Patent Description:
A wireless device may include one or more phasors located around the periphery of the wireless device. Each phasor may include one or more antennas that may be used for generating transmission and/or receive beams. When transmitting or receiving signals, the wireless device may select a transmission beam or a receive beam to use for communicating with another wireless device via a wireless channel. Conventional techniques for selecting transmission and/or receive beams are deficient.

<CIT> discloses a BS and a MS perform the individual measurement on the transmit beams of the selected transmit beam group and the receive beams of the selected receive beam group and determine the optimal beam pair. That is, the BS sequentially transmits the reference signals by sequentially using the transmit beams of the selected transmit beam group. The MS sequentially performs receive-beamforming the signals by sequentially using the receive beams of the selected receive beam group. Thus, the BS and the MS determines the beam pair for providing the greatest channel gain. The MS transmits the measurement report to the serving BS, and the serving BS forwards the measurement report to the central management device. When the serving BS includes the plurality of the BSs, the MS transmits the measurement report to one BS which manages the control.

<CIT> discloses that UE may detect that transmitting the signal via the uplink beam would impinge on a portion of the human body (e.g., finger or hand of the user of the UE) and exceed a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit, such as when the user of the UE abruptly touches/handles the UE during a voice/data call, bringing the finger or hand of the user in close proximity of the UE's antenna arrays. In such a case, the UE may immediately or subsequently decide that the uplink beam cannot be used. Accordingly, the UE may autonomously block the uplink beam. If the UE determines that the preferred beam pair is blocked, the UE may send an indication of the blockage using the fallback beam pair. The gNB may monitor the fallback beam pair(s) using a lower duty cycle. The UE may use an uplink control channel (e.g., via a scheduling request) to indicate the blocked event.

Advantageous embodiments are subject to the dependent claims. In the following, each of the described methods, apparatuses, systems, examples and aspects, which does not fully correspond to the invention as defined in the appended claims, is thus not according to the invention and is, as well as the whole following description, present for illustration purposes only or to highlight specific aspects or features of the appended claims.

Wireless communication devices may have several different antennas for transmitting and receiving information, including antennas using different radio access technologies (RATs). A wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), has antennas positioned at various locations around a housing of the UE. A UE selects a serving beam pair that includes a transmission beam and a receive beam that use certain of these antennas. When a user holds a conventional UE, the user may inadvertently obstruct the selected serving beam pair because the conventional UE does not inform the user which beams have been selected nor informs the user of the locations of the antennas around the housing corresponding to the selected beams. Obstructing the selected serving beam pair may result in lower received signal strengths, lower throughputs, or the user's tissue being exposed to transmissions.

Techniques described herein includes performing transmission or receive beam measurements for the antennas of a wireless device for selecting a serving beam pair in terms of factors such as transmission throughput and received signal strength. The wireless device presents an indication that informs a user about the currently selected serving beam pair and the locations of antennas on the housing of the wireless device used to generate the beams of the serving beam pair. The indication indicates a location of one or more antennas along the housing of the UE used to generate the serving beam and that at least one of the serving beam pair is being obstructed. The indication may also indicate how to hold the wireless device to not obstruct the serving beam pair, and the like. The techniques described herein enable a UE to notify a user of the location of the antenna elements along the housing of the UE that corresponds to the selected receive/ transmission beams to prevent the user from unintentionally obstructing the best beams.

Additionally, some regulators of wireless communications put an upper threshold on the transmission power that an antenna, or phasor, can use when human tissue is proximate to the antenna. For example, a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) may be defined in terms of a maximum power density over a given frequency range. In some example, human tissue may be considered proximate to an antenna when a user holds a wireless communications device at a location over the antenna.

Techniques described herein enable a wireless device to determine when a user is at risk of being exposed to the MPE and mitigating this exposure. The wireless device may determine that a transmission power restriction applies to the selected serving beam pair. The transmission power restriction may prevent the wireless device from transmitting using a power higher than the transmission power restriction because a user is contacting the housing proximate to or over the selected serving beam pair. Methods of mitigating the exposure may include choosing to transmit on a phasor different than the one to which the user is exposed, providing an indication to the user to contact the wireless device in a different way so the user does not touch the wireless device over the phasor, providing an indication of a selected transmission and/or receive beam, providing an indication of a different orientation in which to hold the wireless device, and the like. These methods can be used to help the user to not block a beam in a serving beam pair, enables the wireless device to stay within the MPE limits, and does not degrade receive performance by keeping the receive beam obstruction free.

Techniques described herein also enable a wireless device to determine when a user blocking a best receive beam. The wireless device may provide indications to the user to encourage the user to reposition the wireless device or the way the user is holding the wireless device.

By implementing these techniques, a user may be exposed to less power density, a wireless device may extend its battery life, and an improved user experience through better throughputs and received signal strength may be achieved. For example, the techniques described herein enable a UE to display a software pop-up that indicates to the user to unblock the beam or informs the user of the a location of an antenna used to generate a beam in the serving beam pair. Furthermore, by implementing these techniques, a wireless device may reduce battery drain because it permits the use of a single phasor to generate both a transmission beam and a receive beam of a serving beam pair due to the user not obstructing one or more antennas of that phasor used to generate the transmission beam and the receive beam, instead of operating multiple phasors due to one of a receive beam or a transmission beam of the serving beam pair being obstructed, which may increase battery drain.

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communications system. Aspects of the disclosure are illustrated by beam selection and notifications to a user related to beam selections for handheld wireless devices. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a wireless communications system <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system <NUM> includes base stations <NUM>, UEs <NUM>, and a core network <NUM>. In some examples, the wireless communications system <NUM> 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 communications system <NUM> may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices.

In some examples, different geographic coverage areas <NUM> associated with different technologies may overlap. Overlapping geographic coverage areas <NUM> associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station <NUM> or by different base stations <NUM>.

For example, base stations <NUM> may interface with the core network <NUM> through backhaul links <NUM> (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or another interface).

In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based at least in part on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based at least in part on frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

For example, wireless communications system <NUM> may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., a base station <NUM>) and a receiving device (e.g., a UE <NUM>), where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more 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.

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., a base station <NUM> or a UE <NUM>) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmission beam or receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device.

In one example, a base station <NUM> may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE <NUM>. For instance, some signals (e.g. synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a base station <NUM> multiple times in different directions, which may include a signal being transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by the base station <NUM> or a receiving device, such as a UE <NUM>) a beam direction for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station <NUM>.

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

In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system <NUM> and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI).

A carrier may be associated with a pre-defined frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs <NUM>. In some examples, signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)).

The organizational structure of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR).

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

Wireless communications system <NUM> may support communication with a UE <NUM> on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation.

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other component carriers, which may include use of a reduced symbol duration as compared with symbol durations of the other component carriers.

Wireless communications system <NUM> may be an NR system that may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, among others. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow for the use of eCC across multiple spectrums. In some examples, NR shared spectrum may increase spectrum utilization and spectral efficiency, specifically through dynamic vertical (e.g., across the frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across the time domain) sharing of resources.

A UE <NUM> may have antennas positioned at various locations around its housing and may make measurements to determine which beams are the best to use for transmitting and receiving. Conventional techniques do not inform a user of the best beams, nor do they indicate to a user when the best beams are being obstructed. Instead, conventional techniques switch to a worse performing transmit or receive beam when an obstruction occurs, maintain different transmit or receive beams from different phasors, or change properties of transmissions to reduce power density exposure level for the user. Properties changed for the transmission beam may include using a different modulation and coding scheme or reducing transmission power, for example.

Techniques described herein enable a UE <NUM> to detect an obstruction, such as a human appendage, in a transmit or receive path of the UE <NUM> and provide mechanisms to change or compensate for the obstruction. The UE <NUM> may detect the human touch in the transmit path by making periodic transmission or receive beam measurements. Prior to or after human touch is detected or suspected, the UE <NUM> provides an indication related to the obstruction to reduce the likelihood of obstruction. The indication is visual and may take other additional forms, including audio or haptic feedback.

A user may often be in physical contact with a wireless device and may be exposed to transmissions from the wireless device. Also, the user may obstruct reception at the wireless device. The wireless device may switch to another transmit or receive beam pair in order to reduce the user's exposure to the transmit power or to improve reception. Using different beam pairs may degrade performance at the wireless device and may also drain its battery. A user may unintentionally or unknowingly obstruct the best beam paths for the wireless device.

One or more of the UEs <NUM> may include a beam manager <NUM>, which may perform transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of the UE <NUM>, select a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements, and present an indication at the UE <NUM> corresponding to the selected serving beam pair.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a system for wireless communications <NUM> which shows example phasors <NUM> in a handheld wireless communications device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the system <NUM> may implement aspects of wireless communication system <NUM>. The system <NUM> may include a base station <NUM>-a and a UE <NUM>-a. The base station <NUM>-a may be an example of aspects of a base station <NUM> as described herein. The UE <NUM>-a may be an example of aspects of a UE <NUM> as described herein. The UE <NUM>-a may communicate with the base station <NUM>-a over communication link <NUM>.

The UE <NUM>-a may include several phasor components <NUM>-a through <NUM>-f (collectively referred to as phasor components <NUM>) which can be used to generate one or more transmission or receive beams. In the example of <FIG>, six phasor components <NUM> are shown, each capable of generating a defined number or transmission and/or receive beams (e.g., generate <NUM> beams per phasor component <NUM>). In other examples, other numbers of phasor components <NUM> and beams are used, such as four phasor components <NUM>. The phasor components <NUM> may be placed at any location along a housing of the UE, including, for example, on a top side, a bottom side, a left side, a right side, a back side, a front side, or the like. Based on the environment and the orientation of the UE <NUM>-a, some of the phasor components <NUM> may have better transmission and reception than other phasors. The UE <NUM>-a may periodically measure received signals and transmit signals in order to determine which phasor components <NUM> are associated with the best transmit and receive signals. A pair of a transmission beam and a receive beam may be referred to herein as a serving beam pair.

For example, the UE <NUM>-a may measure a signal at each phasor component <NUM> and selects which phasor component has the best receive beam. For downlink transmissions, a base station <NUM> may transmit a reference signal that the UE <NUM>-a measures using each of its receive beams from each of the phasor components <NUM>. The UE <NUM>-a determines which receive beam at which phasor component <NUM> has the highest measured value, and then selects that beam as the best receive beam. Values that may be measured include Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Received Signal Strength Indictor (RSSI), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), and Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR), for example.

The UE <NUM>-a may also transmit a signal from each phasor component <NUM> on each transmission beam at different times. For uplink transmissions, the UE <NUM>-a may transmit a reference signal via each of its beams at each phasor component <NUM>. A receiving device, such as base station <NUM>-a, may receive the reference signals and inform the UE <NUM>-a which transmission had the best reception. The base station <NUM>-a may also measure values such as the RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, SNR, SINR, or other signal quality metric. Using this feedback, the UE <NUM>-a may select the phasor component <NUM> that corresponded to the best transmission beam. For example, if the base station <NUM>-a indicates that a beam transmitted in a slot x was the best beam, the UE <NUM>-a determines which transmission beam and which phasor component <NUM> corresponded to the slot x. A pair of a transmission beam and a receive beam may be referred to herein as a serving beam pair.

In some examples, the selected serving beam pair may be generated by the same phasor component (e.g., phasor component <NUM>-b). In other examples, the selected serving beam pair may be generated by different phasor components <NUM>. For example, the best transmission beam may be at phasor component <NUM>-b while the best receive beam may be at a different phasor component <NUM>, such as phasor component <NUM>-f. In some examples, UE <NUM>-a may attempt to identify a same phasor component <NUM> where a measurement of at least one transmit beam satisfies a first threshold (e.g., a RSRP threshold) and a measurement of at least one receive beam satisfies a second threshold (e.g., a RSRP threshold), and may select a transmit beam and a receive beam on that same phasor component <NUM> to only operate that single phasor component <NUM> for improved battery performance of UE <NUM>-a.

In some examples, the UE <NUM>-a may support mmW communications. In mmW communications, the radio frequency environment can be very dynamic because propagation of mm waves can be subject to large path loss. At very high power densities, mmW or other radio waves may be hazardous to human tissue, such as to skin and eyes. Regulatory bodies may create guidelines to have a maximum permissible exposure to these mmW. For example, an MPE may be set for particular frequencies. For example, a maximum power density threshold can be set for frequencies between <NUM> and <NUM>. In other examples, other thresholds for other frequency spectrums may be used. In some examples, if a user at risk for being exposed to RF higher than the MPE, the UE <NUM>-a may have to take an action to mitigate the exposure, such as transmitting using different transmission beams or using less power in order to not exceed the MPE.

However, the way a user may hold the UE <NUM>-a may block the best transmission beam or the best receive beam. As discussed above, if a sensor detects human tissue in contact with the UE <NUM>-a in the transmission beam of the serving beam pair, the UE <NUM>-a should not use that beam for transmissions if the transmission power would exceed the MPE. The UE <NUM>-a could turn on a different transmission beam but leave the receive beam the same, which may result in lower performance because having two phasors turned on (e.g., one for receive and one for transmit) consumes more power. In another example, when a transmission beam has to be blocked or otherwise obstructed, both the transmission and receive beams may be switched for the sake of simplicity, which may result in compromising performance on the receive side. Transmitting at the transmission beam at a reduced power level so as to not exceed the MPE would also result in poorer performance and data throughput. Techniques described herein provide for the UE <NUM>-to present an indication to a user of a location of one or more antennas of a phasor component used to generate the serving beam pair and optionally to request the user to hold the UE <NUM>-a in a different manner to avoid obstructing the serving beam pair.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a wireless communications system <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communications system <NUM> may implement aspects of the system <NUM> as shown in <FIG>.

The wireless communications system <NUM> includes a user <NUM> holding a wireless device, UE <NUM>-b. The UE <NUM>-b may be or implement aspects of a UE <NUM> as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The UE <NUM>-b may include a graphical user interface (GUI) <NUM>. The GUI <NUM> may be any type of visual display, such as, for example, a graphic display screen, a touchscreen or a presence sense screen. For simplicity, one phasor <NUM> of the UE <NUM>-b is illustrated while the UE <NUM>-b may include additional phasors.

As shown in the example of <FIG>, the user <NUM> is holding the UE <NUM>-b with a finger over or near the phasor <NUM>. In some examples, the phasor <NUM> may be used to generate the transmission and/or receive beam of the serving beam pair. If this is the case, the UE <NUM>-b may determine that the best beam is blocked. Due to restrictions in user exposure to transmission power, such as the MPE, the UE <NUM>-b may not be able to transmit on the phasor <NUM> while the user <NUM> is holding the UE <NUM>-b over the phasor <NUM>. Transmitting using the phasor <NUM> above a certain transmit power level may expose the user <NUM> to transmit powers above the MPE.

In order to maintain good performance while not exposing the user <NUM> to transmissions above the MPE, the UE <NUM>-b may provide an indication <NUM> to the user <NUM>. The indication <NUM> may notify the user <NUM> that the best beam (e.g., generated by phasor <NUM>) is being blocked or otherwise obstructed. The example of <FIG> provides the indication <NUM> which reads "The best beam at arrow is blocked. Please hold phone without blocking beam. " In other examples, other messages may be presented in the indication <NUM>. The GUI <NUM> may also provide an indicator <NUM> which identifies which phasor <NUM> is being blocked or where the UE <NUM>-b is being contacted. In this example, the indicator <NUM> is an arrow pointing to where the UE <NUM>-b is being touched that corresponds to the blocked phasor <NUM>. In other examples, the indication <NUM> may illustrate how the user <NUM> could hold the UE <NUM>-b without obstructing the phasor <NUM>. Other examples provide other types of information that convey to the user <NUM> that the best beam may be being blocked.

In some examples, the indication <NUM> and <NUM> may pop-up on the GUI <NUM> when the user <NUM> blocks the best transmission beam. The indications <NUM> and <NUM> may be software pop-up notifications. In some examples, the indication <NUM> and <NUM> may be a single notification or may be more than two notifications. In some examples, the indication <NUM> may be a dot or other image that is displayed near where the obstruction is occurring. For example, the notification <NUM> may be a red dot that illustrates the best beam is being obstructed. Other examples may show the notification <NUM> where the best beam is, regardless of whether it is being obstructed during the display or not. Other methods of indicating this information may also be used, such as verbal notifications, beeps, haptic feedback, or the like.

These indication <NUM> and <NUM> may be displayed when the battery power of the UE <NUM>-b is less than a threshold level. For example, if the battery power is low, the UE <NUM>-b may want to conserve energy by not transmitting at a high power. If one or more phasors <NUM> of the UE <NUM>-b are being blocked, the UE <NUM>-b may have to transmit at a higher power or transmit more than once in order to have successful transmissions. Similarly, if the user <NUM> is blocking a receive beam, the obstruction may result in poorer performance and greater battery power consumption. In other examples, the indication <NUM> and <NUM> may be displayed when data throughput is below a data throughput threshold level.

By providing the one or more indications <NUM> and <NUM>, the UE <NUM>-b gives the user <NUM> an opportunity to unblock it, such as by changing the way the UE <NUM>-b is being held. The UE <NUM>-b may maintain the indications <NUM> or <NUM> until the best beam is no longer being blocked, for example. If the UE <NUM>-b detects that the best beam is no longer being blocked, the UE <NUM>-b may withdraw the indications <NUM> or <NUM>. In other examples, the indications <NUM> and <NUM> may be displayed for a set duration.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a wireless device <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wireless device <NUM> may implement aspects of a UE <NUM> as shown in <FIG>.

The wireless device <NUM> may include four phasor components <NUM>-a through <NUM>-d (collectively referred to herein as phasor components <NUM>) located at different places along a periphery of a housing <NUM>. In this example, the wireless device <NUM> has determined that the beam pair represented by beam <NUM> is the best beam pair based on measurements performed as discussed herein.

The wireless device <NUM> may include a graphical user interface (GUI) <NUM>. The wireless device <NUM> may display an indication <NUM> at the GUI <NUM>. In this example, the indication <NUM> states "Here is the best beam path. Please hold the phone without blocking it. " In other examples, other messages may be displayed. The GUI <NUM> also provides an indication <NUM>, which points to a location on the housing <NUM> that corresponds to the best beam pair <NUM>. In other words, the indication <NUM> provides a user with information showing where the best beam path is located on the wireless device <NUM>.

In some examples, just one or both of the indications <NUM> and <NUM> may be displayed. In some examples, the indication <NUM> may be displayed throughout a communication, such as a phone call or a data session, to indicate to a user where the best beam during the transaction. The indication <NUM> may be updated to reflect any change in the best beam due to changes in environment, beam path, orientation of the wireless device <NUM>, location of the wireless device <NUM>, and the like. The indications <NUM> and <NUM> may have any of the variations (e.g., color coding, time of display, type of message, etc.) described herein.

In other examples, the indication <NUM> may be used as a signal strength indicator. For example, the signal strength may be color coded such that a user can identify the quality of the signal being received. For example, a green color may indicate a stronger signal strength while a red color may indicate a poorer signal strength. In other examples, other images and colors may be used. For example, in poor RF conditions, a different color code may be used.

The indication <NUM> may be updated as the signal strength changes. For example, if the user rotates the wireless device <NUM>, then the signal strength at the best beam <NUM> may improve or degrade. In some examples, which phasor component <NUM> has the best beam may change based on the rotation of wireless device <NUM> or other environmental changes. The indication <NUM> may reflect this change in signal strength. In some examples, the indication <NUM> may move to indicate the best beam when the best beam changes.

The wireless device <NUM> may include a graphical user interface (GUI) <NUM>. The wireless device <NUM> may display an indication <NUM> at the GUI <NUM>. In this example, the indication <NUM> may notify the user of how to hold the wireless device <NUM> with minimal obstruction of the best beam. The indication <NUM> may read, as shown in <FIG>, something like "Please hold the phone on the bottom in order to not obstruct the best beam path. " The indication <NUM> may differ in other examples. For example, the indication <NUM> may be an image that shows how the wireless device <NUM> should be held without obstructing the best beam.

In some examples, the wireless device <NUM> may determine where the best beam is, and then look up one or more options for holding the wireless device <NUM> without obstructing the best beam. For example, the wireless device <NUM> may store a database of best beams linked to ways to hold the wireless device <NUM> without obstructing the identified best beam. The database may be populated with different hand positions for holding the wireless device <NUM>. Once the wireless device <NUM> determines the best beam, it may query this database to determine which options are available for holding it without obstructing the best beam.

In some examples, the indication <NUM> may provide a notification of how the wireless device <NUM> may be oriented to provide the best signal strength. For example, when a user is holding the wireless device <NUM> in one direction, the wireless device may receive a moderate signal strength, while if the wireless device <NUM> was held in a different direction, it would receive higher signal strength. The indication <NUM> may display information that informs a user how to position the wireless device <NUM> for improved signal strength. As described above, the indication <NUM> can include words or images, and may show different color coding to indicate signal strength. In one example, the wireless device <NUM> can determine different signal quality thresholds (e.g., poor, moderate, good) and categorize the received signal (e.g., RSRP) into one of these bands. For example, the poor category may correspond to RSRPs below a first threshold, the moderate category may correspond to RSRPs at or above the first threshold but below a second threshold larger than the first threshold, and the good category may correspond to RSRPs at or above the second threshold. These categories may be color coded or otherwise indicated to the user. In other examples, other methods for showing signal strength can be used, including intensity, size, a type of image, a number of bars, a number of dots, a network symbol, or the like. Some examples may use quality of RF signal strength classifications used in other systems or functionalities.

<FIG> illustrates a flowchart illustrating an example method <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the method <NUM> may implement aspects of wireless communication system <NUM>.

At <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining a best beam for transmitting or receiving at a wireless device. The method <NUM> may include performing transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of the wireless device. In some examples, measurements are performed on all antennas and all phasors. In other examples, measurements are performed on only a subset of antennas or phasors. The method <NUM> may include periodically performing the transmission or receive beam measurements. In other examples, the method <NUM> may further include measuring transmission throughput for one or more phasors of each of two or more antennas of the wireless device.

Based at least in part on the measurements, the method <NUM> may determine which is the best beam for transmissions or reception. The best beam may be a beam having a highest data throughput for transmissions or a highest signal strength for reception. The measurements may be, for example, reference signal measurements. Values that may be measured include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, SNR, and SINR, for example. In other examples, other values or qualities of the signals may be measured. In one example, the UE selects the receive beam having the highest measured RSRP as the best receive beam.

The method <NUM> may further include making measurements periodically, for example, every <NUM>. In other examples, other periodicities may be used, for example, every <NUM> or <NUM>. The method <NUM> may compare these values at each of the phasors measured and select the highest values for the best serving pair.

In some examples, the frequency of the receive or transmission beam measurements may be adjusted based on factors including, but not limited to, the frequency of the communications, a battery power of the wireless device, an MPE level, a user set frequency, a type of communication being performed (e.g., a voice call, video call, data, etc.), current signal conditions, a modulation and coding scheme, and the like.

At <NUM>, the method <NUM> determines whether there is user obstruction of the best beam. Based on the measurements being below a threshold level, the wireless device can determine that the best beam is being obstructed. If, for example, the wireless device determines it is receiving an unsatisfactorily high number of decoding errors using the best receive beam (e.g., data throughput on the best receive beam falls below the threshold during a particular time interval), the reduction in data throughput can be used to determine that the best receive beam is being blocked. In other examples of the method <NUM>, a sensor, such as a touch sensor, can be used to determine that a user is at least partially obstructing or blocking the best beam.

The method <NUM> may check if a maximum power output for a transmission exceeds an MPE where a user is contacting the wireless device. If the maximum power output for transmitting exceeds the MPE, the method <NUM> may determine that the user is obstructing the transmission beam, and the obstruction (e.g., the user's hand) may have to be repositioned. Conventional solutions switch to sub-optimal beams due to the MPE exposure because conventional solutions fail to inform the user that they are blocking the best beam. Techniques described herein instead inform the user when the best transmit beam is being block and may result in the user moving the obstruction. No longer obstructing the best beam may result in provide improved data throughout performance.

If the method <NUM> detects that the best beam is being blocked, the method <NUM> provides an indication corresponding to the best beam at the wireless device at block <NUM>. For example, the wireless device may output an indication, such as an image showing the best beam or a message to reposition the phone. Other indications may be provided as described herein. The method <NUM> may return to <NUM> to determine if the best beam is no longer being blocked. The method <NUM> may continue to provide an indication of the obstruction until the best beam is no longer blocked. In some examples, this may mean that the best beam may be reassessed and changed before the obstruction is removed.

At <NUM>, the method <NUM> communicates using the best beam once it is not obstructed. For example, the wireless device may transmit or receive using the best beam. In some examples, the wireless device will not transmit while the best beam is obstructed if the transmission would expose the user to more power density than the MPE level. However, the wireless device may continue to receive on the best beam even if it is obstructed.

At <NUM>, the method <NUM> determines if it is time to recheck the best beam by determining whether a checking period has elapsed. In some examples, the checking period is every <NUM>, which may be different in other examples. If not, the wireless continues to transmit on the best beam. If so, the method <NUM> returns to <NUM> to again determine the best beam. A determination on whether the best beam has changed may be based on the measured RSRP and/or input from an MPE sensor. In this example, the wireless device may monitor whether the RSRP measurement for the best receive beam changes more than a threshold amount from a prior RSRP measurement during the previous time interval. If it has, the wireless device may select an updated serving beam pair or best pair. If not, the selected serving beam pair remains the same until the next time the method <NUM> determines whether to switch beams.

In some examples, the method <NUM> reassesses the best beam whenever a change in orientation is noted at the wireless device. The change in orientation may be based on accelerometers gyroscopes onboard the wireless device or based on external positioning information, for example.

<FIG> shows a block diagram <NUM> of a device <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device <NUM> may be an example of aspects of a UE <NUM> as described herein. The device <NUM> may include a receiver <NUM>, a beam manager <NUM>, and a transmitter <NUM>. The device <NUM> may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver <NUM> may 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 beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> may be an example of aspects of the transceiver <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>. Periodically, the signals received by receiver <NUM> may be measured. The receiver <NUM> may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The beam manager <NUM> may perform transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of the device <NUM>, select a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements, and present an indication at the device <NUM> corresponding to the selected serving beam pair. The beam manager <NUM> may be an example of aspects of the beam manager <NUM> and <NUM> described herein.

The beam manager <NUM>, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the beam manager <NUM>, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (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 the present disclosure.

The beam manager <NUM>, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the beam manager <NUM>, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the beam manager <NUM>, or its sub-components, 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.

Periodically, the signals transmitted by receiver <NUM> may be measured.

<FIG> shows a block diagram <NUM> of a device <NUM> that supports beam selection in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device <NUM> may be an example of aspects of a device <NUM>, or a UE <NUM> as described herein. The device <NUM> may include a receiver <NUM>, a beam manager <NUM>, and a transmitter <NUM>. The device <NUM> may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver <NUM> may 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 beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> may be an example of aspects of the transceiver <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>. The receiver <NUM> may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The beam manager <NUM> may be an example of aspects of the beam manager <NUM> or <NUM> as described herein. The beam manager <NUM> may include a beam measurement manager <NUM>, a beam selector <NUM>, and a notification manager <NUM>. The beam manager <NUM> may be an example of aspects of the beam manager <NUM> described herein.

The beam measurement manager <NUM> may perform transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of a wireless device.

The beam selector <NUM> may select a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements.

The notification manager <NUM> may present an indication at the wireless device corresponding to the selected serving beam pair.

<FIG> shows a block diagram <NUM> of a beam manager <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The beam manager <NUM> may be an example of aspects of a beam manager <NUM>, a beam manager <NUM>, a beam manager <NUM>, or a beam manager <NUM> described herein. The beam manager <NUM> may include a beam measurement manager <NUM>, a beam selector <NUM>, a notification manager <NUM>, an obstruction detector <NUM>, memory <NUM>, a transmitter <NUM>, a power manager <NUM>, a thermometer <NUM>, an orientation manager <NUM>, and an MPE sensor <NUM>. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The beam measurement manager <NUM> may perform transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of a wireless device. In some examples, the beam measurement manager <NUM> may periodically perform these measurements. In some examples, the beam measurement manager <NUM> may measure transmission throughput for one or more phasors of each of the two or more antennas of the wireless device. In some examples, the beam measurement manager <NUM> may perform the transmission or receive beam measurements in response to detecting the change in the orientation of the wireless device.

In some examples, the beam measurement manager <NUM> may determine a data throughput level for transmissions at the wireless device.

The beam selector <NUM> may select a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements. In some examples, the beam selector <NUM> may determine that a transmission power restriction applies to the serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission beam measurements. In some examples, determining a threshold exposure level for a power density exposure applies to the selected serving beam pair further includes determining that at least one of the transmission beam measurements exceeds the threshold exposure level.

In some examples, the beam selector <NUM> may determine that the transmission power restriction no longer applies to the serving beam pair while in other examples it may determine that the transmission power restriction still applies to the serving beam pair. Determining that the transmission power restriction applies to the selected serving beam pair may be based at least in part on detecting physical contact near a first antenna associated with the selected serving beam pair.

In some examples, the beam selector <NUM> may select a second serving beam pair associated with a second highest throughput value based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements. For example, the beam selector <NUM> may select a second serving beam pair other than the best serving beam pair when the beam manager has determined that a user continues to remain in contact with the wireless device despite the issued notifications.

In some examples, the beam selector <NUM> may compare the data throughput level to a threshold data throughput level, where providing the indication at the wireless device is further based at least in part on the data throughput level being less than the threshold data throughput level.

The notification manager <NUM> may present an indication at the wireless device corresponding to the selected serving beam pair. The indication may be a visual indication, such as a colored dot showing where the best serving beam pair is on the graphical user interface of the device. In other examples, the indication may be a message that tells a user where the best beam is located or tells the user how to hold the device. In some examples, an image of a preferred way of holding the device may be illustrated.

The obstruction detector <NUM> may detect user obstruction of at least one of a transmission beam or a receive beam of the selected serving beam pair, where the indication indicates the user obstruction of the selected serving beam pair. The indication may show a location of the obstruction of the selected serving beam pair.

The memory <NUM> may store one or more MPEs at the wireless device. In some examples, different frequencies or RATs have different MPEs, which may be stored in the memory <NUM>. The memory may also store recent transmission or receive beam measurements.

The transmitter <NUM> may transmit a wireless signal using the selected serving beam pair. In some examples, the transmitter <NUM> may transmit a wireless signal using a different serving beam pair unrestricted by the transmission power restriction. For examples, the transmitter <NUM> may transmit a wireless signal using the second serving beam pair. The second serving beam pair may not be the best serving beam pair.

The power manager <NUM> may determine that a battery level does not satisfy a battery threshold level, where providing the indication at the wireless device is further based at least in part on the battery level not satisfying the battery threshold level.

The thermometer <NUM> may determine a temperature of the wireless device, where providing the indication at the wireless device is further based at least in part on the temperature of the wireless device. For example, the wireless device may have to use a higher transmit power (e.g., due to an obstruction), which may result in a higher temperature near the phasor. In some examples, the wireless device may identify a presence of an obstruction based on temperature readings from the thermometer <NUM>. For example, if the measured temperature of the phasor corresponding to best beam or a temperature of the wireless device exceeds a temperature threshold.

The orientation manager <NUM> may detect a change in an orientation of the wireless device. The orientation of the wireless device may influence the best serving beam, for example.

The MPE sensor <NUM> may determine that there is an obstruction at the wireless device which may impact a transmission or receive beam. For example, the MPE sensor <NUM> may be a touch sensor that determines that a user is holding the wireless device at a specific area over a phasor or a best beam. In other examples, the MPE sensor <NUM> may determine there is an obstruction at the wireless device.

<FIG> shows a diagram of a system <NUM> including a device <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device <NUM> may be an example of or include the components of device <NUM>, device <NUM>, or a UE <NUM> as described herein. The device <NUM> may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a beam manager <NUM>, an I/O controller <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, an antenna <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and a processor <NUM>. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus <NUM>).

The beam manager <NUM> may perform transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of the device <NUM>, select a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements, and present an indication at the device <NUM> corresponding to the selected serving beam pair.

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

The memory <NUM> may include RAM and ROM.

The processor <NUM> may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor <NUM> may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory <NUM>) to cause the device <NUM> to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices).

<FIG> shows a flowchart illustrating a method <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with the claimed invention. The operations of method <NUM> may be implemented by a UE <NUM> or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method <NUM> may be performed by a beam manager as described with reference to <FIG>. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At <NUM>, the UE performs transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of a wireless device. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a beam measurement manager as described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE selects a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a beam selector as described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE presents an indication at the wireless device corresponding to the selected serving beam pair. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a notification manager as described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> shows a flowchart illustrating a method <NUM> that supports beam selection in handheld wireless communications devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method <NUM> may be implemented by a UE <NUM> or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method <NUM> may be performed by a beam manager as described with reference to <FIG>. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At <NUM>, the UE may perform transmission or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of a wireless device. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a beam measurement manager as described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE may select a serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission or receive beam measurements. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a beam selector as described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE may present an indication at the wireless device corresponding to the selected serving beam pair. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a notification manager as described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE may detect user obstruction of at least one of a transmission beam or a receive beam of the selected serving beam pair, where the indication indicates the user obstruction of the selected serving beam pair. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by an obstruction detector as described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE may determine that a transmission power restriction applies to the serving beam pair based at least in part on the transmission beam measurements. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a beam selector as described with reference to <FIG>.

In one example, the method <NUM> further comprises determining a threshold exposure level for a power density exposure, wherein determining that the transmission power restriction applies to the selected serving beam pair further comprises determining that at least one of the transmission beam measurements exceeds the threshold exposure level.

In some examples, the method <NUM> further includes determining that the transmission power restriction no longer applies to the selected serving beam pair (e.g., the user has removed the obstruction). In such an example, the wireless device may transmit a wireless signal using the selected serving beam pair. In another example, the method <NUM> further includes determining that the transmission power restriction still applies to the selected serving beam pair (e.g., the user has not removed the obstruction). In this case, the method <NUM> includes transmitting a wireless signal using a different serving beam pair unrestricted by the transmission power restriction. This is so the wireless device does not transmit using the selected serving beam pair that was obstructed, risking exposing the user to high transmit power levels.

At <NUM>, the UE may identify a selected receive beam corresponding to a signal reception rate based at least in part on the receive beam measurements, where the selected serving beam pair includes the selected receive beam, and where presenting the indication further includes presenting an indication at the wireless device that corresponds to the selected receive beam. The operations of <NUM> may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of <NUM> may be performed by a wireless device as described with reference to <FIG>.

By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, 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.

For example, an exemplary step that is described as "based at least in part on condition A" may be based at least in part on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless device, comprising:
performing (<NUM>) transmit or receive beam measurements at two or more wireless antennas of the wireless device;
selecting (<NUM>) a beam pair for a serving cell based at least in part on the transmit or receive beam measurements;
detecting user obstruction of at least one of a transmit beam or a receive beam of the selected serving beam pair; and
presenting (<NUM>) a visual indication notifying the user of the location of one or more antennas on a housing of the wireless device used to generate the selected serving beam pair, wherein the visual indication further indicates the user obstruction of the selected serving beam pair.