PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11909124-B2
Application Number: US-202117246208-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Method and apparatus for temperature-based antenna selection

Abstract:
An electronic device having multiple antenna groups for data communication may determine a temperature of a first antenna group and determine a power gain of a second antenna group. The electronic device may communicate using the second antenna group in response to determining that the temperature of the first antenna group exceeds a temperature threshold and the power gain of the second antenna group exceeds a gain threshold. In some embodiments, the electronic device may receive communication link preferences, determine an antenna group that is disposed outside of thermal hotspots of the electronic device, and determine a beam that enables the communication link preferences via the antenna group. The electronic device may then transmit or receive data via the antenna group by forming the beam.

Claims:
The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device comprising:
 a plurality of antenna groups; 
 transmit circuitry communicatively coupled to the plurality of antenna groups; 
 receive circuitry communicatively coupled to the plurality of antenna groups; and 
 processing circuitry configured to
 communicate with a communication hub using a first antenna group of the plurality of antenna groups; 
 determine a temperature of the first antenna group; 
 determine a set of antenna groups of the plurality of antenna groups that each have a temperature that is less than or equal to a temperature threshold; 
 exclude antenna groups from the set of antenna groups that have a power gain less than or equal to a gain threshold; 
 exclude antenna groups from the set of antenna groups that have a temperature within a threshold temperature range of an additional antenna group of the set of antenna groups and have a lower power gain than the additional antenna group; 
 select a second antenna group having a lowest temperature from a remainder of the set of antenna groups; and 
 cause the transmit circuitry to communicate with the communication hub using the second antenna group in response to determining that the temperature of the first antenna group exceeds the temperature threshold. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device of  claim 1 , comprising one or more internal temperature sensors configured to determine an internal temperature of the electronic device, the temperature of the first antenna group being based on the internal temperature of the electronic device, and the temperature threshold being associated with the internal temperature of the electronic device. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device of  claim 2 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the transmit circuitry or the receive circuitry to form a beam to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the first antenna group, and, in response to determining that the temperature of the first antenna group exceeds the temperature threshold associated with the internal temperature of the electronic device and the power gain of the second antenna group for receiving data from the communication hub exceeds the gain threshold, cause the transmit circuitry or the receive circuitry to form the beam to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the second antenna group. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device of  claim 2 , wherein the temperature threshold is between 36 and 40 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device of  claim 1 , comprising one or more external temperature sensors configured to determine an external temperature of the electronic device, the temperature of the first antenna group being based on the external temperature of the electronic device, and the temperature threshold being associated with the external temperature of the electronic device. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to determining that the temperature of the first antenna group exceeds the temperature threshold and the power gain of the second antenna group for receiving data from the communication hub exceeds the gain threshold, the processing circuitry is configured to request and receive a beam configuration from the communication hub for transmitting data to the communication hub or receiving data from the communication hub using the second antenna group. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 6 , wherein, in response to not receiving the beam configuration from the communication hub within a threshold time, the processing circuitry is configured to cause the transmit circuitry or the receive circuitry to form a beam using a current beam configuration used by the first antenna group with the second antenna group. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 6  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the transmit circuitry or the receive circuitry to form a beam using the beam configuration to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the second antenna group. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature threshold is between 105 and 115 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the gain threshold is based on a highest power gain of the set of antenna groups. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the gain threshold is 3 decibels less than a highest power gain of the set of antenna groups. 
     
     
       12. A method comprising:
 communicating, using at least one processor, with a communication hub using a first antenna group of a plurality of antenna groups of an electronic device; 
 determining, using the at least one processor, a first temperature of the first antenna group and a second temperature of a second antenna group of the plurality of antenna groups; 
 determining, using the at least one processor, that the first temperature exceeds a temperature threshold and the second temperature is less than the temperature threshold; 
 determining, using the at least one processor, that a power gain of the second antenna group exceeds a gain threshold when forming a beam; and 
 in response to determining that the first temperature exceeds the temperature threshold, the second temperature is less than the temperature threshold, and the power gain of the second antenna group exceeds the gain threshold when forming the beam, forming, using the at least one processor, the beam using the second antenna group. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the power gain corresponds to a downlink wireless power gain when forming the beam. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12 , comprising
 determining, using the at least one processor, an estimated throughput, an estimated latency, or both, to execute one or more software applications by the at least one processor, and 
 determining, using the at least one processor, that the beam formed by using the second antenna group enables the estimated throughput, the estimated latency, or both, 
 wherein forming, using the at least one processor, the beam using the second antenna group occurs in response to determining that the beam formed by using the second antenna group enables the estimated throughput, the estimated latency, or both. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 12 , comprising:
 forming, using the at least one processor, the beam to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the first antenna group; and 
 forming, using the at least one processor, the beam to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the second antenna group in response to the first temperature exceeding the temperature threshold and the power gain of the second antenna group exceeding the gain threshold. 
 
     
     
       16. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause at least one processor to:
 communicate with a communication hub using a first antenna group of a plurality of antenna groups of an electronic device; 
 determine a first temperature of the first antenna group and a second temperature of a second antenna group of the plurality of antenna groups; 
 determine that the first temperature exceeds a temperature threshold and the second temperature is less than the temperature threshold; 
 determine that a power gain of the second antenna group exceeds a gain threshold when forming a beam; and 
 in response to determining that the first temperature exceeds the temperature threshold, the second temperature is less than the temperature threshold, and the power gain of the second antenna group exceeds the gain threshold when forming the beam, form the beam using the second antenna group. 
 
     
     
       17. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to determine that a downlink wireless power gain of the second antenna group exceeds a gain threshold when forming a beam. 
     
     
       18. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 determine an estimated throughput, an estimated latency, or both, to execute one or more software applications; and 
 determine that the beam formed by using the second antenna group enables the estimated throughput, the estimated latency, or both, 
 wherein forming the beam using the second antenna group occurs in response to the beam formed by using the second antenna group enabling the estimated throughput, the estimated latency, or both. 
 
     
     
       19. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to form the beam to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the first antenna group, and, in response to the first temperature exceeding the temperature threshold and the power gain of the second antenna group exceeding the gain threshold, form the beam to transmit data to the communication hub or receive data from the communication hub using the second antenna group. 
     
     
       20. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, in response to the first temperature exceeding the temperature threshold and the power gain of the second antenna group exceeding the gain threshold, request and receive a beam configuration from the communication hub for transmitting data to the communication hub or receiving data from the communication hub using the second antenna group.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication using an electronic device, and more specifically to techniques for selecting antennas of the electronic device for wireless communication. 
     An electronic device may include multiple antennas and/or multiple antenna groups disposed in different areas of the electronic device, and use one or more of the antennas and/or antenna groups to transmit and/or receive data. However, a temperature of the one or more of the antennas and/or antenna groups may increase over time when in operation. If the temperature of the one or more antennas and/or antenna groups becomes sufficiently high, the high temperature may reduce a lifespan of components and/or circuitry of the electronic device, and/or the one or more of the antennas and/or antenna groups themselves, which may degrade communication quality. 
     SUMMARY 
     A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
     An aspect of the disclosure provides an electronic device that may select one or more antenna groups for data communication. The electronic device may include multiple antenna groups, transmit circuitry and receive circuitry communicatively coupled to the multiple antenna groups, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may communicate with a communication hub using at least one antenna group. The processing circuitry may switch from operating a first antenna group to a second antenna group for data communication with the communication hub based on temperature and power gain of the antenna groups. The processing circuitry may determine a temperature of the first antenna group and determine a power gain of the second antenna group for receiving data from the communication hub. The processing circuitry may cause the transmit circuitry to communicate with the communication hub using the second antenna group in response to determining that the temperature of the first antenna group exceeds a temperature threshold and the power gain of the second antenna group for receiving data from the communication hub exceeds a gain threshold. 
     An additional or alternative aspect of the disclosure provides a method. The method may include using at least one processor to determine one or more antenna groups of multiple antenna groups of an electronic device that have a temperature less than a temperature threshold, a power gain for the one or more antenna groups that have the temperature less than the temperature threshold when forming a beam, and form the beam using an antenna group of the one or more antenna groups having a highest power gain. 
     Yet another additional or alternative aspect of the disclosure provides a tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to receive one or more communication link preferences to execute one or more software applications on an electronic device, and determine whether at least one antenna group of the electronic device is disposed outside of one or more thermal hotspots of the electronic device. Moreover, in response to determining that the at least one antenna group of the electronic device is disposed outside of one or more thermal hotspots of the electronic device, the instructions may cause the processor to determine whether a beam enables transmitting data or receiving data with the communication link preferences via the at least one antenna group. Furthermore, in response to determining that the beam enables transmitting data or receiving data with the communication link preferences, via the at least one antenna group, the instructions may cause the processor to cause transmit circuitry of the electronic device to transmit data or receive circuitry of the electronic device to receive data via the at least one antenna group by forming the beam. 
     Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings described below in which like numerals refer to like parts. 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of an electronic device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a functional block diagram of the electronic device of  FIG.  1    that may implement the components shown in  FIG.  1    and/or the circuitry and/or components described in the following figures, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3 A  is a perspective diagram of the electronic device of  FIG.  1    from a front side illustrating relative positions of antenna groups in the electronic device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3 B  is a perspective diagram of the electronic device of  FIG.  1    from a top side illustrating example beams formed by different antenna groups of the electronic device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4 A  is a perspective diagram of the electronic device of  FIG.  1    forming a beam to communicate with a base station, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4 B  is a power gain chart illustrating power gain of different antenna groups of the electronic device when forming different beams, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is a flowchart of a process for selecting an antenna group for transmitting and/or receiving data based on temperature and power gain, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  6    is a flowchart of a process for selecting an antenna group for transmitting and/or receiving data by grouping antenna groups based on high power gains and low temperatures, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  7    is a block diagram of a beam configuration management system for selecting an antenna group based on temperature and power gain to form a beam for transmitting and/or receiving data, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  8    is a flowchart of a process for beam configuration management, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  9    is a block diagram of a system for determining antenna groups for data transmission and/or reception based on link preferences and thermal hotspots of the electronic device of  FIG.  1   , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  10    is a flowchart of a process for selecting an antenna group based on link preferences and antenna group and hotspot information, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Use of the term “approximately,” “near,” “about”, and/or “substantially” should be understood to mean including close to a target (e.g., design, value, amount), such as within a margin of any suitable or contemplatable error (e.g., within 0.1% of a target, within 1% of a target, within 5% of a target, within 10% of a target, within 25% of a target, and so on). 
     This disclosure is directed to mitigating and/or preventing antennas of an electronic device from operating at high temperature to maintain or increase a lifespan of the electronic device and/or avoid degradation in communication quality when using the antennas. The electronic device may include multiple antenna groups, each of which may include one or more antennas disposed in different areas of the electronic device. 
     To mitigate and/or prevent an antenna group from operating at a high temperature, the electronic device (e.g., one or more processors of the electronic device) may select, prioritize, and/or use an antenna group with a lower temperature (e.g., lower than a temperature threshold) to transmit and/or receive data. In some embodiments, the electronic device may ensure sufficient or superior antenna performance by initially determining a set of antenna groups with temperatures lower than a temperature threshold when forming beams (e.g., in different directions), and then selecting an antenna group with a performance (e.g., power gain) higher than a threshold performance value (e.g., threshold gain value) and/or having the highest performance (e.g., power gain) from the set of antenna groups. 
     For example, the electronic device may determine a temperature of each antenna group based on receiving temperature measurements associated with each respective antenna group, and compare the temperatures to a temperature threshold to determine antenna groups with low temperatures. In certain embodiments, the electronic device may compare the temperature of each antenna group to a different, predetermined temperature threshold (e.g., based on a location of a respective antenna group in the electronic device, surrounding components with respect to the respective antenna group in the electronic device, ambient temperatures and/or other conditions near the respective antenna group, and/or empirical operating data of the respective antenna group). 
     To determine a performance (e.g., a power gain, signal quality, signal to noise ratio, reference signal received power, reference signal received quality, signal to interference plus noise ratio, signal to noise plus interference ratio, and so on) of each antenna group, the electronic device may configure each antenna group with multiple test beam configurations corresponding to multiple beams, and determine the power gain of each antenna group for each beam. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device may prioritize selecting an antenna group disposed outside thermal hotspots of the electronic device for transmitting and/or receiving data. A thermal hotspot may include an area of the electronic device that may exhibit an increased rise in temperature due to operation of an antenna group at that location. That is, an antenna array at a thermal hotspot may see an increased rise in temperature during operation when compared to the same antenna array operating at a non-thermal hotspot location. As such, the electronic device may select the antenna group based on whether the antenna group is disposed outside of the thermal hotspots and is capable of transmitting and/or receiving data at a data rate (e.g., throughput) requested by (e.g., a software application of) the electronic device. 
       FIG.  1    is a block diagram of an electronic device  10 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device  10  may include, among other things, one or more processors  12  (collectively referred to herein as a single processor for convenience, which may be implemented in any suitable form of processing circuitry), a memory  14 , a nonvolatile storage  16 , a display  18 , input structures  20 , an input/output (I/O) interface  22 , a network interface  24 , and a power source  26 . The various functional blocks shown in  FIG.  1    may include hardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium), or a combination of both hardware and software elements. 
     The processor  12 , the memory  14 , the nonvolatile storage  16 , the display  18 , the input structures  20 , the input/output (I/O) interface  22 , the network interface  24 , and/or the power source  26  may each be communicatively coupled directly or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, and/or a network) to one another to transmit and/or receive data between one another. It should be noted that  FIG.  1    is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in the electronic device  10 . 
     By way of example, the electronic device  10  may include any suitable computing device, including a desktop or notebook computer (e.g., in the form of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), a portable electronic or handheld electronic device such as a wireless electronic device, user equipment, or smartphone (e.g., in the form of a model of an iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), a tablet (e.g., in the form of a model of an iPad® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), a wearable electronic device (e.g., in the form of an Apple Watch® by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), and other similar devices. It should be noted that the processor  12  and other related items in  FIG.  1    may be generally referred to herein as “data processing circuitry.” Such data processing circuitry may be embodied wholly or in part as software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. 
     Furthermore, the processor  12  and other related items in  FIG.  1    may be a single contained processing module or may be incorporated wholly or partially within any of the other elements within the electronic device  10 . The processor  12  may be implemented with any combination of general-purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate array (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machines, or any other suitable entities that may perform calculations or other manipulations of information. 
     The processor  12  may perform the various functions described herein and below. In some embodiments, the processor  12  may include an application processor and/or a baseband processor to facilitate performing various functions such as Radio Frequency (RF) operations associated with transmitting and receiving data. For example, the processor  12  may receive different temperature measurements associated with different antenna groups (not shown in  FIG.  1   ) to determine antenna groups with a temperature below a temperature threshold. In some embodiments, the temperature threshold may be based on a location of a respective antenna group in the electronic device  10 , surrounding components with respect to the respective antenna group in the electronic device  10 , ambient temperatures and/or other conditions near the respective antenna group, and/or empirical operating data of the respective antenna group. 
     Moreover, the processor  12  may determine a power gain of different antenna groups when forming one or more beams. Subsequently, the processor  12  may select an antenna group with low temperature and high power gain when forming a beam in a target direction. In specific embodiments, the processor  12  may select the antenna group based at least in part on a position of the antenna group with respect to one or more thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . 
     In the electronic device  10  of  FIG.  1   , the processor  12  may be operably coupled with a memory  14  and a nonvolatile storage  16  to perform various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor  12  may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture that includes one or more tangible, computer-readable media. The tangible, computer-readable media may include the memory  14  and/or the nonvolatile storage  16 , individually or collectively, to store the instructions or routines. The memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16  may include any suitable articles of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drives, and optical discs. In addition, programs (e.g., an operating system) encoded on such a computer program product may also include instructions that may be executed by the processor  12  to enable the electronic device  10  to provide various functionalities. 
     In certain embodiments, the display  18  may facilitate users to view images generated on the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, the display  18  may include a touch screen, which may facilitate user interaction with a user interface of the electronic device  10 . Furthermore, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the display  18  may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light-emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or some combination of these and/or other display technologies. 
     The input structures  20  of the electronic device  10  may enable a user to interact with the electronic device  10  (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). The I/O interface  22  may enable electronic device  10  to interface with various other electronic devices, as may the network interface  24 . The network interface  24  may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as a BLUETOOTH® network, for a local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a network employing one of the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g., WI-FI®), and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as any standards related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including, for example, a 3 rd  generation (3G) cellular network, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), 4th generation (4G) cellular network, long term evolution (LTE®) cellular network, long term evolution license assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5th generation (5G) cellular network, and/or New Radio (NR) cellular network. In particular, the network interface  24  may include, for example, one or more interfaces for using a Release-15 cellular communication standard of the 5G specifications that include the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)). The network interface  24  of the electronic device  10  may allow communication over the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, and so forth). 
     The network interface  24  may also include one or more interfaces for, for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks (e.g., WIMAX®), mobile broadband Wireless networks (mobile WIMAX®), asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T®) network and its extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H®) network, ultra-wideband (UWB) network, alternating current (AC) power lines, and so forth. 
     As illustrated, the network interface  24  may include a transceiver  28 . The transceiver  28  may support transmission and receipt of various wireless signals via one or more antennas (not shown in  FIG.  1   ). In some embodiments, all or portions of the transceiver  28  may be disposed within the processor  12 . For example, the application processor and/or the baseband processor may facilitate transmission and receipt of the wireless signals using the transceiver  28  and via the one or more antennas. 
     The power source  26  of the electronic device  10  may include any suitable source of power, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and/or an alternating current (AC) power converter. In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  may take the form of a computer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, or other type of electronic device. 
       FIG.  2    is a functional block diagram of the electronic device  10  that may implement the components shown in  FIG.  1    and/or circuitry and/or components described in the following figures, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the processor  12 , the memory  14 , the transceiver  28 , a transmitter  50 , a receiver  52 , antenna groups  53  (illustrated as  53 A- 53 N) each made up of one or more antennas  54  (illustrated as  54 A- 54 N), external temperature sensors  56 , and/or internal temperature sensors  58  may be communicatively coupled directly or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to one another to facilitate transmitting and/or receiving data between one another. 
     The electronic device  10  may include the transmitter  50  and the receiver  52  that may respectively enable transmission and reception of data between the electronic device  10  and a remote location. For example, the transmitter  50  and/or the receiver  52  may transmit data to and/or receive data from an external transceiver (e.g., in the form of a cell, eNB (E-UTRAN Node B or Evolved Node B), base stations, and the like, using a network in a direction of the electronic device  10 . As illustrated, the transmitter  50  and the receiver  52  may be combined into the transceiver  28 . 
     One or more antennas  54 A through  54 N may be electrically coupled to the transceiver  28  of the electronic device  10 . The antennas  54 A- 54 N may be configured in an omnidirectional or directional configuration, in a single-beam, dual-beam, or multi-beam arrangement, and so on. Each antenna  54  may be associated with one or more beams, various beam configurations, and/or one or more antenna groups  53 . Moreover, each antenna  54 A- 54 N of a respective antenna group  53  may emit a radio frequency signal that may be constructively and/or destructively combined with radio frequency signals emitted by other antennas  54 - 54 N of the respective antenna group  53  to form a beam (e.g., that may enable mmWave and/or 5G communication). That is, each antenna group  53  may communicate data in a target direction based on individual signals emitted by the constituent antennas  54 . In some embodiments, each antenna group  53  may be coupled to a designated transceiver  28  (e.g., separate from other designated transceivers coupled to other antenna groups  53 ). Accordingly, the electronic device  10  may include multiple transmitters  50 , multiple receivers  52 , multiple transceivers  28 , and/or multiple antennas  54  for communication per various communication standards. 
     The transmitter  50  may wirelessly transmit packets having different packet types or functions. For example, the transmitter  50  may transmit packets of different types generated by the processor  12 . The receiver  52  may wirelessly receive packets having different packet types. In some examples, the receiver  52  may detect a type of a packet used and process the received packets accordingly. In some embodiments, the transmitter  50  and the receiver  52  may transmit and receive information via other wired and/or wireless systems or devices. Moreover, in some embodiments, the transmitter  50  and the receiver  52  may be isolated by any viable devices to reduce interference when transmitting data and/or receiving data between the respective circuitry. 
     The external temperature sensors  56  and the internal temperature sensors  58  may each include one or multiple temperature sensors to measure and provide external and internal temperatures of the electronic device  10 , respectively. Moreover, each of the external temperature sensors  56  and the internal temperature sensors  58  may provide an updated temperature measurement according to a respective temperature measurement time cycle. Accordingly, the electronic device  10  may use the latest temperature measurements for selecting an antenna group  53  to form a beam in a target direction, as will be appreciated. 
     In some embodiments, the external temperature sensors  56  may be disposed proximal to a surface of the electronic device  10  to measure an external temperature of the electronic device  10 . For example, each of the external temperature sensors  56  may measure a temperature of the surface of the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, the external temperature sensors  56  may include skin temperature sensors, ambient air temperatures, and so on. The internal temperature sensors  58  may be disposed proximal to one or more components of the electronic device  10 . That is, the internal temperature sensors  58  may be disposed proximal to the antennas  54 , the processor  12 , the memory  14 , the non-volatile storage  16 , the display  18 , the input structures  20 , the I/O interface  22 , the network interface  24 , the power source  26 , the transceiver  28 , the transmitter  50 , the receiver  52 , and/or other components. The internal temperature sensors  58  may include circuit junction temperature sensors, pixel temperature sensors, display temperature sensors, processor temperature sensors, memory temperature sensors, and so on. Accordingly, each of the internal temperature sensors  58  may measure a temperature of one or more components of the electronic device  10 . 
     Moreover, each antenna group  53  may be disposed proximal to an internal temperature sensor  58  or external temperature sensor  56 . Accordingly, the internal temperature sensor  58  or external temperature sensor  56  disposed proximal to (e.g., closest to) each respective antenna group  53  may provide an estimation or determination of the temperature of the respective antenna group  53 . Thus, the processor  12  may receive the internal or external temperature measurements from the internal temperature sensor  58  or the external temperature sensor  56  to determine or estimate a temperature of each antenna group  53  of the electronic device  10 . 
     However, in some cases, the processor  12  may perform processing and/or normalization on a temperature to more accurately reflect the temperature at the antenna group  53 . That is, an internal temperature sensor  58  may be disposed proximal to an antenna group  53  (e.g., be the nearest temperature sensor  56 ,  58  to the antenna group  53 ), as well as proximal to another heat-generating component of the electronic device  10  that may cause the internal temperature measurement to not accurately reflect the temperature at the proximal antenna group  53 . Moreover, as mentioned above, the external temperature sensors  56  may measure an external temperature of the electronic device. Such temperature sensors may provide indirect temperature measurements of the antennas  54  of different antenna groups  53 . Accordingly, the processor  12  may perform processing and/or normalization of a received temperature measurement to realize a more accurate temperature at an antenna group  53 . 
     In any case, using the external and internal temperature sensors  56 ,  58 , the processor  12  may determine “hot” antenna groups  53  with a temperature exceeding a temperature threshold. That said, in some embodiments, the processor  12  may use different temperature thresholds for the external temperature sensors  56  and the internal temperature sensors  58 . Indeed, in specific embodiments, the processor  12  may use different temperature thresholds for each temperature sensor that corresponds to an antenna group  53  (e.g., the nearest antenna group  53 ). In specific embodiments, the external temperature threshold may be in the range of 30-50 degrees Celsius (e.g., 33-48 degrees Celsius, 36-40 degrees Celsius, and so on) and the internal temperature threshold may be in the range of 100-200 degrees Celsius (e.g., 105-115 degrees Celsius, 115-125 degrees Celsius, 125-135 degrees Celsius, and so on). 
     In this manner, the processor  12  may determine and select between antenna groups  53  with power gains exceeding a gain threshold (e.g., when forming a beam in a target direction) that have temperatures below a corresponding temperature threshold. Moreover, when a temperature of a previously selected (e.g., currently operative) antenna group  53  forming a beam in a target direction exceeds a corresponding temperature threshold, the processor  12  may switch to another antenna group  53  with high power gain and low temperature to form a beam in the target direction, if available. 
     In some embodiments, the processor  12  may switch to another antenna group  53  without delay when the high temperature of a currently operative antenna group  53  may reduce a lifespan of the electronic device  10 . As mentioned above, the internal temperature measurements received from the internal temperature sensors  58  may be associated with one or more components disposed inside the electronic device  10  (e.g., the antennas  54 ). Accordingly, a high temperature measurement of the internal temperature measurements may imminently result in decreased lifespan of the one or more components of the electronic device  10 . For example, the processor  12  may switch antenna groups  53  without a delay when the temperature is rising faster than a threshold, a temperature reading of temperature sensors is higher than a threshold, a temperature of the selected antenna group  53  is determined to be higher than a threshold, among other scenarios. 
     Accordingly, the processor  12  may switch antenna groups  53  to prevent a reduction of lifespan of the electronic device  10 . In such embodiments, to proceed without delay, the processor  12  may skip acquiring (e.g., requesting and receiving, searching for) a new beam configuration (e.g., from a base station and/or a cellular network) for the antenna group  53  with lower temperature. As such, the processor  12  may operate the antenna group  53  with lower temperature with the same beam configuration used by the currently operating antenna group  53  (e.g., the hot antenna group) for transmitting and/or receiving data. For example, the processor  12  may transmit and receive data with a communication hub (e.g., a base station and/or a cellular network operator) using the antenna group  53  with lower temperature using the beam configuration of the currently operating antenna group  53 . That said, using the same beam configuration of the currently operating antenna group  53  with the antenna group  53  with lower temperature (e.g., not requesting and receiving a new beam configuration specifically configured for the antenna group  53  with lower temperature) may reduce communication performance (e.g., power gain) of the antenna group  53  with lower temperature. 
     In additional or alternative embodiments, the processor  12  may switch the antenna groups  53  after requesting and receiving the new beam configuration for the antenna group  53  with lower temperature (e.g., from a communication hub). For example, the processor  12  may delay switching between the antenna groups  53  based on a time (e.g., a threshold time period) for requesting and receiving the new beam configuration elapsing and/or an indication of receiving the new beam configuration associated with the antenna group  53  with lower temperature. In some embodiments, the processor  12  may delay switching when the high temperature is determined based on temperature measurements of the external temperature sensors  56 . That is, the processor  12  may switch antenna groups  53  after a delay when a temperature of currently operative antenna group  53  exceeds the temperature threshold based on temperature measurements of the external temperature sensors  56 . In specific embodiments, the processor  12  may also or alternatively switch antenna groups  53  after a delay based on high internal temperature measurements of specific internal temperature sensors  58 . 
     In yet another embodiment, the processor  12  may use the temperature measurements from the external temperature sensors  56  and/or internal temperature sensors  58  to dynamically determine thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . A thermal hotspot may include an area of the electronic device that may exhibit an increased rise in temperature due to operation of an antenna group at that location. That is, an antenna array at a thermal hotspot may see an increased rise in temperature during operation when compared to the same antenna array operating at a non-thermal hotspot location. Moreover, in certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  may store (e.g., in the memory  14 ) predetermined thermal hotspots (e.g., static thermal hotspots) where the temperature of such thermal hotspots is likely to elevate faster than other areas of the electronic device  10 . Accordingly, the processor  12  may determine or select antenna groups  53  disposed outside the thermal hotspots (e.g., dynamic or static) of the electronic device  10  for forming a beam. 
     The various components of the electronic device  10  may be coupled together by a bus system  60 , as illustrated in  FIG.  2   . The bus system  60  may include a data bus, for example, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus, in addition to the data bus. The components of the electronic device  10  may be coupled together to accept and/or provide inputs from/to each other using some other mechanism. 
       FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  are perspective diagrams of antenna groups  53  (e.g., antenna arrays) of the electronic device  10 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG.  3 A  depicts a perspective view of the electronic device  10  from a front side. As illustrated, the electronic device  10  includes a frontside antenna group  100 , a side antenna group  102 , and a backside antenna group  104 . It should be appreciated that in different embodiments, the frontside antenna group  100 , the side antenna group  102 , and the backside antenna group  104  may be positioned differently in the electronic device  10 . Moreover, in different embodiments, the electronic device  10  may include different antenna groups and/or a different number of antenna groups. 
       FIG.  3 B  depicts a perspective view of the electronic device  10  from a top side. As illustrated, the frontside antenna group  100  forms a frontside beam  106 , the side antenna group  102  forms a side beam  108 , and the backside antenna group  104  forms a backside beam  110 . However, it should be appreciated that the frontside beam  106 , the side beam  108 , and the backside beam  110  are formed based on the positions of the antenna groups  100 ,  104 , and  106 , and may take different forms or positions based on the implementation of antenna groups in the electronic device  10  in different embodiments. With the foregoing in mind, each of the frontside antenna group  100 , the side antenna group  102 , and the backside antenna group  104  may transmit and/or receive data by forming respective beams in a respective target direction. However, a power gain of each of the antenna groups  53 , including the antenna groups  100 ,  102 , and/or  104 , may be different when forming different beams. For example, the electronic device  10  may communicate with a communication hub (e.g., a base station) using the beam  112  with the frontside antenna group  100  and the backside antenna group  104 . However, when forming the beam  112 , the side antenna group  102  may include a higher power gain. Accordingly, the electronic device  10  may prioritize using the side antenna group  102  to form the beam  112 . That is, the electronic device  10  may factor in power gain when selecting an antenna group (e.g.,  100 ,  102 ,  104 ) to communicate with. 
     Moreover, as mentioned above and discussed in further detail below, the electronic device  10  may select and use an antenna group  53  having a temperature less than a threshold temperature. Accordingly, to transmit and/or receive data with a communication hub, the electronic device  10  may select and use the antenna groups  53  with temperatures below a temperature threshold and a power gain greater than a gain threshold, when available. That is, the electronic device  10  may additionally or alternatively factor in temperature when selecting an antenna group (e.g.,  100 ,  102 ,  104 ) to communicate with. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG.  4 A  is a perspective diagram of the electronic device  10  forming the beam  112  to communicate with a base station  150 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a directional axis  152  indicates an azimuth  154  and an elevation  156  of a beam (e.g., the beam  112 ) formed by the antenna groups  53  of the electronic device  10 . For example, the frontside antenna group  100 , the side antenna group  102 , and/or the backside antenna group  104  of the electronic device  10  may form the beam  112  having an azimuth of 90 degrees and an elevation of 90 degrees with respect to the respective antenna group. 
     Although  FIG.  4 A  depicts data communication between the electronic device  10  and the base station  150 , it should be appreciated that the electronic device  10  may communicate with additional and/or alternate communication hubs in different embodiments using the techniques discussed herein. For example, the electronic device  10  may use similar systems and methods to transmit data to and/or receive data from another electronic device, a router device, among other things. 
     As previously mentioned, power gains of different antenna groups  53  of the electronic device  10  may be different when forming different beams. In some embodiments, the electronic device  10  may determine antenna performance (e.g., power gain, signal quality, and so on) of each antenna group  53  when forming different beams (e.g., in different directions) and store the antenna performance (e.g., in the memory  14 ).  FIG.  4 B  is a power gain chart  158  indicating the antenna groups  53  of the electronic device  10  having high power gains for each beam (e.g., each having a different direction), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     As mentioned above, the processor  12  may determine an antenna group  53  as having high power gain when the power gain exceeds a gain threshold. The gain threshold may be a fixed value and/or be relative with respect to power gains of other antenna groups  53 . For example, the gain threshold may be 3 decibels less than the highest measured power gain among the antenna groups  53  of the electronic device  10 . The power gain chart  158  identifies antenna groups  53  having power gains within 3 decibels of the highest measured power gain among the antenna groups  53  for each beam. That said, in different embodiments, the gain threshold may be selected differently (e.g., the antenna group  53  having the highest gain, the antenna group  53  having gains above a fixed gain value, and so on). 
     Using the beam  112  (e.g., having an azimuth of 90 degrees and an elevation of 90 degrees) illustrated in  FIG.  4 A  as an example, the power gain chart  158  indicates that the side antenna group  102  has high power gain when forming the beam  112 . In the depicted example, the frontside antenna group  100  and the backside antenna group  104  have low power gains less than 3 decibels below the highest measured power gain among the antenna groups  53 . Accordingly, the electronic device  10  may prioritize selecting the side antenna group  102  to form the beam  112  when power gain is a factor. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  5   , a process  190  is depicted for selecting an antenna group  53  for transmitting and/or receiving data based on temperature and power gain, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the processor  12  of the electronic device  10  may perform the process  190 . For example, the application processor and/or the baseband processor of the processor  12 , described above with respect to  FIG.  1   , may perform all or a portion of the process  190 . While the blocks of the process  190  below are provided in a sequence, it should be understood that the blocks may be performed in different orders, and in some cases, blocks may be skipped entirely. 
     At block  192 , the processor  12  determines a temperature of each antenna group  53 . In particular, the processor  12  may receive temperature measurements from the external temperature sensors  56  and/or the internal temperature sensors  58  to determine the temperature of each antenna group  53 . For example, the processor  12  may receive a temperature measurement from a closest external temperature sensor  56  and/or the internal temperature sensor  58  to each antenna group  53  to determine the temperature at that antenna group  53 . 
     Subsequently, at block  194 , the processor  12  determines power gain (and/or another measure of antenna performance, such as signal quality) of the antenna groups  53 . In some embodiments, the processor  12  may determine the antenna groups  53  with high power gains when forming different beams. For example, the processor  12  may determine the antenna groups  53  having power gains within 3 decibels of the highest measured power gain for one or more beams, as reflected in the power gain chart  158  of  FIG.  4 B  described above. In some embodiments, the processor  12  may store and/or update the power gains for the antenna groups  53  when forming each beam. That is, for each beam, the processor  12  may store a power gain for each antenna group  53  when forming the respective beam. 
     At block  196 , the processor  12  selects an antenna group  53  based on the determined temperature and power gains of the antenna groups  53  in blocks  192  and  194 . For example, the processor  12  may select the antenna group  53  with highest power gain and a temperature below a temperature threshold. As another example, the processor  12  may select the antenna group  53  with the lowest temperature and a power gain above a gain threshold. In some embodiments, the processor  12  may assign weights to the temperature and to the power gain, and select the antenna group  53  based on applying the weights to the temperatures and power gains of each antenna group  53 . Additionally or alternatively, the processor  12  may select the antenna group  53  with antennas  54  disposed outside thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . As mentioned above, the processor  12  may determine the thermal hotspots based on receiving temperature measurements of different temperature sensors (e.g., based on operations of block  192 ) or predetermine the thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . At block  198 , the processor  12  sends or receives data using the selected antenna group  53 . In this manner, the process  190  enables the processor  12  to select an antenna group  53  for transmitting and/or receiving data based on temperature and power gain. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  6   , a process  200  is depicted for selecting an antenna group  53  for transmitting and/or receiving data by grouping the antenna groups  53  based on high power gains and low temperatures, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Similar to the process  190  of  FIG.  5   , the processor  12  of the electronic device  10  may perform the process  200 . For example, the application processor and/or the baseband processor of the processor  12 , described above with respect to  FIG.  1   , may perform all or a portion of the process  200 . While the blocks of the process  200  below are provided in a sequence, it should be understood that the blocks may be performed in different orders, and in some cases, blocks may be skipped entirely. 
     At block  202 , the processor  12  may determine a set of antenna groups  53  having temperature less than a temperature threshold. As mentioned above, the temperature threshold may be based on a location of an antenna group  53  in the electronic device  10 , surrounding components with respect to the antenna group  53  in the electronic device  10 , ambient temperatures and/or other conditions near the antenna group  53 , empirical operating data of the respective antenna group  53 , the type of sensor detecting the temperature (e.g., the external temperature sensor  56  or the internal temperature sensor  58 ), and so on. In any case, the processor  12  may exclude antenna groups  53  with temperatures above the temperature threshold from the set of antenna groups  53  to ensure that antenna arrays  53  that have excessive temperature may not be used. 
     Subsequently, at block  204 , the processor  12  may also exclude antenna groups  53  having a power gain less than a gain threshold from the set of antenna groups  53 . For example, the processor  12  may receive or determine an uplink power gain, a downlink power gain, or both, of each antenna group  53  when forming one or more beams for transmitting or receiving data. Accordingly, the processor  12  may determine the antenna groups  53  with power gain greater than the gain threshold when forming a target or desired beam (e.g., directed at a communication node or base station). This enables selection of an antenna group  53  for transmitting or receiving data that has a power gain that is close to the performance of the antenna group  53  having the best power gain. Moreover, as discussed above, the gain threshold may be different in different embodiments. In one embodiment, the gain threshold may be based on the highest power gain determined among the antenna groups  53 . In a different embodiment, the gain threshold may be a predetermined value stored in the memory  14  of the electronic device  10 . 
     At block  206 , the processor  12  excludes antenna groups  53  having a lower power gain compared to other antenna groups  53  with a temperature within a threshold temperature range from the set of antenna groups. That is, the processor  12  may determine antenna groups  53  that have similar temperatures by determining sets of antenna groups  53  that are within the threshold temperature range from one another. For each set of antenna groups  53  that are within the threshold temperature range from one another, the processor  12  may exclude those antenna groups  53  having lower power gain. The threshold temperature range may be predetermined or determined by the processor  12  during runtime, and include any suitable range of temperatures that indicate similar temperature (e.g., 0-25 degrees Celsius, 5 degrees Celsius increments, 10 degrees Celsius increments, and so on). The lower power gain may be defined as below a threshold power gain, such as the threshold power gain discussed above (e.g., 3 decibels less than the highest measured power gain among the set of antenna groups  53 ). As such, selection of an antenna group  53  that has lower power gain with no or an insignificant temperature advantage may be avoided. 
     At block  208 , the processor  12  may select an antenna group  53  from the set of antenna groups  53  having the lowest temperature. As such, the process  200  prioritizes temperature. In alternative embodiments, the process  200  may prioritize power gain, and select an antenna group  53  from the set of antenna groups  53  having the highest power gain. 
     In alternative or additional embodiments, at block  206 , the processor  12  may determine whether a beam formed using the antenna groups  53  of the set of antenna groups  53  enables an estimated throughput, an estimated latency, or both to execute one or more software applications. In such embodiments, at block  208 , the processor  12  may select an antenna group  53  of the set of antenna groups  53  based on determining that the selected antenna group  53  is capable of forming the beam using the estimated throughput, the estimated latency, or both. 
     At block  210 , the processor  12  may send and/or receive data using the selected antenna group  53 . In this manner, the process  200  may enable processor  12  to send and/or receive data using an antenna group  53  from a set of antenna groups  53  with a high power gain and a low temperature. 
       FIG.  7    is a block diagram of a beam configuration management system  240  that facilitates selecting an antenna group  53  based on temperature and power gain when forming a beam, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device  10  may use the beam configuration management system  240  for selecting an antenna group  53  and/or updating the selected antenna group  53  for communicating data using one or multiple beams. Each of the depicted components may be implemented using hardware (e.g., circuitry), software (e.g., machine-executable instructions), or both (e.g., logic). As illustrated, the beam configuration management system  240  may include a beam database  242 , temperature sensors  244 , antenna and beam selection logic  246 , a metric buffer  248 , and a payload beam buffer  250 . However, it should be appreciated that in different embodiments, the beam configuration management system  240  may use different, additional, or less components to perform similar or different functions to facilitate selecting an antenna group  53  based on temperature and power gain for transmitting and/or receiving data. 
     By way of example, the beam database  242  may receive power gain measurements of multiple antenna groups  53  when forming beams. For example, the electronic device  10  may determine signal quality (e.g., power gain) of each antenna group  53  (e.g., antenna groups  53 A- 53 G of  FIG.  4   ) when forming one or more beams and store the power gains corresponding to each beam using the beam database  242 . Moreover, the electronic device  10  may query the beam database  242  with one or more beams and may receive the power gains for each antenna group  53  to provide to the metric buffer  248  for reporting to one or more communication hubs (e.g., base stations). 
     The temperature sensors  244  may include the external temperature sensors  56  and/or the internal temperature sensors  58 , determine temperature measurements associated with the antenna groups  53 , and send the temperature measurements to the antenna and beam selection logic  246 . As mentioned above, each of the temperature sensors  244  may provide updated temperature data according to a respective time interval. Accordingly, the temperature sensors  244  may provide updated temperature data, which the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may use to overwrite previous temperature data. 
     Accordingly, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may facilitate selecting an antenna group  53  for data communication based on determining and/or receiving the temperature measurement and power gain for each antenna group  53  when forming a beam. That is, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may receive and analyze the power gains of antenna groups  53  when forming a beam in a target direction that is stored on the beam database  242 , and the temperature data provided by the temperature sensors  244 . Based on the temperature data and the power gains, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may determine and select the antenna group  53  with low temperature and high power gain. The antenna and beam selection logic  246  may also select a beam configuration for the selected antenna group  53  to transmit and/or receive data forming the beam in the target direction. 
     In some embodiments, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may select the beam configuration based on requesting and receiving beam configuration information from a communication hub (e.g., after a delay corresponding to sending the request and receiving the beam configuration information). However, in additional or alternative embodiments, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may apply a beam configuration used by a currently operating antenna group  53  to the selected antenna group  53  to facilitate switching antenna groups  53  without delay. The antenna and beam selection logic  246  may provide indications of the selected antenna group  53  and the beam configuration to the metric buffer  248  and/or the payload beam buffer  250 . In some embodiments, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may include processing circuitry such as the processor  12 . Moreover, as mentioned above, the processor  12  may include application processor circuitry and baseband processing circuitry to perform radio frequency functions. As such, the antenna and beam selection logic  246  may be associated with the application processor circuitry, the baseband processor circuitry, or both. 
     The beam metric buffer  248  may store signal quality characteristics (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), RSRP when sending or receiving data over a certain frequency band, such as the L1 band (centered at 1575.42 megahertz (MHz)) (L1-RSRP), signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR), SINR when sending or receiving data over a certain frequency band, such as the L1 band (L1-SINR), and so on) for beam reporting to a communication hub. In particular, the electronic device  10  may report the signal quality characteristics (e.g., beam reporting metrics) that reflect the highest quality as part of a beam reporting process, as specified in the 3GPP 38.214 specification. The electronic device  10  may update the beam reporting metrics when the same antenna group  53  forming the same beam has been selected by the processor  12  based on its quasi co-location (QCL) configuration, and/or the signal quality characteristics are higher quality than a past version stored in the beam metric buffer  248 . The payload beam buffer  250  may store beams (e.g., transmit or receive spatial filters) for each active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state. In 5G New Radio (NR), a TCI state is used to establish the QCL connection between the target reference signals (RS) and source RS. Two antenna ports are quasi co-located if properties of the channel over which a symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG.  8    is a flowchart of a process  280  for beam configuration management, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the processor  12  may perform the process  280  to switch to another antenna group  53  when a temperature of currently operating antenna group  53  is at a high temperature (e.g., exceeds a temperature threshold). Similar to the processes  190  and  200  described above, the processor  12 , in the form of the application processor and/or the baseband processor, may perform all or a portion of the process  280 . While the blocks of the process  280  below are provided in a sequence, it should be understood that the blocks may be performed in different orders, and in some cases, blocks may be skipped entirely 
     At block  282 , the processor  12  determines to switch operation from a first antenna group  53  (e.g., a currently operating antenna group  53 ) to a second antenna group  53 . In some embodiments, the processor  12  may determine to switch operation from the first antenna group  53  because that the first antenna group  53  exceeds a temperature threshold, and/or to mitigate a temperature of the first antenna group  53 . The processor  12  may determine the second antenna group  53  using the process  190  of  FIG.  5   , the process  200  of  FIG.  6   , or both. 
     At block  284 , the processor  12  reports to a base station that the second antenna group  53  has been selected for operation. In response, the base station may change an active TCI state. Moreover, the base station may select an appropriate beam for the second antenna group  53  to form. It should be understood that the base station is used herein as an example communication hub, such as a 5G Next Generation NodeB (gNB) or an LTE Evolved NodeB (eNB), and in different embodiments, different communication hubs may be used. 
     At block  286 , the processor  12  determines whether the switching occurs with or without a delay. As mentioned above, the processor  12  may switch antenna groups  53  without delay when delayed switching may result in reduced lifespan of the electronic device  10 . For example, the processor  12  may determine to switch without delay when the temperature of the first antenna group  53  is provided by an internal temperature sensor  58 . Because the internal temperature sensor  58  may be located at critical areas of the electronic device  10  (e.g., circuit junctions, display components, radio frequency communication components, and so on), allowing high temperatures to continue at the internal temperature sensor  58  may shorten the lifespan of the electronic device. As another example, the processor  12  may switch antenna groups  53  without delay when a temperature of the first antenna group  53  is increasing at rate higher than a threshold, when a temperature of the first antenna group  53  increases above a threshold, and so on. In different embodiments, the processor  12  may switch antenna groups  53  without delay based on any other suitable criteria. 
     When switching antenna groups  53  without delay, the processor  12  operates the second antenna group  53  with a current beam configuration at block  288 . That is, the processor  12  may operate the second antenna group  53  with a beam configuration used by the (currently operating) first antenna group  53  for transmitting and/or receiving data. In some embodiments, the transmission and/or reception efficiency of the processor  12  may reduce when using the beam configuration of the first antenna group  53  with the second antenna group  53 , as it was not configured for the second antenna group  53 . Accordingly, the processor  12  may use a new beam configuration configured for the second antenna group  53  when the new beam configuration is received from the base station. For example, the base station may send the new beam configuration to the electronic device  10  in response to receiving the report from the electronic device  10  that the second antenna group  53  has been selected for operation at block  284 . In some embodiments, the base station may send the new beam configuration to the electronic device  10  in response to receiving a new beam report (e.g., as provided by the metric buffer  248 ). 
     However, at block  286 , when the switching does not need to occur without delay, the processor  12  proceeds to block  290 . For example, the high temperature may be based on temperature measurements of the external temperature sensors  56  (e.g., such that the temperature measurements are likely not to reduce the lifespan of the electronic device  10 ), the high temperature may not exceed a threshold for switching without delay, or the like. At block  290 , the processor  12  determines whether a new beam configuration for the second antenna group  53  has been received. As noted above, the base station may send the new beam configuration to the electronic device  10  in response to receiving the report from the electronic device  10  that the second antenna group  53  has been selected for operation at block  284 , or in response to receiving a new beam report (e.g., as provided by the metric buffer  248 ). 
     If the new beam configuration has not been received, the processor  12  determines whether a threshold amount of time has elapsed, at block  296 . In some embodiments, the threshold amount of time may correspond to a synchronization time (e.g., adaptation time, predetermined adaptation time) between the base station and the processor  12  based on transmitting the request for the new beam configuration (e.g., synchronous switching time). In additional or alternative embodiments, the threshold amount of time may correspond to a maximum time that may ensure receiving the new beam configuration based on transmitting the request for the new beam configuration. The threshold amount of time may be on the order of a few Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) burst periods (e.g., 5 milliseconds (ms) each). That is, the threshold amount of time may include 0.1-100 ms, 1-25 ms, 5-20 ms, and so on. 
     If the threshold amount of time has elapsed at block  296 , the processor  12  operates the second antenna group  53  with the current beam configuration at block  288 . That is, the processor  12  may operate the second antenna group  53  with a beam configuration used by the (currently operating) first antenna group  53  for transmitting and/or receiving data. As previously mentioned, the transmission and/or reception efficiency of the processor  12  may reduce when using the beam configuration of the first antenna group  53  with the second antenna group  53 , as it was not configured for the second antenna group  53 . Accordingly, the processor  12  may use a new beam configuration configured for the second antenna group  53  when the new beam configuration is received from the base station. 
     On the other hand, if the new beam configuration has been received at block  290 , then the processor  12  proceeds to block  292  to operate the second antenna group  53  with the new beam configuration. Subsequently, after operating the second antenna group  53  with the current beam configuration at block  288  or with the new beam configuration at block  292 , the processor  12  deactivates the first antenna group  53  at block  294 . Accordingly, the method  280  enables beam configuration management, and more specifically, enables switching to another antenna group  53  when a temperature of currently operating antenna group  53  is at a high temperature. It should be appreciated that a high temperature of the processor  12  may change during the delayed switching of the antenna groups  53 . Accordingly, in some embodiments, the processor  12  may periodically determine the temperature of the antenna groups  53  at any point in the process  280 , and, for example, restart the process  280 , cancel certain blocks of the process  280  to continue using the first antenna group  53 , and so on. 
     Turning now to  FIG.  9   , a system  320  is depicted for determining antenna groups  53  (e.g., antennas  54 ) for data transmission and/or reception based on link preferences and thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, multiple antenna groups  53  may include similar temperature and power gains when forming a beam. However, data transmission and/or reception using such antenna groups  53  may have different impacts on link characteristics and/or thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . The link preferences may include a data rate or throughput as specified by or estimated to execute one or more software applications (e.g., stored in the memory  14  of the electronic device  10 ) by the processor  12 . In some embodiments, the link preferences may include a latency executing the one or more software applications. A thermal hotspot may include an area of the electronic device that may exhibit an increased rise in temperature due to operation of an antenna group at that location. That is, an antenna array at a thermal hotspot may see an increased rise in temperature during operation when compared to the same antenna array operating at a non-thermal hotspot location. 
     For example, data transmission and/or reception using an antenna group  53  disposed in the thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10  may result in high rate of temperature increase in the antenna group  53  and components at or near the thermal hotspots. Moreover, a signal quality (e.g., power gain) of the antenna group  53  may also be reduced due to the placement of the antennas  54  of the selected antenna group  53  in the thermal hotspot. Accordingly, the electronic device  10  may prioritize using antenna groups  53  disposed outside of any thermal hotspots to prevent reduction of lifespan of the electronic device  10  based on rapid temperature increase in the thermal hotspot areas. 
     An application processor  322  and a baseband processor  324  (e.g., which may both or each be representative of the processor  12 ) may prioritize selection of antenna groups  53  that fulfill the link preferences and/or are disposed outside the hotspots. In the depicted embodiment, the application processor  322  may communicate the link preferences  326  of the electronic device  10  to the baseband processor  324 . In particular, the application processor  322  may determine the link preferences  326  using link preference logic  328 . For example, the link preference logic  328  may include dedicated circuitry, software, or both, for determining the link preferences  326 . In some embodiments, the link preference logic  328  may determine the data rate, throughput, and/or the latency preferences (e.g., estimated usage, specification, requirements, and so on) based on an application (e.g., software) running on the electronic device  10  and/or the processor  12 . For example, the link preference logic  328  may determine the link preferences  326  based on a current use case of the electronic device  10  for transmitting and/or receiving data, including whether a user is placing a phone call, browsing the Internet, streaming a video, and so on. 
     Moreover, the application processor  322  may use a thermal hotspot mapper  330  to determine the thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . The thermal hotspot mapper  330  may include dedicated circuitry, software, or both, for determining the thermal hotspots of the electronic device  10 . Subsequently, the application processor  322  may determine antenna groups  53  disposed outside the determined thermal hotspots. The application processor  322  may then transmit antenna group and hotspot information  332  to the baseband processor  324  indicative of whether each antenna group  53  is disposed in a thermal hotspot. 
     With that in mind, the baseband processor  324  may determine an antenna group  53  for transmitting and/or receiving data when forming a beam based on the link preferences  326  and the antenna group and hotspot information  332 . That is, the baseband processor  324  may select the antenna group  53  capable of data communication according to the link preferences  326  and/or disposed outside the hotspots. In some embodiments, the processor  12  may also use the determined temperatures and power gains described above for selecting the antenna group  53 . Accordingly, the selected antenna group  53  may include data communication capability based on the link preferences  326 , antennas  54  disposed outside thermal hotspots, temperature less than the threshold temperature, and/or power gain above the gain threshold. 
     In additional or alternative embodiments, the baseband processor  324  may apply weights to antenna groups  53  satisfying the link preferences  326 , antenna groups  53  disposed outside thermal hotspots, antenna groups  53  having temperatures below the temperature threshold, and antenna groups  53  having power gains above the gain threshold. That is, the baseband processor  324  may weigh some of these antenna groups  53  heavier than others based on the weights applied. In another example, the baseband processor  324  may neglect one or more of the factors discussed when selecting the antenna group  53 , for example, when no antenna group  53  satisfies all the antenna selection factors and/or criteria. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  10   , a process  350  for selecting an antenna group  53  based on the link preferences  326  and the antenna group and hotspot information  332  described above is illustrated, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The application processor  322  and/or the baseband processor  324  of the processor  12  described above with respect to  FIG.  9    may perform all or a portion of the process  350 . While the blocks of the process  350  below are provided in a sequence, it should be understood that the blocks may be performed in different orders, and in some cases, blocks may be skipped entirely 
     At block  352 , the processor  12  receives an indication to establish a wireless connection for data transmission and/or reception. Subsequently, at block  354 , the processor  12  determines whether there is an indication of link preferences  326 . For example, as discussed above with respect to the system  320  of  FIG.  9   , the link preference logic  328  may determine data rate, throughput, and/or the latency preferences of one or more software application executing on the electronic device  10 , and send one or more of the preferences  326  to the baseband processor  324 . Accordingly, the processor  12  may determine there is an indication of the link preferences  326 . However, in some instances, the link preference logic  328  may not generate any link preferences  326 , and, as such, no link preferences  326  are received by the baseband processor  324 . 
     At block  354 , when the processor  12  determines that there is no indication of link preferences  326 , the processor  12  proceeds to block  356 . At block  356 , the processor  12  forms a beam with an antenna group  53  with the highest power gain to transmit and/or receive data. In additional or alternative embodiments, at block  356 , the processor  12  proceeds to select an antenna group  53  for data transmission and/or reception using the processes  190 ,  200 , and/or  280  to select an antenna group  53  with low temperature and high power gain at a respective switching (or selection/activation) time. Accordingly, at block  356 , the processor  12  may select the antenna group  53  with highest power gain (e.g., highest bandwidth, highest data rate, highest throughput, lowest latency) that may not cause reduced data communication quality and/or reduced lifespan of the electronic device  10  due to high temperature. In another embodiment, the processor  12  may form a beam with an antenna group  53  with the lowest temperature. 
     However, when the processor  12  determines an indication of link preference at block  354 , the processor  12  may proceed to block  358 . At block  358 , the processor  12  determines whether one or more antenna groups  53  are disposed outside of a thermal hotspot are available for data communication. In some embodiments, the processor  12  may determine antenna groups  53  that are at least partially (e.g., have at least some antennas  54 ) disposed outside of thermal hotspots. As mentioned above, the thermal hotspot mapper  330  of the application processor  322  may provide such information to the baseband processor  324 . When no antenna group  53  is available outside of thermal hotspots at block  358 , the processor  12  proceeds to block  356  to form a beam with the antenna group  53  with highest power gain to transmit and/or receive data. 
     When an antenna group  53  is determined to be is available outside of a thermal hotspot at block  358 , the processor  12  proceeds to block  360 . At block  360 , the processor  12  receives a beam for the antenna group  53  disposed outside of the thermal hotspot from a base station. For example, at block  360 , the processor  12  may request a beam configuration from base station, report a selection of the antenna group  53 , and so on, and receive the beam configuration in return. 
     Subsequently, at block  362 , the processor  12  determines whether the beam satisfies the link preferences  326  (as referenced at block  354 ). In particular, the processor  12  may determine whether the beam configuration received from the base station in block  360  may enable data communication using the antenna group  53  that satisfies an estimated (or required) throughput, latency, or both, indicated by the link preferences  326 . When the beam does not satisfy the link preferences  326 , the processor  12  proceeds to block  356  to form a beam with the antenna group  53  with highest power gain to transmit and/or receive data. That is, when the beam does not satisfy the link preferences  326 , the processor  12  may not use the antenna group  53  determined at block  358 . However, when the beam satisfies the link preferences  326 , the processor  12  proceeds to block  364  to form the beam with the antenna group  53  to transmit and/or receive data. 
     Accordingly, the process  350  may select an antenna group  53  based on the link preferences  326  and antenna group and hotspot information  332 . Moreover, the processor  12  may perform the process  350  repeatedly, upon receiving a triggering event, or may iterate through portions of the process, for example, upon receiving updated temperature measurements, gain measurements, requests for establishing wireless connections, time periods, and so on. 
     The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. 
     The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ,” it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20210430
Publication Date: 20240220
Grant Date: 20240220
Priority Date: 20210430
Inventors: EDER, Franz J.
TOSETTI, CARLO
KOCAGOEZ, KENAN
VASHI, Prashant H.
CHAKKA, Murali Mohan
DHANAPAL, MUTHUKUMARAN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01Q3/24", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q3/34", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q25/002", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/13", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0691", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0608", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q3/24", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0874", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/088", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0695", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0404", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01K13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0814", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B17/13", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q1/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q3/34", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01Q25/002", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 81326426