PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10833740-B1
Application Number: US-201916516518-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Systems and methods for coarse scan beamforming using subarrays

Abstract:
A communication device has multiple antennas in an antenna array, and applies the same input power to each antenna. A controller of the communication device instructs phase shifters to form a first subarray with a first pair of the antennas and a second subarray with a second pair of the antennas. The controller causes the first subarray to generate a first beam and causes the second subarray to generate a second beam, wherein the first beam combines in phase with the second beam to generate a coarse beam. The coarse beam may have increased beam width while exhibiting decreased peak gain loss.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A communication device comprising:
 one or more antenna arrays comprising a plurality of antennas; 
 a radio frequency integrated circuit comprising:
 a plurality of phase shifters, wherein each phase shifter of the plurality of phase shifters is coupled to a respective antenna of the plurality of antennas; and 
 a codebook configured to store a plurality of codewords, wherein each codeword is configured to cause the plurality of phase shifters to control phases of a signal received by the plurality of phase shifters; and 
 
 a controller coupled to the radio frequency integrated circuit, wherein the controller is configured to:
 send the signal to the plurality of phase shifters, wherein the signal is configured to apply a same input power to each antenna of the plurality of antennas; and 
 send a codeword of the plurality of codewords to the plurality of phase shifters, wherein the signal and the codeword are configured to cause a first subarray of antennas of the plurality of antennas to emit a first beam and cause a second subarray of antennas of the plurality of antennas to emit a second beam, wherein the first beam is configured to combine in phase with the second beam to generate a coarse beam having a beam width at least 2.5 times that of a reference beam width of a reference beam that is generated by applying the same input power to each antenna of the plurality of antennas when the plurality of antennas are configured to emit respective beams singly and separately. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the beam width is measured at a threshold gain difference from a peak gain of the coarse beam, and wherein the reference beam width is measured at the threshold gain difference from a peak gain of the reference beam. 
     
     
       3. The communication device of  claim 2 , wherein the threshold gain difference is 6 decibels. 
     
     
       4. The communication device of  claim 2 , wherein the peak gain is in a direction at which the coarse beam is directed, wherein the coarse beam comprises a plurality of lesser peak gains in directions different than the direction at which the coarse beam is directed. 
     
     
       5. The communication device of  claim 4 , wherein the peak gain and the plurality of lesser peak gains occur within the threshold gain difference from the peak gain of the coarse beam. 
     
     
       6. The communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the beam width is between 100° and 110°, wherein the reference beam width is between 30° and 40°. 
     
     
       7. The communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the beam width is approximately 104°, and wherein the reference beam width is approximately 36°. 
     
     
       8. The communication device of  claim 1 , wherein a peak gain of the coarse beam is at most 3.5 decibels less than a peak gain of the reference beam. 
     
     
       9. The communication device of  claim 1 , wherein a peak gain of the coarse beam is approximately −3 decibels when a peak gain of the reference beam is scaled to 0 decibels. 
     
     
       10. The communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the coarse beam comprises a frequency between 24.25 gigahertz and 300 gigahertz. 
     
     
       11. A radio frequency integrated circuit comprising:
 a plurality of phase shifters, wherein each phase shifter of the plurality of phase shifters is configured to couple to a respective antenna of an antenna array, wherein the antenna array comprises a plurality of antennas; and 
 a codebook configured to store a plurality of codewords, wherein a set of codewords of the plurality of codewords is configured to cause the plurality of phase shifters to control phases of a signal received by the plurality of phase shifters, wherein the set of codewords is configured to cause a first subarray of antennas of the plurality of antennas to emit a first beam and cause a second subarray of antennas of the plurality of antennas to emit a second beam, wherein the plurality of codewords enables spherical coverage, wherein a number of codewords of the plurality of codewords stored in the codebook is less than or equal to 72, wherein the first beam is configured to coherently add to the second beam to generate a coarse beam that comprises a main lobe having:
 a maximum peak gain in a main direction at which the coarse beam is directed; 
 a plurality of lesser peak gains in lesser directions different from the main direction. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The radio frequency integrated circuit of  claim 11 , wherein a number of codewords of the plurality of codewords stored in the codebook is less than or equal to 36. 
     
     
       13. The radio frequency integrated circuit of  claim 11 , comprising:
 a second plurality of phase shifters, wherein each phase shifter of the second plurality of phase shifters is configured to couple to a second respective antenna of a second antenna array, wherein the second antenna array comprises a second plurality of antennas; and 
 a third plurality of phase shifters, wherein each phase shifter of the third plurality of phase shifters is configured to couple to a third respective antenna of a third antenna array, wherein the third antenna array comprises a third plurality of antennas. 
 
     
     
       14. The radio frequency integrated circuit of  claim 13 , wherein the codebook is configured to store:
 a second set of codewords of the plurality of codewords of the codebook is configured to cause the second plurality of phase shifters to control second phases of the signal received by the second plurality of phase shifters; and 
 a third set of codewords of the plurality of codewords of the codebook is configured to cause the third plurality of phase shifters to control third phases of the signal received by the third plurality of phase shifters. 
 
     
     
       15. The radio frequency integrated circuit of  claim 14 , wherein a number of codewords of the set of codewords is less than or equal to 24, a number of codewords of the second set of codewords is less than or equal to 24, and a number of codewords of the third set of codewords is less than or equal to 24. 
     
     
       16. The radio frequency integrated circuit of  claim 14 , wherein a number of codewords of the set of codewords is less than or equal to 12, a number of codewords of the second set of codewords is less than or equal to 12, and a number of codewords of the third set of codewords is less than or equal to 12. 
     
     
       17. One or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium, comprising machine-readable instructions that cause a processing device to:
 send a signal to a plurality of phase shifters of a radio frequency integrated circuit, wherein each phase shifter of the plurality of phase shifters is coupled to a respective antenna of a plurality of antennas, and wherein the signal is configured to apply a same input power to each antenna of the plurality of antennas; and 
 send a codeword of a plurality of codewords stored in a codebook to the plurality of phase shifters, wherein each codeword is configured to cause the plurality of phase shifters to control phases of the signal received by the plurality of phase shifters, wherein the signal and the codeword are configured to cause a first subarray of antennas of the plurality of antennas to emit a first beam and cause a second subarray of antennas of the plurality of antennas to emit a second beam, wherein the first beam is configured to combine in phase with the second beam to generate a coarse beam having a beam width at least 2.5 times that of a reference beam width of a reference beam that is generated by applying the same input power to each antenna of the plurality of antennas when the plurality of antennas are configured to emit respective beams singly and separately. 
 
     
     
       18. The one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of codewords enables spherical coverage. 
     
     
       19. The one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium of  claim 17 , wherein a number of codewords of the plurality of codewords stored in the codebook is less than or equal to 72. 
     
     
       20. The one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium of  claim 17 , wherein the coarse beam comprises:
 a main lobe having a maximum peak gain in a main direction at which the coarse beam is directed; and 
 a plurality of lesser peak gains in lesser directions different from the main direction.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems and, more specifically, to enabling a wireless communication device to communicate with a base station. 
     This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
     The 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization finalized the Release-15 cellular communication standard in June 2018 with the 5th Generation (5G) specifications that include a new millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)), which may be used to achieve increased throughput. Communicating using the mmWave frequency range may result in high energy loss in propagation, and, as such, typically requires using multiple antennas and beam-forming techniques to communicate with a base station. The directional nature of beam-forming provides a strong antenna array gain at the cost of weak coverage in space; hence a communication device (e.g., a smartphone) typically quickly switches beam directions to search for the base station. The 3GPP defines two sets of search schemes: a first “Coarse Search” that uses wider beams to locate the base station, and then a second “Fine Search” that uses narrow beams to focus the energy at the located base station to exchange data with the base station. 
     To instruct the antennas of the communication device to form beams, a radio frequency integrated circuit of the communication device may include a codebook that stores beam settings called “codewords”. That is, each codeword corresponds to a directional beam that may be formed by one or more antennas of the communication device. However, the codebook stores a large number of codewords corresponding to multiple directional coarse beams used to locate the base station, and multiple directional narrow beams used to connect with the base station in different directions to exchange data with the base station, which may take up a significant portion of memory space in the radio frequency integrated circuit, and enlarge the physical blueprint of the radio frequency integrated circuit. 
     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 
     The presently disclosed systems and methods include dividing an antenna array (e.g., multiple antennas) of a communication device into subarrays. For example, if the communication device has an antenna array having four antennas, a controller of a radio frequency integrated circuit of the communication device may divide the antenna array into two subarrays of two antennas each. The controller may instruct each subarray to form a respective beam by sending beam setting information from a codebook (that stores beam settings called “codewords”) of a radio frequency integrated circuit to each antenna. The respective beams may be combined in phase to generate a coarse beam that is used to locate the base station. 
     In particular, the controller may instruct the antennas of the antenna array to generate the coarse beam to increase the beam width of the coarse beam, while maintaining an increased gain. For example, communication device may include at least four antennas. The controller may apply the same input power to each antenna, form a first subarray with a first pair of antennas, and form a second subarray with a second pair of antennas. In particular, the controller may cause the first subarray to generate a first beam and cause the second subarray to generate a second beam, wherein the first beam combines in phase with the second beam to generate the coarse beam. 
     The resulting generated coarse beam may have reduced peak gain loss when compared to applying the same input power to each antenna without forming such subarrays (e.g., on the scale of 3 decibels). Moreover, the beam width of the coarse beam may be significantly greater than that realized when applying the same input power to each antenna without forming such subarrays (e.g., on the scale of 2.5 times greater than that realized when applying the same input power to each antenna without forming such subarrays). In one case, the beam width of the antenna array when applying the same input power to each antenna without forming subarrays (e.g., thus generating a reference beam) is 36°, and the peak gain may be scaled to 0 dB. When applying the same input power and forming subarrays, the resulting beam width is 104°, and the resulting peak gain is −3 dB (when compared to the peak gain of the reference beam), respectively. 
     Advantageously, due to the increased beam width when applying the same input power to and forming subarrays from the antennas of an array, beam-switching may be reduced or altogether unnecessary when attempting to detect a base station beam, thus decreasing detection time. Moreover, the codebook of the communication device may store a reduced number of codewords or beam settings for coarse beams, resulting in a smaller and more streamlined codebook, which may advantageously reduce the size of the radio frequency integrated circuit storing the codebook. For example, in the case of the communication device having three antenna arrays of four antennas each, as little as 12 to 24 codewords may be stored for each antenna array to provide spherical coverage. That is, as little as 36 to 72 codewords may be stored for the antenna arrays in the codebook for generating the coarse beams. 
     Embodiments described herein are directed to multi-radio devices, and methods of operation thereof, in which the management of the transmission powers is based on the network and/or the antenna location. In some embodiments, the location information may be encoded in messages that distinguish groups (e.g., group-by-group basis management of power). In some embodiments, the location information may be encoded in messages that distinguish individual antennas (e.g., antenna-by-antenna basis management of power). Combination of group-by-group and antenna-by-antenna management may also be employed for different networks. 
    
    
     
       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 in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a notebook computer representing an embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a hand-held device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of another hand-held device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of a desktop computer representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view and side view of a wearable electronic device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram of a communication system that includes the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  using coarse beams to locate a base station beam, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of the communication system of  FIG. 7  that includes the electronic device of  FIG. 1  using a fine beam to transfer information with a base station, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a radio frequency integrated circuit of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a plot of a coarse beam generated by an antenna array of  FIG. 9 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 11  is a plot of a reference beam generated by the antenna array of  FIG. 9 , where the antennas are not formed into subarrays, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 12  is a plot of the coarse beam of  FIG. 10  using a spherical coordinate system, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating a coarse beam to find and select a base station beam, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 14  is a flowchart illustrating a method for tracking a base station beam using a coarse beam, according to embodiments 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. 
     The 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization finalized the Release-15 cellular communication standard in June 2018 with the 5th Generation (5G) specifications that include a new millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)), which may be used to achieve increased throughput. Communicating using the mmWave frequency range may result in high energy loss in propagation, and, as such, typically requires using multiple antennas and beam-forming techniques to communicate with a base station. The directional nature of beam-forming provides a strong antenna array gain at the cost of weak coverage in space; hence a communication device (e.g., a smartphone) typically quickly switches beam directions to search for the base station. The 3GPP defines two sets of search schemes: a first “Coarse Search” that uses wider beams to locate the base station, and then a second “Fine Search” that uses narrow beams to focus the energy at the located base station to exchange data with the base station. 
     To instruct the antennas of the communication device to form beams, a radio frequency integrated circuit of the communication device may include a codebook that stores beam settings called “codewords”. That is, each codeword corresponds to a directional beam that may be formed by an antenna array of the communication device. However, the codebook may store a large number of codewords corresponding to multiple directional coarse beams used to locate the base station, and multiple directional narrow beams used to connect with the base station in different directions to exchange data with the base station, which may take up a significant portion of memory space in the radio frequency integrated circuit, and enlarge the physical blueprint of the radio frequency integrated circuit. 
     The presently disclosed systems and methods are directed at generating a coarse beam with increased beam width while exhibiting decreased peak gain loss. For example, a communication device may have multiple antennas in an antenna array, and apply the same input power to each antenna. A controller of the communication device may instruct phase shifters to form a first subarray with a first pair of the antennas and a second subarray with a second pair of the antennas. In particular, the controller may cause the first subarray to generate a first beam and cause the second subarray to generate a second beam, wherein the first beam combines in phase with the second beam to generate the coarse beam. When compared to applying the same input power to each antenna without forming such subarrays, the beam width of the coarse beam may be at least 2.5 times greater. Moreover, the peak gain of the coarse beam may be at most 3.5 decibels (dB) less than the peak gain of the antenna array when applying the same input power to each antenna without forming the subarrays. 
     Advantageously, due to the increased beam width, beam-switching may be reduced or altogether unnecessary when attempting to detect a base station beam, thus decreasing detection time. Moreover, the codebook of the communication device may store a reduced number of codewords or beam settings for coarse beams, resulting in a smaller and more streamlined codebook, which may advantageously reduce the size of the radio frequency integrated circuit. 
     With the foregoing in mind, there are many suitable communication devices that may benefit from the embodiments for generating coarse beams with increased beam width and decreased peak gain loss described herein. Turning first to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include, among other things, one or more processor(s)  12 , memory  14 , nonvolatile storage  16 , a display  18 , input structures  22 , an input/output (I/O) interface  24 , a network interface  26 , and a power source  28 . 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. 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 electronic device  10 . 
     By way of example, the electronic device  10  may represent a block diagram of the notebook computer depicted in  FIG. 2 , the handheld device depicted in  FIG. 3 , the handheld device depicted in  FIG. 4 , the desktop computer depicted in  FIG. 5 , the wearable electronic device depicted in  FIG. 6 , or similar devices. It should be noted that the processor(s)  12  and other related items in  FIG. 1  may be embodied wholly or in part as software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the processor(s)  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 . 
     In the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 , the processor(s)  12  may be operably coupled with the memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16  to perform various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor(s)  12  may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture that includes one or more tangible, computer-readable media at least collectively storing the instructions or routines, such as the memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16 . 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(s)  12  to enable the electronic device  10  to provide various functionalities. 
     In certain embodiments, the display  18  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), which may allow users to view images generated on the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, the display  18  may include a touch screen, which may allow users to interact 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 organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, or some combination of LCD panels and OLED panels. 
     The input structures  22  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  24  may enable electronic device  10  to interface with various other electronic devices, as may the network interface  26 . The network interface  26  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 an 802.11x Wi-Fi network, and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as a 3rd generation (3G) cellular network, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), 4th generation (4G) cellular network, long term evolution (LTE) cellular network, or long term evolution license assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5th generation (5G) cellular network, and/or 5G New Radio (5G NR) cellular network. In particular, the network interface  26  may include, for example, one or more interfaces for using the Release-15 cellular communication standard of the 5G specifications that include the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 GHz). 
     The network interface  26  may also include one or more interfaces for, for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks (WiMAX), mobile broadband Wireless networks (mobile WiMAX), asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) and its extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H), ultra-Wideband (UWB), alternating current (AC) power lines, and so forth. As further illustrated, the electronic device  10  may include a power source  28 . The power source  28  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. Such computers may include computers that are generally portable (such as laptop, notebook, and tablet computers) as well as computers that are generally used in one place (such as conventional desktop computers, workstations, and/or servers). In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  in the form of a computer may be a model of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc. By way of example, the electronic device  10 , taking the form of a notebook computer  10 A, is illustrated in  FIG. 2  in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The depicted computer  10 A may include a housing or enclosure  36 , a display  18 , input structures  22 , and ports of an I/O interface  24 . In one embodiment, the input structures  22  (such as a keyboard and/or touchpad) may be used to interact with the computer  10 A, such as to start, control, or operate a GUI or applications running on computer  10 A. For example, a keyboard and/or touchpad may allow a user to navigate a user interface or application interface displayed on display  18 . 
       FIG. 3  depicts a front view of a handheld device  10 B, which represents one embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  10 B may represent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personal data organizer, a handheld game platform, or any combination of such devices. By way of example, the handheld device  10 B may be a model of an iPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The handheld device  10 B may include an enclosure  36  to protect interior components from physical damage and to shield them from electromagnetic interference. The enclosure  36  may surround the display  18 . The I/O interfaces  24  may open through the enclosure  36  and may include, for example, an I/O port for a hardwired connection for charging and/or content manipulation using a standard connector and protocol, such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc., a universal service bus (USB), or other similar connector and protocol. 
     User input structures  22 , in combination with the display  18 , may allow a user to control the handheld device  10 B. For example, the input structures  22  may activate or deactivate the handheld device  10 B, navigate user interface to a home screen, a user-configurable application screen, and/or activate a voice-recognition feature of the handheld device  10 B. Other input structures  22  may provide volume control, or may toggle between vibrate and ring modes. The input structures  22  may also include a microphone may obtain a user&#39;s voice for various voice-related features, and a speaker may enable audio playback and/or certain phone capabilities. The input structures  22  may also include a headphone input may provide a connection to external speakers and/or headphones. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a front view of another handheld device  10 C, which represents another embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  10 C may represent, for example, a tablet computer, or one of various portable computing devices. By way of example, the handheld device  10 C may be a tablet-sized embodiment of the electronic device  10 , which may be, for example, a model of an iPad® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     Turning to  FIG. 5 , a computer  10 D may represent another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 . The computer  10 D may be any computer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a notebook computer, but may also be a standalone media player or video gaming machine. By way of example, the computer  10 D may be an iMac®, a MacBook®, or other similar device by Apple Inc. It should be noted that the computer  10 D may also represent a personal computer (PC) by another manufacturer. A similar enclosure  36  may be provided to protect and enclose internal components of the computer  10 D such as the display  18 . In certain embodiments, a user of the computer  10 D may interact with the computer  10 D using various peripheral input devices  22 , such as the keyboard  22 A or mouse  22 B, which may connect to the computer  10 D. 
     Similarly,  FIG. 6  depicts a wearable electronic device  10 E representing another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  that may be configured to operate using the techniques described herein. By way of example, the wearable electronic device  10 E, which may include a wristband  43 , may be an Apple Watch® by Apple, Inc. However, in other embodiments, the wearable electronic device  10 E may include any wearable electronic device such as, for example, a wearable exercise monitoring device (e.g., pedometer, accelerometer, heart rate monitor), or other device by another manufacturer. The display  18  of the wearable electronic device  10 E may include a touch screen display  18  (e.g., LCD, OLED display, active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display, and so forth), as well as input structures  22 , which may allow users to interact with a user interface of the wearable electronic device  10 E. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG. 7  is a diagram of a communication system  50  that includes the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  using coarse beams  52  to locate a base station beam  54 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a base station  56  may send multiple base station beams  54  (e.g., broadcast signals) for a communication device (e.g., a mobile terminal, which may include the electronic device  10 ) to sync, attach, and report to. In particular, the base station beams  54  may be in the mmWave frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 GHz). The electronic device  10  may transmit wide- or large-beam width (“coarse”) beams  52  to search for the base stations beams  54 . This is because the larger beam width may enable the coarse beam  52  to cover more space when searching for the base station beam  54 , and reduce the number of times the beam may be switched to cover a different area. Beam-switching may use additional power (e.g., from the power source  28  of the electronic device  10 ), as well as processing power (e.g., of the processor  12 ). Moreover, because each beam may be provided from settings (“codewords”) in a codebook stored in a radio frequency integrated circuit of the electronic device  10 , and the larger beam width of the coarse beam  52  may reduce the number of beams used to search for a base station beam  54 , the codewords stored in the codebook may also be reduced. This may result in decreasing memory usage in the radio frequency integrated circuit, and thus may enable a smaller physical blueprint of the radio frequency integrated circuit. Link adaptation time may also be reduced as the electronic device  10  adapts the coarse beam  52  to the base station beam  54 , other transmitting beams, and so on. 
     When the electronic device  10  finds and selects a suitable base station beam  54  via its transmitted coarse beam  52 , the electronic device  10  may “track” the base station beam  54  to transfer information with the base station  56 . In particular, information may be in the form of data packets having header information and communication payload data. The header information may be used to setup, maintain, and/or enable communication between the electronic device  10  and the base station  56 , while the communication payload data may include the “actual” information that is intended for transfer, such as user data. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device  10  may track the base station beam  54  using the coarse beam  52  used to search for the base station beam  54 . In additional or alternative embodiments, the electronic device  10  may switch or change to emitting a fine beam to track the base station beam  54  and exchange information. For example,  FIG. 8  is a diagram of the communication system  50  that includes the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  using a fine beam  70  to transfer information with the base station  56 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The fine beam  70  may be a narrow- or small-beam width (“fine”) beam  70  that has a beam width less than the coarse beam  52 , as the fine beam  70  may be used once the base station beam  54  has been located, and thus there is no advantage to having a wider or larger beam width. 
       FIG. 9  is a radio frequency integrated circuit  90  of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  may be part of the network interface  26  of the electronic device  10 . The radio frequency integrated circuit  90  may include a controller  92  (e.g., a network controller) having one or more processors  94  (e.g., which may include a processor  12  illustrated in  FIG. 1 ) and one or more memory and/or storage devices  96  (e.g., which may include a memory  14  and/or nonvolatile storage  16  device illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). The one or more processors  94  (e.g., microprocessors) may execute software programs and/or instructions to generate coarse beams  52 , track base station beams  54 , and so on. Moreover, the one or more processors  94  may include multiple microprocessors, one or more “general-purpose” microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors, and/or one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICS), or some combination thereof. For example, the one or more processors  94  may include one or more reduced instruction set (RISC) processors. 
     The one or more memory devices  96  may store information such as control software, look up tables, configuration data, etc. In some embodiments, the one or more processors  94  and/or the one or more memory devices  96  may be external to the controller  92  and/or the radio frequency integrated circuit  90 . The one or more memory devices  96  may include a tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium, such as a volatile memory (e.g., a random access memory (RAM)) and/or a nonvolatile memory (e.g., a read-only memory (ROM)). The one or more memory devices  96  may store a variety of information and may be used for various purposes. For example, the one or more memory devices  96  may store machine-readable and/or processor-executable instructions (e.g., firmware or software) for the one or more processors  94  to execute, such as instructions for generating coarse beams  52 , tracking base station beams  54 , and so on. The one or more memory devices  96  may include one or more storage devices (e.g., nonvolatile storage devices) that may include read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard drive, or any other suitable optical, magnetic, or solid-state storage medium, or a combination thereof. 
     The controller  92  may be coupled to multiple phase shifters  98 . Each phase shifter  98  may in turn be coupled to an antenna  100 . The controller  92  may output a signal to the phase shifters  98  to cause the antennas  100  to emit radio frequency beams. In particular, the controller  92  may send the signal to apply a certain amount of input power to each phase shifter  98 . 
     The controller  92  may be coupled to a codebook  102  that stores beam settings or codewords  104 . Each codeword  104  may be a beamforming vector that specifies the beam that is generated by each antenna array  106 . That is, each phase shifter  98  may control phases of a signal received from the controller  92  to cause a respective coupled antenna  100  to output a beam with a controlled phase. Each antenna  100  may output a beam corresponding to an exponential function having a phase value as an argument. A phase shifter  98  may control and/or vary that phase value based on receiving and implementing a codeword  104  via the controller  92  and the codebook  102 , thus controlling the beam that is output by the respective coupled antenna  100 . In this manner, the controller  92  may control or operate the antennas  100  to, for example, join a wireless communication network by tracking a base station beam  54 . 
     The antennas  100  may be grouped into antenna arrays  106  based on the antennas&#39; location in the electronic device  10  and/or proximity to other antennas  100 . That is, antennas  100  may be in an antenna array  106  if the antennas  100  are within a threshold distance of each other. For example, the antenna array  106  A includes four antennas  100 A-D because the antennas  100 A-D are within a threshold distance of each other. 
     Though three antenna arrays  106  having four antennas each (antenna array  106 A has four antennas  100 A-D, antenna array  106 B has four antennas  100 E-H, and antenna array  106 C has four antennas  100 I-L) are illustrated in the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  of  FIG. 9 , in additional or alternative embodiments, the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  may include any suitable number of antenna arrays  106  (e.g., 1 through 1000 antenna arrays) having any suitable number of antennas  100  (e.g., 1 through 1000 antennas). Moreover, each antenna array  106  may be disposed in a specific region of the electronic device  10  (e.g., the top, the bottom, a side, a front end, a back end, a corner, an edge, and so on), to enable a variety of directivity, as well as redundancy (e.g., if a user&#39;s hand blocks one antenna array  106 A while holding the electronic device  10 , possibly decreasing the power or gain of the outgoing beam, another antenna array  106 B may not be blocked and be able to emit its outgoing beam with full power and/or efficiency). While the present disclosure relates to operating the antennas  100  in the mmWave frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 GHz), it should be understood that operating the antennas with respect to any suitable frequency range is contemplated, such as multiple cellular frequency bands of approximately 380 megahertz (MHz), 410 MHz, 450 MHz, 480 MHz, 700 MHz, 710 MHz, 750 MHz, 800 MHz, 810 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,500 MHz, 1,700 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 1,900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz, or 3500 MHz, Wi-Fi frequency bands of approximately 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, and so on. 
     To decrease gain loss in a coarse beam  52 , the controller  92  may apply the same high input power to each antenna  100 . In some embodiments, the input power may be the largest or maximum input that the controller  92  may apply to the antennas  100  (e.g., without exceeding safety limitations (such as Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits adopted by the Federal Communications Commission)). This may enable the antennas  100  to emit a coarse beam  52  with high gain and/or decreased gain loss. 
     To increase the beam width of the coarse beam  52 , the controller  92  may send codewords  104  to the phase shifters  98  that cause antennas  100  of each array  106  to form subarrays  108 , and cause each subarray  108  to emit beams that combine in phase with (e.g., coherently add to) beams of other subarray(s)  108  to generate the coarse beam  52 . In particular, antennas  100  of a subarray  108  may each output a beam corresponding to a respective exponential function having a phase value as an argument, and the respective exponential functions may initially be summed. At least some of these subarray exponential function summations may then be summed themselves to generate the coarse beam  52 . Combining the beams in phase may include matching the phases of the beams to coherently add the power of each beam (and reduce or avoid destructive interaction between the beams) to generate the coarse beam  52  having increased power. 
     For example, as illustrated, the controller  92  may send a codeword  104  to phase shifters  98 A-D that cause the antennas  100 A-D of the array  106 A to form two subarrays  108 A-B, and cause the two subarrays  108 A-B to emit beams  110 A-B that combine in phase to generate the coarse beam  52 A. Similarly, the controller  92  may send another codeword  104  to phase shifters  98 E-H that cause the antennas  100 E-H of the array  106 B to form two subarrays  108 C-D, and cause the two subarrays  108 C-D to emit beams  110 C-D that combine in phase to generate the coarse beam  52 B. As illustrated, the controller  92  may send a further codeword  104  to phase shifters  98 I-L that cause the antennas  100 I-L of the array  106 C to form two subarrays  108 E-F, and cause the two subarrays  108 E-F to emit beams  110 E-F that combine in phase to generate the coarse beam  52 C. 
     The radio frequency integrated circuit  90  may also include firmware  114  that is communicatively coupled to the controller  92  and the codebook  102 . The controller  92  may control the firmware  114  to update, add, and/or remove the codewords  104  in the codebook  102 . 
     Because the beams emitted by the subarrays  108  are combined in a certain phase, the generated coarse beam  52  may have increased beam width (while exhibiting a decreased gain loss due to the combining effect of the beams at this resulting phase setting).  FIG. 10  is a plot  130  of the coarse beam  52  generated by an antenna array  106  of  FIG. 9 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The plot includes a horizontal axis  132  representing beam width of the coarse beam  52  in degrees, and a vertical axis  134  representing power gain of the coarse beam  52  in decibels. For instance, zero degrees on the horizontal axis  132  indicates the direction at which the coarse beam  52  is directed from the antenna array  106 , while zero decibels on the vertical axis  134  indicates the peak power at peak directivity produced by a hypothetical lossless isotropic antenna array. The beam width may correspond to an azimuth angle (e.g., on a perpendicular plane with respect to gravity) with respect to the spherical coordinate system, where the zenith angle is constant, or a zenith angle (e.g., on a parallel plane with respect to gravity) where the azimuth angle is constant. 
     As illustrated, the coarse beam  52  has a peak gain  136  of −3 dB (e.g., in relation to a reference beam generated by applying the same input power to the antennas  100  of the antenna array  106 , but not forming subarrays  108 , such that each antenna  100  outputs a beam as a single antenna  100 ) and a beam width  138  of 104°. The beam width  138  of the coarse beam  52  may be measured at a threshold gain difference  140  from the peak gain  136  of the coarse beam  52 . In the plot  130 , the threshold gain difference  140  is 6 dB. As such, the beam width  138  of the coarse beam  52  may be measured at −9 dB. 
     Additionally, the shape of the coarse beam  52 , as a result of applying the same input power to each antenna  100  of the array  106  and causing the antennas  100  to form subarrays  108  that generate beams that combine in phase, include the wave or ripple, with the peak gain  136  as the high point. That is, the coarse beam  52  shape may be characterized as having a peak gain  136  at zero degrees (e.g., in the direction at which the coarse beam  52  is directed from the antenna array  106 ), as well as two lesser peak gains  142  that occur within the threshold gain difference  140  from the peak gain  136  (e.g., within the range of −3 dB to −9.0 dB). 
     The peak gain  136  and beam width  138  of the coarse beam  52  may be expressed in terms relative to a reference case of applying the same input power to the antennas  100  of the antenna array  106 , but not forming subarrays  108  (e.g., such that each antenna  100  outputs a beam as a single antenna  100  of the antenna array  106 ). For example,  FIG. 11  is a plot  160  of a reference beam  162  generated by the antenna array  106  of the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  of  FIG. 9 , where the antennas  100  are not formed into subarrays  108 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the reference beam  162  is scaled to have a peak gain  164  of 0 dB. The reference beam  162  also has a beam width  166  of 36°. Like the beam width  138  of the coarse beam  52  shown in  FIG. 10 , the beam width  166  of the reference beam  162  may be measured by at a threshold gain difference  168  from the peak gain  164  reference beam  162 . In the plot  160 , as with the plot  130  of  FIG. 10 , the threshold gain difference  168  is 6 dB. As such, the beam width  166  of the reference beam  162  may be measured at −6 dB. 
     Notably, the shape of the reference beam  162 , as a result of applying the same input power to each antenna  100  of the array  106  and having the antennas  100  emit beams singly and separately (as opposed to forming subarrays  108 ), only include the peak gain  164  (e.g., at zero degrees in the direction at which the reference beam  162  is directed from the antenna array  106 ), and not a lesser peak gain, within the threshold gain difference  168  from the peak gain  164  (e.g., within the range of 0 dB to −6 dB). Instead, lesser peak gains  170  are located at approximately −11.3 dB, well outside of the threshold gain difference  168  from the peak gain  164 . 
     While any suitable number of antenna arrays  106  having any suitable number of antennas  100  is contemplated in the present disclosure, the three antenna arrays  106 A-C having four antennas  100  each that generate the three coarse beams  52 A-C may enable spherical coverage (e.g., full coverage of a spherical range) using 12-24 codewords  104  per antenna array  106 . For example,  FIG. 12  is a plot  180  of the coarse beam  52  of  FIG. 10  generated by an antenna array  106  of the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  of  FIG. 9  using a spherical coordinate system, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The coarse beam  52  is illustrated as corresponding to an azimuth angle θ indicated on the plane defined by the x-axis and the z-axis of the plot  180  (e.g., perpendicular to the direction of gravity), where the zenith angle ϕ indicated on the plane defined by the x-axis and the y-axis of the plot  180  (e.g., parallel to the direction of gravity) is constant (e.g., zero degrees). It should be understood that the coarse beam  52  may have a non-zero y-axis component such that the zenith angle ϕ is a range of degree values, and that the zenith angle ϕ is illustrated as constant in the plot  180  for illustrative purposes. 
     Moreover, the coarse beam  52  illustrated in the plot  130  of  FIG. 10  may correspond to the main lobe  182  of the coarse beam  52 , as the coarse beam  52  may also exhibit minor (e.g., side and/or rear) lobes  182 , as seen in the plot  180  of  FIG. 12 . Due to the broad beam width of the coarse beam  52 , as little as 36-72 codewords  104  may be stored in the codebook  102  corresponding to coarse beams  112  to be emitted by one or more antenna arrays  106 . As an example, if the electronic device  10  includes three antenna arrays  106  each having four antennas  100 , the codebook  102  may store 12-24 codewords  104  for each antenna array  106  for generating the coarse beams  112 . 
     As such, beam-switching (between coarse beams  112 ) may be reduced or altogether unnecessary when attempting to detect a base station beam  54 , thus decreasing detection time and/or link adaptation time. Moreover, it may take less codewords  104  to enable spherical coverage, reducing the size of the codebook  102  of the radio frequency integrated circuit  90 , and thus the size of the radio frequency integrated circuit  90 . That is, each codeword  104  may take a certain amount of memory space to store in the codebook  102 , and reducing the number of codewords  104  corresponding to coarse beams  112  may result in requiring less memory space in the codebook  102  devoted to storing codewords  104 , and thus a smaller radio frequency integrated circuit  90 . 
       FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating a method  200  for generating a coarse beam  52  to find and select a base station beam  54 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method  200  may be performed by any suitable device that may control components of the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  and the antennas  100  of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 9 , such as the controller  92 , the codebook  102 , and so on. While the method  200  is described using steps in a specific sequence, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in different sequences than the sequence illustrated, and certain described steps may be skipped or not performed altogether. In some embodiments, the method  200  may be implemented by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as the one or more memory devices  96 , using a processor, such as the one or more processors  94 . 
     As illustrated, in process block  202 , the processor  94  sends a signal to the phase shifters  98  coupled to the antennas  100  that applies the same input power to each antenna  100 . That is, the processor  94  may select certain antennas  100  to emit beams of a certain gain. The certain antennas  100  may be grouped into one or more arrays  106 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the processor  94  selects the antennas  100 A-D of the array  106 A by sending the signal to the phase shifters  98 A-D. 
     In process block  204 , the processor  94  instructs the phase shifters  98  to cause a first subarray  108  of antennas  100  to emit a first beam  110 . In particular, the phase shifters  98  may control the antennas  100  of the first subarray  108  to each output a beam corresponding to a respective exponential function having a certain phase value as an argument, and the respective exponential functions may be summed. In some cases, the signal sent by the processor  94  in process block  202  may provide the instructions to the phase shifters  98  to cause the first subarray  108  of antennas to emit the first beam  110 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the processor  94  instructs the phase shifters  98 A-B to cause the antennas  100 A-B of the first subarray  108 A to emit the first beam  110 A, which may be represented as a summation of the respective exponential functions of the beams emitted by the antennas  100 A-B. 
     In process block  206 , the processor  94  instructs the phase shifters  98  to cause a second subarray  108  of antennas  100  to emit a second beam  110  that combines in phase with the first beam  110  to generate a coarse beam  52 . In particular, the phase shifters  98  may control the antennas  100  of the second subarray  108  to each output a beam corresponding to a respective exponential function having a certain phase value as an argument, and the respective exponential functions may be summed. The first beam  110  may be combined in phase (e.g., coherently added) to the second beam  110 . Combining the beams  110  in phase may include matching the phases of the beams  110  to coherently add the power of the beams  110  (and reduce or avoid destructive interaction between the beams  110 ) to generate the coarse beam  52  having increased power. In some cases, the signal sent by the processor  94  in process block  202  may provide the instructions to the phase shifters  98  to cause the second subarray  108  of antennas to emit the second beam  110 . 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the processor  94  instructs the phase shifters  98 C-D to cause the antennas  100 C-D of the second subarray  108 B to emit the second beam  110 B, which may be represented as a summation of the respective exponential functions of the beams emitted by the antennas  100 C-D. The first and second beams  110 A-B combine in phase to generate the coarse beam  52 A. In some embodiments, the electronic device  10  may include multiple arrays  106 , and may generate multiple coarse beams  52  using multiple arrays  106 , such as the multiple coarse beams  52 A-C using the multiple antenna arrays  106 A-C. 
     In process block  208 , the processor  94  receives one or more base station beams  54  using the coarse beam  52 . In particular, the processor  94  may use the coarse beam  52  to search for available base station beams  54 , and may receive indications of the base stations beams  54  via the coarse beam  52 . 
     In process block  210 , the processor  94  determines one or more beam measurements of the one or more base station beams  54 . In particular, the processor  94  may evaluate the base station beams  54  to determine the base station beam  54  that has the strongest connection to the coarse beam  52 . In some embodiments, the processor  94  may determine signal strength of the base station beam  54 , signal-to-noise ratio of the base station beam  54 , and/or any other suitable measure of connection between the base station beam  54  and the coarse beam  52 . 
     In process block  212 , the processor  94  selects a base station beam  54  based on the one or more beam measurements. That is, the processor  94  evaluates the one or more beam measurements and selects the base station beam  54  that may provide the best communication channel (e.g., has the best signal strength and/or signal-to-noise ratio). In some embodiments, the processor  94  may generate a score for each base station beam  54  by assigning weights to each beam measurement, applying the weights, and selecting the base station beam  54  with the highest score. In this manner, the method  200  may enable the processor  94  to generate a coarse beam  52  to find and select a base station beam  54 . 
     While the processor  94  may switch or change to emitting the fine beam  70  to track the base station beam  54  as shown in  FIG. 8 , in some cases, the processor  94  may continue tracking the base station beam  54  using the coarse beam  52 . In particular,  FIG. 14  is a flowchart illustrating a method  220  for tracking the base station beam  54  using the coarse beam  52 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method  220  may be performed by any suitable device that may control components of the radio frequency integrated circuit  90  and the antennas  100  of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 9 , such as the controller  92 , the codebook  102 , and so on. While the method  220  is described using steps in a specific sequence, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in different sequences than the sequence illustrated, and certain described steps may be skipped or not performed altogether. In some embodiments, the method  200  may be implemented by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as the one or more memory devices  96 , using a processor, such as the one or more processors  94 . 
     As illustrated, in process block  222 , the processor  94  receives the base station beam  54  using the coarse beam  52 . In particular, the processor  94  may receive the base station beam  54  after performing at least some of the process blocks  202 - 206  of the method  200  of  FIG. 13 . 
     In process block  224 , the processor  94  tracks the base station beam  54  using the coarse beam  52 . In some cases, the processor  94  may select the base station beam  54  from multiple received base stations beams  54  based on one or more beam measurements as described in process blocks  208 - 212  of the method  200  of  FIG. 13 . Tracking the beam may include storing a location and/or direction of the base station beam  54  and/or base station  56 , operational characteristics or parameters of the base station beam  54  and/or base station  56 , maintaining a communication channel with the base station beam  54 , and so on. 
     In process block  226 , the processor  94  determines whether the base station beam  54  has sufficient signal strength and/or a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio when using the coarse beam  52 . That is, the processor  94  may determine the signal strength of the base station beam  54 , compare the signal strength to a threshold signal strength, and determine whether the signal strength exceeds the threshold signal strength. Similarly, the processor  94  may determine the signal-to-noise ratio of the base station beam  54 , compare the signal-to-noise ratio to a threshold signal-to-noise ratio, and determine whether the signal-to-noise ratio exceeds the threshold signal-to-noise ratio. The processor  94  may make similar comparisons for any other suitable measurements of the base station beam  54  to determine the quality of communication using the coarse beam  52 . 
     If the processor  94  determines that the base station beam  54  does not have sufficient signal strength and/or a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio when using the coarse beam  52 , then, in process block  230 , the processor  94  switches to the fine beam  70  to track the base station beam  54 . The fine beam  70  may be a narrow- or small-beam width (“fine”) beam  70  that has a beam width less than the coarse beam  52 , as the fine beam  70  may be used once the base station beam  54  has been located, and thus there is no advantage to having a wider or larger beam width. While, in some cases, the fine beam  70  may be advantageous as the narrower beam width may enable less interference in the communication channel established between the fine beam  70  and the base station beam  54 , it should be understood that there may be no power difference between emitting the fine beam  70  and the coarse beam  52 , as generating the narrower beam width of the fine beam  70  may be a matter of adjusting one or more phases of one or more beams emitted by one or more antennas  100 , and not adjusting input power to the antennas  100 . 
     If the processor  94  determines that the base station beam  54  has sufficient signal strength and/or a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio when using the coarse beam  52 , then, in process block  228 , the processor  94  continues tracking the base station beam  54  using the coarse beam  52 . As such, the processor  94  may transfer information with the base station  56  using the coarse beam  52 , including communication payload data (e.g., having user data). That is, the processor  12  may not switch to a fine beam  70  to transfer information with the base station  56 . Advantageously, this reduces the time and any processing resources used to enable a user to establish communication with the base station  56  as the processor  94  does not switch from the coarse beam  52  to the fine beam  70 . Moreover, using the coarse beam  52  to track the base station beam  54  may decrease sensitivity to and/or the likelihood of losing a communication link to the base station  56  via the base station beam  54  due to sudden and/or fast movements. That is, the increased beam width of the coarse beam  52  results in broader coverage space, which may tolerate sudden and/or faster movements in orientation with less adjustments needed by the processor  94  to maintain the appropriate beam direction to establish the communication link with the base station  56 . In this manner, the method  220  may enable the processor  94  to track a base station beam  54  using a coarse beam  52 . 
     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. For example, the methods may be applied for embodiments having different numbers and/or locations for antennas, different groupings, and/or different networks. 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: 20190719
Publication Date: 20201110
Grant Date: 20201110
Priority Date: 20190719
Inventors: LIN, CHIA-FENG
YU, Qishan
CETINONERI, Berke
LIU, Xueting
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04B7/088", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0695", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0617", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0473", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0682", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0473", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0617", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0682", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 73052122