U.S. patent application number 17/550066 was filed with the patent office on 2022-03-31 for systems and methods for uplink coverage adaptation.
The applicant listed for this patent is Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ). Invention is credited to Chandra Sekhar Bontu, Alex Stephenne.
Application Number | 20220103248 17/550066 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-03-31 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20220103248 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stephenne; Alex ; et
al. |
March 31, 2022 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UPLINK COVERAGE ADAPTATION
Abstract
Systems and methods relating to adjusting uplink coverage in a
cellular communications network are disclosed. In some embodiments,
a method of operation of a network node to adjust uplink coverage
for one or more cells in a cellular communications network
comprises determining that there is a need to adjust uplink beam
transformations for one or more cells of a plurality of cells in a
cellular communications network. For each cell of the one or more
cells, the uplink beam transformation for the cell is a
transformation of received uplink signals for the cell from an
antenna domain to a beam domain. The method further comprises, upon
determining that there is a need to adjust the uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells, determining new uplink
beam transformations for the one or more cells and applying the new
uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells.
Inventors: |
Stephenne; Alex;
(Stittsville, CA) ; Bontu; Chandra Sekhar;
(Nepean, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) |
Stockholm |
|
SE |
|
|
Appl. No.: |
17/550066 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15546042 |
Jul 25, 2017 |
11228364 |
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PCT/IB2017/052161 |
Apr 13, 2017 |
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17550066 |
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International
Class: |
H04B 7/26 20060101
H04B007/26; H04B 7/06 20060101 H04B007/06; H04W 16/28 20060101
H04W016/28; H04B 7/0408 20060101 H04B007/0408 |
Claims
1. A method of operation of a network node to adjust uplink
coverage for one or more cells in a cellular communications
network, comprising: determining that there is a need to adjust
uplink beam transformations for one or more cells of a plurality of
cells in a cellular communications network, wherein, for each cell
of the one or more cells, the uplink beam transformation for the
cell is a transformation of received uplink signals for the cell
from an antenna domain to a beam domain; and upon determining that
there is a need to adjust the uplink beam transformations for the
one or more cells: determining new uplink beam transformations for
the one or more cells; and applying the new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/546,042, filed Jul. 25, 2017, which is a 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 371 national phase filing of International
Application No. PCT/IB2017/052161, filed Apr. 13, 2017, the
disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to cellular communication
and, more specifically, to adaptive uplink coverage when using
advanced antenna systems.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Advanced (or adaptive) antenna systems (AAS) are antenna
systems with numerous antenna elements and Radio Frequency (RF)
chains. For some advanced antenna systems, instead of performing
signal processing directly in the antenna domain, a large part of
the signal processing is performed in a beam domain to reduce the
computational complexity of receiver processing. More specifically,
a transformation is applied to signals received via multiple
antenna elements to transform the signals from the antenna domain
to a beam domain or, in general, to any orthonormal transform
domain in which component orthonormal functions are spatially
orthogonal, the orthonormal transform domain being possibly of
lower dimensionality than the antenna. Signal processing is then
performed in the beam domain (or the orthonormal transform domain,
in the more general case). Dimensionality reduction in the beam
domain is possible when only beam signals received from the user
directions are kept for processing. In other words, dimensionality
reduction, i.e. the number of received signal copies that are
required to be processed to detect the data, is achieved by
selecting the appropriate signals from the beam domain, which have
significant useful signal power. By not including the signals which
are determined to carry insignificant useful signal content,
detection performance can be improved (by eliminating noisy
signals). In the antenna domain, all or most of the received
signals have to be processed to capture the useful signal content.
The possible advantages of working in the beam domain include
complexity reduction and improved desired signal
estimation/detection performance resulting from the redistribution
of the power associated with spatially colored interference and
unknown channel coefficients to estimate. In general, each
orthonormal function can be selected to represent a geometric space
within the coverage area.
[0004] Cell shaping relates to acting on the advanced antenna
systems of a network to modify the cell coverage of traffic and
control channels for specific cells in a cellular network while
maintaining network area coverage. Cell coverage can be determined
by common downlink control signals such as synchronization and cell
specific reference signals, e.g. Common Reference Signal (CRS) in
Long Term Evolution (LTE) or the Primary Common Pilot Channel
(P-CPICH) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA). Cell
shaping can be achieved by modifying the antenna beam, horizontally
and/or vertically. In other words, possible actions made to the
advanced antenna system to provide cell shaping can include
mechanical and/or electrical tilting/rotation of the antenna panel,
and/or modification of the analog/digital/hybrid beamforming
mechanism to widen/narrow/steer the beam of the common downlink
control signals, and/or power control to reduce or increase the
effective cell radius. Cell shaping can be used to follow traffic
variations over a day or week. User Equipment devices (UEs)
experience a common, single, semi-static cell.
[0005] Cell shaping is a downlink-focused process. Changes are
applied to change the coverage of the downlink common channels. The
uplink baseband is not considered an issue with traditional cell
shaping because digital processing is done in the antenna domain so
there is no need to adapt a beam space of possibly lower
dimensionality than the number of antennas. Any uplink adaptation
to the cell shaping modification can be made directly in the uplink
receiver applied on the full dimensionality antenna domain.
[0006] Note that cell shaping is a multi-cell coordination process,
since the network coverage must be maintained when cell shaping is
applied. It is a relatively slow inter-cell coordination process,
which can be implemented in a functionally centralized coordination
entity or in a distributed way across the cells. It is also worth
noting that cell shaping modifications could be desired because of
downlink traffic load distribution and/or uplink traffic load
distribution.
SUMMARY
[0007] Systems and methods relating to adjusting uplink coverage in
a cellular communications network are disclosed. In some
embodiments, a method of operation of a network node to adjust
uplink coverage for one or more cells in a cellular communications
network comprises determining that there is a need to adjust uplink
beam transformations for one or more cells of a plurality of cells
in a cellular communications network. For each cell of the one or
more cells, the uplink beam transformation for the cell is a
transformation of received uplink signals for the cell from an
antenna domain to a beam domain. The method further comprises, upon
determining that there is a need to adjust the uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells, determining new uplink
beam transformations for the one or more cells and applying the new
uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells. In this
manner, uplink coverage can be adapted to, e.g., provide matching
between uplink and downlink coverage and/or to provide matching
between uplink coverage and geographic distribution of uplink
traffic.
[0008] In some embodiments, determining that there is a need to
adjust the uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells
comprises evaluating a mismatch between an uplink coverage of the
one or more cells and a downlink coverage of the one or more cells
and determining that there is a need to adjust the uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells if the mismatch between
the uplink coverage of the one or more cells and the downlink
coverage of the one or more cells is more than a predefined
threshold. Further, in some embodiments, evaluating the mismatch
between the uplink coverage of the one or more cells and the
downlink coverage of the one or more cells comprises evaluating the
mismatch between the uplink coverage of the one or more cells and
the downlink coverage of the one or more cells in response to a
change in downlink cell shaping for at least one of the one or more
cells.
[0009] In some embodiments, determining the new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells comprises determining the
new uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells such that
the new uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells
reduce or minimize the mismatch between the uplink coverage of the
one or more cells and the downlink coverage of the one or more
cells. Further, in some embodiments, determining the new uplink
beam transformations for the one or more cells comprises
determining the new uplink beam transformations for the one or more
cells from a plurality of predetermined uplink beam transformations
such that the new uplink beam transformations are uplink beam
transformations from the plurality of predetermined uplink beam
transformations that provide a best match between the uplink
coverage of the one or more cells and the downlink coverage of the
one or more cells.
[0010] Further, in some embodiments, the method further comprises,
after applying the new uplink beam transformations for the one or
more cells determining that a remaining mismatch between the uplink
coverage of the one or more cells and the downlink coverage of the
one or more cells is greater than a predefined threshold. The
method further comprises, upon determining that the remaining
mismatch between the uplink coverage of the one or more cells and
the downlink coverage of the one or more cells is greater than a
predefined threshold, computing second new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells that reduce or minimize
the remaining mismatch between the uplink coverage of the one or
more cells and the downlink coverage of the one or more cells, and
applying the second new uplink beam transformations for the one or
more cells.
[0011] In some other embodiments, determining the new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells comprises computing the
new uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells from a
plurality of predetermined uplink beam transformations such that
the new uplink beam transformations reduce or minimize the mismatch
between the uplink coverage of the one or more cells and the
downlink coverage of the one or more cells.
[0012] In some embodiments, determining that there is a need to
adjust the uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells
comprises evaluating a mismatch between the uplink coverage of the
one or more cells and a geographical distribution of uplink traffic
of the one or more cells and determining that there is a need to
adjust the uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells if
the mismatch between the uplink coverage of the one or more cells
and the geographical distribution of uplink traffic of the one or
more cells is more than a predefined threshold.
[0013] In some embodiments, determining the new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells comprises determining the
new uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells such that
the new uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells
reduce or minimize the mismatch between the uplink coverage of the
one or more cells and the geographical distribution of uplink
traffic of the one or more cells. Further, in some embodiments,
determining the new uplink beam transformations for the one or more
cells comprises determining the new uplink beam transformations for
the one or more cells from a plurality of predetermined uplink beam
transformations such that the new uplink beam transformations are
uplink beam transformations from the plurality of predetermined
uplink beam transformations that provide a best match between the
uplink coverage of the one or more cells and the geographical
distribution of uplink traffic of the one or more cells.
[0014] Further, in some embodiments, the method further comprises,
after applying the new uplink beam transformations for the one or
more cells, determining that a remaining mismatch between the
uplink coverage of the one or more cells and the geographical
distribution of uplink traffic of the one or more cells is greater
than a predefined threshold. The method further comprises, upon
determining that the remaining mismatch between the uplink coverage
of the one or more cells and the geographical distribution of
uplink traffic of the one or more cells is greater than a
predefined threshold, computing second new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells that reduce or minimize
the remaining mismatch between the uplink coverage of the one or
more cells and the geographical distribution of uplink traffic of
the one or more cells and applying the second new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells.
[0015] In some embodiments, determining the new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells comprises computing the
new uplink beam transformations for the one or more cells from a
plurality of predetermined uplink beam transformations such that
the new uplink beam transformations reduce or minimize the mismatch
between the uplink coverage of the one or more cells and the
geographical distribution of uplink traffic of the one or more
cells.
[0016] In some embodiments, the method further comprises evaluating
whether there is a need to perform one or more handovers, one or
more Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) set changes, and/or one or more
carrier aggregation configuration changes for the one or more cells
and performing one or more handovers, one or more CoMP set changes,
and/or one or more carrier aggregation configuration changes for
the one or more cells upon determining that there is a need to
perform one or more handovers, one or more CoMP set changes, and/or
one or more carrier aggregation configuration changes for the one
or more cells.
[0017] In some embodiments, the network node is a core network node
of the cellular communications network. Further, in some
embodiments, applying the new uplink beam transformations for the
one or more cells comprises configuring the one or more cells to
use the new uplink beam transformations when processing uplink
signals on the one or more cells.
[0018] In some other embodiments, the network node is a radio
access node of the cellular communications network, and the one or
more cells are one or more cells served by the radio access node.
Further, in some embodiments, applying the new uplink beam
transformations for the one or more cells comprises applying the
new uplink beam transformations locally at the radio access node
when processing uplink signals on the one or more cells.
[0019] Embodiments of a network node for adjusting uplink coverage
for one or more cells in a cellular communications network are also
disclosed. In some embodiments, the network node is adapted to
perform the method of operation of a network node according to any
one of the embodiments disclosed herein.
[0020] In some other embodiments, a network node for adjusting
uplink coverage for one or more cells in a cellular communications
network comprises one or more processors and memory. The memory
comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors
whereby the network node is operable to perform the method of
operation of a network node according to any one of the embodiments
disclosed herein.
[0021] In some other embodiments, a network node for adjusting
uplink coverage for one or more cells in a cellular communications
network comprises one or more modules operable to perform the
method of operation of a network node according to any one of the
embodiments disclosed herein.
[0022] Embodiments of a computer program are also disclosed. In
some embodiments, the computer program comprises instructions
which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least
one processor to carry out the method of operation of a network
node according to any one of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Embodiments of a carrier containing the aforementioned computer
program are also disclosed, wherein the carrier is one of an
electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer
readable storage medium.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming
a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the
disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the
principles of the disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates beam domain processing in the uplink;
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates traditional cell shaping, i.e.,
modification of the coverage of the common downlink control
signals;
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which uplink beam
transformation is adapted to match the downlink coverage after cell
shaping according to some embodiments of the present
disclosure;
[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the uplink coverage
of individual cells is modified even if no cell shaping is applied
to the downlink common channel of any cell, as long as the total
uplink multi-cell coverage still appropriately matches the downlink
multi-cell coverage, according to some other embodiments of the
present disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a cellular communications
network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be
implemented;
[0029] FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of a network node (e.g., a
radio access node or a core network node) according to some
embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0030] FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of a network node (e.g., a
radio access node or a core network node) to adapt uplink beam
transformation(s) in response to a change in downlink cell-shaping
according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0031] FIG. 8 illustrates an example in which the set of spatial
functions, f.sub.k(.PHI., .theta.), is a set of Discrete Fourier
Transform (DFT);
[0032] FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates aspects of some
embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0033] FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a process performed by a
network node for changing the uplink beam transformation(s) of a
cell(s) given the geographic, or spatial, distribution of the
uplink traffic according to some embodiments of the present
disclosure;
[0034] FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate example embodiments of a wireless
device; and
[0035] FIGS. 13 through 15 illustrate example embodiments of a
network node.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] The embodiments set forth below represent information to
enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and
illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon
reading the following description in light of the accompanying
drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the
concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these
concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood
that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the
disclosure.
[0037] Radio Node: As used herein, a "radio node" is either a radio
access node or a wireless device.
[0038] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or
"radio network node" is any node in a radio access network of a
cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly
transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access
node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New
Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership
Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or
evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network),
a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g.,
a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the
like), and a relay node.
[0039] Core Network Node: As used herein, a "core network node" is
any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network
node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet
Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function
(SCEF), or the like.
[0040] Wireless Device: As used herein, a "wireless device" is any
type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular
communications network by wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving
signals to a radio access node(s). Some examples of a wireless
device include, but are not limited to, a User Equipment device
(UE) in a 3GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC)
device.
[0041] Network Node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node
that is either part of the radio access network or the core network
of a cellular communications network/system.
[0042] Antenna Domain (or Antenna-Space Domain) and Beam Domain (or
Beam-Space Domain): The signals transmitted or received from/at an
array of antennas at a given time can be represented as an array of
values. The size of this array is equal to the number of antennas.
The basis of a domain is a minimum-size set of elements which can
be combined to span the full space in which we are working. So, in
the antenna domain, the base is simply the signals at all antenna
elements. Mathematical manipulations can be applied to the array
representing the values of the signals at the antennas, and when
such manipulations are made, the manipulations are said to be in
the antenna domain.
[0043] Now, one of those mathematical manipulations can be a basis
transformation. The basis transformation would transform from one
domain to another domain. To be able to cover the full initial
antenna-domain space, the full dimensionality size would need to be
maintained. So the size of the initial antenna domain and the size
of the transformed domain would remain the same, i.e. the number of
antennas. Still, if the basis transformation is devised so that
certain elements of the new basis are likely to dominate other
elements in amplitude, one can apply a dimensionality reduction
manipulation, either after the basis transformation or as a part of
the basis transformation. The dimensionality reduction simply
consists in throwing away some elements of the array in the
transformed domain. The discarded elements correspond to the
transformed-domain basis elements which are likely to correspond to
the lowest amplitude elements. In this document, we refer to this
reduced dimensionality space as the beam domain.
[0044] Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP
cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or
terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used.
However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP
system.
[0045] Note that, in the description herein, reference may be made
to the term "cell;" however, particularly with respect to 5G NR
concepts, beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, it is
important to note that the concepts described herein are equally
applicable to both cells and beams.
[0046] Before discussing embodiments of the present disclosure, a
discussion of a problem that arises when using advanced antenna
system is provided. With advanced antenna systems for which a basis
transformation from the antenna domain to a reduced dimensionality
beam domain is made, using a pre-established semi-static
transformation, in the uplink reception chain, any cell shaping
would need to consider the fact that the beam space coverage in the
uplink must match the modified coverage of the downlink common
channels after cell shaping. FIG. 1 illustrates beam domain
processing in the uplink. There is a need to match the coverage of
the uplink beam space and the coverage of the downlink common
channels. If one uses cell shaping, i.e. modifies the coverage of
the downlink common control signals, without modifying the uplink
transformation from antenna space to beam space, the uplink
coverage could no longer match the downlink cell shape, which would
result in suboptimal coverage of the geographical network area
(e.g., reduced throughput for users and reduced network
coverage).
[0047] Embodiments of the present disclosure link cell shapes, as
defined by the coverage of the downlink common control signals, to
specific antenna to beam transformation used for some uplink
channels, so that the uplink coverage and the downlink coverage
matches irrespectively of the cell shaping. FIG. 2 illustrates
traditional cell shaping, i.e., modification of the coverage of the
common downlink control signals. In the illustrated example,
downlink cell shaping is coordinated to provide network coverage.
In particular, for the cell on the left-hand side of FIG. 2, cell
shaping results in a reduction in the downlink coverage of the
cell. In order to maintain network coverage, cell shaping is also
applied to increase the coverage of the cell on the right-hand side
of FIG. 2. If the illustrated cell shaping is used without
modifying the uplink transformation from antenna space to beam
space, then the uplink coverage would no longer match the downlink
cell shape, which would result in suboptimal coverage and
performance.
[0048] FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which uplink beam
transformation is adapted to match the downlink coverage after cell
shaping according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
The top of FIG. 3 illustrates the same cell shaping as described
above with respect to FIG. 2. The lower part of FIG. 3 illustrates
a change in the uplink beam transformations for the two cells such
that the uplink coverage of the cells match the downlink coverage
of the cells. Specifically, in this example, the uplink beam domain
includes only two beams for simplicity. For the cell on the
left-hand side of FIG. 3, the uplink beam transformation, which may
include uplink power control, for the cell is changed such that the
uplink coverage matches the downlink coverage of that cell after
downlink cell shaping. Likewise, for the cell on the left-hand side
of FIG. 3, the uplink beam transformation, which again may include
uplink power control, for the cell is changed such that the uplink
coverage matches the downlink coverage of that cell after downlink
cell shaping.
[0049] Note that although some embodiments are described in the
context of cell coverage where the objective is to keep a match
between the uplink and the downlink coverage of a particular cell,
the same concept can be applied at the network level instead of the
cell level. That is, one could modify the uplink coverage of
multiple cells such that the overall multi-cell uplink coverage
keeps a good match to the downlink coverage of those same multiple
cells when cell shaping is applied on the downlink common channels
of those multiple cells. Maintaining a multi-cell coverage match
between uplink and downlink might be sufficient, instead of
cellular-level matching, when, for example, Coordinated Multipoint
(CoMP) processing is used.
[0050] In some embodiments, the uplink coverage of individual cells
is modified even if no cell shaping is applied to the downlink
common channel of any cell, as long as the total uplink multi-cell
coverage is still appropriately matching the downlink multi-cell
coverage. FIG. 4 illustrates this concept. In particular, the top
part of FIG. 4 illustrates a scenario in which there is no
modification to the downlink coverage (i.e., there is no
modification to the coverage of the downlink common channel of any
cell). The lower part of FIG. 4 illustrates that, for these same
cells, the uplink beam transformations for two of the cells are
changed in order to better match the geographical distribution of
uplink traffic while maintaining the match between the uplink and
downlink coverage.
[0051] While not being limited to or by any particular advantage,
embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following
advantages. If one wants to benefit both from dimensionality
reduction in uplink using a semi-static antenna-space to beam-space
transformation and from cell shaping adaptation, a mechanism is
needed to couple modifications of the coverage in the downlink
common channels to adequate uplink antenna-space to beam-space
transformations in order to match the coverage in downlink and
uplink. Otherwise the network throughput and coverage would
suffer.
[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a cellular communications
network 10 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be
implemented. As illustrated, a number of wireless devices 12 (e.g.,
UEs) wirelessly transmit signals to and receive signals from radio
access nodes 14 (e.g., eNBs or gNBs, which are 5G NR base
stations), each serving one or more cells 16. The radio access
nodes 14 are connected to a core network 18. In some embodiments,
an inter-cell cell-shaping coordinator 20 is implemented in the
core network 18. The inter-cell cell-shaping coordinator 20
operates to coordinate downlink cell shaping for the cells 16.
[0053] FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of a network node (e.g., a
radio access node 14 or a core network node) according to some
embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the network
node determines that there is a need to adjust an uplink beam
transformation(s) for a cell(s) 16 in the cellular communications
network 10 (step 100). In some embodiments, the network node
determines that there is a need to adjust the uplink beam
transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16 if a change in cell-shaping
has been or is to be applied for the cell(s) 16 that would result
in a mismatch between uplink and downlink coverage (i.e., a
mismatch that is greater than a predefined mismatch threshold). In
some other embodiments, the network node determines that there is a
need to adjust the uplink beam transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16
based on a geographic distribution of uplink traffic in the cell(s)
16.
[0054] Upon determining that there is a need to adjust the uplink
beam transformation(s) of the cell(s) 16, the network node
determines a new uplink beam transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16
(step 102). The new uplink beam transformation(s) may be obtained
from a number of predetermined and stored uplink beam
transformations or computed, depending on the particular
embodiment. In some embodiments, the new uplink beam
transformation(s) are determined such that the uplink-downlink
coverage mismatch is minimized or reduced to an acceptable level
(e.g., as defined by a predefined or preconfigured mismatch
threshold). In some other embodiments, the new uplink beam
transformation(s) are determined based on a geographic distribution
of uplink traffic (e.g., to match the uplink beams to the
directions from which the most uplink traffic is being or is
expected to be received).
[0055] The network node applies the new uplink transformation(s)
for the cell(s) 16 (step 104). In some embodiments, the network
node is a core network node, and the core network node applies the
new uplink beam transformation(s) by signaling the new uplink beam
transformation(s) or an indication(s) of the new uplink beam
transformation(s) to the appropriate radio access node(s) 14. In
some other embodiments, the network node is the radio access node
14 serving the cell(s) 14, and the radio access node 14 applies the
new uplink beam transformation(s) locally at the radio access node
14 when processing uplink signals.
[0056] In some embodiments, when a cell shaping of the downlink
common channel(s) is made, i.e. a change in the downlink common
channel for one or more of the cells 16 is triggered, an evaluation
of a mismatch between the resulting downlink coverage and the
existing uplink coverage of the cell(s) 16 (referred to herein as
the uplink-downlink coverage mismatch) is performed. The
uplink-downlink coverage mismatch may be performed only for those
cells for which the downlink cell-shaping was performed (e.g.,
separately for each cell) or may be performed for the
sector-carrier. The uplink-downlink mismatch is evaluated taking
into consideration the presently used uplink transformation from
the antenna domain to the beam domain for the uplink channel(s) of
interest. In some embodiments, if a coverage mismatch is
identified, a number of pre-computed and stored alternative uplink
beam transformations are evaluated to find the one that provides an
acceptable match between the uplink and downlink coverage. If an
uplink beam transformation that provides an acceptable match
between the uplink and downlink coverage does exist, then this
uplink transformation would be designated as the one to use
following the cell shaping modification. Conversely, if no
pre-computed and stored uplink transformation would result in an
acceptable coverage match, a new acceptable transformation is
computed, which would be identified as the one to use following
cell shaping and also stored for future referencing in the database
of pre-computed uplink transformations.
[0057] According to some embodiments, a basic set of spatial
orthonormal functions are populated at each cell 16. Each function,
for example, represents a set of directions. Here the directions or
directional beams in general, are described by two angles; azimuth
and elevation. Based on the downlink cell coverage, a subset of
orthonormal functions is determined to perform the uplink
beamforming for the reception of traffic and control channels. The
determined subset is determined to, e.g., provide an acceptable
level of matching between the downlink coverage and uplink
coverage. The selected subset may further be reduced to a smaller
number of functions by combining some of the orthonormal functions
together to reduce computational complexity in the receiver. The
size of the basic set depends on the dimensionality of the antenna
array.
[0058] FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of a network node (e.g., a
radio access node 14 or a core network node) to adapt uplink beam
transformation(s) in response to a change in downlink cell-shaping
according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This
process is a more detailed version of the process of FIG. 6,
according to some embodiments. Note that optional steps are
illustrated with dashed lines. In this embodiment, the network node
evaluates the need to modify downlink cell shaping for a cell(s) 16
(step 200).
[0059] The evaluation to establish if there is a need to modify the
downlink cell shaping (i.e., the need to change the coverage of the
downlink common channels) involves inter-cell coordination to
jointly consider the load balancing aspects and the aspects related
to the quality of the links from the wireless devices 12 to the
various sector carriers. Cell shaping can result in the handover of
certain wireless devices 12 and/or change in carrier aggregation
secondary sector carriers and, therefore, needs to be made
considering both uplink and downlink traffic load and link quality
on all sector carriers. Cell shaping can also have an impact on
Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) pairing
opportunities, which should therefore also be considered. The
criteria to optimize cell shaping include any combination of
multi-cell throughput, wireless device throughput for certain
traffic streams, power efficiency, and battery lifetime of wireless
devices, under certain link retainability and geographical service
availability constraints.
[0060] The evaluation of the need to modify the downlink cell
shaping can use multiple measurements made on the radio access node
side and/or measurements made on the wireless device side and
reported to the radio access node 14. As an example, in LTE, the
following triggered UE measurement reports, specified in 3GPP
Technical Specification (TS) 36.331, could be used: [0061]
A1--Serving becomes better than threshold; [0062] A2--Serving
becomes worse than threshold; [0063] A3--Neighbor becomes offset
better than Primary Cell (PCell); [0064] A4--Neighbor becomes
better than threshold; [0065] A5--PCell becomes worse than
threshold1 and neighbor becomes better than threshold2; [0066]
A6--Neighbor becomes offset better than Secondary Cell (SCell);
[0067] C1--Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS)
resource becomes better than threshold; [0068] C2--CSI-RS resource
becomes offset better than reference CSI-RS resource; [0069]
B1--Inter Radio Access Technology (RAT) neighbor becomes better
than threshold; [0070] B2--PCell becomes worse than threshold) and
inter RAT neighbor becomes better than threshold2.
[0071] The radio access node 14 can also use other information
reported by the wireless device 12 such as, e.g., the Buffer Status
Report (BSR) and/or the Power Headroom Report (PHR). As a simple
example, a downlink load imbalance could be identified based on
Physical Resource Block (PRB) utilization and Transmit Time
Interval (TTI) utilization in two adjacent cells 16, one cell 16
having a very low load and the neighbor cell 16 being highly
loaded. Certain wireless devices 12 in the heavily loaded cell 16
could report an A4 message in relation to the lightly loaded
neighbor cell 16. Based on that A4 measurement, a desire to extend
the lightly loaded cell 16 in the direction of the heavily loaded
cell 16 would be identified.
[0072] Evaluating the need for a change in downlink cell shaping
(i.e., the need for change in downlink coverage) may, for example,
involve analyzing various UE measurement reports such as, Reference
Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality
(RSRQ), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), etc. from the connected
wireless devices 12. These measurements can be used by the network
node(s) (e.g., the radio access nodes 14) to identify the location
(or direction) of the connected wireless device population within
the existing cell coverage area. The location of the wireless
devices 12 can be found by RSRP/RSRQ/TDOA reports with respect to
different serving network nodes and neighboring network nodes. With
the knowledge of location of the radio access nodes 14 and the
electrical distance derived from the measurement reports, the
location of the wireless device population within the network
coverage area can be determined. When the wireless device 12
population is determined to be concentrated in a subset of the
total coverage, the downlink cell shaping (i.e., the beamforming
coverage for the downlink common channels) can be adjusted. This
will make sure that the broadcast beams reach the wireless device
population with less transmit power (lesser compared to covering
the full coverage area), thereby increasing the network
efficiency.
[0073] In another scenario, evaluating the need for a change in
downlink cell shaping (i.e., in downlink coverage) may, for
example, be triggered by an adjustment in the downlink coverage of
a neighbor network node(s). In this scenario, the network node may
have to modify the downlink coverage for increasing the reach of
the cell(s) 16 such that the network can cover the designated area.
In yet another scenario, evaluating the need for a change in
downlink coverage may, for example, be triggered by an uneven
geographical distribution of wireless device population within the
designated coverage area.
[0074] In such situations, full transmit power can be preserved
with the modified beam shape, but increasing the reach. The
increased reach scenario is preferred when there is an increased
load in a neighboring network node. By increasing the reach, the
wireless device load can be shared by the network nodes
efficiently, further reducing dropped calls.
[0075] If there is no need to modify the downlink cell shaping
(step 202, NO), the process returns to step 200. If there is a need
to modify the downlink cell shaping (step 202, YES), the network
node updates the downlink cell shaping for the cell(s) 16 (step
204).
[0076] The network node then determines whether uplink beam
transformations for a cell(s) 16 needs to be adjusted as a result
of, e.g., the change in downlink cell shaping (step 206). More
specifically, in the example embodiment of FIG. 7, the network node
evaluates the uplink-downlink mismatch (step 206A). The evaluation
of the mismatch between the uplink and downlink coverage is based
on the current uplink beam transformation(s) used for the cell(s)
16 and the downlink cell-shaping. The evaluation of the
uplink-downlink mismatch may also be based on measurements and
modeling of the uplink and downlink coverage based on those
measurements. Machine-learning approaches can be used to map, for
example, timing advance, RSRP, or other information, to the
predicted link quality on other sector carriers. The average load
on certain frequency ranges of certain sector carriers can also be
used in the mapping from the measurements to the predicted
coverage. The coverage must be evaluated for all physical channels
which use the devised beams. This definition of coverage is
associated with criteria defining what is acceptable for a given
physical channel. An example of such criteria could be the
probability of false or missed detection for a random access
channel, or the minimum acceptable throughput for a shared data
channel at the cell edge.
[0077] Once the uplink-downlink mismatch is evaluated (i.e.,
determined), the network node determines whether there is a
mismatch (step 206B). In other words, the network node determines
whether the uplink-downlink mismatch is greater than a predefined
or preconfigured acceptable level. If not, the uplink beam
transformation(s) of the cell(s) 16 do not need to be adjusted, and
the process returns to step 200. However, if the uplink-downlink
mismatch is greater than the predefined or preconfigured acceptable
level, the network node then determines a new uplink beam
transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16 and applies the new uplink
beam transformation(s) (step 208). Note that step 208 corresponds
to steps 102 and 104 of FIG. 6.
[0078] More specifically, in the example of FIG. 7, the network
node determines a predetermined uplink beam transformation(s) for
the cell(s) 16 that provides a best matching between the uplink and
downlink coverage (step 208A). More specifically, multiple
predefined uplink beam transformations are stored. The network node
selects the uplink beam transformation(s) from the set of
predefined uplink beam transformations that provide the best
matching between the uplink and downlink coverage. Note that, in
practice, the set of predefined uplink transformations could be
paired a priori, by the person who manually populated the database,
with some of the beamforming transformation defining the downlink
coverage such that the uplink beam transformation(s) that provide
the best matching provided a given downlink transformation are
specified in advance. When such a pre-established pairing is
present, the overall process is greatly simplified.
[0079] The network node then applies the predetermined beam
transformation(s) at the new uplink beam transformation(s) for the
cell(s) 16, as discussed above with respect to step 104 of FIG. 6
(step 208B). After applying the new uplink beam transformation(s)
for the cell(s) 16, the network node determines whether the
remaining uplink-downlink mismatch is still greater than a
predefined or preconfigured acceptable level (step 208C). If not,
no further adjustment of the uplink beam transformation(s) is
needed, and the process returns to step 200. If the remaining
uplink-downlink mismatch is still greater than the predefined or
preconfigured acceptable level, the network node computes a new
uplink beam transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16 and optionally
stores the new uplink beam transformation(s) as additions to the
set of predefined uplink beam transformations (step 208D). While
details for an example process for computing the new uplink beam
transformation(s) is provided below, multiple approaches can be
used. As an example, one approach is to take an existing uplink
beam transformation, apply the most appropriate matrix rotation in
Three Dimensions (3D) to it, and possibly throw away some of the
resulting beams which fall outside the intended coverage region.
Note that while step 208 includes both steps 208A and 208D in this
example, step 208 may alternatively include steps 208A and 208B but
not steps 208C through 208E or alternatively include steps 208D and
208E but not steps 208A through 208C. The network node then applies
the computed, new uplink beam transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16,
as discussed above with respect to step 104 of FIG. 6 (step
208E).
[0080] Regarding steps 100 and 102 of FIG. 6 and steps 206, 208A,
and 208D of FIG. 7, the following example illustrates one approach
for evaluating the uplink-downlink mismatch and determining and/or
computing the new uplink beam transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16
that minimizes the uplink-downlink mismatch or at least reduces the
uplink-downlink mismatch to an acceptable level.
[0081] In general, in this example, the uplink coverage (i.e., the
uplink beam transformation(s)) will be adjusted such that it
matches with the downlink coverage. A set ofN spatial functions,
f.sub.i(.PHI.,.theta.), i=0, 1, . . . , N-1 can be predefined,
where .PHI. and .theta. represent the azimuth and elevation angles,
respectively. These functions may be orthogonal to each other, i.e.
f.sub.i(.PHI.,.theta.), f.sub.j(.PHI.,.theta.)=0 for i.noteq.j(
represents inner product). A plurality of uplink beams, e.g. L
uplink beams can be formed to match the downlink coverage as
follows:
c(U(.PHI.,.theta.),D(.PHI.,.theta.))<
where U(.PHI.,.theta.) and D(.PHI.,.theta.) represent the uplink
radiation pattern and downlink radiation pattern, respectively.
U(.PHI.,.theta.) and D(.PHI.,.theta.) may be normalized to such
that the total radiated power in the DL link and received UL power
is unity or a predefined power levels for DL and UL (can be
different for DL and UL). In another example, U(.PHI.,.theta.) and
D(.PHI.,.theta.) are signal to interference plus noise ratios
(SINRs), throughput estimates on the UL and DL respectively. C(x,y)
is a cost function measuring a similarity or degree of matching
between of functions x and y. For example,
C(x,y)=.parallel.x-y.parallel.. The parameter defines the tightness
of the similarity (i.e., a predefined acceptable level of
uplink-downlink matching). For large antenna arrays, can be
smaller, i.e. much tighter match between the UL and DL coverage can
be achieved. In general, the tightness parameter is a function of
antenna array dimension.
[0082] The uplink radiation pattern can be constructed as a
weighted sum of L beams as follows (L.ltoreq.N):
U .function. ( .PHI. , .theta. ) = = 0 L - 1 .times. p .times. g
.function. ( .PHI. , .theta. ) ##EQU00001##
[0083] The set of weights {} are defined based on the coverage
requirements for different beams. For example, for certain
elevation and/or azimuth angles, strong reflectors should be
avoided to reduce reflections or diffractions (e.g., at high
frequencies) or to reduce interference to other cells or reduce
radiation towards certain directions due to regulatory
restrictions, etc. The individual uplink beams can be obtained by a
linear combination of the orthonormal functions.
g .function. ( .PHI. , .theta. ) = k = 0 N - 1 .times. w k .times.
.times. .times. f k .function. ( .PHI. , .theta. ) ##EQU00002##
A simple example of f.sub.k(.PHI.,.theta.) are the DFT beams as
shown in FIG. 8.
[0084] In some embodiments, the set of weights {} are adapted such
that the similarity cost function C is less than . In some other
embodiments, the set of weights {} are adapted such that the
similarity cost function C is less than . In some other
embodiments, both the set of weights {} and the set of weights {}
are adapted such that the similarity cost function C is less than
.
[0085] To reduce the computational complexity, predefined weight
sets can be configured to match a given set of downlink coverage
scenarios. These predefined weight sets define the set of
predefined uplink beam transformations used in, e.g., step 208A of
FIG. 7. If these sets are found to be unsatisfactory (e.g., in step
208C of FIG. 7), a new set(s) of weights can be determined that
provide a similarity cost function C that is less than .
[0086] FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates aspects of some
embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the
inter-cell cell-shaping coordinator 20 receives cell and wireless
device (e.g., UE) measurements. Based on this information, the
inter-cell cell-shaping coordinator 20 determines the desired
downlink cell shaping and sends corresponding instructions to the
radio access node(s) 14 serving the respective cell(s) 16. Notably,
in FIG. 9, the "network sector-carriers" block represents one or
more radio access nodes 14 serving corresponding cells 16 operating
on respective carriers (i.e., sector-carriers). In this example,
the radio access node(s) 14 perform a procedure to ensure matching
between downlink and uplink coverage by adopting an appropriate
uplink beam transformation (i.e., an appropriate antenna-domain to
beam-domain transformation for the uplink), as discussed above.
[0087] In some embodiments of the process described above with
respect to FIG. 7, the adaption of the uplink beam transformation
is performed independently for each cell 16 when there is a change
in downlink coverage of the cellular communications network 10 or a
multi-cell cluster within the cellular communications network 10.
In some embodiments, this adaptation uses coordination among the
cells 16 within the cellular communications network 10,
specifically, the wireless device specific uplink/downlink
throughput as a function of geographical location. More
specifically, it is possible to estimate the downlink and uplink
spectral efficiency that a wireless device 12 would experience at
different geographical locations with different downlink and uplink
radiation patterns. Accordingly, with knowledge off the
geographical distribution of wireless devices 12, one can try to
optimize the uplink and downlink radiation pattern to maximize the
expected value of a given metric. The metric could be, for example,
the cell throughput given proper radio resource allocation, or the
probability of meeting the quality of service requirements for
certain data flows.
[0088] In some other embodiments, the network node adapts the
uplink beam transformation(s) of a cell(s) 16 based on a
geographical distribution of uplink traffic. In other words, the
uplink coverage across multiple cells 16 can be adapted even if
there is no change in the downlink coverage of the cellular
communications network 10 or a corresponding multi-cell cluster
(i.e., a cluster of two or more cells). The uplink coverage is
modified to match changes in the geographical density of the uplink
traffic. For these embodiments, a wireless device 12 may be
connected to multiple cells, e.g. one for uplink and another for
downlink; or a cellular cluster for both downlink and uplink. In
such situations, the uplink coverage of one cell 16 may not change
in accordance with the downlink coverage change of that cell 16,
but may change in accordance with the uplink throughput that can be
achieved via other cells 16 within the cellular communications
network 10.
[0089] In this regard, FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a process
performed by a network node for changing the uplink beam
transformation(s) of a cell(s) 16 given the geographic, or spatial,
distribution of the uplink traffic. Any downlink cell shaping could
then be done in a separate process based on the downlink traffic
distribution and possibility for effective cooperation between
cells 16 involved in the downlink and uplink of a wireless device
12. Notably, step 300 of FIG. 10 corresponds to one example of step
100 of FIG. 6, and step 302 of FIG. 10 corresponds to one example
of steps 102 and 104 of FIG. 6. Again, optional steps are
illustrated with dashed lines.
[0090] As illustrated, the network node determines that there is a
need to modify an uplink beam transformation(s) for a cell(s) 16
(step 300). More specifically, the network node evaluates the need
to modify the uplink coverage (i.e., the uplink beam
transformation(s)) for the cell(s) 16 (step 300A). In this example,
the evaluation is based on actual or expected geographical
distribution of uplink traffic. Expected geographical distribution
of uplink traffic may be based on, e.g., historical information
(e.g., the actual geographical distribution of uplink traffic for
similar dates and/or times of the day). The actual geographical
distribution of uplink traffic may be based on information such as,
e.g., PRB utilization and/or TTI utilization in the cell(s) 16.
Based on the evaluation, the network node determines whether
modification of the uplink coverage is needed (step 300B). If not
needed, the process returns to step 300A. However, if needed, the
network node then determines a new uplink beam transformation(s)
for the cell(s) 16 and applies the new uplink beam
transformation(s) (step 302). In this embodiment, the new uplink
beam transformation(s) provides an acceptable level of matching
between uplink coverage and the (actual or expected) geographical
distribution of uplink traffic.
[0091] More specifically, in the example of FIG. 10, the network
node determines a predetermined uplink beam transformation(s) for
the cell(s) 16 that provides a best matching between the uplink
coverage and the geographic distribution of uplink traffic (step
302A). More specifically, multiple predefined uplink beam
transformations are stored. The network node selects the uplink
beam transformation(s) from the set of predefined uplink beam
transformations that provide the best matching between the uplink
coverage and the geographic distribution of uplink traffic. Note
that, in practice, the set of predefined uplink transformations
could be paired a priori, by the person who manually populated the
database, with different geographic distributions of uplink traffic
such that the uplink beam transformation(s) that provide the best
match provided a given geographic distribution of uplink traffic
are specified in advance. When such a pre-established pairing is
present, the overall process is greatly simplified.
[0092] The network node then applies the predetermined beam
transformation(s) at the new uplink beam transformation(s) for the
cell(s) 16, as discussed above with respect to step 104 of FIG. 6
(step 302B). After applying the new uplink beam transformation(s)
for the cell(s) 16, the network node determines whether the
remaining mismatch between the uplink coverage and the geographic
distribution of uplink traffic is still greater than a predefined
or preconfigured acceptable level (step 302C). If not, no further
adjustment of the uplink beam transformation(s) is needed, and the
process proceeds to step 304. If the remaining mismatch is still
greater than the predefined or preconfigured acceptable level, the
network node computes a new uplink beam transformation(s) for the
cell(s) 16 and optionally stores the new uplink beam
transformation(s) as additions to the set of predefined uplink beam
transformations (step 302D). The new uplink beam transformation(s)
is computed such that the mismatch between the uplink coverage and
the geographic distribution of uplink traffic is reduced to a
predefined or preconfigured acceptable level. Note that while step
302 includes both steps 302A and 302D in this example, step 302 may
alternatively include steps 302A and 302B but not steps 302C
through 302E or alternatively include steps 302D and 302E but not
steps 302A through 302C. The network node then applies the
computed, new uplink beam transformation(s) for the cell(s) 16, as
discussed above with respect to step 104 of FIG. 6 (step 302E).
[0093] Optionally, after the adjustments are applied, the network
node evaluates the need for handover and/or CoMP set changes and/or
carrier aggregation configuration considering downlink and/or
uplink cellular network coverage (step 304). If any of these
actions are needed (step 306, YES), the network node performs those
actions (or causes them to be performed) (step 308) and the process
then returns to step 300. If none of these actions need to be
performed (step 306, NO), the process returns to step 300.
[0094] FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless device
12 (e.g., UE) according to some embodiments of the present
disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless device 12 includes
circuitry 21 comprising one or more processors 22 (e.g., Central
Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits
(ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Digital Signal
Processors (DSPs), and/or the like) and memory 24. The wireless
device 12 also includes one or more transceivers 26 each including
one or more transmitters 28 and one or more receivers 30 coupled to
one or more antennas 32. In some embodiments, the functionality of
the wireless device 12 described above may be implemented in
hardware (e.g., via hardware within the circuitry 21 and/or within
the processor(s) 22) or be implemented in a combination of hardware
and software (e.g., fully or partially implemented in software that
is, e.g., stored in the memory 24 and executed by the processor(s)
22).
[0095] In some embodiments, a computer program including
instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor 22,
causes the at least one processor 22 to carry out at least some of
the functionality of the wireless device 12 according to any of the
embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a
carrier containing the aforementioned computer program product is
provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical
signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium
(e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as
memory).
[0096] FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless device
12 (e.g., UE) according to some other embodiments of the present
disclosure. The wireless device 12 includes one or more modules 34,
each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 34 provide
the functionality of the wireless device 12 described herein.
[0097] FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a network node 36
(e.g., a radio access node 14 such as, for example, an eNB or gNB
or a core network node) according to some embodiments of the
present disclosure. As illustrated, the network node 36 includes a
control system 38 that includes circuitry comprising one or more
processors 40 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, DSPs, FPGAs, and/or the like) and
memory 42. The control system 38 also includes a network interface
44. In embodiments in which the network node 36 is a radio access
node 14, the network node 36 also includes one or more radio units
46 that each include one or more transmitters 48 and one or more
receivers 50 coupled to one or more antennas 52. In some
embodiments, the functionality of the network node 36 described
above may be fully or partially implemented in software that is,
e.g., stored in the memory 42 and executed by the processor(s)
40.
[0098] FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a
virtualized embodiment of the network node 36 (e.g., the radio
access node 14 or a core network node) according to some
embodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, a
"virtualized" network node 36 is a network node 36 in which at
least a portion of the functionality of the network node 36 is
implemented as a virtual component (e.g., via a virtual machine(s)
executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As
illustrated, the network node 36 optionally includes the control
system 38, as described with respect to FIG. 13. In addition, if
the network node 36 is the radio access node 14, the network node
36 also includes the one or more radio units 46, as described with
respect to FIG. 13. The control system 38 (if present) is connected
to one or more processing nodes 54 coupled to or included as part
of a network(s) 56 via the network interface 44. Alternatively, if
the control system 38 is not present, the one or more radio units
46 (if present) are connected to the one or more processing nodes
54 via a network interface(s). Alternatively, all of the
functionality of the network node 36 described herein may be
implemented in the processing nodes 54. Each processing node 54
includes one or more processors 58 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, DSPs, FPGAs,
and/or the like), memory 60, and a network interface 62.
[0099] In this example, functions 64 of the network node 36 (e.g.,
the functions of the radio access node 14) described herein with
respect to, e.g., FIGS. 7 and/or 10 are implemented at the one or
more processing nodes 54 or distributed across the control system
38 (if present) and the one or more processing nodes 54 in any
desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the
functions 64 of the network node 36 described herein are
implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual
machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the
processing node(s) 54. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary
skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the
processing node(s) 54 and the control system 38 (if present) or
alternatively the radio unit(s) 46 (if present) is used in order to
carry out at least some of the desired functions. Notably, in some
embodiments, the control system 38 may not be included, in which
case the radio unit(s) 46 (if present) communicates directly with
the processing node(s) 54 via an appropriate network
interface(s).
[0100] In some particular embodiments, higher layer functionality
(e.g., layer 3 and up and possibly some of layer 2 of the protocol
stack) of the network node 36 may be implemented at the processing
node(s) 54 as virtual components (i.e., implemented "in the cloud")
whereas lower layer functionality (e.g., layer 1 and possibly some
of layer 2 of the protocol stack) may be implemented in the radio
unit(s) 46 and possibly the control system 38.
[0101] In some embodiments, a computer program including
instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor 40,
58, causes the at least one processor 40, 58 to carry out the
functionality of the network node 36 or a processing node 54
according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided.
In some embodiments, a carrier containing the aforementioned
computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an
electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer
readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable
medium such as the memory 60).
[0102] FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of the network node 36
(e.g., the radio access node 14 or a core network node) according
to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The network
node 36 includes one or more modules 66, each of which is
implemented in software. The module(s) 66 provide the functionality
of the network node 36 described herein with respect to, e.g., FIG.
7 and/or FIG. 10.
[0103] The following acronyms are used throughout this disclosure.
[0104] 3D Three Dimension [0105] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership
Project [0106] 5G Fifth Generation [0107] ASIC Application Specific
Integrated Circuit [0108] BSR Buffer Status Report [0109] CoMP
Coordinated Multi-Point [0110] CPU Central Processing Unit [0111]
CRS Common Reference Signal [0112] CSI-RS Channel State Information
Reference Signal [0113] DFT Discrete Fourier Transform [0114] DSP
Digital Signal Processor [0115] eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B
[0116] FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array [0117] gNB New Radio Base
Station [0118] LTE Long Term Evolution [0119] MME Mobility
Management Entity [0120] MTC Machine Type Communication [0121]
MU-MIMO Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output [0122] NR New
Radio [0123] PCell Primary Cell [0124] P-CPICH Primary Common Pilot
Channel [0125] P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway [0126] PHR Power
Headroom Report [0127] PRB Physical Resource Block [0128] RAT Radio
Access Technology [0129] RF Radio Frequency [0130] RSRP Reference
Signal Received Power [0131] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality
[0132] SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function [0133] SCell
Secondary Cell [0134] TDOA Time Difference of Arrival [0135] TS
Technical Specification [0136] TTI Transmit Time Interval [0137] UE
User Equipment [0138] WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access
[0139] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and
modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All
such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope
of the concepts disclosed herein.
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