PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11956057-B2
Application Number: US-202217890793-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Devices and methods for beam tracking

Abstract:
User equipment includes one or more antennas, a receiver coupled to the one or more antennas, and processing circuitry coupled to the receiver and configured to cause the user equipment to receive downlink signals at each communication cycle using a predetermined beam in a beam time slot. Based on processed downlink signals and other relevant information the user equipment may determine a desired beam for the next communication cycle. If the desired beam is the same as the predetermined beam, the user equipment may continue using the predetermined beam at the next communication cycle. If the desired beam is different from the predetermined beam, the user equipment may switch to the desired beam at the next communication cycle. In this way, the user equipment may continue tracking a desired beam to maintain reliable data communications with a communication node.

Claims:
The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. User equipment, comprising:
 one or more antennas; 
 a receiver coupled to the one or more antennas; and 
 processing circuitry coupled to the receiver, the processing circuitry configured to
 at a first communication cycle, receive, via the receiver, a plurality of beams emitted by a communication node, the first communication cycle comprising a plurality of beam time slots, 
 at a second communication cycle, store a broadcast interval corresponding to a first signal received using a first beam in a first beam time slot of the plurality of beam time slots, and 
 at a third communication cycle, receive, via the receiver, a second signal using a second beam in a second beam time slot of the plurality of beam time slots based on the broadcast interval. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, at the third communication cycle, determine the second beam being in the second beam time slot based on the broadcast interval, a time provided by the user equipment, a location of the user equipment, predicted movement associated with the communication node, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       3. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, at the third communication cycle, determine the second beam being in the second beam time slot based on the broadcast interval, a time provided by the user equipment, a location of the user equipment, and predicted movement associated with the communication node. 
     
     
       4. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, at the third communication cycle, receive, via the receiver, the second signal using the second beam in the second beam time slot based on the first beam being different from the second beam. 
     
     
       5. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, at the third communication cycle, receive, via the receiver, the second signal using the second beam in the second beam time slot based on the first beam time slot being different from the second beam time slot. 
     
     
       6. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive a request for synchronizing the user equipment to the communication node from a Layer 1 (L1) controller. 
     
     
       7. The user equipment of  claim 6 , wherein the request comprises a node identifier associated with the communication node. 
     
     
       8. The user equipment of  claim 7 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to extract a plurality of radio parameters based on the node identifier. 
     
     
       9. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the communication node is configured to emit the plurality of beams in a time-division multiplexing (TDM) manner. 
     
     
       10. The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein a signal associated with each of the plurality of beams comprises a plurality of samples each having a structure with multiple fields comprising a preamble, a broadcast interval (BI), a broadcast (BCAST) data section, and a unicast (UCAST) data section. 
     
     
       11. The user equipment of  claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the first beam of the plurality of beams based on a preamble detection, wherein the preamble detection comprises determining signal conditions associated with the signal, wherein the signal conditions comprise a detected preamble status, a first indication of signal strength, a second indication of signal quality, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       12. The user equipment of  claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the first beam in the first beam time slot based on the signal conditions. 
     
     
       13. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of user equipment, cause the processing circuitry to:
 synchronize to a communication node for receiving a plurality of beams emitted by the communication node at a first cycle; 
 determine a time shift and a frequency shift associated with each of the plurality of beams; 
 receive data samples of a first signal using a first beam in a first beam time slot of a plurality of beam time slots at a second cycle; 
 adjust the data samples based on the time shift and the frequency shift corresponding to the first beam in the first beam time slot; 
 store a broadcast interval corresponding to the first signal; and 
 receive a second signal using a second beam in a second beam time slot of the plurality of beam time slots based on the broadcast interval at a third cycle. 
 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the processing circuitry to determine the time shift and the frequency shift associated with each of the plurality of beams based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) time, a location of the user equipment, and two-line element (TLE) set of the communication node. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the processing circuitry to determine the first beam in the first beam time slot based on a preamble detection for each of the plurality of beam time slots, wherein the preamble detection indicates the first beam in the first beam time slot based on received signal strength. 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the processing circuitry to determine the first beam in the first beam time slot based on a preamble detection for each of the plurality of beam time slots, wherein the preamble detection indicates the first beam in the first beam time slot based on a first detected beam time slot. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the processing circuitry to adjust the data samples based on the time shift and the frequency shift to compensate time and the frequency offsets induced by a distance and a velocity of the communication node with respect to the user equipment. 
     
     
       18. An electronic device, comprising:
 a transceiver; and 
 processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to
 at a first communication cycle, receive a plurality of beams emitted by a communication node using the transceiver, the first communication cycle comprising a plurality of beam time slots, 
 at a second communication cycle, store a broadcast interval corresponding to a first signal received using a first beam in a first beam time slot based on a preamble detection for each of the plurality of beam time slots, and 
 at a third communication cycle, receive a second signal using a second beam in a second beam time slot based on the broadcast interval. 
 
 
     
     
       19. The electronic device of  claim 18 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to extract a plurality of parameters that comprises radio parameters comprising a root sequence, a spreading code, and a scrambling code associated with each of the plurality of beams. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device of  claim 18 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to utilize a mathematical model to simulate communication node movement to obtain predicted movement associated with the communication node, based on input data comprising relative positioning, the relative positioning comprising operating parameters associated the communication node, movement of the Earth, historical positioning of the communication node.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to tracking wireless signal beams transmitted by communication nodes. 
     User equipment (e.g., a mobile communication device) may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., carrying user data) to and from a communication hub (e.g., a gateway, a base station, or a network control center) via a communication node (e.g., a non-terrestrial station, a satellite, and/or a high-altitude platform station). For instance, the communication hub may transmit a wireless “hub” signal to the communication node, and the communication node may relay the hub signal to the user equipment via a downlink beam. The user equipment may transmit a user signal to the communication node via an uplink beam, and the communication node may relay the user signal to the communication hub. The communication node may emit multiple beams (e.g., including the uplink beam and the downlink beam) to cover different geographical areas. However, coverage of beam may change over a period of time (e.g., due to movement of the communication node). This may create challenges for the user equipment to keep tracking a desired beam (e.g., a default beam) during communications with the communication node. 
     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. 
     In one embodiment, user equipment includes one or more antennas, a receiver coupled to the one or more antennas, and processing circuitry coupled to the receiver and configured to receive multiple beams emitted by a communication node via the receiver at a first communication cycle that includes multiple beam time slots, store a broadcast interval corresponding to a first signal received using a first beam in a first beam time slot of the multiple beam time slots at a second communication cycle, and receive a second signal via the receiver using a second beam in a second beam time slot of the multiple beam time slots based on the broadcast interval at a third communication cycle. 
     In another embodiment, a non-transitory, computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to synchronize to a communication node for receiving multiple beams emitted by the communication node at a first cycle, determine a time shift and a frequency shift associated with each of the multiple beams, receive data samples of a first signal using a first beam in a first beam time slot of multiple beam time slots at a second cycle, adjust the data samples based on the time shift and frequency shift corresponding to the first beam in the first beam time slot, store a broadcast interval corresponding to the first signal, and receive a second signal using a second beam in a second beam time slot of the multiple beam time slots based on the broadcast interval at a third cycle. 
     In yet another embodiment, an electronic device includes a transceiver and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to receive multiple beams emitted by a communication node using the transceiver at a first communication cycle that includes multiple beam time slots, store a broadcast interval corresponding to a first signal received using a first beam in a first beam time slot based on a preamble detection for each of the multiple beam time slots at a second communication cycle, and receive a second signal using a second beam in a second beam time slot based on the broadcast interval at a third communication cycle. 
     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 user equipment, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a functional diagram of the user equipment of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of circuitry of the user equipment of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram of a communication system having a communication hub, a communication node, and the user equipment of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram of the communication system of  FIG.  4    using multi-beam coverage for signal communication with the user equipment of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  6    is a timing diagram of communicating with multiple beams spread among multiple beam time slots in one communication cycle, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram of signal frame structure and cycle for signals transmitted by a communication node and received by the user equipment of  FIG.  4   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  8    is a set of timing diagrams of the user equipment of  FIG.  1    using an antenna to receive signals from two beams, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  9    is a flowchart of a method for continuously tracking a desired beam of the communication node of  FIG.  4   , 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. 
     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 terms “approximately,” “near,” “about,” “close to,” 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). Moreover, it should be understood that any exact values, numbers, measurements, and so on, provided herein, are contemplated to include approximations (e.g., within a margin of suitable or contemplatable error) of the exact values, numbers, measurements, and so on. Additionally, the term “set” may include one or more. That is, a set may include a unitary set of one member, but the set may also include a set of multiple members. 
     This disclosure is directed to a communication system having a user equipment, a communication node, and a communication hub. The user equipment uses the communication node for bi-directional communication by relaying signals from the user equipment to the communication hub via the communication node, and vice versa. The communication node may emit multiple beams to cover different geographical areas. Each beam may transmit downlink signals to the user equipment or receive uplink signals from the user equipment. Due to certain constraints (e.g., battery power of the communication node), the multiple beams may not be emitted simultaneously. For instance, a time-division multiplexing (TDM) method may be used such that different beams are emitted in different beam time slots at different time periods (communication cycles). Each communication cycle may correspond to a signal frame, which may include multiple fields, such as a preamble and broadcast interval (BI) followed by broadcast (BCAST) and unicast (UCAST) data for each beam spread in a TDM manner. 
     Coverage of beam may change over a period of time (e.g., due to movement of the communication node). This may create challenges for the user equipment to track a desired beam (e.g., a default beam). To reduce the overhead message (e.g., user equipment location data) exchange between the user equipment and the communication node and/or the communication hub, it may be desirable to facilitate determining the desired beam for the user equipment at a given point in time, at a given geographical location, and for a given communication node. 
     To determine the desired beam, the user equipment may perform a beam search at the beginning of a synchronization process in which the user equipment synchronizes to the given communication node. The user equipment may receive a synchronization request from a device (e.g., Layer 1 (L1) controller) corresponding to an upper layer (e.g., logic link control (LLC) layer). The synchronization request may include a communication node identifier (ID) associated with the given communication node. Based on the communication node ID, the user equipment may extract radio parameters (e.g., root sequence, spreading code, or scrambling code) for the beam search and other relevant information from stored data (e.g., in a database) of the user equipment. 
     At a communication cycle (e.g., cycle N), with an assumption that the given communication node transmits signals at a configured number (e.g., a maximum configured number) of beam time slots (e.g., 1 or more slots, 2 or more slots, 4 or more slots, 6 or more slots, 8 or more slots, and so on), the user equipment may perform the following operations. The user equipment may receive radio frequency (RF) I/Q samples (or in-phase and/or quadrature samples) streaming for each possible beam preamble locations in time. For each received I/Q sample associated with different beams in different beam time slots, the user equipment may perform preamble detection and determine signal conditions, such as a detected preamble status (e.g., detected or not detected), an indication of signal strength (e.g., a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)), an indication of signal quality (e.g., a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)), or the like. Among the detected preambles associated with different beams in different beam time slots for the cycle N, the user equipment may determine a first beam ID associated with a first beam and a first beam time slot in which the first beam is emitted based on signal conditions (e.g., received signal strength, such as highest received signal strength, detected beam time slot, such as first detected beam time slot, or the like). While performing signal receptions for all beam time slots one by one, the user equipment may determine a time shift and a frequency shift (e.g., Doppler shift) based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) time (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) time) for each beam time slot, user equipment position, and communication node two-line element (TLE) set. The time shift and frequency shift may be used to compensate time and frequency offsets induced by distance and velocity of the given communication node with respect to the user equipment. 
     At the next communication cycle (e.g., cycle N+1), the user equipment may perform the following operations. The user equipment may receive I/Q samples at designated time corresponding to the first beam time slot. After detecting the preamble, the user equipment may decode the broadcast interval (BI) subsequent to the preamble. If the BI is not decoded, the user equipment may perform the same operations (e.g. described above with respect to cycle N) at next cycle. If the BI is decoded, the user equipment may retrieve yaw information from the decoded BI which may indicate orientation of the given communication node. Based on the yaw information, a GNSS time for an upcoming cycle (e.g., cycle N+2), and a user equipment location, the user equipment may determine a second beam ID associated with a second beam and a second beam time slot during which the second beam is emitted. For this operation, the user equipment may utilize stored data (e.g., radio parameters) and a mathematical model simulating communication node movement to determine the second beam ID and the second beam time slot. If the second beam ID and beam time slot are same as the first beam and beam time slot (e.g., based on signal conditions), the user equipment may continue using the first beam for data communications. If the second beam ID and beam time slot are different than the first beam and beam time slot, at cycle N+2 the user equipment may switch to the second beam in the second beam time slot and perform the operations described above (e.g., detecting the preambles, decoding the BIs, determining a second beam for next cycle based on the yaw, the GNSS time, and the user equipment location, and continuing using the current beam or switching to a different beam at the next cycle). While performing signal receptions for the first beam time slot at cycle N+1, the user equipment may determine a time shift and a frequency shift based on the GNSS time for the first beam time slot, the user equipment position, and the communication node TLE set. The user equipment may use the time shift and the frequency shift to compensate for time and frequency offsets induced by the distance and the velocity of the given communication node with respect to the user equipment. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG.  1    is a block diagram of user equipment  10  (e.g., an electronic device or a mobile communication device), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The user equipment  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), 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  29 . The various functional blocks shown in  FIG.  1    may include hardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (including machine-executable instructions) or a combination of both hardware and software elements (which may be referred to as logic). The processor  12 , the memory  14 , the nonvolatile storage  16 , the display  18 , the input structures  22 , the input/output (I/O) interface  24 , the network interface  26 , and/or the power source  29  may each be communicatively coupled directly or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to one another to transmit and/or receive signals 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 user equipment  10 . 
     By way of example, the user equipment  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 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, hardware, or both. 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 user equipment  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 processors  12  may include one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, or both, and perform the various functions described herein. 
     In the user equipment  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 user equipment  10  to provide various functionalities. 
     In certain embodiments, the display  18  may facilitate users to view images generated on the user equipment  10 . In some embodiments, the display  18  may include a touch screen, which may facilitate user interaction with a user interface of the user equipment  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  22  of the user equipment  10  may enable a user to interact with the user equipment  10  (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). The I/O interface  24  may enable the user equipment  10  to interface with various other electronic devices, as may the network interface  26 . In some embodiments, the I/O interface  24  may include 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. of Cupertino, California, a universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connector and protocol. 
     The network interface  26  may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a peer-to-peer connection, a personal area network (PAN), such as an ultra-wideband (UWB) or 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), 4 th  generation (4G) cellular network, long term evolution (LTE®) cellular network, long term evolution license assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5 th  generation (5G) cellular network, New Radio (NR) cellular network, 6 th  generation (6G) cellular network and beyond, a satellite connection (e.g., via a satellite network), and so on. In particular, the network interface  26  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 (MM Wave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)). The network interface  26  of the user equipment  10  may allow communication over the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, and so forth). The network interface  26  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, UWB network, alternating current (AC) power lines, and so forth. The network interface  26  may, for instance, include a transceiver  30  for communicating signals using one of the aforementioned networks. The power source  29  of the user equipment  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. 
       FIG.  2    is a functional diagram of the user equipment  10  of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the processor  12 , the memory  14 , the transceiver  30 , a transmitter  52 , a receiver  54 , and/or antennas  55  (illustrated as  55 A- 55 N, collectively referred to as an antenna  55 ), and/or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver  56  may be communicatively coupled directly or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to one another to transmit and/or receive signals between one another. 
     The user equipment  10  may include the transmitter  52  and/or the receiver  54  that respectively transmit and receive signals between the user equipment  10  and an external device via, for example, a network (e.g., including base stations) or a direct connection. As illustrated, the transmitter  52  and the receiver  54  may be combined into the transceiver  30 . The user equipment  10  may also have one or more antennas  55 A- 55 N electrically coupled to the transceiver  30 . The antennas  55 A- 55 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  55  may be associated with a one or more beams and various configurations. In some embodiments, multiple antennas of the antennas  55 A- 55 N of an antenna group or module may be communicatively coupled a respective transceiver  30  and each emit radio frequency signals that may constructively and/or destructively combine to form a beam. The user equipment  10  may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and/or multiple antennas as suitable for various communication standards. For example, the user equipment  10  may include a first transceiver to send and receive messages using a first wireless communication network, a second transceiver to send and receive messages using a second wireless communication network, and a third transceiver to send and receive messages using a third wireless communication network, though any or all of these transceivers may be combined in a single transceiver. In some embodiments, the transmitter  52  and the receiver  54  may transmit and receive information via other wired or wireline systems or means. 
     The user equipment  10  may include the GNSS receiver  56  that may enable the user equipment to receive GNSS signals from a GNSS network that includes one or more GNSS satellites or GNSS ground stations. The GNSS signals may include a GNSS satellite&#39;s observation data, broadcast orbit information of tracked GNSS satellites, and supporting data, such as meteorological parameters, collected from co-located instruments of a GNSS satellite. For example, the GNSS signals may be received from a Global Positioning System (GPS) network, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) network, a BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), a Galileo navigation satellite network, a Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS or Michibiki) and so on. The GNSS receiver  56  may process the GNSS signals to determine a global position of the user equipment  10 . 
     The user equipment  10  may include one or more motion sensors  58  (e.g., as part of the input structures  22 ). The one or more motion sensors (collectively referred to as “a motion sensor  58 ” herein) may include an accelerometer, gyroscope, gyrometer, and the like, that detect and/or facilitate determining a current location of the user equipment, an orientation (e.g., including pitch, yaw, roll, and so on) and/or motion of the user equipment  10 , a relative positioning (e.g., an elevation angle) between the user equipment and a communication node. 
     As illustrated, the various components of the user equipment  10  may be coupled together by a bus system  60 . 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 user equipment  10  may be coupled together or accept or provide inputs to each other using some other mechanism. 
     As discussed above, the user equipment  10  may transmit a signal, via the transmitter  52 , directed to a communication node for subsequent transmission to a communication hub. For example, the user equipment  10  may transmit different signals at a transmission power to enable successful receipt of the signals by the communication node. However, in response to determining that the communication node does not successfully receive the signal (e.g., due to a non-functional reverse beam), the user equipment  10  may switch to a second communication node and re-transmit the signal to the second communication node, such as until the user equipment  10  determines that the second communication node successfully receives the signal (e.g., in response to receipt of an acknowledgement signal from the second communication node). 
       FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of circuitry  130  of the user equipment  10 . As an example, the circuitry  130  may include data processing circuitry of the processor  12 . The circuitry  130  may include Layer 1 (L1) control circuitry  132  (e.g., an L1 controller), media access control (MAC) circuitry  134 , and logic link control (LLC) circuitry  136 . Each of the MAC circuitry  134  and the LLC circuitry  136  may be communicatively coupled to the L1 control circuitry  132 . 
     In some embodiments, the L1 control circuitry  132  may operate based on information received from the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136 . For example, the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136  may receive (e.g., download) communication node information from a communication network (e.g., the Internet). The communication node information may include communication node identifiers (e.g., communication node identification information) associated with multiple communication nodes that may be used by the user equipment  10  for communications, beam identifiers (e.g., beam identification information) associated with beams emitted by each communication node, beam time slot information (e.g., a total number of beam time slots, beam distribution and timing in different beam time slots), radio parameters (e.g., root sequence, spreading code, or scrambling code) of the fields (e.g., preamble, broadcast interval, broadcast (BCAST) and unicast (UCAST) data) associated with each beam, beam status information (e.g., functional or non-functional), and/or any other relevant information (e.g., timing, orbit, elevation). The communication node information may be updated based on a predetermined frequency or cycle. For instance, the user equipment  10  may communicatively couple to the communication network periodically (e.g., on a daily basis, a weekly basis, after any suitable number of days or weeks, and so on), to download and/or receive updated communication node information. The MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136  may also receive other relevant information, such as a global position of the user equipment  10  from the GNSS receiver  56 , orientation information (e.g., pitch, yaw, roll, and so on) and/or motion of the user equipment  10  from the motion sensor  58 , relative positioning information (e.g., a distance, an elevation angle) between the user equipment  10  and the communication node, and so on. The user equipment  10  may store the communication node information in the memory  14  or the storage  16  (e.g., in the form of a database). 
     In a process of determining a desired beam associated with a communication node for data communication, the user equipment  10  may perform a beam search at the beginning of a synchronization process in which the user equipment  10  synchronizes to the communication node. For example, the user equipment  10  may receive a synchronization request from a device (e.g., the L1 controller) corresponding to an upper layer (e.g., logic link control (LLC) layer). The synchronization request may include a communication node identifier associated with the communication node. Based on the communication node identifier, the user equipment  10  may extract the radio parameters associated with each beam emitted by the communication node for the beam search and the other relevant information from stored data (e.g., in the database) of the user equipment  10 . 
     In some embodiments, the L1 control circuitry  132  may cause the transceiver  30  to receive a signal from the desired beam determined based on the data received from the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136 . For example, the MAC circuitry  134  may communicate with the L1 control circuitry  132  to indicate that the signal is to be received by the user equipment  10  (e.g., as a downlink signal) from the communication node at a designated time corresponding to the desired beam. Moreover, the MAC circuitry  134  may provide information indicating signal frame structure and cycle, such as a time duration of each data sample, sequence of fields in each data sample, a time duration of each field, and so on. Furthermore, the LLC circuitry  136  may provide additional information (e.g., a current location of the user equipment  10 , orientation information of the user equipment  10 , relative positioning between the user equipment  10  and the communication node). In some embodiments, the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136  may provide such information with updates to the L1 control circuitry  132  at a predetermined frequency or communication cycle. Thus, the L1 control circuitry  132  may continually receive updated information from the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136  and may readily utilize the updated information when the L1 control circuitry  132  is to cause the transceiver  30  to receive the signal (e.g., in a radio frequency signal) from the communication node. 
     With the preceding in mind,  FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram of a communication system  150  using a communication node for signal transmissions with the user equipment of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication system  150  includes the user equipment  10 , a communication node  102 , and a communication hub  104 . The communication node  102  may include base stations, such as Next Generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB) base stations that provide 5G/NR coverage to the user equipment  10 , Evolved NodeB (eNodeB) base stations and may provide 4G/LTE coverage to the user equipment  10 , and so on. Additionally or alternatively, the communication node  102  may include non-terrestrial base stations, high altitude platform stations, airborne base stations, space borne base stations, a satellite, or any other suitable nonstationary communication devices, communicatively coupled to the user equipment  10 . 
     The communication node  102  may be communicatively coupled to the communication hub  104 , which may include another electronic device, such as a terrestrial base station, a ground station, a call center, and so forth, to enable communication of signals between the communication hub  104  and the user equipment  10  via the communication node  102 . For example, the user equipment  10 , using its transceiver may transmit a signal to the communication node  102 , and the communication node  102  may forward the signal to the communication hub  104 . Additionally or alternatively, the communication hub  104  may transmit a signal to the communication node  102 , and the communication node  102  may forward the signal to the user equipment  10  for receipt, using its transceiver  30 . In some embodiments, the transceiver  30  may include a software-defined radio that enables communication with the communication node  102 . For example, the transceiver  30  may be capable of communicating via a first communication network (e.g., a cellular network), and may be capable of communicating via a second communication network (e.g., a non-terrestrial network) when operated by software (e.g., stored in the memory  14  and/or the storage  16  and executed by the processor  12 ). 
     At each communication cycle (e.g., time period designated for communication between the user equipment  10  and the communication node  102 ), the user equipment  10  may synchronize to the communication node  102  to establish a connection for bi-directional communication. The communication node  102  may emit multiple beams to cover different geographical areas. Each beam may be used to transmit downlink signals to the user equipment  10  or receive uplink signals from the user equipment  10 . For example, the user equipment  10  may transmit an uplink signal to the communication node  102  via a beam  152  (e.g., a reverse beam that receives the uplink signal), and receive a downlink signal from the communication node  102  via a beam  154  (e.g., a forward beam that transmits the downlink signal to the user equipment  10 ). The communication node  102  may also synchronize to the communication hub  104  to establish a connection for bi-direction communication. For example, the communication node  102  may relay the uplink signal to the communication hub  104  via a beam  156  (e.g., a communication-node-to-communication-hub beam), and receive a communication hub signal (e.g., a signal in response to the uplink signal sent from the user equipment  10 ) from the communication hub  104  via a beam  158  (e.g., a communication-hub-to-communication-node beam). 
     Coverage of beam may change over a period of time (e.g., due to movement of the communication node  102 ). For example, at a given communication cycle, the user equipment  10  may receive downlink signals with desired signal quality (e.g., signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio) using a first beam when the communication node  102  is at a first position. However, at the next communication cycle, the first beam may not provide downlink signals with desired signal quality when the communication node  102  is at a second position, and the user equipment  10  may switch to a second beam to maintain a reliable connection with the communication node  102 . In some embodiments, the user equipment  10  may track a desired beam (e.g., a default beam) at each communication cycle while synchronized to the communication node  102 . To reduce the overhead message (e.g., user equipment  10  location data) exchange between the user equipment  10  and the communication hub  104 , it may be desirable to facilitate determining the desired beam for the user equipment  10  at a given point in time, at a given geographical location, and for a given communication node (e.g., the communication node  102 ). 
       FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram of the communication system  150  of  FIG.  4    using multi-beam coverage for signal transmissions with the user equipment  10  of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the communication node  102  may move along one or more moving paths  172  (e.g., orbits of the Earth). For example, at time T 1 , the communication node is at a position  174 . The communication node  102  may include a transmitter (TX)  176  and a receiver (RX)  178 , which may be similar in structure and function to the transmitter  52  and the receiver  54  of the user equipment  10 , respectively. At the position  174 , the communication node  102  may utilize the transmitter  176  and receiver  178  to emit multiple beams (e.g., downlink beams that transmit downlink signals, uplink beams that receive uplink signals) covering same or different areas. The multiple beams may be emitted in different beam time slots distributed or spread in a time-division multiplexing (TDM) manner. For example, the communication node  102  may have multi-beam coverage  180  within which the communication node  102  may receive an uplink signal using an uplink beam (e.g., an uplink beam  182 ) in one beam time slot from the user equipment  10  or transmit a downlink signal using a downlink beam (e.g., a downlink beam  184 ) in another beam time slot to the user equipment  10 . Each beam may cover a geographical area (e.g., area  190 ,  192 ,  194 ,  196 ,  198 ,  200 , and so on) on the surface of the Earth. For example, the uplink beam  182  covers the area  190  and the downlink beam  184  covers the area  192 . Some areas may overlap with one or more neighboring areas. For example, the areas  192  may overlap with other areas, such as areas  190 ,  194 , and  200 . While only two beams  182 ,  184  are illustrated as being emitted from the communication node  102  at time T 1 , it should be understood that any suitable of beams may be emitted (e.g., 2 or more, 3 or more, 4 or more, 6 or more, 8 or more, 12 or more, and so on). At time T 2 , the communication node  102  moves to a position  202 . The communication node  102  may continue utilizing the transmitter  176  and receiver  178  to emit multiple beams. For example, the transmitter  176  may emit a downlink beam  204  that covers the area  192 . While only one beam  204  is illustrated as being emitted from the communication node  102  at time T 2  for exemplary purposes it should be understood that any suitable of beams may be emitted. 
     At the time T 1 , the user equipment  10  may be at a location within the multi-beam coverage  180 . In some cases, one or more areas corresponding to different beams may cover the location of the user equipment  10 . In the illustrated example, the areas  190 ,  192 , and  200  cover the location of the user equipment  10 . The user equipment  10  may determine a first desired beam (e.g., the downlink beam  184  covering the area  192 ) that is more suitable than other beams (e.g., beams covering the areas  190  and  200 ) based on detected downlink signals (e.g., detected preambles of the downlink signals). As the communication node  102  moves toward the position  202 , the user equipment  10  may receive I/Q samples at a designated time corresponding to the downlink beam  184 . The user equipment  10  may decode a broadcast interval in each I/Q sample to retrieve certain information (e.g., yaw information) associated with the communication node  102 . Based on the decoded broadcast interval and other relevant information (e.g., a GNSS time and a location of the user equipment  10 , the radio parameters, and a predicated movement of the communication node  102 ), the user equipment  10  may determine a second desired beam (e.g., the downlink beam  204 ) that is suitable for data communications at time T 2 . 
       FIG.  6    is a block diagram of multiple beams spread among multiple beam time slots in one communication cycle  220 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As mentioned previously, the communication node  102  may emit multiple beams to cover different geographical areas. Each beam may be used to transmit downlink signals to the user equipment  10  or receive uplink signals from the user equipment  10 . Due to certain constrains (e.g., battery power of the communication node  102 ), the multiple beams may not be emitted simultaneously. In some embodiments, a time-division multiplexing (TDM) method may be used such that different beams are emitted during different beam time slots at each communication cycle. For example, at communication cycle  220 , M beams may be emitted and distributed or spread among N beam time slots. As illustrated, beam  1  is emitted during beam time slot  222 , beams  2  and  3  are emitted during beam time slot  224 , beams  4 ,  5 , and  6  are emitted during beam time slot  226 , and beams M−1 and M may be emitted during beam time slot  228 . In each beam time slot that includes multiple beams, the multiple beams may be emitted at similar or different time within that beam time slot. As such, multiple signals may be received during each communication cycle, which may include signal frame structures having multiple fields, such as a preamble and broadcast interval (BI) followed by broadcast (BCAST) and unicast (UCAST) data for each beam spread in a TDM manner. 
     At each communication cycle, the user equipment  10  may use a predetermined beam (e.g., a downlink beam determined in the previous communication cycle) to receive the downlink signals. Based on processed (e.g., decoded) downlink signals and other relevant information (e.g., the GNSS time and location of the user equipment  10 , the radio parameters, the predicated movement of the communication node  102 ), the user equipment  10  may determine a desired beam for the next communication cycle. If the desired beam is the same as the predetermined beam, the user equipment  10  may continue using the predetermined beam at the next communication cycle. If the desired beam is different from the predetermined beam, then the user equipment  10  may switch to the desired beam at the next communication cycle. In this way, the user equipment  10  may continue tracking a desired beam, or switch to a better performing beam, to maintain reliable data communications with the communication node  102 . 
       FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram of signal frame structure and cycle for signals transmitted by the communication node  102  and received by the user equipment  10  of  FIG.  1   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As mentioned above, the user equipment  10  may receive a downlink signal from a communication node (e.g., communication node  102 ) via a downlink beam (e.g., downlink beam  184  or  204 ). The downlink signal may be configured based on certain communication parameters (e.g., radio parameters including root sequence, spreading code, and scrambling code) associated with the downlink beam. The communication parameters may be received (e.g., downloaded) by the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136  from a communication network (e.g., the Internet) and saved in a database in the memory  14  or the storage  16 . The communication network may update the communication parameters based on a predetermined frequency or cycle. For instance, the user equipment  10  may communicatively couple to the communication network periodically (e.g., on a daily basis, a weekly basis, after any suitable number of days or weeks, and so on) to download updated communication parameters. 
     The downlink signal may include multiple signal samples, such as the signal sample  250 , each having a preamble  252 , a broadcast interval (BI)  254 , a broadcast (BCAST) section  256 , and a unicast (UCAST) section  258 . The preamble  252  may facilitate synchronizing transmission timing between the user equipment  10  and the communication node  102 . The preamble  252  may be located at a beginning section of the downlink signal and have a time duration (e.g., X milliseconds (ms), which may include 5 seconds or less, 2 seconds or less 1 second or less, 500 ms or less, 100 ms or less, 50 ms or less, 10 ms or less, and so on). The broadcast interval  254  may follow the preamble  252  in the downlink signal and have a time duration (e.g., Y ms, which may include 5 seconds or less, 2 seconds or less, 1 second or less, 500 ms or less, 100 ms or less, 50 ms or less, 10 ms or less, and so on). The broadcast interval  254  may include communication node information (e.g., position, orientation, and so on) that may be decoded by the user equipment  10 . For example, the decoded broadcast interval  254  may include orientation information (e.g., yaw information) associated with the communication node  102 . The broadcast (BCAST) section  256  and the unicast (UCAST) section  258  may include or be associated with payload or user data (e.g., data used in various forms of communication, such as emergency text messaging, emergency voice calling, acknowledgement messaging, video streaming, internet browsing, and so forth). The broadcast (BCAST) section  256  and the unicast (UCAST) section  258  may have a variable time duration (e.g., depending on the data content, which may include 5 seconds or less, 2 seconds or less, 1 second or less, 500 ms or less, 100 ms or less, 50 ms or less, 10 ms or less, and so on). Each subsequent signal sample may have a time interval (e.g., Z second (s), which may include 10 seconds or less, 5 seconds or less, 2 seconds or less, 1 seconds or less, and so on) with respect to a preceding signal sample (e.g., the time interval may be measured based on a time difference between the preamble  252  of the first and the second signal samples). 
     The user equipment  10  may receive downlink signals having the frame structure and cycle described in  FIG.  7    from a communication node  102  at an antenna (e.g. antenna  55 ).  FIG.  8    is a schematic diagram of the user equipment  10  (e.g., a mobile phone) of  FIG.  1    using the antenna  55 A to receive signals from two beams, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Each received signal may include streamed data such as IQ samples (or in-phase and/or quadrature samples) received at the antenna  55 A (Ant  1 ), or one or more antennas  55 . In radio frequency (RF) applications, a pair of periodic signals may be referred to be in “quadrature” when they differ in phase (e.g., by 90 degrees). The “in-phase” or reference signal is referred to as ‘I,’ and the signal that is shifted by 90 degrees (the signal in quadrature) is referred to as ‘Q.’ 
     For example, the received signal from beam  1  may include an IQ sample  270 . The processing circuitry  130  may analyze the IQ samples  270  and determine that the IQ samples  270  may be offset by frequency and time due to the movement of the communication node  102 , the movement of the user equipment  10 , or both. As such, the processing circuitry  130  may analyze the IQ samples  270  in a frequency domain (e.g., using Fourier transform or fast Fourier transform (FFT)) to determine a frequency offset  272  (e.g., in A Hertz (hz)) with respect to a central frequency of beam  1  (F 0 of beam 1 )  274 . Additionally, the processing circuitry  130  may analyze the IQ samples  270  in a time domain to determine a time offset  276  (e.g., in B samples) with respect to a starting time of beam  1  (T 0 of beam 1 )  278 . Similarly, the received signal from beam  2  may include an IQ sample  280 . The processing circuitry  130  may analyze the IQ samples  280  in the frequency domain to determine a frequency offset  282  (e.g., in Y Hertz (hz)) with respect to a central frequency of beam  2  (F 0 of beam 2 )  284 . Additionally, the processing circuitry  130  may analyze the IQ samples  280  in the time domain to determine a time offset  286  (e.g., in Z samples) with respect to a starting time of beam  2  (T 0 of beam 2 )  288 . 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry  130  may use a relative positioning between the communication node  102  and the user equipment  10  to determine the frequency offsets  272  and  282  and the time offsets  276  and  284 . In one example, the relative positioning may include data from ephemeris data, such as various operating parameters that may be associated with movement (e.g., orbital location, orientation) of the communication node  102 , movement of the Earth (e.g., a gravitational property, an orbit of the Earth), a historical positioning of the communication node  102 , and the like. In another example, the relative positioning may include data from GNSS signals (e.g., received by the GNSS receiver  56 ), such as observation data, broadcast orbit information, and supporting data associated with GNSS satellites that may be used to determine a current location of the user equipment  10 . In another example, the relative positioning may include data from orientation data received from the motion sensor  58  to determine an orientation of the user equipment  10 . 
     With the preceding in mind,  FIG.  9    is a flowchart of a method  300  for continuously tracking a desired beam used for communications between the user equipment  10  and the communication node  102  of  FIG.  4   , according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that may control components of the user equipment  10 , such as the processor  12 , may perform the method  300 . In some embodiments, the method  300  may be implemented by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as the memory  14  or storage  16 , using the processing circuitry  130  of the processor  12 . For example, the method  300  may be performed at least in part by one or more software components, such as an operating system of the user equipment  10 , one or more software applications of the user equipment  10 , and the like. While the method  300  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. 
     Before the user equipment  10  initiates signal communication, at block  302 , the user equipment  10  receives a request for synchronizing the user equipment  10  to a communication node (e.g., communication node  102 ). For example, the user equipment  10  may receive the request from a device (e.g., the L1 controller) corresponding to an upper layer (e.g., logic link control (LLC) layer). The request may include a communication node identifier associated with the communication node  102 . 
     Based on the communication node identifier, at block  304 , the user equipment  10  extracts radio parameters associated with beams emitted by the communication node  102 . For example, the user equipment  10  may use the L1 control circuitry  132  to extract the radio parameters from stored data (e.g., in a database) of the user equipment  10 . The radio parameters may include root sequence, spreading code, and scrambling code associated with each beam emitted by multiple communication nodes including the communication node  102 . The stored data may include radio parameters associated with each beam and other relevant data, such as communication node identifiers associated with the multiple communication nodes that may be used by the user equipment  10  for communications, beam identifiers associated with beams emitted by each communication node, beam time slot, beam status information (e.g., functional, or non-functional), and/or any other relevant information (e.g., timing, orbit, elevation). In some embodiments, the stored data may be received (e.g., downloaded) by the MAC circuitry  134  and/or the LLC circuitry  136  from a communication network (e.g., the Internet) and saved in the database in the memory  14  or the storage  16 . The stored data may be updated based on a predetermined frequency or cycle. For instance, the user equipment  10  may connect to the communication network periodically (e.g., on a daily basis, a weekly basis, after any suitable number of days or weeks, and so on) to download latest radio parameters and other relevant data. The radio parameters may be used for a beam search described in detail below. 
     As mentioned previously, the user equipment  10  may receive downlink signals via different beams spread among multiple beams time slots at different communication cycles. With this in mind, at block  306 , the user equipment  10  synchronizes to the communication node  102  for signal receptions via the beams spread among different beam tune slots at cycle N (where N may be 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 100, or any other suitable number). Each beam time slot may correspond to one or more beams being emitted. In each beam time slot in which multiple beams are emitted, different beams may be emitted at similar or different time. Each downlink signal associated with a corresponding beam may include multiple signal samples (e.g., I/Q samples), each having a structure with multiple fields, such as a preamble and a broadcast interval (BI) followed by a broadcast (BCAST) section and a unicast (UCAST) section. 
     At block  308 , the user equipment  10  determines a time shift and a frequency shift (e.g., Doppler shift) for each beam. In some embodiments, for each received I/Q sample associated with a beam emitted within a beam time slot, the user equipment  10  may determine the time shift and the frequency shift based on a GNSS time for the beam time slot, a location of the user equipment  10 , and two-line element (TLE) set of the communication node  102 . The user equipment  10  may compensate for time and frequency offsets induced by distance and velocity of the communication node  102  with respect to the user equipment  10  by using the time shift and the frequency shift. The user equipment  10  may store the determined time shifts and frequency shifts associated with the beams spread among different beam time slots in the memory  14  or the storage  16  (e.g., in the form of a database). 
     While determining the time shift and the frequency shift for each beam, at block  310 , the user equipment  10  determines a first beam emitted within a first beam time slot based on preamble detections. The preamble may be used to synchronize transmission timing between the user equipment  10  and the communication node  102 . The preamble may be located at a beginning section of each I/Q sample in a downlink signal associated with a corresponding beam. For example, after synchronization, the user equipment  10  may receive I/Q samples via multiple beams emitted by the communication node  102  and spread among different beam time slots. For each received I/Q sample associated with a beam emitted in a corresponding beam time slot, the user equipment  10  may perform preamble detection that includes determining or identifying signal conditions, such as detected preamble status (e.g., detected or not detected), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Among the detected preambles associated with different beams distributed among different beam time slots for the cycle N, the user equipment  10  may determine a first beam ID associated with a first beam and a first beam time slot during which the first beam is emitted based on signal conditions (e.g., highest received signal strength, or first detected beam time slot). 
     At block  312 , the user equipment  10  receives I/Q samples via the first beam in the first beam time slot at cycle N+1. For instance, the user equipment  10  may receive the I/Q samples at a designated time corresponding to the first beam in the first beam time slot. The user equipment  10  may determine the designated time based on the radio parameters (e.g., root sequence, spreading code, or scrambling code) and other relevant data associated with the first beam. For example, the relevant data may include information indicating signal frame structure and cycle, such as a time duration of each I/Q sample, sequence of fields (e.g., preamble, broadcast interval, broadcast (BCAST) and unicast (UCAST) data) in each I/Q sample, a time duration of each field associated with the first beam and duration, and so on. 
     After receiving the I/Q samples via the first beam in the first beam time slot, at block  314 , the user equipment  10  adjusts the I/Q samples based on the time shift and frequency shift corresponding to the first beam in the first beam time slot. The user equipment  10  may determine the time shift and the frequency shift (e.g., at block  308 ) and stored in the memory  14  or the storage  16  (e.g., in the form of a database). The user equipment  10  may use the time and frequency shifts to compensate time and frequency offsets induced by distance and velocity of the communication node  102  with respect to the user equipment  10 . 
     Using adjusted I/Q samples, the user equipment  10  may determine or detect the preamble. After the preamble detection, at block  316 , the user equipment  10  decodes the broadcast interval (BI) subsequent to the preamble. The broadcast interval may include communication node information (e.g., position, orientation, and so on) that may be decoded by the user equipment  10 . For example, the decoded broadcast interval may include orientation information (e.g., yaw information) associated with the communication node  102 . In some embodiments, the user equipment  10  may utilize the radio parameters (e.g., root sequence, spreading code, or scrambling code) associated with the broadcast interval to decode the broadcast interval. 
     At block  318 , the user equipment determines whether the broadcast interval may be decoded. If the broadcast interval is decoded (e.g. at the block  316 ), at block  320 , then the user equipment  10  retrieves yaw information from the decoded broadcast interval. If the broadcast interval is not decoded, then the user equipment  10  may start similar operations described at block  306  for the next communication cycle (e.g. cycle N+2). 
     At block  322 , the user equipment  10  determines a second beam in a second beam time slot for the next cycle N+2 based on the yaw information, a time (e.g., a GNSS time) and a location of the user equipment  10 , the radio parameters, and/or a predicted movement of the communication node  102 . The decoded broadcast interval may include the yaw information indicating orientation of the communication node  102 . In some embodiments, the user equipment  10  may determine the GNSS time and the location of the user equipment  10  based on data from GNSS signals (e.g., received by the GNSS receiver  56 ), such as observation data, broadcast orbit information, and supporting data associated with GNSS satellites. In some embodiments, the user equipment  10  may use the L1 control circuitry  132  to extract the radio parameters from stored data (e.g., in a database) of the user equipment  10 . 
     To determine the predicted movement of the communication node  102 , the user equipment  10  may utilize a mathematical model to simulate movement (e.g., orbital location, orientation) associate with the communication node  102 . Based on the simulation, the user equipment  10  may predict the movement of the communication node  102  at the cycle N+2. The mathematical model may include various algorithms (e.g., moving object trajectory prediction algorithms) to simulate node movement based on various input data (e.g., from the stored data in the database), such as a relative positioning between the communication node  102  and the user equipment  10 . For example, the relative positioning may include data from ephemeris data, such as various operating parameters that may be associated with movement of the communication node  102 , movement of the Earth (e.g., a gravitational property, an orbit of the Earth), a historical positioning of the communication node  102 , and the like. 
     At block  324 , the user equipment  10  determines whether the second beam and beam time slot are different from the first beam and beam time slot. If the second beam and beam time slot are different from the first beam and beam time slot, at block  326 , the user equipment  10  receives signals using the second beam in the second beam time slot for signal receptions at the cycle N+2. On the contrary, if the second beam and beam time slot are the same as the first beam and beam time slot, at block  328 , the user equipment  10  continues receiving signals using the first beam in the first beam time slot at the cycle N+2. 
     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). 
     It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20220818
Publication Date: 20240409
Grant Date: 20240409
Priority Date: 20220818
Inventors: Baghel, Sudhir K
BHATTARAI, SUDEEP
Bhatkar, Amol P
TUMMALA, SESHU
MANEPALLI, VENKATESWARA RAO
BAGHAEI, MEHRAN T
SARNA, LOHIT
PATTANAIK, Nishant
SHAH, JAY P
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04B7/088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/046", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0695", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/046", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 89906250