IP Library › Granted Patent US 12676662

Granted Patent B2

US 12676662 · App. 17/156,962 · Granted Jul 7, 2026

Beam correlation for carrier aggregation

Inventors: Vasanthan Raghavan (West Windsor Township, NJ); Tao Luo (San Diego, CA); Junyi Li (Franklin Park, NJ)

Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated

H04B7/0868 H04B7/0456 H04B7/0617 H04L27/2675

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12676662
App. No.: 17/156,962
Granted: Jul 7, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described, where a wireless communications system may be configured to support an evaluation of beam correlation, such as a correlation of reception directionality, in different component carriers that may be in the same frequency band or in different frequency bands. For example, a first device may simultaneously transmit different reference signals using different component carriers, and a second device may receive the different reference signals. The second device may determine a beam correlation metric, which may include various measures of how well-correlated the receive directions or codebooks are for the different reference signals of the different bands. Such an evaluation may be used to support various configurations of the first device and the second device related to inter-band or intra-band carrier aggregation.

Claims (138)

1 . A method for wireless communication, comprising:

transmitting, based at least in part on a carrier aggregation configuration associated with a first component carrier and a second component carrier, a first reference signal to a second device over a first beam using the first component carrier during a first time interval;

transmitting, based at least in part on the carrier aggregation configuration, a second reference signal to the second device over a second beam using the second component carrier during a second time interval that at least partially overlaps with the first time interval;

receiving, at a first device, a response from the second device that is based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on the first reference signal and the second reference signal; and

transmitting signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the second device, the parameters associated with the carrier aggregation configuration based at least in part on the response from the second device.

2 . The method of claim 1 , the receiving comprising:

receiving the beam correlation metric from the second device that is based at least in part on the first reference signal over the first beam and the second reference signal over the second beam.

3 . The method of claim 2 , the transmitting signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation comprising:

determining to perform communications with the second device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier according to the carrier aggregation configuration when the received beam correlation metric satisfies a threshold.

4 . The method of claim 2 , the transmitting signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation comprising:

determining to refrain from communications with the second device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier according to the carrier aggregation configuration when the received beam correlation metric is less than or equal to a threshold.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on an angle of separation between a first direction of peak received power at the second device of the first reference signal over the first beam and a second direction of peak received power at the second device of the second reference signal over the second beam.

6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a difference between a first digital beamforming direction corresponding to a highest received power of the first reference signal at the second device and a second digital beamforming direction corresponding to a highest received power of the second reference signal at the second device.

7 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a comparison between a first analog beamforming codebook entry corresponding to a highest received power of the first reference signal at the second device and a second analog beamforming codebook entry corresponding to a highest received power of the second reference signal at the second device.

8 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a comparison between an analog beamforming codebook corresponding to a highest received power of the first reference signal at the second device and a digital beamforming direction corresponding to a highest received power of the second reference signal at the second device.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the response comprises receiving an indication from the second device that the carrier aggregation configuration is supported by the second device over the first beam and the second beam; and

transmitting the signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the second device associated with the carrier aggregation configuration comprises determining to perform communications with the second device according to the carrier aggregation configuration based at least in part on the indication that the carrier aggregation configuration is supported by the second device over the first beam and the second beam.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

transmitting the first reference signal comprises transmitting the first reference signal during a first symbol duration; and

transmitting the second reference signal comprises transmitting the second reference signal during a second symbol duration that is synchronized at the first device with the first symbol duration.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

transmitting the first reference signal comprises transmitting the first reference signal using a first radio frequency (RF) chain; and

transmitting the second reference signal comprises transmitting the second reference signal using a second RF chain that is different than the first RF chain.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

transmitting the first reference signal comprises transmitting the first reference signal using a first radio frequency (RF) chain; and

transmitting the second reference signal comprises transmitting the second reference signal using the first RF chain.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

transmitting the first reference signal comprises transmitting the first reference signal over a first millimeter wave band; and

transmitting the second reference signal comprises transmitting the second reference signal over a second millimeter wave band that is non-overlapping with the first millimeter wave band.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

transmitting the first reference signal comprises transmitting the first reference signal using a first resource block; and

transmitting the second reference signal comprises transmitting the second reference signal using a second resource block that is non-overlapping in a frequency domain with the first resource block.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

16 . A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, at a first device, a first reference signal from a second device over a first beam using a first component carrier during a first time interval;

receiving, at the first device, a second reference signal from the second device over a second beam using a second component carrier during a second time interval that at least partially overlaps with the first time interval;

transmitting a response to the second device based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on receiving the first reference signal over the first beam and receiving the second reference signal over the second beam; and

transmitting signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the first device to communicate with the second device according to carrier aggregation configuration parameters, transmitting the signaling being based at least in part on transmitting the response to the second device.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein:

transmitting the response comprises transmitting the beam correlation metric to the second device; and

transmitting the signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the first device for communications with the second device according to the carrier aggregation configuration parameters is based at least in part on receiving configuration information from the second device that is responsive to the transmitted beam correlation metric.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining the beam correlation metric based at least in part on an angle of separation between a first direction of peak received power at the first device of the first reference signal over the first beam and a second direction of peak received power at the first device of the second reference signal over the second beam.

19 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining the beam correlation metric based at least in part on a difference between a first digital beamforming direction corresponding to a highest received power of the first reference signal at the first device and a second digital beamforming direction corresponding to a highest received power of the second reference signal at the first device.

20 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining the beam correlation metric based at least in part on a comparison between a first analog beamforming codebook entry corresponding to a highest received power of the first reference signal at the first device and a second analog beamforming codebook entry corresponding to a highest received power of the second reference signal at the first device.

21 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining the beam correlation metric based at least in part on a comparison between an analog beamforming codebook corresponding to a highest received power of the first reference signal at the first device and a digital beamforming direction corresponding to a highest received power of the second reference signal at the first device.

22 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

determining, at the first device, that the beam correlation metric satisfies a threshold, wherein transmitting the response comprises transmitting an indication that the beam correlation metric satisfies the threshold.

23 . The method of claim 22 , the transmitting the indication that the beam correlation metric satisfies the threshold comprising:

transmitting an indication that the carrier aggregation configuration parameters are supported by the first device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier.

24 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

determining, at the first device, that the beam correlation metric is less than or equal to a threshold, wherein transmitting the response comprises transmitting an indication that the beam correlation metric is less than or equal to the threshold.

25 . The method of claim 23 , the transmitting the indication that the beam correlation metric satisfies the threshold comprising:

transmitting an indication to the second device to refrain from communication according to the carrier aggregation configuration parameters over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier.

26 . The method of claim 16 , wherein:

receiving the first reference signal comprises receiving the first reference signal during a first symbol duration; and

receiving the second reference signal comprises receiving the second reference signal during a second symbol duration that is synchronized at the first device with the first symbol duration.

27 . The method of claim 16 , wherein:

receiving the first reference signal comprises receiving the first reference signal using a first radio frequency (RF) chain; and

receiving the second reference signal comprises receiving the second reference signal using a second RF chain that is different than the first RF chain.

28 . The method of claim 16 , wherein:

receiving the first reference signal comprises receiving the first reference signal using a first radio frequency (RF) chain; and

receiving the second reference signal comprises receiving the second reference signal using the first RF chain.

29 . The method of claim 16 , wherein:

receiving the first reference signal comprises receiving the first reference signal over a first millimeter wave band; and

receiving the second reference signal comprises receiving the second reference signal over a second millimeter wave band that is non-overlapping with the first millimeter wave band.

30 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

31 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause the apparatus to:

transmit, based at least in part on a carrier aggregation configuration associated with a first component carrier and a second component carrier, a first reference signal to a second device over a first beam using the first component carrier during a first time interval;

transmit, based at least in part on the carrier aggregation configuration, a second reference signal to the second device over a second beam using the second component carrier during a second time interval that at least partially overlaps with the first time interval;

receive, at a first device, a response from the second device that is based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on the first reference signal and the second reference signal; and

transmit signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the second device, the parameters associated with the carrier aggregation configuration based at least in part on the response from the second device.

32 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein, to receive, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:

receive the beam correlation metric from the second device that is based at least in part on the first reference signal over the first beam and the second reference signal over the second beam.

33 . The apparatus of claim 32 , wherein, to transmit signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:

determine to perform communications with the second device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier according to the carrier aggregation configuration when the received beam correlation metric satisfies a threshold.

34 . The apparatus of claim 32 , wherein, to transmit signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation, the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:

determine to refrain from communications with the second device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier according to the carrier aggregation configuration when the received beam correlation metric is less than or equal to a threshold.

35 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

36 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause the apparatus to:

receive, at a first device, a first reference signal from a second device over a first beam using a first component carrier during a first time interval;

receive, at the first device, a second reference signal from the second device over a second beam using a second component carrier during a second time interval that at least partially overlaps with the first time interval;

transmit a response to the second device based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on the receipt of the first reference signal over the first beam and the receipt of the second reference signal over the second beam; and

transmit signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the first device to communicate with the second device according to carrier aggregation configuration parameters, the transmission of the signaling based at least in part on the transmission of the response to the second device.

37 . The apparatus of claim 36 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the apparatus to:

transmit the beam correlation metric to the second device; and

receive configuration information from the second device that is responsive to the transmitted beam correlation metric.

38 . The apparatus of claim 36 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

39 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:

40 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35 , wherein, to receive the response, the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to:

receive the beam correlation metric from the second device that is based at least in part on the first reference signal over the first beam and the second reference signal over the second beam.

41 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36 , wherein, to transmit signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation, the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to:

42 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36 , wherein, to transmit signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation, the instructions are executable by the one or more processors are configured to:

43 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

44 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:

receive, at a first device, a first reference signal from a second device over a first beam using a first component carrier during a first time interval;

transmit a response to the second device based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on receiving the first reference signal over the first beam and receiving the second reference signal over the second beam; and

transmit signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the first device to communicate with the second device according to carrier aggregation configuration parameters, transmitting the signaling being based at least in part on transmitting the response to the second device.

45 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 39 , wherein:

to transmit the response, the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to transmit the beam correlation metric to the second device; and

to transmit the signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the first device for communications with the second device according to the carrier aggregation configuration parameters, the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to receive configuration information from the second device that is responsive to the transmitted beam correlation metric.

46 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 39 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

47 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for transmitting, based at least in part on a carrier aggregation configuration associated with a first component carrier and a second component carrier, a first reference signal to a second device over a first beam using the first component carrier during a first time interval;

means for transmitting, based at least in part on the carrier aggregation configuration, a second reference signal to the second device over a second beam using the second component carrier during a second time interval that at least partially overlaps with the first time interval;

means for receiving, at a first device, a response from the second device that is based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on the first reference signal and the second reference signal; and

means for transmitting signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the second device, the parameters associated with the carrier aggregation configuration based at least in part on the response from the second device.

48 . The apparatus of claim 47 , the means for receiving comprising:

means for receiving the beam correlation metric from the second device that is based at least in part on the first reference signal over the first beam and the second reference signal over the second beam.

49 . The apparatus of claim 48 , the means for transmitting signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation comprising:

means for determining to perform communications with the second device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier according to the carrier aggregation configuration when the received beam correlation metric satisfies a threshold.

50 . The apparatus of claim 48 , the means for transmitting signaling comprising the parameters to enable carrier aggregation comprising:

means for determining to refrain from communications with the second device over the first beam using the first component carrier and over the second beam using the second component carrier according to the carrier aggregation configuration when the received beam correlation metric is less than or equal to a threshold.

51 . The apparatus of claim 47 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

52 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving, at a first device, a first reference signal from a second device over a first beam using a first component carrier during a first time interval;

means for receiving, at the first device, a second reference signal from the second device over a second beam using a second component carrier during a second time interval that at least partially overlaps with the first time interval;

means for transmitting a response to the second device based at least in part on a beam correlation metric that is based at least in part on the receipt of the first reference signal over the first beam and the receipt of the second reference signal over the second beam; and

means for transmitting signaling comprising parameters to enable carrier aggregation at the first device to communicate with the second device according to carrier aggregation configuration parameters, the transmission of the signaling being based at least in part on the transmission of the response to the second device.

53 . The apparatus of claim 52 , wherein:

the means for transmitting the response comprises means for transmitting the beam correlation metric to the second device; and wherein the apparatus further comprises:

means for receiving configuration information from the second device that is responsive to the transmitted beam correlation metric.

54 . The apparatus of claim 52 , wherein the beam correlation metric is based at least in part on a correlation of receive directions or beam weights for the first reference signal and the second reference signal.