productivity. It should be noted that even though actual beam switching may not occur frequently due to the use of hysteresis margins and/or quality thresholds, performance metric comparisons (i.e., comparing beam quality) and Qt measurements (requiring the array to be turned off/on) may occur frequently. Therefore, it is undesirable to turn the arrays off and on to measure the beam quality of one or more target beams of different arrays.

In some embodiments, a common beam pattern may be provided in array a and array D for estimating the beam quality of the target beam. Fig. 8 shows a diagram of an embodiment beam coverage area 800 provided by two arrays a and D located at different locations of a UE. Each array in fig. 8 may have multiple beams to cover a portion of the range of interest. As shown, array A forms beams A1-A4 and array D forms beams D1-D4. Arrays a and D together cover the entire range of interest. In this example, each of A1-A4 partially overlaps one or more adjacent beams, and similarly, each of D1-D4 partially overlaps one or more adjacent beams. Specifically, beams A4 and D1 substantially completely overlap each other. As used herein, a first beam substantially completely overlaps a second beam when a predefined percentage X of the beam coverage area of the first beam overlaps the beam coverage area of the second beam. For example, the percentage X may be 93%, 95%, or 99%. The percentage X may be predefined, for example, according to beam quality estimation requirements or beam patterns. Since the two beams A4 and D1 are composed of two different arrays located at different positions, it is often difficult to achieve a complete overlap of 100%. The purpose of the substantially complete overlap of beams A4 and D1 is to make beams A4 and D1 more or less identical or substantially identical so that the beam quality measurement of beam A4 may reflect or represent the beam quality of beam D1.

Since beams A4 and D1 substantially completely overlap each other, they have substantially the same beam pattern and may be referred to as a common beam pattern for array A and array D. Thus, the UE can measure D1 (potential target beam) using A4 without turning array a off and array D on. The UE may measure A4 directly while keeping array a Open (ON) and use the measurement of A4 to represent the measurement of D1.

The configuration shown in FIG. 8 may be used to determine whether to switch from one of beams A1-A3 of array A to D1 of array D and from one of beams D2-D4 of array D to A4 of array A. For example, in determining whether to switch from beam A3 (the current beam being used) to D1, the UE may measure the beam quality of A3 and A4, and take the measured beam quality of A4 as the beam quality of D1. The UE may then evaluate whether the beam quality of A3 and A4 (i.e., D1) satisfies the criteria described above, e.g., criteria (1) through (6). In another example, in determining whether to switch from beam D2 (the current beam being used) to A4, the UE may measure the beam quality of D2 and D1 and take the measured beam quality of D1 as the beam quality of A4. The UE may then evaluate whether the beam quality of D2 and A4 satisfies the criteria described above, e.g., criteria (1) through (6).

The above-described embodiments use two adjacent arrays to form a substantially fully overlapping beam pattern so that the target beam quality can be determined from the measured beam quality of the overlapping beams. This allows for easy switching between arrays while eliminating the need to turn off the current array and turn on the candidate array. Therefore, the efficiency of beam switching decision is improved, and the power consumption of the UE is reduced.

In some embodiments, the beam quality of the target beam may be obtained using predictive techniques. Fig. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment method 900 for predicting a target beam quality. An embodiment method 900 will be described below in conjunction with fig. 8 and 9. In this example, the UE determines whether to switch from A4 (the current beam) of array a to D2 (the target beam) of array D. Method 900 may be used to determine a handoff between any beam of array a and any beam of array D.

The UE may acquire the beam quality (f 1) of beam A4 at the last N time (which may also represent the beam quality of D1) (block 902), the beam quality (f 2) of beam A3 at the last N time (block 904), and the output (f 3) of one or more sensors of the UE (block 906). For example, f1 may include A4/D1 at time t _-N ，……，t _-2 、t _-1 Beam quality information (N times before the current time), f2 includes A3 (possible other beams within array a) at time t _-N ，……，t _-2 、t _-1 F3 includes output information from one or more sensors (e.g., motion sensors, magnetometers, vibration motors, and other sensors) on the UE.

The UE may then perform prediction using the information for f1, f2, and f3 to predict beam quality for D2 using a prediction technique (block 908). The prediction technique may include least squares based prediction, machine learning based prediction, or any other prediction technique that is applicable. The UE may also measure the beam quality of A4/D1 at the current time. Using the predicted beam quality of D2 and the measured beam quality of A4/D1, the UE determines whether a predefined criterion, such as one of the criteria (1) through (6), is met (block 910). The UE then determines whether to switch to array D depending on whether predefined criteria are met.

In the embodiment of fig. 9, the beam quality information of A3 is used to predict the beam quality of D2. This information may be very useful, especially when A3 and D2 are located on two respective sides (e.g., left and right) of A4/D1. It is instructive that if the current beam quality of A4/D1 and A3 (located on the left side of A4/D1) tends to be worse over time, and the beam quality of A3 is worse than A4, then D2 on the right side of A4/D1 (and A3 is located on the left side of A4/D1) is likely to be better. The heuristic idea may be formalized in the prediction process, for example using least squares or machine learning based prediction techniques.

The embodiment of fig. 9 utilizes a prediction technique to predict the performance of a target (candidate) beam of the target array using inputs from motion sensors, historical (e.g., recent) beam quality of the current array over time, and historical (e.g., recent) beam quality of one or more neighboring beams of the current array over time, and determines whether to switch from the current array to the target array based on the prediction to eliminate the need to turn off the current array and turn on the candidate array. Therefore, the efficiency of beam switching decision is improved, and the power consumption of the UE is reduced.

As described above, when a UE includes multiple antenna array groups, the UE may need to determine which antenna array group to use or switch to. FIG. 10 shows a diagram of an embodiment UE 1000. The UE 1000 may be a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user equipment capable of wireless communication using high frequencies. UE 1000 includes four high frequency antenna arrays A, B, C and D, each for operating at a frequency band greater than 6GHz (e.g., 28 GHz). UE 1000 also includes two low frequency antennas, a first antenna 1010 and a second antenna 1020, each for operating at a frequency band less than 6GHz (e.g., 2GHz-6 GHz). The use of low frequency antennas is already mandatory, so it can be safely assumed that the

low frequency antennas

1010 and 1020 are always available. Typically, 5G NR has at least two low frequency antennas available.

Array a is located on the topside 1002 of UE 1000. Array D is located on the bottom side 1004 of UE 1000. Array C is located on the left side 1006 of UE 1000. Array B is located on the right side 1008 of UE 1000. Arrays a and D constitute an antenna array set (or array set). Arrays B and C constitute another antenna array set (or another array set). Thus, the UE 1000 has two array groups, namely A/D and B/C. In this example, the beams generated by arrays a and D collectively cover the entire space of interest of UE 1000. The beams formed by arrays B and C also collectively cover the entire space of interest for UE 1000. The first antenna 1010 is closer to the antenna array a than the antenna arrays B and C. That is, the first antenna 1010 is closer to the array group A/D than to the B/C. The second antenna 1020 is closer to the antenna array B than the antenna arrays a and D. That is, the second antenna 1020 is closer to the array group B/C than the A/

D. Antennas

1010 and 1020 are used to measure signal quality (e.g., received signal quality) that may be used to represent the quality of antenna array group a/D and antenna array group B/C, respectively. The placement of

antennas

1010 and 1020 on UE 1000 may be different than that shown in fig. 10. The

antennas

1010 and 1020 may be placed on the UE 1000 such that the signal quality measured by the

antennas

1010 and 1020 may be a sufficient representation of the signal quality for antenna array groups a and D and antenna array groups B and C. Typically, two

antennas

1010 and 1020 are placed on two different sides of the UE 1000 to increase spatial diversity, and thus the deployment of the

antennas

1010 and 1020 as shown in fig. 10 is close to the measured data.

Depending on the placement of the high frequency array set A/D and the high frequency array set B/C and the placement of the

low frequency antennas

1010 and 1020, measurements of the low frequency may be used to determine whether an array set, A/D or B/C, will be used. In one example where the current array group being used is B/C, UE 1000 may determine to select array group A/D for communication (i.e., switch from array group B/C to A/D) when the following criterion (8) is satisfied:

rho1> rho2+ margin, and/or (8)

rho2< threshold value of the threshold value,

where rho1 is the signal quality measured at antenna 1010 and rho2 is the signal quality measured at antenna 1020. The margin and threshold may be predetermined. If criteria are met (8), UE 1000 may select array group A/D for wireless communication. Otherwise, if the criteria are not met (8), the UE 1000 may continue to use array group B/C. A similar procedure may be used when the currently used array set is A/D. The UE may continuously or periodically measure the signal quality of

antennas

1010 and 1020 and determine which array group to use based on the measurements.

In some embodiments, arrays A, B, C and D may be placed closer to the middle of the four sides of the UE. In this case, the orientation information of the UE may be used to assist array group selection. Fig. 11 shows a UE 1100 that includes four arrays A, B, C and D. Array a is located on the top side 1102 of UE 1100. Array D is located on the bottom side 1104 of UE 1100. Array C is located on the left side 1106 of UE 1100. Array B is located on the right side 1108 of UE 1100. Arrays a and D constitute an antenna array set. Arrays B and C form another antenna array set. The beams formed by arrays a and D collectively cover the entire space of interest of UE 1100. The beams formed by arrays B and C also collectively cover the entire space of interest for UE 1100.

The orientation of the device may be referred to as the orientation of the device relative to a reference surface (e.g., the ground). The device may be in a vertical orientation or a horizontal orientation. For example, the UE 1100 as shown in fig. 11 is in a vertical orientation with its top and bottom sides pointing up and down, respectively. UE 1100 is also in a vertical orientation when the top and bottom sides of UE 1100 are directed downward and upward, respectively. When the left and right sides of UE 1100 are pointing up and down, UE 1100 is in a horizontal orientation. For devices with a screen, such as a cell phone or tablet, the orientation of the device may also be dependent on the orientation of the screen. Thus, the device may be in a portrait orientation or a landscape orientation. The following embodiments will be described using the terms "longitudinally oriented" and "transversely oriented" for illustrative purposes only. Other terms describing the orientation of a handheld user device may also be applicable without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In some embodiments, if the UE 1100 is in a portrait (or vertical) orientation, array set a/D may be selected and used for communication, that is, antenna arrays located on the top and bottom sides of the UE 1100 may be used. If the UE is in a landscape (or horizontal) orientation, array set B/C may be selected and used for communication, that is, antenna arrays located to the left and right of UE 1100 may be used. When array groups a/D and B/C have similar or equal conditions, such as similar signal quality or similar number of antenna elements, the array groups may be selected according to the orientation of the UE.

In some embodiments, additional information obtained from the sensors of the UE may be used when selecting an array group from multiple array groups (e.g., from array groups a/D and B/C). For example, the array group may be selected according to a grip position (or area) on the UE. The grip position or area of the UE refers to a position or area on the UE where the UE is held or touched. By reading input from one or more motion sensors (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers), built-in actuators (e.g., vibration motors), and/or pressure sensors (e.g., sensors that sense touches on the screen, sides, and/or back of the UE), the UE is able to detect a grip location on the UE and provide corresponding grip information about the grip location or area. From the grip information, in one example, if the grip area or location is closer to array group a/D than array group B/C, the a/D may be avoided and array group B/C may be selected. Otherwise, if the grip area or location is closer to array group B/C than array group A/D, array group A/D may be selected.

Additional information (e.g., grip information) may be used in conjunction with the criteria (8) and/or the orientation of the UE for selecting an array group from a plurality of array groups. For example, when the UE is in a portrait orientation, antenna array group a/D may be selected, with antenna array group B/C being closer to the grip area than antenna array group a/D. In another example, when the UE is in landscape orientation, antenna array group a/D may be selected, with antenna array group B/C being closer to the grip area than antenna array group a/D. In another example, when the UE is in a portrait orientation, antenna array group B/C may be selected, with antenna array group a/D being closer to the grip area than antenna array group B/C. In another example, when the UE is in landscape orientation, antenna array group B/C may be selected, with antenna array group a/D being closer to the grip area than antenna array group B/C. In another example, referring back to fig. 10, when the signal quality of the first antenna 1010 and the second antenna 1020 are approximately the same (e.g., the quality difference is within a predefined range), one array group that is farther from the grip position than the other array group may be selected.

Fig. 12 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment 1200 for wireless communication. The method 1200 may represent operations at a communication device, such as a handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user device capable of wireless communication using high frequencies. As shown, in step 1202, the communications device receives a wireless signal using a first beam of a first antenna array. A communication device includes a first antenna array and a second antenna array located at different locations on the communication device. In step 1204, the communication device switches from a first beam of the first antenna array to a second beam of the second antenna array to receive the wireless signal when the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam, the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam, and the first quality threshold meet a predefined criterion.

Fig. 13 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment 1300 for wireless communication. Method 1300 may represent operations at a communication device, such as a handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user device capable of wireless communication using high frequency. As shown, in step 1302, the communication device measures a first received signal quality of a first antenna. In step 1304, the communication device measures a second received signal quality for a second antenna, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna of the communication device are configured to operate in a frequency band below 6GHz, the communication device further comprising a first antenna array group and a second antenna array group located at different locations on the communication device. The first antenna is closer to one antenna in the first antenna array group than the second antenna array group, and the second antenna is closer to one antenna in the second antenna array group than the first antenna array group. In step 1306, the communication device selects either the first antenna array group or the second antenna array group to receive the wireless transmission, wherein the selecting comprises evaluating a first received signal quality, a second received signal quality, and a first quality threshold.

Fig. 14 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment 1400 for wireless communication. The method 1400 may represent operations at a communication device, such as a handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user device capable of wireless communication using high frequency. As shown, in step 1402, the communication device wirelessly communicates using one of a first antenna array group of the communication device and a second antenna array group of the communication device. In step 1404, the communications device determines whether to switch between a first antenna array group and a second antenna array group of the communications device to receive the wireless transmission based on the orientation of the communications device. The first antenna array group and the second antenna array group are located at different locations on the communication device. The first antenna array set includes a first array located on a top side of the communication device and a second array located on a bottom side of the communication device, and the second antenna array set includes a first array located on a left side of the communication device and a second array located on a right side of the communication device.

Fig. 15 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment 1500 for wireless communication. The method 1500 may represent operations at a communication device, such as a handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user device capable of wireless communication using high frequency. As shown, in step 1502, a communication device measures a first quality of a first beam of a first antenna array, wherein the communication device is configured to receive a wireless signal using the first beam of the first antenna array and the communication device includes the first antenna array and a second antenna array located at different locations on the communication device. In step 1504, the communication device determines a second quality of a second beam of a second antenna array using at least one of a third quality of a third beam of the first antenna array, a first beam of the first antenna array, and historical quality data of a fourth beam, wherein a beam coverage area of the third beam overlaps a beam coverage area of the second beam by a ratio greater than a predetermined threshold. In step 1506, the communication device determines whether to switch from a first beam of the first antenna array to a second beam of the second antenna array to receive the wireless signal by evaluating a first quality of the first beam and a second quality of the second beam according to a first quality threshold.

Fig. 16 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment 1600 for wireless communication. The method 1600 may represent operations at a communication device, such as a handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or any other handheld user device capable of wireless communication using high frequency. As shown, in step 1602, a communication device measures a first quality of a first beam of a first antenna array, wherein the communication device is configured to receive wireless signals using the first beam of the first antenna array, and the communication device includes the first antenna array and a second antenna array located at different locations on the communication device and configured to operate at a frequency band greater than 6 GHz. In step 1604, the communications device determines a second quality of a second beam of a second antenna array based on historical quality data for a first beam and a third beam of a first antenna array. In step 1606, the communication device determines whether to switch from a first beam of the first antenna array to a second beam of the second antenna array to receive the wireless signal by evaluating a first quality of the first beam and a second quality of the second beam according to a first threshold.

Fig. 17 shows a block diagram of an embodiment processing system 1700 that may be installed in a host device for performing the methods described herein. As shown, processing system 1700 includes a processor 1704, a memory 1706, and interfaces 1710-1714, which may (or may not) be arranged as shown in FIG. 17. Processor 1704 may be any component or collection of components for performing computations and/or other processing related tasks, and memory 1706 may be any component or collection of components for storing programming and/or instructions for execution by processor 1704. In one embodiment, memory 1706 comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

Interfaces

1710, 1712, 1714 may be any component or collection of components that allow processing system 1700 to communicate with other devices/components and/or users. For example, one or more of

interfaces

1710, 1712, 1714 can be used to transfer data, control, or management messages from processor 1704 to applications installed on the host device and/or remote devices. Also for example, one or more of the

interfaces

1710, 1712, 1714 may be used to allow a user or user device (e.g., a Personal Computer (PC), etc.) to interact/communicate with the processing system 1700. The processing system 1700 may include additional components not shown in fig. 17, such as long-term memory (e.g., non-volatile memory, etc.).

In some embodiments, the processing system 1700 is included in a network device that accesses or otherwise becomes part of a telecommunications network. In one example, the processing system 1700 is located in a network-side device in a wireless or wireline telecommunications network, such as a base station, relay station, scheduler, controller, gateway, router, application server, or any other device in a telecommunications network. In other embodiments, the processing system 1700 is located in a user-side device accessing a wireless or wired telecommunications network, such as a mobile station, a User Equipment (UE), a Personal Computer (PC), a tablet, a wearable communication device (e.g., a smart watch, etc.), or any other device for accessing a telecommunications network.

In some embodiments, one or more of the

interfaces

1710, 1712, 1714 connect the processing system 1700 to a transceiver for sending and receiving signaling over a telecommunications network. Fig. 18 shows a block diagram of a transceiver 1800 for sending and receiving signaling over a telecommunications network. The transceiver 1800 may be installed in a host device. As shown, the transceiver 1800 includes a network-side interface 1802, a coupler 1804, a transmitter 1806, a receiver 1808, a signal processor 1810, and a device-side interface 1812. The network-side interface 1802 may include any component or collection of components for sending or receiving signaling over a wireless or wireline telecommunications network. The coupler 1804 may include any component or collection of components configured to facilitate bi-directional communication via the network-side interface 1802. The transmitter 1806 may include any component or collection of components (e.g., an upconverter, power amplifier, etc.) for converting a baseband signal to a modulated carrier signal suitable for transmission over the network-side interface 1802. Receiver 1808 may include any component or collection of components (e.g., a downconverter, a low noise amplifier, etc.) for converting a carrier signal received through network-side interface 1802 to a baseband signal. Signal processor 1810 may include any component or collection of components for converting baseband signals to data signals suitable for communication over one or more device-side interfaces 1812, or vice versa. One or more device-side interfaces 1812 may include any component or collection of components for communicating data signals between signal processor 1810 and components within a host device (e.g., processing system 1700, a Local Area Network (LAN) port, etc.).

The transceiver 1800 may send and receive signaling over any type of communication medium. In some embodiments, the transceiver 1800 sends and receives signaling over a wireless medium. For example, transceiver 1800 may be a wireless transceiver for communicating according to a wireless telecommunication protocol, such as a cellular protocol (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE), etc.), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) protocol (e.g., wi-Fi, etc.), or any other type of wireless protocol (e.g., bluetooth, near Field Communication (NFC), etc.). In these embodiments, the network-side interface 1802 includes one or more antenna/radiating elements. For example, the network-side interface 1802 may include a single antenna, multiple independent antennas, or a multi-antenna array for multi-layer communication, such as Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO), multiple Input Single Output (MISO), multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and so on. A particular processing system and/or transceiver may utilize all of the components shown, or only a subset of these components, and the level of integration may vary from device to device.

It should be understood that one or more steps of the embodiment methods provided herein may be performed by corresponding units or modules. For example, the signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unit or a transmitting module. The signal may be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. The signals may be processed by a processing unit or processing module. Further steps of the method of the present embodiment may be performed by the communication unit or communication module, the measurement unit or measurement module, the evaluation unit or module, the pre-fabricated unit or module, the switching unit or module, the determination unit or module and/or the selection unit or module. The individual units or modules may be hardware, software or a combination thereof. For example, one or more of the units or modules may be an integrated circuit, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

While the invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover any such modifications or embodiments.

Claims

1. An antenna array selection method, comprising:

a wireless communication device receiving wireless signals using a first beam of a first antenna array, the communication device comprising a second antenna array located at a different location on the communication device than the first antenna array;

switching, by the communication device, from a first beam of the first antenna array to a second beam of the second antenna array to receive a wireless signal when a first measurement indicative of a first quality of the first beam, a second measurement indicative of a second quality of the second beam, and a first quality threshold satisfy a predefined criterion;

wherein the communication device determines the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam of the second antenna array from historical quality data of the first measurement and historical quality data of a fourth beam of the first antenna array.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predefined criterion is fulfilled when the sum of the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is smaller than or equal to the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined criterion is met when the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam is less than the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam, and the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam is less than the first quality threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined criterion is met when a sum of the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam, and the first measurement indicative of the first quality of the first beam is less than a second quality threshold.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the first antenna array and the second antenna array are used to generate beams covering respective beam coverage areas.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first antenna array and the second antenna array are configured to operate in the millimeter wave frequency band.

7. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the first antenna array is located on a first side of the communication device and the second antenna array is located on a second side of the communication device opposite the first side.

8. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein a beam coverage area of the first antenna array overlaps a beam coverage area of the second antenna array.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

the communication device determines the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam of the second antenna array using a third measurement of a third beam of the first antenna array, a beam coverage area of the third beam overlapping a beam coverage area of the second beam by a ratio greater than a predetermined threshold.

10. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein determining the second measurement indicative of the second quality of the second beam of the second antenna array is based on the historical quality data for the first beam and the historical quality data for the fourth beam of the first antenna array and information provided by a motion sensor of the communication device.

11. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein a beam coverage area of the first beam overlaps with a beam coverage area of a fourth beam of the second antenna array.

12. An antenna array selection method, comprising:

measuring a first quality of a first beam of a first antenna array by a communication device, the communication device for receiving wireless signals using the first beam of the first antenna array, the communication device comprising the first antenna array and a second antenna array located at different locations on the communication device;

determining, by the communications device, a second quality of a second beam of the second antenna array using at least one of a third quality of a third beam of the first antenna array, and historical quality data for the first and fourth beams of the first antenna array, wherein a beam coverage area of the third beam overlaps a beam coverage area of the second beam by a ratio greater than a predetermined threshold;

the communication device determines whether to switch from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array to receive wireless signals by evaluating the first quality of the first beam and the second quality of the second beam according to a first quality threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array when a sum of the measure of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than the second quality of the second beam.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array when the first quality of the first beam is less than the second quality of the second beam and the first quality of the first beam is less than the first quality threshold.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

the communication device switches from the first beam of the first antenna array to the second beam of the second antenna array when a sum of the measure of the first quality of the first beam and the first quality threshold is less than the second quality of the second beam and the measure of the first quality of the first beam is less than a second quality threshold.

16. The method of any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the first antenna array and the second antenna array are configured to operate in the millimeter wave frequency band.

17. The method of any of claims 12-15, wherein the first antenna array is located on a first side of the communication device and the second antenna array is located on a second side of the communication device opposite the first side.

18. The method of any of claims 12-15, wherein the second quality of the second beam is determined from the historical quality data for the first and fourth beams of the first antenna array and information provided by a motion sensor of the communication device.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory memory including instructions;

one or more processors in communication with the non-transitory memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to perform the method of any of claims 1-18.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 18.