System and method for spatial beamforming modulation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9948377-B1
Application number	US-201715424952-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Feb 6, 2017
Priority date	Feb 6, 2017
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

A transmitter includes a plurality of antennas for beamforming with different angles of departure (AoD), an information interface to receive a sequence of symbols including a first symbol and a second symbol and a modulator to cause the plurality of antennas to form a transmission beam with an AoD selected according to a value of the first symbol and modulated according to a value of the second symbol.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transmitter, comprising:
a plurality of antennas for beamforming with different angles of departure (AoD);
an information interface to receive a sequence of symbols including a first symbol and a second symbol; and
a modulator to cause the plurality of antennas to form a transmission beam with an AoD selected according to a value of the first symbol and to modulate the transmission beam according to a value of the second symbol, wherein the modulator causes the plurality of antennas to perform pilot transmission with transmission beams having different AoDs to enable at least one receiver to estimate a pattern of arrival impinging upon antennas of the receiver for different transmission beams.

2. The transmitter of claim 1 , wherein at least some AoDs include azimuths and altitudes angles, wherein the modulator selects an azimuth angle and an altitude angle of the AoD based on the value of the first symbol.

3. The transmitter of claim 1 , wherein each pilot transmission beam includes an index of the AoD.

4. The transmitter of claim 1 , further comprising:
a memory to store a mapping between different AoDs and values of the symbols, wherein the mapping is received from the receiver in response to performing the pilot transmission.

5. The transmitter of claim 4 , wherein the modulator varies a type of modulation based on a number of AoDs specified in the mapping.

6. The transmitter of claim 1 , further comprising:
a radio frequency (RF) chain to convert the modulated value of the second symbol into a RF signal of a predetermined frequency; and
a set of phase shifters to provide a controllable phase shift of transmission of the RF signal via the plurality of antennas that forms the transmission beam having the selected AoD.

7. The transmitter of claim 6 , further comprising:
a set of amplifiers for amplifying the RF signal as a function of a gain of a channel formed by the transmission beam with the selected AoD.

8. The transmitter of claim 1 , wherein a frequency of each transmission beam is within a Millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

9. A receiver in communication with the transmitter of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter transmits the transmission beam to the receiver, wherein the receiver comprises:
a set of antennas to receive the transmission beam transmitted by the transmitter according to the selected AoD;
a processor to estimate an angle of arrival (AoA) of the received transmission beam; and
a decoder to decode the second symbol modulated in the transmission beam and to decode the first symbol based on the AoA.

10. The receiver of claim 9 , wherein the set of antennas receives pilot transmission beams transmitted over a Millimeter wave (mmWave) channel, wherein the processor determines channel state information (CSI) of the mmWave channel using a Bayesian inference on each pilot transmission beam according to a probabilistic model of the mmWave channel including statistics on paths and spread of mmWaves propagating in the mmWave channel and determines, using the CSI, a mapping between different AoDs and values of the symbols, further comprising:
a transceiver to transmit the mapping to the transmitter.

11. A method for transmitting symbols over a wireless communication channel, comprising:
receiving a sequence of symbols including a first symbol and a second symbol;
selecting an angle of departure (AoD) based on a value of the first symbol;
modulating a radio frequency (RF) signal according to a value of the second symbol; and
performing a beamforming to transmit the RF signal as a transmission beam with the selected AoD, wherein the method uses a processor coupled to a memory storing a mapping between indices of different AoDs and values of the symbols, wherein the processor is coupled with stored instructions implementing the method, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor carry out at least some steps of the method.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the AoD includes an azimuth angle and an altitudes angle selected based on the value of the first symbol.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
performing a pilot transmission with a receiver with transmission beams having different AoDs to enable the receiver to estimate a pattern of arrival impinging upon antennas of the receiver for different transmission beams; and
receiving, in response to the pilot transmission, a mapping between indices of different AoDs and values of the symbols, such that the selecting is performed based on the mapping.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
varying the modulating based on a number of AoDs specified in the mapping.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wireless communication channel has a Millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium embodied thereon a program executable by a processor for performing a method, the method comprising:
receiving a sequence of symbols including a first symbol and a second symbol;
selecting an angle of departure (AoD) based on a value of the first symbol;
modulating a radio frequency (RF) signal according to a value of the second symbol;
performing a pilot transmission with a receiver with transmission beams having different AoDs to enable the receiver to estimate a pattern of arrival impinging upon antennas of the receiver for different transmission beams;
receiving, in response to the pilot transmission, a mapping between indices of different AoDs and values of the symbols, such that the selecting is performed based on the mapping;
varying the modulating based on a number of AoDs specified in the mapping; and
performing a beamforming to transmit the RF signal as a transmission beam with the selected AoD.

17. The storage medium of claim 16 , wherein a frequency of each transmission beam is within a Millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

18. A communication system including a transmitter and a receiver in communication with each other, wherein the transmitter comprises:
a plurality of antennas for beamforming with different angles of departure (AoD);
an information interface to receive a sequence of symbols including a first symbol and a second symbol; and
a modulator to cause the plurality of antennas to form a transmission beam with an AoD selected according to a value of the first symbol and to modulate the transmission beam according to a value of the second symbol; and wherein the receiver comprises:
a set of antennas to receive the transmission beam transmitted by the transmitter according to the selected AoD;
a processor to estimate an angle of arrival (AoA) of the received transmission beam, wherein the set of antennas receives pilot transmission beams transmitted over a Millimeter wave (mmWave) channel, wherein the processor determines channel state information (CSI) of the mmWave channel using a Bayesian inference on each pilot transmission beam according to a probabilistic model of the mmWave channel including statistics on paths and spread of mmWaves propagating in the mmWave channel and determines, using the CSI, a mapping between different AoDs and values of the symbols;
a transceiver to transmit the mapping to the transmitter; and
a decoder to decode the second symbol modulated in the transmission beam and to decode the first symbol based on the AoA.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Res Laboratories Inc

Inventors

• Kim Kyeong Jin
• Ding Yacong
• Koike-Akino Toshiaki
• Pajovic Milutin
• Orlik Philip

Classifications

• H04B7/0619

  using feedback from receiving side (feedback signaling for adaptive modulation/coding H04L1/0001) · CPC title

• H04B7/0617 Primary

  for beam forming · CPC title

• H04B14/006

  Angle modulation · CPC title

• H04B7/0626

  Channel coefficients, e.g. channel state information [CSI] · CPC title

• H04L5/0048

  Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver (allocation of control signalling H04L5/0053; use of control signalling H04L5/0091) · CPC title