阅读说明：本技术 用于时分双工毫米波系统的双向中继器 (Bidirectional repeater for time division duplex millimeter wave system ) 是由 R·霍米斯 N·阿贝迪尼 J·李 J·塞尚 O·科曼 于 2020-05-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：描述了用于无线通信的方法、系统和设备。双向无线中继器可在第一时域双工时段期间经由第一天线阵列接收第一波形,并且可在第一时域双工时段期间在第二天线阵列处发射第一波形。双刀双掷(DPDT)开关可被耦合到第一和第二天线阵列,并且可在第一时域双工时段与第二时域双工时段之间的保护期期间对这些阵列进行切换。该DPDT开关可将第一和第二天线阵列在发射模式和接收模式之间切换。(Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. The two-way wireless repeater may receive a first waveform via the first antenna array during a first time domain duplex period and may transmit the first waveform at the second antenna array during the first time domain duplex period. A Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch may be coupled to the first and second antenna arrays and may switch the arrays during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period. The DPDT switch may switch the first and second antenna arrays between a transmit mode and a receive mode.)

1. A method for wireless communications at a wireless repeater, comprising:

receiving a first waveform at a first antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period;

transmitting the first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration;

controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein controlling the DPDT switch switches the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration;

receiving a second waveform at the second antenna array during the second time domain duplex period; and

transmitting the second waveform at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying a first set of phase shifts to achieve the first beamforming configuration; and

applying a second set of phase shifts to implement the second beamforming configuration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein controlling the DPDT switch comprises:

controlling a plurality of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch is arranged between a first corresponding antenna of the first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of the second antenna array.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the first waveform comprises:

combining a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the combining occurs after the plurality of input signals are routed through the plurality of DPDT switches and the first set of phase shifts are applied to the plurality of input signals.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein transmitting the first waveform comprises:

dividing the first waveform into a plurality of output signals;

applying the second set of phase shifts to the plurality of output signals; and

routing the plurality of output signals to the second antenna array through the plurality of DPDT switches.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the second waveform comprises:

combining a plurality of input signals corresponding to the second antenna array, wherein the combining occurs after the plurality of input signals are routed through the plurality of DPDT switches and the second set of phase shifts are applied to the plurality of input signals.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein transmitting the second waveform comprises:

dividing the second waveform into a plurality of output signals;

applying the first set of phase shifts to the plurality of output signals; and

routing the plurality of output signals through the plurality of DPDT switches to the first antenna array.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the first waveform comprises:

applying the first set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array; and

combining the plurality of input signals between the first antenna array and the DPDT switch.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting the first waveform comprises:

dividing the first waveform into a plurality of output signals corresponding to the second antenna array, wherein the dividing occurs between the DPDT switch and the second antenna array; and

applying the second set of phase shifts to the plurality of output signals.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the second waveform comprises:

applying the first set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the second antenna array; and

combining the plurality of input signals, wherein the combining occurs between the second antenna array and the DPDT switch.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting the second waveform comprises:

dividing the second waveform into a plurality of output signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the dividing occurs between the DPDT switch and the first antenna array; and

applying the second set of phase shifts to the plurality of output signals.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying a set of phase shifts to the first waveform and the second waveform, wherein the set of phase shifts are applied between the first antenna array and the second antenna array, and wherein the set of phase shifts are based at least in part on a net angular difference between the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein controlling the DPDT switch comprises:

controlling a plurality of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch is arranged between a first corresponding antenna of the first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of the second antenna array, and wherein applying the set of phase shifts occurs between a first node of each DPDT switch and a second node of each DPDT switch.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the DPDT switch comprises:

receiving a sideband message from a base station indicating timing of the guard period; and

activating the DPDT switch based at least in part on the sideband message.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

amplifying the first and second waveforms between a first node of the DPDT switch and a second node of the DPDT switch.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein amplifying the first and second waveforms between the first node of the DPDT switch and the second node of the DPDT switch comprises:

passing the first waveform and the second waveform through one or more of: a low noise amplifier stage, a power amplifier driver stage, or a power amplifier stage.

17. A wireless repeater, comprising:

a first antenna array comprising a first beamforming configuration;

a second antenna array comprising a second beamforming configuration; and

a double-pole-double-throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array; and

a controller coupled to the DPDT switch, wherein the controller is configured to control the DPDT switch to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and to switch the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled during a guard period between a first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period.

18. The wireless repeater of claim 17, further comprising:

a set of phase shifters configured to apply a set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the set of phase shifts are applied to the plurality of input signals after passing through the DPDT switch.

19. The wireless repeater of claim 18, further comprising:

a combiner coupled with phase shifters of the set of phase shifters, the combiner configured to combine the plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array to produce a waveform, wherein the combining occurs after passing through the DPDT switch and applying the set of phase shifts to the plurality of input signals.

20. The wireless repeater of claim 19, further comprising:

a divider coupled with the combiner, the divider configured to divide the waveform into a plurality of output signals.

21. The wireless repeater of claim 20, further comprising:

a second set of phase shifters coupled with the divider, the second set of phase shifters configured to apply a second set of phase shifts to the plurality of input signals, the second set of phase shifters further configured to pass the plurality of input signals to the DPDT switch and the second antenna array.

22. The wireless repeater of claim 17, further comprising:

a set of phase shifters configured to apply a set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the set of phase shifts are applied to the plurality of input signals prior to passing through the DPDT switch.

23. The wireless repeater of claim 22, wherein the set of phase shifters is further configured to apply a second set of phase shifts to a plurality of output signals, wherein the second set of phase shifts is applied to the plurality of output signals after passing through the DPDT switch.

24. The wireless repeater of claim 22, further comprising:

a combiner coupled with the set of phase shifters and configured to: combining the plurality of input signals to generate the waveform prior to passing the waveform to the DPDT switch.

25. The wireless repeater of claim 24, wherein the combiner is further configured to: dividing the waveform into a plurality of output signals after passing through the DPDT switch.

26. The wireless repeater of claim 17, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration.

27. The wireless repeater of claim 26, further comprising:

a set of phase shifters configured to apply a set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the set of phase shifts are applied between the first antenna array and the second antenna array, and wherein the set of phase shifts are based at least in part on a net angular difference between the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration.

28. The wireless repeater of claim 17, further comprising:

a power amplifier coupled with the DPDT switch, wherein the power amplifier is configured to amplify a plurality of output signals corresponding to the second antenna array, wherein the power amplifier amplifies the plurality of output signals prior to passing through the DPDT switch.

29. The wireless repeater of claim 17, further comprising:

a power amplifier coupled with the DPDT switch, wherein the power amplifier is configured to amplify a first waveform corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the power amplifier amplifies the first waveform after passing through the DPDT switch.

30. The wireless repeater of claim 17, further comprising:

a low noise amplifier coupled with the DPDT switch, wherein the low noise amplifier is configured to amplify a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the low noise amplifier amplifies the plurality of input signals after the plurality of input signals pass through the DPDT switch.

31. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless repeater, comprising:

means for receiving a first waveform at a first antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period;

means for transmitting the first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration;

means for controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein controlling the DPDT switch switches the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration;

means for receiving a second waveform at the second antenna array during the second time domain duplex period; and

means for transmitting the second waveform at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period.

32. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a wireless repeater, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

receiving a first waveform at a first antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period;

transmitting the first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration;

controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein controlling the DPDT switch switches the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration;

receiving a second waveform at the second antenna array during the second time domain duplex period; and

transmitting the second waveform at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period.

Background

The following relates generally to wireless communications and more particularly to a two-way repeater for time division duplex millimeter wave (mmW) systems.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems, or LTE-a Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems that may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ various techniques, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include several base stations or network access nodes, each supporting communication for multiple communication devices simultaneously, which may otherwise be referred to as User Equipment (UE).

A wireless communication system may transmit and receive wireless signals between a base station and a UE. In some examples, after transmission from a base station or UE, the integrity of the wireless signal may be degraded by interference effects or path fading within the transmitting device, and the wireless signal may not be received at its intended target. In some examples, the wireless signal may be limited by path loss or path attenuation through the air, physical obstructions, or other constraints. In such examples, the wireless relay may be implemented to repeat and spread the signals received from the base station to the UE and the signals received from the UE to the base station.

SUMMARY

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatus to support a two-way repeater. In general, the described technology provides a two-way repeater for simultaneously transmitting signals at a first antenna array and receiving signals at a second antenna array. The bidirectional repeater may be configured to: a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch is used and both the first antenna array and the second antenna array are switched during a guard period due to downlink-to-uplink switching in time division duplex (or vice versa). The two-way repeater may receive sideband messages from the base station, which may provide timing for the guard period. The DPDT switch may then be activated during the guard period to switch each of the first and second antenna arrays between transmitting and receiving (e.g., downlink and uplink (or vice versa)). The two-way repeater may be configured to apply different phase shifts to the first and second antenna arrays to achieve different beamforming configurations, thereby increasing coverage area and improving signal quality by providing more targeted beam directions.

A method of wireless communication at a wireless repeater is described. The method can comprise the following steps: a first waveform is received at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, transmitting a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration, controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to a first antenna array and a second antenna array during a guard period between a first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration, the method further includes receiving a second waveform at the second antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, and transmitting the second waveform at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless repeater is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: a first waveform is received at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, transmitting a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration, controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to a first antenna array and a second antenna array during a guard period between a first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration, the method further includes receiving a second waveform at the second antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, and transmitting the second waveform at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless repeater is described. The apparatus may include: means for receiving a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, means for transmitting a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration, means for controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to a first antenna array and a second antenna array during a guard period between a first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration, means for receiving a second waveform at a second antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, and means for transmitting a second waveform at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a wireless repeater is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: a first waveform is received at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, transmitting a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration, controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to a first antenna array and a second antenna array during a guard period between a first time domain duplex period and a second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration, the method further includes receiving a second waveform at the second antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, and transmitting the second waveform at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: the first set of phase shifts is applied to achieve the first beamforming configuration and the second set of phase shifts is applied to achieve the second beamforming configuration.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, controlling the DPDT switch may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: controlling a set of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch may be arranged between a first corresponding antenna of a first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of a second antenna array.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a first waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: combining a set of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the combining occurs after routing the set of inputs through the set of DPDT switches and applying the first set of phase shifts to the set of input signals.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the first waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: the method further includes dividing the first waveform into a set of output signals, applying a second set of phase shifts to the set of output signals, and routing the set of output signals to a second antenna array through the set of DPDT switches.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the second waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: combining a set of input signals corresponding to a second antenna array, wherein the combining occurs after the set of input signals are routed through the set of DPDT switches and a second set of phase shifts is applied to the set of input signals.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the second waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: the method further includes dividing the second waveform into a set of output signals, applying a first set of phase shifts to the set of output signals, and routing the set of output signals through the set of DPDT switches to the first antenna array.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a first waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: the method further includes applying a first set of phase shifts to a set of input signals corresponding to a first antenna array, and combining the set of input signals between the first antenna array and the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the first waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: the method further includes dividing the first waveform into a set of output signals corresponding to a second antenna array, wherein the dividing occurs between the DPDT switch and the second antenna array, and applying a second set of phase shifts to the set of output signals.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the second waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: the method further includes applying the first set of phase shifts to a set of input signals corresponding to a second antenna array, and combining the set of input signals, wherein the combining occurs between the second antenna array and the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the second waveform may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: dividing the second waveform into a set of output signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the dividing occurs between the DPDT switch and the first antenna array, and applying a second set of phase shifts to the set of output signals.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: applying a set of phase shifts to the first waveform and the second waveform, wherein the set of phase shifts is applicable between the first antenna array and the second antenna array, and wherein the set of phase shifts is based on a net angular difference between the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, controlling the DPDT switch may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: controlling a set of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch may be arranged between a first corresponding antenna of a first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of a second antenna array, and wherein applying the set of phase shifts occurs between a first node of each DPDT switch and a second node of each DPDT switch.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, controlling the DPDT switch may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: receiving a sideband message from a base station indicating timing of the guard period, and activating the DPDT switch based on the sideband message.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: the first and second waveforms are amplified between the first node of the DPDT switch and the second node of the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, amplifying a first waveform and a second waveform between a first node of the DPDT switch and a second node of the DPDT switch may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: passing the first and second waveforms through one or more of: a low noise amplifier stage, a power amplifier driver stage, or a power amplifier stage.

A wireless repeater is described. The wireless repeater includes: a first antenna array comprising a first beamforming configuration; a second antenna array comprising a second beamforming configuration; a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array; and a controller coupled to the DPDT switch. The controller may be configured to control the DPDT switch to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and to switch the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the set of phase shifters may be configured to apply a set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, and the set of phase shifts is applied to the plurality of input signals after passing through the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, a combiner may be coupled with a phase shifter of the set of phase shifters, and the combiner may be configured to combine the plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array to generate a waveform, and the combining occurs after passing through the DPDT switch and applying the set of phase shifts to the plurality of input signals.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, a divider may be coupled with the combiner, and the divider may be configured to divide the waveform into a plurality of output signals.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, a second set of phase shifters may be coupled with the divider, and the second set of phase shifters may be configured to apply a second set of phase shifts to the plurality of input signals, and the second set of phase shifters may be further configured to pass the plurality of input signals to the DPDT switch and a second antenna array.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the set of phase shifters may be configured to apply a set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, and the set of phase shifts may be applied to the plurality of input signals prior to passing through the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the set of phase shifters may be further configured to apply a second set of phase shifts to a plurality of output signals, where the second set of phase shifts may be applied to the plurality of output signals after passing through the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater may include a combiner coupled with the set of phase shifters and configured to combine the plurality of input signals to generate the waveform prior to passing the waveform to the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the combiner may be further configured to: the waveform is divided into a plurality of output signals after passing through the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater may include a set of phase shifters configured to apply a set of phase shifts to a plurality of input signals corresponding to a first antenna array, and the set of phase shifts may be applied between the first antenna array and a second antenna array, and the set of phase shifts may be based at least in part on a net angular difference between the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater may include a power amplifier coupled with the DPDT switch, and the power amplifier may be configured to amplify a plurality of output signals corresponding to a second antenna array, and the power amplifier may amplify the plurality of output signals prior to passing through the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater may include a power amplifier coupled with the DPDT switch, and the power amplifier may be configured to amplify a first waveform corresponding to the first antenna array, and the power amplifier may amplify the first waveform after passing through the DPDT switch.

In some examples of the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater may include a low noise amplifier coupled with the DPDT switch, and the low noise amplifier may be configured to amplify a plurality of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, and the low noise amplifier may amplify the plurality of input signals after the plurality of input signals pass through the DPDT switch.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting a two-way relay for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting a two-way relay for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a block diagram supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a block diagram supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a block diagram supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a block diagram supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a block diagram supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a process flow to support a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 and 10 show block diagrams of devices that support a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager supporting a two-way relay for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 shows a diagram of a system including devices supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13-16 show flow diagrams of methods of supporting a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Wireless communication systems may use different frequency ranges or bandwidths to communicate wireless signals between a base station and a UE. The signals transmitted by the base station and the UE may be in different frequency ranges and may have different signal degradation depending on the frequency range. In some examples, signals may be transmitted via relatively low frequencies, which may be received without degradation. Signals communicated via relatively lower frequencies may propagate more easily through physical structures (such as trees, walls, or windows), but may experience more degradation when the frequency is higher. In some examples, signals may be transmitted by a base station to a UE (or vice versa) via high frequencies, such as frequencies in the millimeter wave (mmW) frequency band, and a direct line of sight may be lacking between the base station and the UE. This can lead to signal degradation as physical structures (such as trees, walls, or windows) and even air can attenuate the signal.

In some examples, the wireless relay may repeat, extend, and/or direct wireless signals received from the base station to the UE and/or wireless signals received from the UE to the base station. Many wireless repeaters have a first dedicated antenna array for transmission and a second dedicated antenna array for reception. Since the UE and base station alternate between transmit and receive operations during time domain duplexing, the wireless repeater may have to reconfigure beamforming for the transmit and receive antenna arrays with each TDD cycle. This reconfiguration of the beamforming of each antenna array introduces delay and complexity into the iterative process and can adversely affect the performance, complexity and price of the wireless repeater.

In accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, reconfiguration of the beamforming of each antenna array of a wireless repeater can be avoided if a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch is placed between the transmit and receive chains of the repeater and each antenna array. Each antenna array may then be dedicated to a UE or base station and may configure beamforming for that particular device. The DPDT switch can rapidly switch transmit and receive chains between the first and second antenna arrays during the guard period of the time domain duplex cycle, thereby enabling the beamforming configuration to remain the same for each antenna array throughout the entire time domain duplex cycle.

In some examples, a two-way relay may simultaneously receive a signal from a base station and transmit the signal to a UE, and may receive a signal from a UE and transmit the signal to the base station at approximately the same time. A bi-directional repeater can transmit and receive signals via at least a first antenna array and a second antenna array, which can be switched from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa) via a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch. The wireless repeater may receive downlink/uplink control information from the base station and may coordinate the switching of these antenna arrays with a Time Division Duplex (TDD) guard period at the base station. The TDD guard period may be a time duration that the base station may switch from downlink to uplink (or vice versa). The DPDT switch of the bi-directional repeater can simultaneously switch the multiple antenna arrays between transmit and receive modes and between receive and transmit modes.

Aspects of the present disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the present disclosure are further described in the context of a block diagram and a process flow diagram of a wireless repeater. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described by, and with reference to, apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts related to a bidirectional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting a bidirectional phased array repeater for a TDD mmW system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-a Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low cost and low complexity devices.

The base station 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. The base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as base transceiver stations, radio base stations, access points, radio transceivers, node bs, evolved node bs (enbs), next generation node bs or gigabit node bs (any of which may be referred to as gnbs), home node bs, home evolved node bs, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment, including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gbbs, relay base stations, and so forth.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110, supporting communication with various UEs 115 in that particular geographic coverage area 110. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmissions from the UEs 115 to the base stations 105 or downlink transmissions from the base stations 105 to the UEs 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 can be divided into sectors that form a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other type of cell, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NR network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish between neighboring cells (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical entity operates.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. The UE115 may also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UE115 may also refer to a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, an internet of everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, among others, which may be implemented in various items such as appliances, vehicles, meters, and so forth.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., communication via machine-to-machine (M2M)). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or with the base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communications or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay the information to a central server or application that may utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of a machine. Examples of applications for MTC devices include: smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, field survival monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption or frequency resource consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., modes that support unidirectional communications via transmission or reception, but not both transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for the UE115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communication, or operating on a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication). In some cases, the UE115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communication for these functions.

In some cases, the UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocols). One or more UEs of the group of UEs 115 communicating with D2D may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. The other UEs 115 in this group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D may utilize a one-to-many (1: M) system, where each UE115 transmits to every other UE115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving base stations 105.

Each base station 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 over backhaul links 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces) directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) that may include at least one Mobility Management Entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be communicated through the S-GW, which may itself be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to network operator IP services. The operator IP services may include access to the internet, intranet(s), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or Packet Switched (PS) streaming services.

At least some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be examples of Access Node Controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UEs 115 through a number of other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, intelligent radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

Wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the 300MHz to 3GHz region is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or the decimeter band because the wavelengths range from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features. However, these waves may penetrate a variety of structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to a UE115 located indoors. UHF-wave transmission can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100km) than transmission using smaller and longer waves of the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the very high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3GHz to 30GHz (also referred to as a centimeter frequency band). The SHF region includes frequency bands (such as the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands) that may be opportunistically used by devices that may be able to tolerate interference from other users.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30GHz to 300GHz), which is also referred to as the millimeter-band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communication between the UE115 and the base station 105, and EHF antennas of respective devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, propagation of EHF transmissions may experience even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter ranges than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the use of frequency bands specified across these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory agency.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band, such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in the unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices, such as base stations 105 and UEs 115, may employ a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that frequency channels are clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., LAA) in coordination with component carriers operating in the licensed band. Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), Time Division Duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

In some examples, a base station 105 or UE115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) equipped with multiple antennas and a receiving device (e.g., UE 115) equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to increase spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, a transmitting device may transmit multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, a receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiver device; and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which a plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to a plurality of devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array undergo constructive interference while other signals undergo destructive interference. The adjustment to the signals communicated via the antenna elements may include the transmitting or receiving device applying a particular amplitude and phase shift to the signals carried via each antenna element associated with the device. The adjustment associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with the UEs 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times in different directions by the base station 105, which may include signals transmitted according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device, such as the UE 115) to identify beam directions used by the base station 105 for subsequent transmissions and/or receptions.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular recipient device, may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the recipient device, such as the UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, the UE115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE115 may report an indication to the base station 105 of the signal for which it is received at the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality. Although the techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by the base station 105 in one or more directions, the UE115 may use similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying beam directions used by the UE115 for subsequent transmission or reception) or for transmitting signals in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., UE115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from the base station 105. For example, a recipient device may attempt multiple receive directions by: receiving via different antenna sub-arrays, processing received signals according to different antenna sub-arrays, receiving according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, either of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening from different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or other acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening from multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UEs 115. Likewise, the UE115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication of the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate on logical channels. The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission by the MAC layer, thereby improving link efficiency. In the control plane, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide for establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections of radio bearers supporting user plane data between the UE115 and the base station 105 or core network 130. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, the UE115 and the base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood that the data is successfully received. HARQ feedback is a technique that increases the likelihood that data will be correctly received on the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput of the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular slot for data received in a previous symbol in that slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or according to some other time interval.

In LTE or NRThe time interval may be in basic time units (which may for example refer to a sampling period T)_s1/30,720,000 seconds). The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed as T_f＝307,200T_s. The radio frame may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. The subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having a duration of 0.5ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix added before each symbol period). Each symbol period may contain 2048 sample periods, excluding the cyclic prefix. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened tti (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In some examples, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be a minimum scheduling unit. For example, each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or operating frequency band. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement timeslot aggregation, where multiple timeslots or mini-timeslots are aggregated together and used for communication between the UE115 and the base station 105.

The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over the communication link 125. For example, the carrier of the communication link 125 may comprise a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band operating according to a physical layer channel for a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. The carriers may be associated with predefined frequency channels (e.g., evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel numbers (EARFCNs)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UEs 115. The carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, a signal waveform transmitted on a carrier may include multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)).

The organization of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling supporting decoding of the user data. The carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling that coordinates operation of the carrier. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates the operation of other carriers.

The physical channels may be multiplexed on the carriers according to various techniques. The physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on the downlink carrier using, for example, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) techniques, Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, control information transmitted in the physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a carrier or "system bandwidth" of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several predetermined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80MHz) of a carrier of a particular radio access technology. In some examples, each served UE115 may be configured to operate over part or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type associated with a predefined portion or range within a carrier (e.g., a set of subcarriers or RBs) (e.g., "in-band" deployment of narrowband protocol types).

In a system employing MCM technology, a resource element may include one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements the UE115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of the UE115 may be. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and using multiple spatial layers may further improve the data rate of communications with the UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base stations 105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communication over one carrier bandwidth of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 and/or a UE115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth.

The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UEs 115 over multiple cells or carriers, a feature that may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. The UE115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an enhanced component carrier (eCC). An eCC may be characterized by one or more characteristics including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that are unable to monitor the entire carrier bandwidth or are otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to conserve power).

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other component carriers, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol duration of the other component carriers. Shorter symbol durations may be associated with increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. Devices utilizing an eCC, such as UE115 or base station 105, may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80MHz, etc.) with a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may include one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

The wireless communication system 100 may be an NR system that may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, etc. Flexibility in eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow eCC to be used across multiple spectra. In some examples, NR sharing spectrum may improve spectrum utilization and frequency efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency domains) and horizontal (e.g., across time domains) sharing of resources.

The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more two-way repeaters 140. The bi-directional relay 140 may receive a signal from a base station and/or a UE and may transmit the signal to the UE and/or the base station. In some examples, the transmit path and the receive path of the bi-directional repeater 140 may both remain active at the same time, which may allow for increased coverage (compared to coverage where only the beamforming scan angle is changed).

In some cases, the two-way repeater 140 may be used in line-of-sight (LOS) or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios. In NLOS scenarios (such as in urban areas or indoors), mmW transmission may be limited by signal blocking or signal interference with physical objects (such as buildings, walls, trees, etc.). A bidirectional repeater 140 with beamforming capability may be used to simultaneously receive signals from a base station 105 and transmit the signals to a UE115, and/or to simultaneously receive signals from a UE115 and transmit the signals to a base station 105. In some examples, the bidirectional repeater 140 may further include a beam steering system, which may include a system on a chip (SoC) for controlling transmit and/or receive beams to reduce signal interference caused by near simultaneous reception and transmission.

The bi-directional repeater 140 may include multiple antenna arrays. In some cases, the first and second antenna arrays may be phased array antennas and may be switched simultaneously by DPDT switches. The DPDT switch may receive downlink/uplink control information from the base station and may coordinate the switching of these antenna arrays with a Time Division Duplex (TDD) guard period at the base station. The TDD guard period may be a time duration that the base station may switch from downlink to uplink (or vice versa). The DPDT switch of the bi-directional repeater 140 can simultaneously switch the multiple antenna arrays between transmit and receive modes and between receive and transmit modes. In some examples, there may be multiple DPDT switches, each of which corresponds to an antenna array. In some examples, one DPDT switch may switch multiple antenna arrays.

In some examples and depending on the implementation of the bidirectional repeater 140, the bidirectional repeater 140 may further include a beam control system, which may include a system on a chip (SoC) for controlling transmit and/or receive beams to reduce signal interference caused by retransmissions. Beam steering may be implemented using phase shifters to implement a first beamforming configuration, which may correspond to a first set of antenna arrays; and additionally implementing a second beamforming configuration, which may correspond to a second set of antenna arrays.

In some examples, because the bi-directional repeater 140 may include both active transmit and receive paths, the cost of the repeater system may be lower due to the ability to operate in uplink and downlink modes with one repeater (rather than operating in uplink and downlink with two separate repeaters). Furthermore, the bi-directional repeater 140 may reduce system latency due to simultaneous transmission and reception capabilities. In some examples, because the bi-directional repeater 140 maintains the same field of view as each group of antennas when switching between uplink and downlink, the coverage area may be larger than a uni-directional repeater that can only change its beamforming scan angle to target the base station 105 and the UE 115.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 of a two-way repeater 210 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 of fig. 2 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 of fig. 1, and the two-way repeater 210 may be an example of the two-way repeater 140 of fig. 1. The wireless communication system 200 includes a base station 205 and a UE 215, which may be examples of the base station 105 and the UE115 of fig. 1.

As illustrated in fig. 2, the base station 205 may transmit signals to the UE 215 and receive signals from the UE 215 via the bi-directional relay 210, while the UE may transmit signals to the base station 205 and receive signals from the base station 205 via the bi-directional relay 210. Although only a single base station 205 and a single UE 215 are depicted in fig. 2, multiple base stations 205 and multiple UEs 215 may transmit and receive signals via the bi-directional relay 210. In fig. 2, communications from the base station 205 may not reach the UE 215 due to path loss or path attenuation, and without the bi-directional relay 210, the signal strength may not be sufficient to reach the UE 215. In some examples, the path attenuation may be due to physical structures, such as trees, walls, buildings, air, and the like. The path attenuation may depend on the frequency range used for communication, which will be discussed in further detail herein. In some examples, the base station 205 may transmit and receive signals from the UE 215 without requiring the signals to pass through the bi-directional relay 210.

The bi-directional repeater 210 may transmit or receive signals from the base station 205 via a first antenna array or set of antennas and may transmit or receive signals from the UE 215 via a second antenna array or set of antennas. The first set of antennas may include one or more antennas and the second set of antennas may include one or more antennas. The bi-directional relay 210 may be used to enable uplink and downlink communications between the base station 205 and the UE 215. In some examples, the bi-directional relay 210 may receive signals from the base station 205 according to a first beamforming configuration and may transmit the signals to the UE 215 according to a second beamforming configuration. Additionally, the bi-directional relay 210 may further receive signals from the UE 215 according to the first beamforming configuration and may transmit these signals to the UE 215 according to the second beamforming configuration. In some examples, the base station 205 may transmit the beamforming configuration based on the operating environment, the location of the UE 215, and/or the configuration of the UE 215.

In some examples, the bi-directional repeater 210 may transmit and receive signals simultaneously. The bi-directional repeater 210 may include a switch that may switch the first antenna array from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa) and may also switch the second antenna array from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa). In some examples, the switch may be a DPDT switch that may receive timing from node g B via a sub 6GHz RF channel, as discussed in detail herein. g B the node may provide timing for the TDD guard period so that the DPDT switch can switch the antenna arrays from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa) at approximately the same time as the TDD guard period. DPDT switches are discussed in further detail herein. In some examples, one example of a base station may be a gB node.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a block diagram 300 of a bi-directional repeater 310 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device of fig. 3 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, fig. 3 includes a base station 305 and a UE 315, which may be examples of the base station 105 and the UE115 of fig. 1. The bi-directional repeater 310 may include: a first antenna array 320 comprising a first set of antennas; and a second antenna array 325 comprising a second set of antennas. Fig. 3 may illustrate and support wireless downlink and uplink configurations.

In fig. 3, the bi-directional repeater 310 may include a first antenna array 320 and a second antenna array 325 for receiving and transmitting signals. In some examples, the transmit and receive paths of the first and second antenna arrays may both remain active at the same time. This may allow for increased coverage area compared to the coverage area provided by merely changing the beamforming scan angle. The increased coverage area or enhanced field of view of the antenna arrays may be a result of beam forming or beam steering and also the simultaneous switching of the antenna arrays from uplink to downlink. In fig. 3, the bi-directional repeater 310 may include beam steering or beamforming capabilities for transmitting and receiving signals at the first antenna array 320 and the second antenna array 325. In some examples, the phase shifters may enable beamforming, which will be discussed in further detail herein.

In fig. 3, a bi-directional repeater 310 may receive signals from a base station 105 via a first antenna array 320. The first antenna array 320 may include one or more antennas (as depicted in fig. 3), and may be interchangeably referred to as a first antenna array or a first set of antennas. Similarly, the second antenna array 325 may include one or more antennas (as depicted in fig. 3), and may be interchangeably referred to as a second antenna array or a second set of antennas. The received signals may be combined, phase shifted, amplified, and split at the bi-directional repeater 310 and then transmitted at the second antenna array 325. Although the received signals may be discussed as being combined, phase shifted, amplified, and split, the purpose and order of the functions may be different, as will be discussed in further detail herein.

As illustrated in fig. 3, the bi-directional repeater 310 may include a beam steering component 365, a low noise amplifier 330, a power amplifier 335, a splitter/combiner 340, and a switch 345 in addition to the first and second antenna arrays. Although the bi-directional repeater 310 in fig. 3 depicts each of these components, in some examples, the bi-directional repeater 310 may omit one or more of these elements, which will be discussed in further detail herein. The bi-directional repeater 310 may also include a system on a chip (SoC) component 350. SoC component 350 may perform functions such as beamforming control, gain control, and switching antenna arrays between transmit and receive modes. Additionally, the switch may be remotely controlled via a secondary sub-6 GHz channel 355 (e.g., narrowband internet of things NB-IoT 360). Further, SoC component 350 may employ bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, or any other appropriate transmit/receive signal.

In some examples, the bi-directional repeater 310 may include a switch that may switch the first antenna array from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa) and may also switch the second antenna array from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa). In some examples, the switch may be a DPDT switch that may receive timing from node g B via a sub 6GHz RF channel, as discussed in detail herein. g B the node may provide timing for the TDD guard period so that the DPDT switch can switch the antenna arrays from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa) at approximately the same time as the TDD guard period. DPDT switches are discussed in further detail herein. In some examples, one example of a base station may be the g B node.

In fig. 3, the wireless communication system may use a relatively high frequency and may be Time Division Duplex (TDD). The switch 345 may switch between the downlink and uplink portions of the TDD channel (or vice versa) during a time period (e.g., a TDD protection period). In some examples, the first and second antenna arrays of the bi-directional repeater 310 may receive and transmit simultaneously. In some examples, the first and second antenna arrays may be switched from downlink to uplink (or vice versa) and may remain on or active after being switched from the first mode to the second mode.

In some examples of fig. 3, the bi-directional relay 310 may be capable of monitoring signaling between a base station and a UE. By monitoring signaling between the base station and the UE, the bi-directional relay 310 may know when the downlink/uplink transition occurs and may adjust the timing of the switch accordingly.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a block diagram 400 of a bi-directional repeater 410 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device of fig. 4 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, fig. 4 includes receiving and transmitting signals to and from base stations and UEs, which may be examples of the base stations 105 and UEs 115 of fig. 1. Fig. 4 may illustrate wireless downlink and uplink configurations, and is provided for illustrative and explanatory purposes.

In fig. 4, the bi-directional repeater 410 may include a first antenna array 420 having a first set of antennas and a second antenna array 425 having a second set of antennas. Both the first antenna array 420 and the second antenna array 425 may transmit or receive signals to and from base stations and UEs. The first and second antenna arrays may be coupled to a DPDT switch 445, which DPDT switch 445 may be a double pole double throw switch (DPDT switch) in some examples. The DPDT switch 445 may switch both devices to transmit and receive at approximately the same time, and may be capable of switching over an approximate range of thousands of times per second. The DPDT switch 445 may be a metamaterial switch that may be engineered by man-made materials. Furthermore, the DPDT switch 445 may have low insertion loss because the DPDT switch 445 may not degrade the performance of the bi-directional repeater 410 by not reducing the signal by a significant amount. For the purposes of this disclosure, insertion losses in the range of 0.5 to 3dB are considered low insertion losses.

As depicted in fig. 4, a DPDT switch 445 may be coupled to the power amplifier 435 and the low noise amplifier 430. In some examples, the first antenna array 420 may be an output of the power amplifier 435. In some examples, the first antenna array 420 may be an output of a low noise amplifier 430. Similarly, the second antenna array 425 may be the output of either the power amplifier 435 or the low noise amplifier 430. The DPDT switch 445 may be controlled by a downlink/uplink control 465. In fig. 4, downlink/uplink control 465 and gain control 470 may be included as part of SoC component 350 of fig. 3. Gain control 470 may be used to control the gain of low noise amplifier 430 and power amplifier driver 475, where power amplifier driver 475 may drive power amplifier 435. The low noise amplifier 430 and the power amplifier 435 may be used to amplify input signals and/or output signals that may be received and/or transmitted at the first antenna array 420 and/or the second antenna array 425.

As previously discussed in fig. 3, the two-way repeater may include a first antenna array and a second antenna array for receiving and transmitting signals. In some examples, the transmit and receive paths of the first and second antenna arrays may both remain active at the same time. The two-way repeater may be configured to apply different phase shifts to the first and second antenna arrays to achieve different beamforming configurations, thereby increasing coverage area and improving signal quality by providing more targeted beam directions.

In some examples, the bi-directional repeater 410 may also include one or more phase shifters (not illustrated in fig. 4). The phase shifter(s) may enable beamforming or beam steering on either or both of the first and second antenna arrays. The phase shifters may set phase shift values and the antenna arrays may sweep or scan these angles according to the phase shift values provided by the phase shifters. In some examples, the phase shift value of the phase shifter may be based on a net angle between the transmit angle and the receive angle of the antenna array. Additionally or alternatively, the phase shifter(s) may enable beamforming on the first and second antenna arrays, and the beamforming configuration of the first and second antenna arrays may remain substantially the same for both modes even though the first and second antenna arrays may be switched between transmit and receive modes (or vice versa).

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a block diagram 500 of a bi-directional repeater 510 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device of fig. 5 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, fig. 5 includes receiving and transmitting signals to and from base stations and UEs, which may be examples of the base stations 105 and UEs 115 of fig. 1. The bidirectional repeater 510 of fig. 5 may illustrate and support wireless downlink and uplink configurations.

In fig. 5 and similar to fig. 4, the bi-directional repeater 510 may include a first antenna array 520 and a second antenna array 525 having a second set of antennas. The first and second antenna arrays may be coupled to a DPDT switch 545. As illustrated in fig. 5, there may be one or more sets of the first antenna array 520 (e.g., the first antenna array 520-a, the first antenna array 520-b, the first antenna array 520-c), one or more sets of the second antenna array 525 (the second antenna array 525-a, the second antenna array 525-b, the second antenna array 525-c), and one or more sets of DPDT switches 545 (e.g., the DPDT switches 545-a, the DPDT switches 545-b, the DPDT switches 545-c).

The bi-directional repeater 510 may also include a power amplifier 535, which may be coupled to a DPDT switch 545; and in some examples, there may be one or more sets of power amplifiers 535 (e.g., power amplifiers 535-a, 535-b, 535-c) and one or more sets of power amplifier drivers 590 (e.g., power amplifier drivers 590-a, 590-b, 590-c). Power amplifier driver 590 and power amplifier 535 may receive control information from gain control element 595 or may provide information to gain control element 595. The gain control element 595 may control the gain of the power amplifier 535 and adjustments to the power amplifier 535 may be made via the power amplifier driver 590.

In fig. 5, the bi-directional repeater 510 may include a low noise amplifier 530, which may be coupled with a DPDT switch 545 and a phase shifter 580. In some examples, there may be one or more low noise amplifiers 530 (e.g., low noise amplifier 530-a, low noise amplifier 530-b, and low noise amplifier 530-c). Although some of the sets of elements of fig. 5 have been discussed as including three elements in each set, any appropriate number of elements may be included in the sets of elements.

The DPDT switch 545 may switch the first antenna array 520 from transmitting to receiving (and vice versa) and may also switch the second antenna array 525 from transmitting to receiving (and vice versa). The downlink/uplink control 565 may provide the timing of the switching of the antenna arrays to the DPDT switch 545. As shown in fig. 5 and in some examples, the bi-directional repeater 510 may include one DPDT switch 545 per antenna pair. That is, there may be one DPDT switch 545 for each set of first and second antenna arrays. In some examples, DPDT switch 545 may receive handover timing from a base station via a sub-6 GHz RF channel, as depicted in fig. 3. The base station may provide the timing of the TDD guard period to the downlink/uplink control 565 so that the downlink/uplink control 565 may provide the DPDT switch 545 with the appropriate time to switch the antenna arrays from transmit to receive (or vice versa). In some examples, one example of a base station may be the g B node.

In some examples, the DPDT switch 545 may switch the first antenna array from a transmit mode to a receive mode, and there may be a time duration or switching latency associated with switching the first antenna array between modes. Since the DPDT switch 545 switches between transmit and receive configurations during the TDD protection period, the latency associated with this switching may be shorter or less than the TDD protection period duration.

The bi-directional repeater 510 may also include a phase shifter 580, which may be coupled to the power amplifier driver 590 and the low noise amplifier 530. One or more phase shifters 580 (e.g., phase shifter 580-a, phase shifter 580-b, and phase shifter 580-c) may be present, similar to other elements of fig. 5. Phase shifter 580 may receive one or more signals from either the first or second antenna arrays and may implement beamforming or beam steering. In fig. 5, the phase shift value of the phase shifter 580 may be set by the beam control 585. Phase shifter 580 may set phase shift values and the antenna arrays may sweep or scan these angles according to the phase shift values provided by phase shifter 580 and may scan or sweep these angles after receiving these phase shift values. In fig. 5, the phase shift value of the phase shifter 580 may be based on the net angle between the transmit and receive angles of the antenna array. In some examples, the antenna array may "virtually" scan the space around the antenna without moving the antenna according to the phase shifters 580, and according to the programmed phase shifters, and in some examples after these phase shifters provide beamforming values. The terms dephasing, electronic scanning, beam steering, beam forming, and electronic beam forming may be used interchangeably.

In some examples, the first antenna array may implement the first beamforming configuration to transmit information to and receive information from the base station, and the second antenna array may implement the second beamforming configuration to transmit information to and receive information from the UE. By implementing a first beamforming configuration, the first antenna array may be directed or pointed at the base station, while by implementing a second beamforming configuration, the second antenna array may be directed or pointed at the UE. Since the DPDT switch 545 may switch the first and second antenna arrays between transmit and receive modes, it may not be necessary to reconfigure the beamforming each time a signal is switched from downlink to uplink.

In some examples of fig. 5, a modem may be utilized to monitor signal traffic and control signals. In this example, the bi-directional repeater 510 may be able to determine which signals may be uplink or downlink, thereby providing greater control at the bi-directional repeater 510. In other examples of fig. 5, the bidirectional relay 510 may receive signaling from the g B node, which g B node may provide information to the bidirectional relay 510, such as when to switch antenna arrays, beamforming parameters of the antenna arrays, whether to scan for one or more UEs, and the like, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the base station may be an g B node.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a block diagram 600 of a bi-directional repeater 610 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device of fig. 6 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, fig. 6 includes receiving and transmitting signals to and from base stations and UEs, which may be examples of the base stations 105 and UEs 115 of fig. 1. Fig. 6 may include similar elements to at least fig. 5, and corresponding elements may be similarly numbered. For example, the first antenna array 520 of fig. 5 may be similar to or the same as the first antenna array 620 of fig. 6, and the DPDT switch 545 of fig. 5 may be similar to or the same as the DPDT switch 645 of fig. 6. The bidirectional repeater 610 of fig. 6 may illustrate and support wireless downlink and uplink configurations.

Similar to fig. 5, a switch (such as DPDT switch 645 of fig. 6) may be coupled to each of the first antenna array 620 and the second antenna array 625. The DPDT switch 645 may be further coupled to the power amplifier 635 and the low noise amplifier 630. Each DPDT switch 645 may receive switching information from the downlink/uplink control 665. The downlink/uplink control 665 may provide timing of the TDD protection period to the DPDT switch 645. The TDD protection period may allow an appropriate time duration for DPDT switch 645 to switch the antenna arrays from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa). The TDD guard period may be between the first TDD period and the second TDD period.

In some examples and as illustrated in fig. 6, the bi-directional repeater 610 may include a first phase shifter 685, a second phase shifter 680. As illustrated in fig. 6, the bi-directional repeater 610 may include a set of phase shifters 685 (e.g., phase shifter 685-a, phase shifter 685-b, and phase shifter 685-c). Second phase shifter 680 of fig. 6 may likewise be a set of second phase shifters (e.g., phase shifter 680-a, phase shifter 680-b, and phase shifter 680-c). The first phase shifter 685 may be coupled with the power amplifier driver 690 and may also be coupled to the transmit beam control 687. The first phase shifter 685 may receive one or more signals from either the first or second antenna arrays and may implement beamforming or beam steering. As illustrated in fig. 6, the first set of phase shifters 685 may be coupled to RX beam controls 698. In some examples, the first and second phase shifters may control beam widths and directions in the antenna arrays, and in some examples, the first and second phase shifters may be controlled by one or more beam controllers (e.g., beamformers).

The transmit phase shift value of the first phase shifter 685 may be set by the transmit beam control 687. When one or both of the first and second antenna arrays are in a transmit mode, a transmit beam control 687 may provide a phase shift value for that antenna array. The first phase shifter 685 may set a phase shift value, and the antenna arrays may sweep or scan the transmission angles according to the phase shift value provided by the first phase shifter 685.

In some examples, the second phase shifter 680 may be coupled to the low noise amplifier 630 and also to the combiner 697. The combiner 697 may receive one or more input signals, which may correspond to the first antenna array, and may combine these input signals into a first waveform. The first waveform may be provided to divider 699 and may be divided into one or more output signals. In some examples of fig. 6, the combiner 697 and divider 699 may be combined into a single element that may perform both the combining operation and the dividing operation. The combining of the input signals in fig. 6 may occur after the input signals are routed through DPDT switch 645 and also after the first set of phase shifts are applied to the input signals at 685. After the divider 699, the one or more output signals may be provided to a second phase shifter 680. In some examples, the combiner 697 may be a Wilkinson combiner and the divider 699 may be a Wilkinson divider.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a block diagram 700 supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device of fig. 7 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, fig. 7 includes receiving and transmitting signals to and from base stations and UEs, which may be examples of the base station 105 and UE115 of fig. 1. Fig. 7 may include similar elements to at least fig. 5 and 6, and corresponding elements may be similarly numbered. For example, the first antenna array 520 of fig. 5 and the first antenna array 620 of fig. 6 may be similar to or the same as the first antenna array 720 of fig. 7, and the DPDT switch 545 of fig. 5 and the DPDT switch 645 of fig. 6 may be similar to or the same as the DPDT switch 745 of fig. 7. The bidirectional repeater 710 of fig. 7 may illustrate and support wireless downlink and uplink configurations.

In fig. 7, the one or more signals received at the first antenna array 720 may be provided to a phase shifter 785. Phase shifters 785 may be a first set of phase shifters (e.g., phase shifter 785-a, phase shifter 785-b, phase shifter 785-c), where each individual antenna of first antenna array 720 may correspond to an individual phase shifter of first set of phase shifters 785. After passing through the first set of phase shifters 785, the one or more input signals may be provided to a combiner/divider 797 to provide a first waveform to a DPDT switch 745. In some examples of fig. 7, the combiner and divider may be combined into a single element that may perform both the combining operation and the dividing operation. Additionally, in fig. 7, a first set of phase shifters 785 may be coupled to beam controls 782 and a second set of phase shifters 780 may be coupled to beam controls 784. The beam control may provide beamforming configuration information to the first and second phase shifters such that the phase shifters may implement an appropriate beamforming configuration for the one or more received and transmitted signals.

In some examples, the DPDT switch 745 may switch both the first antenna array 720 and the second antenna array 725. The DPDT switch 745 may be further coupled to the power amplifier 735 and the low noise amplifier 730. The DPDT switch 745 may receive handover information from the downlink/uplink control 765. The downlink/uplink control 765 may provide timing of the TDD protection period to the DPDT switch 745. The TDD protection period may allow an appropriate time duration for DPDT switch 745 to switch the antenna arrays from transmitting to receiving (or vice versa). The TDD guard period may be between the first TDD period and the second TDD period.

Similar to fig. 5 and 6, the low noise amplifier 730 and the power amplifier may amplify the first waveform. Both the power amplifier driver 775 and the low noise amplifier 730 may be coupled to the gain control 770. The power amplifier 735 may provide an amplified first waveform to the DPDT switch 745, which may be divided into one or more output signals at the combiner/divider 797. The one or more output signals may be provided to a second set of phase shifters 780 and may be transmitted via a second antenna array 725.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a process flow 800 supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow 800 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. In some examples, the process flow 800 of fig. 8 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 of fig. 1. Process flow 800 may include base station 805 and UE 815, which may be examples of base station 105 and UE115 of fig. 1. The process flow 800 of fig. 8 may illustrate and support wireless downlink and uplink configurations.

At 820, the DPDT switch of the bi-directional wireless repeater 810 may receive downlink/uplink control information that may synchronize the switching of the antenna arrays by the DPDT switch with the TDD guard period downlink/uplink switching of the base station 805. The TDD protection period may be a time duration between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period. The DPDT switch may be coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array of the bidirectional wireless repeater 810.

At 825, the first antenna array of the bidirectional wireless repeater 810 can receive a first waveform during a first time domain duplex period. During the first time domain duplex period and at 830, the second antenna array of the two-way wireless repeater 810 can transmit the first waveform. In some examples, the first antenna array may utilize a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array may utilize a second beamforming configuration.

At 835, the bi-directional wireless repeater 810 may switch receive and transmit modes of the antenna arrays at 835 according to downlink/uplink control information. In some examples, base station 805 may be an g B node.

At 840, the second antenna array may receive a second waveform during a second time domain duplex period, and at 845 the first antenna array of the two-way wireless repeater 810 may transmit the second waveform. The bidirectional wireless repeater 810 may repeat the series of operations, as illustrated in fig. 8.

At 850, the bidirectional wireless repeater 810 can switch receive and transmit modes of the antenna arrays according to the downlink/uplink control information, as previously discussed.

At 855, the first antenna array of the two-way wireless repeater 810 can receive a third waveform during the first time domain duplex period. During the first time domain duplex period and at 860, the second antenna array of the two-way wireless repeater 810 may transmit a third waveform. In some examples, the first antenna array may utilize a third beamforming configuration and the fourth antenna array may utilize a fourth beamforming configuration.

The bidirectional wireless repeater 810 can switch reception and transmission modes of the antenna arrays at 865 according to the downlink/uplink control information. The time during which the bidirectional wireless repeater 810 can switch receive and transmit modes of these antenna arrays can be based on the downlink/uplink control information received at 820.

At 870, the second antenna array may receive a fourth waveform during a fourth time domain duplex period, and at 875, the first antenna array of the bidirectional wireless repeater 810 may transmit the fourth waveform, and so on.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram 900 of a device 905 supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of a device as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 920. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 910 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to a bi-directional phased array repeater for a TDD mmW system, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 905. The receiver 910 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 described with reference to fig. 12. Receiver 910 can utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The receiver 910 may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, and the transmitter 920 may transmit a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period. The transmitter 920 may also transmit the first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration. The communication manager 915 may then control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from the transmit configuration to the receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration. The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1210 described herein. The actions performed by receiver 910, transmitter 920, and communication manager 915 may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow the UE115 to reduce the complexity of implementing beamforming. Beamforming complexity may be reduced because the antenna array may not need to be reconfigured as frequently as TDD communications.

The communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be implemented in hardware, in code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or in any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 915, or subcomponents thereof, may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 915 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the communication manager 915 may be implemented by a wireless modem chip or chipset and may be coupled with the receiver 910 through a first interface and with the transmitter 920 through a second interface. One implementation may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, transmit a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, transmit the first waveform at the second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array includes a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array includes a second beamforming configuration. The implementation may also include controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and to switch the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration. Due to the use of switches, the implementation may support lower latency downlink-to-uplink (or vice versa) transitions, relative to reconfiguring phase shifts for each downlink-to-uplink transition.

Transmitter 920 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 920 may be co-located with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 920 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 described with reference to fig. 12. Transmitter 920 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of the device 905 or the two-way repeater 140 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a communication manager 1015, and a transmitter 1035. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1010 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to bidirectional phased array repeaters for TDD mmW systems, etc.). Information may be communicated to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 described with reference to fig. 12. Receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 915 as described herein. The communication manager 1015 may include a first antenna array 1020, a second antenna array 1025, and a switch controller 1030. The communication manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1210 described herein.

The first antenna array 1020 may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period and transmit a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period.

The second antenna array 1025 may transmit the first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration.

The switch controller 1030 may control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to a transmit configuration.

A transmitter 1035 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1005. In some examples, the transmitter 1035 may be co-located with the receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1035 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1220 described with reference to fig. 12. The transmitter 1035 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a communication manager 1105 supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1105 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 915, the communication manager 1015, or the communication manager 1210 described herein. The communication manager 1105 may include a first antenna array 1110, a second antenna array 1115, a switch controller 1120, a first phase shifting component 1125, a second phase shifting component 1130, a signal combiner 1135, a waveform divider 1140, and a phase shifting component 1145. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

The first antenna array 1110 may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period.

In some examples, the first antenna array 1110 may transmit a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period.

The second antenna array 1115 may transmit a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration.

The switch controller 1120 may control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration.

In some examples, the switch controller 1120 may control a set of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch may be arranged between a first corresponding antenna of the first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of the second antenna array.

In some examples, the switch controller 1120 may control sets of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch is arranged between a first corresponding antenna of the first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of the second antenna array, and wherein applying the set of phase shifts occurs between a first node of each DPDT switch and a second node of each DPDT switch.

The first phase shifting component 1125 may apply a first set of phase shifts to achieve a first beamforming configuration. In some examples, the first phase shifting component 1125 may apply a first set of phase shifts to a set of input signals corresponding to a second antenna array.

Second phase shifting component 1130 may apply a second set of phase shifts to achieve a second beamforming configuration. In some examples, second phase shifting component 1130 may apply a second set of phase shifts to the set of output signals.

The signal combiner 1135 may combine a set of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, where the combining occurs after routing the set of inputs through the set of DPDT switches and applying the first set of phase shifts to the set of input signals. In some examples, the signal combiner 1135 may combine the input signal sets, where the combining occurs between the second antenna array and the DPDT switch.

Waveform divider 1140 may divide the first waveform into a set of output signals corresponding to a second antenna array, where the division occurs between the DPDT switch and the second antenna array.

The phase shifting component 1145 may apply a set of phase shifts to the first waveform and the second waveform, wherein the set of phase shifts is applied between the first antenna array and the second antenna array, and wherein the set of phase shifts is based on a net angular difference between the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration.

Fig. 12 shows a diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 that supports a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system, according to aspects of the present disclosure. Device 1205 may be an example of or include components of device 905, device 1005, or a device as described herein. The device 1205 may include components for two-way voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications including a communications manager 1210, an I/O controller 1215, a transceiver 1220, an antenna 1225, a memory 1230, and a processor 1240. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1245.

The communication manager 1210 may: receiving a first waveform at a first antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, transmitting a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, transmitting the first waveform at the second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration; and controlling a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and to switch the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration. The actions performed by the communication manager 1210 as described herein may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow a device to reduce power consumption of the device due to a reduction in reconfiguring beamforming configurations. Another implementation may allow a device to improve signal throughput due to lower latency switching between downlink configuration to uplink configuration. This may result in an improved or better user experience due to reduced processing latency.

I/O controller 1215 may manage input and output signals for device 1205. The I/O controller 1215 may also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into the device 1205. In some cases, I/O controller 1215 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, the I/O controller 1215 may utilize an operating system, such as Or another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller 1215 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 1215 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1205 via I/O controller 1215 or via hardware components controlled by I/O controller 1215.

The transceiver 1220 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1220 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1220 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, as well as to demodulate packets received from the antenna.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1225. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1225, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

Memory 1230 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1230 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1235 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1230 may contain, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1240 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1240 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1240. Processor 1240 may be configured to execute computer readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1230) to cause apparatus 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., to support various functions or tasks for a bidirectional phased array repeater for a TDD mmW system).

Code 1235 may include instructions for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. Code 1235 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1235 may not be directly executable by the processor 1240, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 1300 of supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may be implemented by an apparatus as described herein or components thereof. For example, the operations of method 1300 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-12. In some examples, a device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, a device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

At 1305, the device may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period. 1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1305 may be performed by a first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1310, the device may transmit a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, where the first antenna array includes a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array includes a second beamforming configuration. 1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by a second antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1315, the apparatus may control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to a transmit configuration. 1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by a switch controller as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1320, the device may receive a second waveform at a second antenna array during a second time domain duplex period. 1320 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1320 may be performed by the second antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1325, the device may transmit, at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater. 1325 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1325 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

Fig. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 1400 of supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may be implemented by an apparatus as described herein or components thereof. For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-12. In some examples, a device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, a device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

At 1405, the device may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period. 1405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1410, the device may transmit a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, where the first antenna array includes a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array includes a second beamforming configuration. 1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a second antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1415, the device may apply the first set of phase shifts to achieve the first beamforming configuration. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1415 may be performed by a first phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1420, the device may apply a second set of phase shifts to implement a second beamforming configuration. 1420 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1420 may be performed by the second phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1425, the device may control a set of DPDT switches, where each DPDT switch may be arranged between a first corresponding antenna of the first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of the second antenna array. 1425 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1425 may be performed by a switch controller as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1430, the apparatus may combine a set of input signals corresponding to the first antenna array, wherein the combining occurs after routing the set of inputs through the set of DPDT switches and applying the first set of phase shifts to the set of input signals. 1430 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1430 may be performed by a signal combiner as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1435, the apparatus may control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration. The operations of 1435 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1435 may be performed by a switch controller as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1440, the device may transmit, at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period, a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater. 1440 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1440 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

Fig. 15 shows a flow diagram of a method 1500 of supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may be implemented by an apparatus as described herein or components thereof. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-12. In some examples, a device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, a device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described herein.

At 1505, the device may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period. 1505 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1505 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1510, the device may transmit a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during the first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration. 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1510 may be performed by a second antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1515, the device may apply the first set of phase shifts to implement the first beamforming configuration. 1515 the operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1515 may be performed by the first phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1520, the apparatus may apply the first set of phase shifts to a set of input signals corresponding to the second antenna array. 1520 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1520 may be performed by the first phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1525, the device may apply a second set of phase shifts to implement a second beamforming configuration. 1525 the operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1525 may be performed by a second phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1530, the apparatus may combine the set of input signals, where the combining occurs between the second antenna array and the DPDT switch. 1530 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1530 may be performed by a signal combiner as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1535, the apparatus may divide the first waveform into a set of output signals corresponding to the second antenna array, where the dividing occurs between the DPDT switch and the second antenna array. 1535 the operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1535 may be performed by a waveform divider as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1540, the device may apply a second set of phase shifts to the set of output signals. The operations of 1540 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1540 may be performed by a second phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1545, the apparatus may control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and to switch the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration. 1545 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1545 may be performed by a switch controller as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1550, the device may transmit, at the first antenna array during a second time domain duplex period, a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater. The operations of 1550 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1550 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

Fig. 16 shows a flow diagram of a method 1600 of supporting a bi-directional repeater for a time division duplex millimeter wave system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may be implemented by an apparatus as described herein or components thereof. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 9-12. In some examples, a device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1605, the device may receive a first waveform at a first antenna array of a wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period. 1605 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1605 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1610, the device may transmit a first waveform at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater during a first time domain duplex period, wherein the first antenna array comprises a first beamforming configuration and the second antenna array comprises a second beamforming configuration. 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by a second antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1615, the device may control a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch coupled to the first antenna array and the second antenna array during a guard period between the first time domain duplex period and the second time domain duplex period, wherein the DPDT switch is controlled to switch the first antenna array from a transmit configuration to a receive configuration and the second antenna array from the receive configuration to the transmit configuration. 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1615 may be performed by a switch controller as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1620, the device may control a set of DPDT switches, wherein each DPDT switch is arranged between a first corresponding antenna of the first antenna array and a second corresponding antenna of the second antenna array, and wherein applying the set of phase shifts occurs between a first node of each DPDT switch and a second node of each DPDT switch. 1620 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1620 may be performed by a switch controller as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1625, the apparatus may apply a set of phase shifts to the first waveform and the second waveform, wherein the set of phase shifts is applied between the first antenna array and the second antenna array, and wherein the set of phase shifts is based on a net angular difference between the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration. 1625 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1625 may be performed by a phase shifting component as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

At 1630, the device may transmit, at the first antenna array during the second time domain duplex period, a second waveform received at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater. 1630 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1630 may be performed by the first antenna array as described with reference to fig. 9-12.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and others. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 version may often be referred to as CDMA 20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA 20001 xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (wcdma) and other CDMA variants. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM).

The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A and LTE-A Pro are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in literature from an organization named "third Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the systems and radio technologies mentioned herein and for other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR system may be described for exemplary purposes and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applied to applications other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower power base station (as compared to a macro cell), and the small cell may operate in the same or a different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency band than the macro cell. According to various examples, a small cell may include a picocell, a femtocell, and a microcell. Picocells, for example, may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femtocell may also cover a smaller geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may be provided access restricted by UEs associated with the femtocell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs of users in the residence, etc.). The eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, or home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

The wireless communication systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, each base station may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, each base station may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the following claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard-wired, or any combination thereof. Features that implement functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Compact Disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk (disk) and disc (disc), as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items accompanied by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B or C means a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be read as referring to a closed condition set. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition a" may be based on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, the phrase "based on," as used herein, should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based, at least in part, on.

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description may apply to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.

The illustrations set forth herein in connection with the figures describe example configurations and are not intended to represent all examples that may be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and does not mean "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples. The detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described technology. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.