WO2016180207A1

WO2016180207A1 - Data communication method and apparatus using beamforming

Info

Publication number: WO2016180207A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/079908
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张芳; 陈林
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2015-09-28
Filing date: 2016-04-21
Publication date: 2016-11-17
Also published as: CN106559122A

Abstract

Disclosed are a data communication method and apparatus using beamforming. The method comprises: a sending end sends a signal of a common channel by using a beam on a first beam level; the sending end sends a reference signal by using a beam on a second beam level, the coverage of the beam on the first beam level being larger than that of the beam on the second beam level; and the sending end sends user data by using an optimal beam fed back by a reception end.

Description

Data communication method and device using beamforming

Technical field

This application relates to, but is not limited to, the field of wireless communications.

Background technique

With the rapid growth of mobile Internet and IoT services, the types of services are rich and diverse, and the peak rate of users of 5G (fifth generation, fifth generation mobile communication) is expected to increase by 10-100 times, the throughput of cells is increased by 1000 times, and the number of users is supported. It grows 10-100 times and provides a peak rate of about 10 Gbps. It is difficult to meet the demand of high-speed wireless service transmission only by relying on the improvement of spectrum efficiency. The spectrum shortage of wireless communication has become a bottleneck for the development of wireless communication technology in the future. High-frequency communication predicts that the available frequency bands are new frequency bands such as 25 GHz, 31 GHz, 66-76 or 81-86 GHz, and the total bandwidth released will be greater than 100 GHz, which is an important way for spectrum expansion of 5G wireless communication systems.

Since the path loss and penetration loss of high-frequency electromagnetic waves are much larger than those of traditional communication systems, providing reliable link quality is the first problem to be solved in high-frequency communication systems. On the other hand, antennas and devices with high frequency band miniaturization are higher. The directional gain creates unique conditions for the future implementation of Massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple-Output) technology. Therefore, the combination of high frequency communication and MIMO, especially BF (Beam forming), is an inevitable trend in the future development of wireless communication.

Currently, WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) and WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) have established technical standards for millimeter wave band communication, such as ECMA (European Computer Manufactures Association)-387 , IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.15.3c and IEEE 802.11ad, and gradually industrialization. In the protocol standards and industry research results of related technologies, most of the business data transmission parts are considered to form a directional beam using BF technology to compensate for path loss in the high frequency band. The beam training process on the transmitting side and the receiving side usually adopts a time domain scanning method. On the transmitting side, the reference signals for beam training are periodically transmitted according to a certain rule, and beams in different directions are transmitted in different time domains; the receiving side separately scans signals in the corresponding time segments, according to Certain performance evaluation criteria such as received signal strength or signal to interference and noise ratio determine the best beam and feed back to the transmitting side. The receiving side can also receive by using beamforming to enhance the received signal strength. At this time, the receiving side also needs to scan the receiving beams in different directions, find the most suitable beam pair, and feed back the corresponding information to the transmitting side.

The solution of the related art is based on the WLAN mechanism, adopts a time division method and a contention access mechanism, and adopts OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) similar to LTE (Long Term Evolution). The system of entry and scheduling mechanisms is not suitable. The method of obtaining the optimal beam pair between the transmitting and receiving sides by performing beam scanning in the time domain, when the beam width of the beam is narrow and the beam direction is large, the beam scanning on the transmitting side and the receiving side takes a long time. When the user moves, it is difficult to effectively track the change of the beam, which seriously affects the communication quality.

Summary of the invention

The following is an overview of the topics detailed in this document. This Summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

In this paper, a data communication method and device using beamforming is proposed, which combines the transmission and reception of the common channel with the beam training process, and uses beamforming to transmit the information of the common channel, and enhances the coverage of the common channel while completing partial beam training. The process is to improve the efficiency of beam training between the transmitting side and the receiving side, enhance the performance of beam tracking, and ensure the quality of wireless communication in a high frequency band.

A data communication method using beamforming, comprising:

The transmitting end transmits the signal of the common channel by using the beam of the first beam level;

The transmitting end uses the beam of the second beam level to transmit the reference signal, where the coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than the beam of the second beam level;

The transmitting end sends user data by using an optimal beam fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the signal of the common channel includes a synchronization signal or a discovery signal, and a broadcast signal; the broadcast signal is sent later in the time domain than the synchronization signal or the discovery signal.

Optionally, the transmitting end sends the user data by using the optimal beam fed back by the receiving end, including:

The transmitting end determines an optimal coverage of the coverage and the second beam level fed back by the receiving end a beam of a third beam level corresponding to the beam; wherein a coverage of the beam of the second beam level is greater than a beam of the third beam level, and a coverage of each of the second beam stages respectively corresponds to The coverage of one or more of the third beam stages;

Transmitting, by the transmitting end, a dedicated control channel by using the determined beam of one or more of the third beam stages;

The transmitting end sends user data by using an optimal beam of the third beam level fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the sending, by the sending end, using the determined one or more beams of the third beam level to transmit a dedicated control channel includes:

Transmitting, by the transmitting end, the dedicated control channel on the determined beam of the third beam level, or traversing and transmitting the dedicated control channel on the determined beams of the third beam level; different Any one or any of the following resources used by the beam: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources.

The transmitting end sends user data by using an optimal beam of the second beam level fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the transmitting, by using the beam of the first beam level, the signal of the common channel includes:

The transmitting end traverses and transmits the common channel on all the beams in the first beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domains Resources.

Optionally, the sending, by the sending end, using the beam of the second beam level to transmit the reference signal includes:

The transmitting end traverses and transmits the reference signal on all the beams in the second beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domains Resources.

A data communication method using beamforming, comprising:

The receiving end receives the signal of the common channel through the beam of the first beam stage;

Receiving, by the receiving end, a reference signal by using a beam of the second beam level; wherein, a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage;

The receiving end feeds back an optimal beam of the second beam stage.

Optionally, after the receiving end receives the signal of the common channel by using the beam of the first beam level, the method further includes:

The receiving end determines an optimal beam in the first beam level according to the received synchronization signal or discovery signal;

The receiving end demodulates the broadcast signal in any one or any combination of the following resources corresponding to the optimal beam in the first beam level: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a code domain resource.

Optionally, after the receiving end receives the reference signal by using the beam of the second beam level, the method further includes:

Determining, by the receiving end, an optimality of the second beam level according to the received reference signal in one or more beams of the second beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the first beam level a beam; wherein a coverage of each of the first beam stages corresponds to a coverage of one or more of the second beam levels, respectively.

Optionally, after the receiving end feeds back the optimal beam of the second beam level, the method further includes:

Receiving, by the receiving end, a signal of a dedicated control channel by one or more beams of the third beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the second beam level; wherein, the beam of the second beam level a coverage that is greater than a beam of the third beam level, and a coverage of each of the second beam levels respectively corresponds to a coverage of one or more of the third beam stages;

The receiving end determines, according to the received signal of the dedicated control channel, an optimal beam of the third beam level and feedbacks the beam in the third beam level used by the receiving the dedicated control channel;

The receiving end receives user data through an optimal beam of the third beam level.

The receiving end receives user data through an optimal beam of the second beam level.

A data communication device using beamforming, which is disposed at a transmitting end, and includes:

a first sending module, configured to: use a beam of a first beam level to transmit a signal of a common channel;

a second sending module, configured to: transmit a reference signal by using a beam of the second beam level; wherein, a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage;

The third sending module is configured to: send user data by using an optimal beam fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the third sending module includes:

a determining unit, configured to: determine a beam of a third beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the second beam level that is fed back by the receiving end; wherein a coverage of the beam of the second beam level a beam larger than the third beam level, where a coverage of each of the second beam levels respectively corresponds to a coverage of one or more of the third beam levels;

a dedicated control channel sending unit, configured to: transmit a dedicated control channel by using the determined one or more beams of the third beam level;

The user data sending unit is configured to: send user data by using an optimal beam of the third beam level fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the dedicated control channel sending unit is configured to:

Transmitting the dedicated control channel on the determined beam of the third beam level, or traversing and transmitting the dedicated control channel on the determined beams of the third beam stage; different beams are used Any of the following or any of the following resources are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources.

Optionally, the third sending module is configured to:

User data is transmitted using an optimal beam of the second beam level fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the first sending module is configured to:

The common channel is traversed on all the beams in the first beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources.

Optionally, the second sending module is configured to:

The reference signal is traversed on all the beams in the second beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources.

A data communication device using a beamforming device is disposed at the receiving end and includes:

The first receiving module is configured to: receive a signal of the common channel by using a beam of the first beam level;

The second receiving module is configured to receive the reference signal by using the beam of the second beam level, where the coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than the beam of the second beam stage;

The first feedback module is configured to: feed back an optimal beam of the second beam level.

Optionally, the first receiving module is further configured to: after receiving the signal of the common channel by using the beam of the first beam level, determining an optimal beam in the first beam level according to the received synchronization signal or the discovery signal And demodulating the broadcast signal in any one or any combination of the following resources corresponding to the optimal beam in the first beam level: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a code domain resource.

Optionally, the first receiving module is further configured to: after receiving the reference signal by using the beam of the second beam level, the second beam level corresponding to the optimal beam of the first beam level after coverage Determining, in the one or more beams, an optimal beam of the second beam level according to the received reference signal; wherein, a coverage of each of the first beam stages respectively corresponds to the second beam level The coverage of one or more beams.

Optionally, the device further includes:

a third receiving module, configured to: receive, by using one or more beams of the third beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the second beam level, a signal of a dedicated control channel; wherein the second beam The coverage of the beam of the level is greater than the beam of the third beam level, and the coverage of each of the second beam stages respectively corresponds to the coverage of one or more of the third beam stages;

a second feedback module, configured to: receive a third beam level used by the dedicated control channel And determining, according to the received signal of the dedicated control channel, an optimal beam of the third beam level and feedback;

The user data receiving module is configured to: receive user data by using an optimal beam of the third beam level.

Optionally, the device further includes:

The user data receiving module is configured to: receive user data by using an optimal beam of the second beam level.

A computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions for performing the method of any of the above.

The data communication method and device in the layered multi-level beamforming mode provided by the embodiment of the present invention improves beam training efficiency between the transmitting side and the receiving side, enhances beam tracking performance, and ensures wireless communication in a high frequency band. quality.

Other aspects will be apparent upon reading and understanding the drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF abstract

1 is a schematic flow chart of a data communication method using beamforming according to Embodiment 1;

2 is a schematic flow chart of a data communication method using beamforming in Embodiment 2;

3 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication scenario using beamforming in a high frequency band in the first to third embodiments;

4(a), (b), and (c) are schematic diagrams of coverage of different levels of beams in the first to third embodiments;

5 is a schematic flow chart of Embodiment 1;

6 is a schematic diagram of transmitting signals in different time domains by multiple beams in Embodiment 1;

7 is a schematic diagram of transmitting a synchronization signal and a broadcast signal by using beamforming in the first embodiment;

8 is a schematic diagram of a dedicated control channel for transmitting a beamforming in Embodiment 1;

9 is a schematic diagram of transmitting signals in different frequency domains by multiple beams in Embodiment 2;

10 is a schematic diagram of multiple beams transmitting signals in different code domains;

11 is a schematic diagram of transmitting a synchronization signal and a broadcast signal by using beamforming in Embodiment 2;

12 is a schematic diagram of a dedicated control channel using beamforming transmission in Embodiment 3;

13 is a schematic flow chart of Embodiment 3;

14 is a schematic diagram of a data communication apparatus using beamforming in Embodiment 3;

15 is a schematic diagram of a data communication apparatus using beamforming in the fourth embodiment.

Embodiments of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

It should be noted that the features of the embodiments of the present invention and the embodiments may be combined with each other if they do not conflict. Additionally, although logical sequences are shown in the flowcharts, in some cases the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order than the ones described herein.

Embodiment 1 A data communication method using beamforming, as shown in FIG. 1, includes:

S110. The transmitting end sends a signal of the common channel by using a beam of the first beam level.

S120. The transmitting end sends a reference signal by using a beam of a second beam level, where a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage.

S130. The sending end sends user data by using an optimal beam fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, in an implementation manner, the S130 includes:

The transmitting end determines a beam of a third beam level that corresponds to an optimal beam of the second beam level that is fed back by the receiving end; wherein a coverage of the beam of the second beam level is greater than a beam of a third beam level, the coverage of each of the second beam stages respectively corresponding to a coverage of one or more of the third beam stages;

The transmitting end uses the determined beam transmission specific control of one or more of the third beam levels Channel

In this embodiment, a layered multi-stage beamforming manner may be adopted, which may be, but is not limited to, dividing a beamforming and a beam training process in a communication process into three levels: a first beam level (also referred to as a wide beam level). a second beam level (also referred to as a narrow beam level) and a third beam level (also referred to as an ultra-narrow beam level); wherein the coverage of each of the wide beam stages corresponds to a narrow beam level, respectively The coverage of one or more beams in the narrow beam level, the coverage of each beam only corresponds to the coverage of a beam of a wide beam level; the coverage of each beam in the narrow beam level corresponds to an ultra narrow Coverage of one or more beams in the beam level, the coverage of each beam in the ultra-narrow beam level corresponds only to the coverage of a beam of a narrow beam level. Different levels of beams can be distinguished by level ID (identification). Beams in the same level are distinguished by different beam IDs. The coverage of three levels of beam IDs can be established according to the actual coverage of each beam. Correspondence relationship.

In this embodiment, the physical layer channel and signal are classified into four types, a common channel, a reference signal, a dedicated control channel, and a dedicated data channel. The common channel transmits a synchronization signal, a broadcast signal, a paging signal, a system message, and a common control signaling; the reference signal is used for channel state information estimation, and the narrow beam level optimal beam information is acquired; and the dedicated control channel transmits the mobile user or Equipment-specific signal and control signaling, such as ultra-narrow beam training signals, scheduling messages, channel quality feedback information, power control information, etc.; dedicated data channels to transmit service data of mobile users or devices.

The physical layer channels and signals are transmitted in a hierarchical multi-stage beamforming manner, and the beam lobe width and the number of beams respectively correspond to different levels of the beamforming described above.

Transmitting, by the transmitting end, the dedicated control channel on a beam of the determined one of the third beam stages, or traversing and transmitting the dedicated control channel on the determined beams of the third beam stage, ie : when there is only one beam of the determined third beam level, the dedicated control channel is transmitted on the beam, and if there are multiple, the dedicated control channel is traversed by the multiple beams; the following ones are used by different beams Or any of several resources are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources.

Optionally, in another implementation manner, the S130 includes:

Optionally, the step S110 includes:

Optionally, the step S120 includes:

Embodiment 2 A data communication method using beamforming, as shown in FIG. 2, includes:

S210. The receiving end receives a signal of a common channel by using a beam of the first beam level.

S220, the receiving end receives a reference signal by using a beam of the second beam level, where a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage;

S230. The receiving end feeds back an optimal beam of the second beam stage.

Optionally, after the step S210, the method further includes:

In this optional manner, after the step S220, the method may further include:

Determining, by the receiving end, one of the second beam level according to the received reference signal, in one or more beams of the second beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the first beam level An optimal beam; wherein a coverage of each of the first beam stages corresponds to a coverage of one or more of the second beam levels, respectively.

Optionally, in an implementation manner, after S230, the method further includes:

The receiving end determines, in the beam, an optimal beam of the third beam level and feedback according to the received signal of the dedicated control channel;

Optionally, in another implementation manner, after the S230, the method further includes:

The foregoing two embodiments are described by using an example. In the example, the first, second, and third beam levels are respectively a wide beam level, a narrow beam level, and an ultra-narrow beam level. The implementation process of the example includes the step 301. 308:

Step 301: The transmitting end (such as but not limited to a base station or a transmitting node, etc.) sends a synchronization signal or a discovery signal in a common channel, and a broadcast signal. When the transmitting end transmits the signal of the common channel, the transmitting end transmits according to the wide beam level beamforming manner. . The signals of the common channel are traversed and transmitted on all the beams in the wide beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources; wherein, in the broadcast signal The information includes, but is not limited to, the following information: the correspondence information between the three levels of the beam on the coverage area. In the correspondence information, each beam can be uniquely identified by the level ID + the beam ID; when the synchronization signal and the broadcast signal are located Domain, frequency domain or code domain resource information and ID information of a corresponding wide beam level beam; time domain in which the reference signal is located, frequency domain or code domain resource information, and ID information of a beam within a corresponding level;

Step 302: The receiving end (such as but not limited to being a mobile user or device) detects a synchronization signal or a discovery signal in a time domain, a frequency domain or a code domain corresponding to all beams of the wide beam level, according to corresponding performance evaluation criteria such as the detected signal. Energy, received signal strength, signal to interference and noise ratio, etc. determine the wide beam level Optimal beam; demodulate the broadcast signal in the time domain, frequency domain or code domain resource corresponding to the optimal beam. According to the information in the broadcast signal obtained by the demodulation, the receiving end determines the ID information of the optimal beam, and feeds back the ID information of the optimal beam of the wide beam level to the transmitting end;

Step 303: The transmitting end sends the reference signal by using a narrow beam level beamforming manner. The reference signal is periodically traversed and transmitted on all the beams in the narrow beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources;

Step 304: The receiving end determines ID information of beams of all narrow beam levels corresponding to the optimal beam of the wide beam level according to the correspondence information between the three level beams, and then corresponds to the determined beams of all the narrow beam levels. The reference signal is received on the time-frequency code domain resource, and the optimal beam (one or more) of the narrow beam level is determined according to the corresponding performance evaluation criteria, such as the received signal strength, the signal to interference and noise ratio, and the ID information of the optimal beam is fed back. To the sender;

Step 305: After receiving the ID information of the optimal beam of the narrow beam level fed back by the receiving end, the transmitting end obtains a narrow beam level related to the mobile user or device according to the correspondence information between the three levels of beams. a list of ID information of beams of the ultra-narrow beam level corresponding to the optimal beam ID;

Step 306: The transmitting end sends the signal of the dedicated control channel according to the ultra-narrow beam-level beamforming manner; the dedicated control channel is sent on multiple ultra-narrow beams, including the ultra-narrow beam-level beam corresponding to the optimal beam of the narrow beam level. All beams in the ID information list. The following ones or any of the resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources; the transmitting end may send the ID information of the beam within the level while transmitting the dedicated control channel, or The ID information of the beam is hidden in the time domain, the frequency domain or the code domain resource;

Step 307: The receiving end receives the signal in the dedicated control channel in the corresponding time-frequency code domain resource, and determines the optimal beam set according to the corresponding performance evaluation criteria, such as the received signal strength, the signal to interference and noise ratio, and the like, and simultaneously sends the same in the dedicated control channel. The ID information of the beam, the ID information of the optimal beam in the feedback level of the receiving end is sent to the transmitting end; if the ID information of the beam is hidden in the time domain, the frequency domain or the code domain, the receiving end will match the time of the optimal beam. The domain or codeword information is fed back to the sending end, and the sending end obtains the ID information of the corresponding optimal beam according to the time domain, the frequency domain or the codeword information;

Step 308: The transmitting end determines the beam direction of the transmitted data according to the ID information of the optimal beam in the ultra-narrow beam level fed back by the receiving end, and sends the user data according to the ultra-narrow beam level beamforming manner.

Optionally, for a system and a network that have a relatively high delay requirement or a control signaling that does not need to be scheduled before the data transmission, the sending end may perform the following steps instead of performing steps 305-308 after step 304:

The transmitting end sends the user data according to the narrow beam level beamforming manner according to the ID information of the beam of the narrow beam level fed back by the receiving end.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions for performing the above data forming method using beamforming.

The above embodiment will be described below using three embodiment examples. In the following implementation examples, the first beam level is referred to as a wide beam level, the second beam level is referred to as a narrow beam level, and the third beam level is referred to as an ultra-narrow beam level.

Implementation example 1:

As shown in FIG. 3, the transmitting node TP uses a high frequency band to provide high-speed data services for its covered MS (Mobile Subscriber). TP is a node with beamforming capability. By shaping the weights on the antenna phase, beams of different shapes and directions can be formed. The TP simultaneously provides services for multiple MSs (such as the first mobile user and the second mobile user in FIG. 1) by means of beamforming.

Due to the large path loss in the high frequency band, in order to ensure coverage, beamforming is used to form a directional beam to increase the antenna gain and improve the signal receiving strength. The narrower the beamwidth (usually measured by the 3dB lobe width), the greater the gain from the antenna.

In this embodiment, in order to satisfy the coverage of the synchronization and broadcast signals, the single beam lobe width of the transmission synchronization and broadcast signals is 40 degrees, and three beams of the same lobe width are used, and the main lobe directions are 40 degrees and 0 degrees, respectively. And -40 degrees, covering the 120 degree area of the horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 4 (a), beam 0-0, beam 0-1 and beam 0-2, these three beams are beams of wide beam level, level ID 0, the beam ID is 0, 1, 2, respectively. Beams of narrow beam level and ultra-narrow beam level are used to transmit reference signals, dedicated control channel signals, and user data. In this embodiment, each wide beam corresponds to three narrow beams, a total of nine narrow beams, a level ID of 1, and a beam ID of 0-8, as shown in FIG. 4(b), beam 1-0, beam 1-1, beam 1-2, beam 1-3, beam 1-4, beam 1-5, beam 1-6, beam 1-7 and beam 1-8; each narrow beam corresponds to 3 ultra-narrow beams, a total of 27 ultra-narrow beams, level ID 2, beam ID 0 to 26 as shown in Figure 4 (c) The illustrated beam 2-k, beam 2-k+1 and beam 2-k+2 are three of the 27 ultra-narrow beams, where k is an integer and 0 ≤ k ≤ 24. According to the coverage characteristics, the relationship between the beams is as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Beam coverage relationship correspondence table

The flowchart of the data communication in this embodiment example refers to FIG. 5 and includes steps 501 to 514.

501. The TP transmits a synchronization signal to the MS using a beam of a wide beam level.

502. The TP sends a broadcast signal to the MS by using a beam of a wide beam level.

In the above two steps, when the TP transmits the synchronization signal and the broadcast signal, the beamforming is performed at a wide beam level, and the wide beam level of three different directions as shown in FIG. 4(a) is respectively transmitted in different time periods. The beam, as shown in Figure 6, transmits the beam 0-0 during time period t1, transmits the beam 0-1 during time period t2, and transmits the beam 0-2) during time period t3. The broadcast signal includes, but is not limited to, the following information: system message; correspondence information of coverage between the three levels of the beam, etc., in the correspondence information, each beam can be uniquely identified by the level ID + the beam ID; The time domain information of the signal and the broadcast signal and the ID information of the beam of the corresponding wide beam level (including the level ID and the beam ID); the time domain information of the reference signal and the ID information of the beam within the corresponding level.

In the time domain, the broadcast signal is transmitted after the synchronization signal and is transmitted periodically, as shown in FIG.

503. The MS obtains synchronization and determines ID information of the optimal beam in the wide beam level.

In this step, the receiving side MS detects the synchronization signal on the time axis, the correspondence information on the coverage between the three levels of beams, and the system message and the like. The MS then detects the synchronization signals at the time t2' and the time t3', compares the peak information of the synchronization signal detected at the time t1', the time t2', and the time t3', and determines the ID information of the optimum beam at the wide beam level.

504. The MS demodulates the broadcast signal in the resource corresponding to the optimal beam.

In this step, after the broadcast signal is demodulated on the resource corresponding to the optimal beam, the ID information of the beam transmitted at the current time and the time domain information corresponding to the other signals of the synchronization signal and the broadcast signal are obtained. 505. The MS feeds back the ID information of the optimal beam in the wide beam level to the TP.

506. The TP sends a reference signal to the MS by using a beam of a narrow beam level.

In this step, the TP uses a narrow beam-level beamforming method to transmit the reference signal, and the reference signal is also periodically transmitted. All the MSs in the TP coverage use the same reference signal for channel estimation and narrow beam-level beam training, so the TP needs The reference signal is transmitted on all narrow beam level beams. In this embodiment example, it is considered to perform traversal of the beam in the time domain.

507. The MS acquires CSI (Channel State Information) and determines ID information of the optimal beam in the narrow beam level.

In this step, the MS first determines the beam of the narrow beam level corresponding to the optimal beam in the wide beam level, and assumes that the optimal beam of the wide beam level is the beam 0-1. According to Table 1, the beam of the corresponding narrow beam level is the beam. 1-3, beam 1-4 and beam 1-5. The MS detects the reference signal on the time domain resources corresponding to the beams of the three narrow beam levels, compares the signal strengths on the three beams, and obtains an optimal beam of a narrow beam level, which is assumed to be a beam 1-3.

508. The MS reports the CSI on the corresponding beam and the ID information of the optimal beam of the narrow beam level to the TP.

509. The TP performs scheduling and resource allocation.

510. The TP sends a dedicated control channel to the MS by using a beam of an ultra-narrow beam level.

In the above two steps, the TP sends the relevant scheduling information and the like to the MS through the dedicated control channel after scheduling and resource allocation according to the CSI information reported by each MS. The dedicated control channel is transmitted in a beamforming manner with an ultra-narrow beam level. The TP determines the corresponding ultra-narrow beam-level beam according to the optimal beam of the narrow beam level reported by the MS. According to Table 1, the beam of the ultra-narrow beam level corresponding to the beam 1-3 is the beam 2-9, the beam 2-10, and the beam. 2-11. Signals for the dedicated control channel of the MS are transmitted on these three beams. In this embodiment example, different beams transmitting a dedicated control channel are traversed and transmitted on different frequency domain resources, as shown in FIG.

511. The MS acquires control information, and determines ID information of an optimal beam in the ultra-narrow beam level.

512. The MS feeds back the ID information of the optimal beam in the ultra-narrow beam level to the TP.

In the above two steps, the MS demodulates the control signaling on the three frequency domain resources f1, f2, and f3, and determines the ID information of the optimal beam of the ultra-narrow beam level according to the signal to interference and noise ratio obtained by the demodulation, and then The information is reported to the sender TP.

513. The TP uses the beam of the ultra-narrow beam level to transmit user data to the MS.

In this step, the TP uses the corresponding ultra-narrow beam-level beam to transmit user data to the MS according to the ID information of the optimal beam of the ultra-narrow beam level reported by the MS, and performs beam according to the shaping mode corresponding to the ID information of the optimal beam. Shape and send.

514. The MS decodes the user data.

Implementation example two:

As shown in FIG. 3, the transmitting node TP uses a high frequency band to provide high-speed data services for the MS under its coverage. TP is a node with beamforming capability. By shaping the weights on the antenna phase, beams of different shapes and directions can be formed. The TP serves multiple MSs simultaneously by beamforming.

Due to the large path loss in the high frequency band, in order to ensure coverage, beamforming is used to form a directional beam to increase the antenna gain and improve the signal receiving strength. The narrower the beamwidth (usually measured by the 3dB lobe width), the greater the gain from the antenna. In this embodiment, in order to satisfy the coverage of the synchronization and broadcast signals, the single beam lobe width of the transmission synchronization and broadcast signals is 40 degrees, and three beams of the same lobe width are used, and the main lobe directions are 40 degrees and 0 degrees, respectively. And -40 degrees, covering the 120 degree area of the horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 4 (a), beam 0-0, beam 0-1 and beam 0-2, these three beams are beams of wide beam level, level ID 0, the beam ID is 0, 1, 2, respectively. Beams of narrow beam level and ultra-narrow beam level are used to transmit reference signals, dedicated control channel signals, and user data. In this embodiment, each wide beam corresponds to three narrow beams, a total of nine narrow beams, a level ID of 1, and a beam ID of 0-8, as shown in FIG. 4(b). 1-8; each narrow beam corresponds to 3 ultra-narrow beams, a total of 27 ultra-narrow beams, level ID 2, beam ID 0 to 26, as shown in Figure 4 (c) beam 2-k, beam 2 -k+1 and beam 2-k+2 are three of the 27 ultra-narrow beams, where k is an integer and 0 ≤ k ≤ 24. According to the coverage characteristics, the gap between the beams It is as shown in Table 1 in the first embodiment.

The flowchart of the data communication in the present embodiment refers to FIG. 5, and the steps are the same as steps 501 to 514 of the first embodiment, but the implementation details are slightly different, which will be described in detail below.

When transmitting the synchronization and broadcast signals, the TP uses wide beam level beamforming to transmit three different broad beams in different directions as shown in Figure 4(a), and the frequency domain used by different beams. The resources are kept at a certain interval to facilitate filter filtering, as shown in Figure 9, or the code domain resources are kept at a certain interval, as shown in Figure 10. The broadcast information includes, but is not limited to, the following information: system message; correspondence information of coverage between three levels of beams, etc., in the correspondence information, each beam can be uniquely identified by level ID + beam ID; The time domain information of the signal and the broadcast signal and the ID information of the beam of the corresponding wide beam level; the time domain information of the reference signal and the ID information of the beam within the corresponding level.

In time, the broadcast signal is located after the sync signal and is transmitted periodically, as shown in FIG. The receiving side MS detects the synchronization signal after filtering the three frequency bands f1, f2 and f3 where the synchronization signal is located (the corresponding frequency point information can be known through pre-configured or low-band network broadcast information of the same station), for example, on f2. When a valid synchronization signal is detected, the broadcast signal is demodulated on the corresponding broadcast channel to obtain the ID information of the beam transmitted on the current resource, and the information of the synchronization signal and other beams of the broadcast signal, between the three levels of the beam. Correspondence information and system messages on the coverage area. The MS compares the peak information of the synchronization signal detected on f1, f2, and f3, determines the ID information of the optimal beam in the wide beam level, and feeds back the ID information of the optimal beam to the TP.

The TP uses a narrow beam-level beamforming method to transmit reference signals. The reference signals are also periodically transmitted. All MSs in the TP coverage use the same reference signal for channel estimation and narrow beam-level beam training. Therefore, TP needs to be in all narrow beams. The reference signal is transmitted on the beam of the level. In this embodiment example, it is considered to perform traversal of the beam in the time domain. The MS determines the beam of the corresponding narrow beam level as beam 1-3, beam 1-4 and beam 1-5 according to the ID information of the optimal beam of the wide beam level, assuming beam 0-1. The MS detects the reference signal on the time domain resources corresponding to the three beams, compares the signal strengths on the three beams, and obtains an optimal beam at a narrow beam level, which is assumed to be a beam 1-3. The MS reports the CSI (Channel State Information) on the corresponding beam and the ID information of the optimal beam in the narrow beam level to the TP.

The TP sends the relevant scheduling information and the like to the MS through the dedicated control channel after scheduling and resource allocation according to the CSI information and the like reported by each MS. The dedicated control channel is transmitted in a beamforming manner with an ultra-narrow beam level. The TP determines the ID information of the optimal beam of the corresponding ultra-narrow beam level according to the narrow beam level optimal beam reported by the MS, and determines the beam of the ultra-narrow beam level corresponding to the beam 1-3 according to Table 1 as the beam 2-9, the beam 2 -10, beam 2-11. Signals for the dedicated control channel of the MS are transmitted on these three beams. In this embodiment, different beams transmitting a dedicated control channel are traversed and transmitted on different code domain resources, as shown in FIG. The three sets of antennas are shaped to generate three beams in different directions. On the same time-frequency resource, three orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal codewords are used for spreading and then transmitted, and the receiving side demodulates to obtain signals under different codewords. And determining the ID information of the optimal beam of the ultra-narrow beam level according to the signal-to-noise ratio obtained by the demodulation, and then reporting the ID information of the optimal beam of the ultra-narrow beam level to the transmitting end TP.

The TP transmits the user data according to the ID information of the optimal beam of the ultra-narrow beam level reported by the MS, and uses the corresponding ultra-narrow beam level beam to transmit the user data, and performs beamforming and transmitting according to the shaping mode corresponding to the ID information of the optimal beam.

Implementation example three:

Due to the large path loss in the high frequency band, in order to ensure coverage, beamforming is used to form a directional beam to increase the antenna gain and improve the signal receiving strength. The narrower the beamwidth (usually measured by the 3dB lobe width), the greater the gain from the antenna. In this embodiment, in order to satisfy the coverage of the synchronization and broadcast signals, the single beam lobe width of the transmission synchronization and broadcast signals is 40 degrees, and three beams of the same lobe width are used, and the main lobe directions are 40 degrees and 0 degrees, respectively. And -40 degrees, covering the 120 degree area of the horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 4 (a), beam 0-0, beam 0-1 and beam 0-2, these three beams are beams of wide beam level, level ID 0, the beam ID is 0, 1, 2, respectively. Beams of narrow beam level and ultra-narrow beam level are used to transmit reference signals, dedicated control channel signals, and user data. In this embodiment, each wide beam corresponds to three narrow beams, a total of nine narrow beams, a level ID of 1, and a beam ID of 0-8, as shown in FIG. 4(b). 1-8; Each narrow beam corresponds to 3 ultra-narrow beams, a total of 27 ultra-narrow beams, level ID 2, beam ID 0 to 26, as shown in Figure 4 (c), beam 2-k, beam 2-k+1 And beam 2-k+2 is three of the 27 ultra-narrow beams, where k is an integer and 0 ≤ k ≤ 24. According to the coverage characteristics, the relationship between the beams is as shown in Table 1 in the first embodiment.

The flowchart of data communication in this embodiment example refers to FIG. 13 and includes steps 601-610.

601. The TP uses a beam of a wide beam level to transmit a synchronization signal to the MS.

602. The TP sends a broadcast signal to the MS by using a beam of a wide beam level.

In the above two steps, when transmitting the synchronization signal and the broadcast signal, the TP adopts wide beam level beamforming, and respectively transmits three wide beams in different directions as shown in FIG. 4(a) in different time periods, as shown in the figure. 6 is shown. The broadcast information includes, but is not limited to, the following information: system message; correspondence information of coverage between three levels of beams, etc., in the correspondence information, each beam can be uniquely identified by level ID + beam ID; The time domain information of the broadcast signal and the ID information of the beam of the corresponding wide beam level; the time domain information of the reference signal and the ID information of the beam within the corresponding level.

In the time domain, the broadcast signal is located after the synchronization signal and is transmitted periodically, as shown in FIG.

603. The MS obtains synchronization and determines ID information of the optimal beam in the wide beam level.

604. The MS demodulates the broadcast signal in the resource corresponding to the optimal beam.

In this step, after the broadcast signal is demodulated on the resource corresponding to the optimal beam, the ID information of the beam transmitted at the current time and the time domain information corresponding to the other signals of the synchronization signal and the broadcast signal are obtained.

605. The MS feeds back the ID information of the optimal beam in the wide beam level to the TP.

606. The TP sends a reference signal to the MS by using a beam of a narrow beam level.

In this step, the TP uses a narrow beam-level beamforming method to transmit the reference signal, and the reference signal is also periodically transmitted. All the MSs in the TP coverage use the same reference signal for channel estimation. Metering and narrow beam level beam training, so the TP needs to transmit reference signals on all narrow beam level beams. In this embodiment example, it is considered to perform traversal of the beam in the time domain.

607. The MS acquires CSI (Channel State Information) and determines ID information of the optimal beam in the narrow beam level.

608. The MS reports the CSI on the corresponding beam and the ID information of the optimal beam of the narrow beam level to the TP.

609. The TP sends the user data to the MS by using a beam of a narrow beam level.

For some services that are sensitive to delay or access by a large number of users, no control signaling such as scheduling is required before data transmission. In this embodiment, the TP transmits the user data according to the ID information of the optimal beam of the narrow beam level reported by the MS, and uses the beam of the corresponding narrow beam level to transmit the user data, and performs beamforming according to the shaping mode corresponding to the ID information of the optimal beam. send.

610. The MS decodes the user data.

Embodiment 3: A data communication device using beamforming is disposed on the transmitting end, as shown in FIG. 14, and includes:

The first sending module 141 is configured to: send a signal of the common channel by using a beam of the first beam level;

The second sending module 142 is configured to: transmit a reference signal by using a beam of the second beam level, where a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage;

The third sending module 143 is configured to: send user data by using an optimal beam fed back by the receiving end.

Optionally, the third sending module 143 includes:

Optionally, the dedicated control channel sending unit is configured to:

Optionally, the third sending module 143 is configured to:

Optionally, the first sending module 141 is configured to:

Optionally, the second sending module 142 is configured to:

Embodiment 4: A data communication device using beamforming is disposed on the receiving end, as shown in FIG. 15, and includes:

The first receiving module 151 is configured to: receive a signal of a common channel by using a beam of the first beam level;

The second receiving module 152 is configured to receive the reference signal by using the beam of the second beam level, where the coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than the beam of the second beam stage;

The first feedback module 153 is configured to: feed back an optimal beam of the second beam stage.

Optionally, the device further includes:

a second feedback module, configured to: determine, according to the received signal of the dedicated control channel, an optimal beam of the third beam level and feedback in a beam of the third beam level used by the dedicated control channel;

Optionally, the device further includes:

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or a portion of the steps described above can be accomplished by a program that instructs the associated hardware, such as a read-only memory, a magnetic or optical disk, and the like. Alternatively, all or part of the steps of the above embodiments may also be implemented using one or more integrated circuits. Correspondingly, the modules/units in the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. This application is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the described embodiments are merely for the purpose of understanding the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Any modification and variation in the form and details of the embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope defined by the appended claims shall prevail.

Industrial applicability

In the embodiment of the present invention, the common channel transmission and reception and the beam training process are combined, and the information of the common channel is transmitted by beamforming, and the partial beam training process is completed while enhancing the common channel coverage, so as to improve the beam between the transmitting side and the receiving side. The efficiency of training, enhance the performance of beam tracking, and ensure the quality of wireless communication in high frequency bands.

Claims

A data communication method using beamforming, comprising:

The transmitting end transmits the signal of the common channel by using the beam of the first beam level;

The transmitting end uses the beam of the second beam level to transmit the reference signal, where the coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than the beam of the second beam level;

The transmitting end sends user data by using an optimal beam fed back by the receiving end.
The method of claim 1 wherein:

The signal of the common channel includes a synchronization signal or a discovery signal, and a broadcast signal; the broadcast signal is transmitted in the time domain later than the synchronization signal or the discovery signal.
The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting end transmits the user data using the optimal beam fed back by the receiving end comprises:

The transmitting end determines a beam of a third beam level that corresponds to an optimal beam of the second beam level that is fed back by the receiving end; wherein a coverage of the beam of the second beam level is greater than a beam of a third beam level, the coverage of each of the second beam stages respectively corresponding to a coverage of one or more of the third beam stages;

Transmitting, by the transmitting end, a dedicated control channel by using the determined beam of one or more of the third beam stages;

The transmitting end sends user data by using an optimal beam of the third beam level fed back by the receiving end.
The method of claim 3, wherein the transmitting, by using the determined beam of the one or more of the third beam stages, the dedicated control channel comprises:

Transmitting, by the transmitting end, the dedicated control channel on the determined beam of the third beam level, or traversing and transmitting the dedicated control channel on the determined beams of the third beam level; different Any one or any of the following resources used by the beam: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and code domain resources.
The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting end transmits the user data using the optimal beam fed back by the receiving end comprises:

The transmitting end sends user data by using an optimal beam of the second beam level fed back by the receiving end.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmitting end transmitting the signal of the common channel by using the beam of the first beam level comprises:

The transmitting end traverses and transmits the common channel on all the beams in the first beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domains Resources.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmitting end transmitting the reference signal using the beam of the second beam level comprises:

The transmitting end traverses and transmits the reference signal on all the beams in the second beam level, and any one or any of the following resources used by different beams are different: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domains Resources.
A data communication method using beamforming, comprising:

The receiving end receives the signal of the common channel through the beam of the first beam stage;

Receiving, by the receiving end, a reference signal by using a beam of the second beam level; wherein, a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage;

The receiving end feeds back an optimal beam of the second beam stage.
The method of claim 8 wherein:

The signal of the common channel includes a synchronization signal or a discovery signal, and a broadcast signal; the broadcast signal is transmitted in the time domain later than the synchronization signal or the discovery signal.
The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving end receives the signal of the common channel by using the beam of the first beam level, further comprising:

The receiving end determines an optimal beam in the first beam level according to the received synchronization signal or discovery signal;

The receiving end demodulates the broadcast signal in any one or any combination of the following resources corresponding to the optimal beam in the first beam level: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a code domain resource.
The method of claim 10 wherein said receiving end passes a wave of a second beam level After receiving the reference signal, the bundle also includes:

Determining, by the receiving end, an optimality of the second beam level according to the received reference signal in one or more beams of the second beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the first beam level a beam; wherein a coverage of each of the first beam stages corresponds to a coverage of one or more of the second beam levels, respectively.
The method of claim 10, wherein the receiving end feedbacks the optimal beam of the second beam level further comprises:

Receiving, by the receiving end, a signal of a dedicated control channel by one or more beams of the third beam level corresponding to an optimal beam of the second beam level; wherein, the beam of the second beam level a coverage that is greater than a beam of the third beam level, and a coverage of each of the second beam levels respectively corresponds to a coverage of one or more of the third beam stages;

The receiving end determines, according to the received signal of the dedicated control channel, an optimal beam of the third beam level and feedbacks the beam in the third beam level used by the receiving the dedicated control channel;

The receiving end receives user data through an optimal beam of the third beam level.
The method of claim 10, wherein the receiving end feedbacks the optimal beam of the second beam level further comprises:

The receiving end receives user data through an optimal beam of the second beam level.
A data communication device using beamforming, which is disposed at a transmitting end, and includes:

a first sending module, configured to: use a beam of a first beam level to transmit a signal of a common channel;

a second sending module, configured to: transmit a reference signal by using a beam of the second beam level; wherein, a coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than a beam of the second beam stage;

The third sending module is configured to: send user data by using an optimal beam fed back by the receiving end.
A data communication device using a beamforming device is disposed at the receiving end and includes:

The first receiving module is configured to: receive a signal of the common channel by using a beam of the first beam level;

The second receiving module is configured to receive the reference signal by using the beam of the second beam level, where the coverage of the beam of the first beam stage is greater than the beam of the second beam stage;

The first feedback module is configured to: feed back an optimal beam of the second beam level.