Real time control of an electronically configurable deflector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12309761-B2
Application number	US-202117474636-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2021
Priority date	Sep 16, 2020
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A base station may transmit control signaling including a beam shaping configuration to a channel engineering device. The channel engineering device may apply the beam shaping configuration during a time period in which the base station is communicating with a user equipment (UE). The beam shaping configuration may include one or more parameters that modify one or more deflection settings at the channel engineering device to adjust an electronic metamaterial of the channel engineering device to focus received signal energy, reflect received signal energy, refract received signal energy, filter received signal energy, or any combination thereof. The base station and one or more UEs may communicate using the channel engineering device based on the beam shaping configuration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for wireless communications at a passive channel engineering device, comprising:
receiving, from a network entity, first control signaling that indicates a plurality of beam shaping configurations for the passive channel engineering device to perform beam shaping and deflection of signals transmitted from the network entity to a respective plurality of user equipment, wherein the first control signaling indicates a plurality of time periods associated with the passive channel engineering device deflecting and beam shaping the signals in a plurality of directions of the respective plurality of user equipment; and
configuring the passive channel engineering device to beam shape and deflect received signal energy in a first direction of a user equipment of the respective plurality of user equipment in accordance with a first beam shaping configuration of the plurality of beam shaping configurations during a first time period of the plurality of time periods.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving second control signaling that configures the passive channel engineering device with a respective index of a plurality of indexes corresponding to a respective beam shaping configuration of the plurality of beam shaping configurations.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first time period of the plurality of time periods is associated with the first beam shaping configuration.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein
the first control signaling indicates the first time period in which to apply the first beam shaping configuration and a second time period in which to apply a second beam shaping configuration that is different from the first beam shaping configuration.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the first control signaling comprises:
applying the first beam shaping configuration of the plurality of beam shaping configurations during the first time period of the plurality of time periods based at least in part on the first control signaling.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the first control signaling comprises:
receiving the first control signaling that indicates a second beam shaping configuration different from the first beam shaping configuration; and
receiving a switching command indicating to switch between the first beam shaping configuration and the second beam shaping configuration.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the first control signaling comprises:
receiving the first control signaling that indicates the first beam shaping configuration comprising a list of one or more beam shaping settings.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving the first control signaling prior to a time period boundary between adjacent time periods, the time period boundary preceding a time period in which the first beam shaping configuration is to be applied.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the time period is a slot, a symbol period, a mini-slot, a plurality of symbol periods, or a combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the first control signaling comprises:
receiving the first control signaling that indicates to apply the first beam shaping configuration until receiving second control signaling to apply a second beam shaping configuration different from the first beam shaping configuration.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first beam shaping configuration indicates one or more settings to adjust an electronic metamaterial of the passive channel engineering device to focus the received signal energy, reflect the received signal energy, refract the received signal energy, filter the received signal energy, or any combination thereof.

12. A method for wireless communications at a network entity, comprising:
transmitting first control signaling that indicates a plurality of beam shaping configurations for a passive channel engineering device to perform beam shaping and deflection of signals transmitted from the network entity to a respective plurality of user equipment, wherein the first control signaling indicates a plurality of time periods associated with the passive channel engineering device deflecting and beam shaping the signals in a plurality of directions of the respective plurality of user equipment; and
transmitting a signal to the passive channel engineering device during a first time period of the plurality of time periods, the first time period associated with a first beam shaping configuration of the plurality of beam shaping configurations, based at least in part on the first control signaling.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
transmitting second control signaling that configures the passive channel engineering device with a respective index of a plurality of indexes corresponding to a respective beam shaping configuration of the plurality of beam shaping configurations.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein
the first control signaling indicates the first time period in which to apply the first beam shaping configuration and a second time period in which to apply a second beam shaping configuration that is different from the first beam shaping configuration.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein transmitting the first control signaling comprises:
transmitting the first control signaling that indicates a second beam shaping configuration different from the first beam shaping configuration; and
transmitting, to the passive channel engineering device, a switching command indicating to switch between the first beam shaping configuration and the second beam shaping configuration.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving the first control signaling comprises:
updating a list of one or more beam shaping settings corresponding to the first beam shaping configuration; and
transmitting, to the passive channel engineering device, the first control signaling that indicates the list of one or more beam shaping settings.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
transmitting the first control signaling prior to a time period boundary between adjacent time periods, the time period boundary preceding a time period in which the first beam shaping configuration is to be applied.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the time period is a slot, a symbol period, a mini-slot, a plurality of symbol periods, or a combination thereof.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein transmitting the first control signaling comprises:
transmitting the first control signaling that indicates to apply the first beam shaping configuration until receiving second control signaling to apply a second beam shaping configuration different from the first beam shaping configuration.

20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first beam shaping configuration indicates one or more settings to adjust an electronic metamaterial of the passive channel engineering device to focus received signal energy, reflect the received signal energy, refract the received signal energy, filter the received signal energy, or any combination thereof.

21. An apparatus for wireless communications at a passive channel engineering device, comprising:
one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and operable to execute the code to cause the one or more processors to:
receive, from a network entity, first control signaling that indicates a plurality of beam shaping configurations for the passive channel engineering dev

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Dallal Yehonatan
• Berliner Ran
• Landis Shay

Classifications

• H04B7/04026

  with codebook-based beamforming · CPC title

• H04W72/20

  Control channels or signalling for resource management · CPC title

• H04W72/0446

  Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames · CPC title

• H04W16/28

  using beam steering · CPC title

• H04B7/04013

  Intelligent reflective surfaces · CPC title