Method of aiding uplink beamforming transmission
A method of aiding uplink transmission is disclosed. One method includes a base station downlink transmitting signals to at least a first terminal, the transmitted signals directed and conveying data to at least the first terminal. The method further includes a second terminal eavesdropping the transmitted signals, and measuring a signal quality. The second terminal estimates uplink channel information based on the measured signal quality, for aiding uplink transmission. Based at least in part on the estimated transmission channel, the second terminal transmits uplink signals to the base station.
1. A method of communication of an uplink signal from a second terminal to a base station, comprising:
eavesdropping, by the second terminal, on a beamformed wireless signal transmitted from the base station to a first terminal, wherein the eavesdropping comprises receiving the beamformed wireless signal over multiple receive antennas;
measuring, by the second terminal, a joint signal quality indicator based on the beamformed wireless signal, wherein the joint signal quality indicator includes an estimate of a product of the beamformed wireless signal and a channel between the base station and the second terminal;
estimating, by the second terminal, uplink channel information based on the joint signal quality indicator by performing a singular value decomposition on the estimate of the product of the beamformed wireless signal and the channel between the base station and the second terminal; and
transmitting, by the second terminal, the uplink signal to the base station, wherein the uplink signal is based on the uplink channel information.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein an uplink transmission from the second terminal to the base station and a downlink transmission from the base station to the first terminal occur at different times.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein communication between the second terminal and the base station is a time division duplex (TDD) transmission.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beamformed wireless signal comprises a pilot signal.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
updating, by the second terminal based on the uplink channel information, at least one signal that is formed to aid communication between the second terminal and the base station.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
selecting, by the second terminal, a beamforming mode for transmission to the base station when a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas is below a threshold, wherein the signal quality difference is included in the joint signal quality indicator.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
selecting, by the second terminal, a spatial multiplexing mode for transmission to the base station when a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas is above a threshold, wherein the signal quality difference is included in the joint signal quality indicator.
8. A method of communication of an uplink signal from a second terminal to a base station, comprising:
eavesdropping, by the second terminal, on a beamformed wireless signal transmitted from the base station to a first terminal, wherein the eavesdropping comprises receiving the beamformed wireless signal over multiple receive antennas;
measuring, by the second terminal, a joint signal quality indicator based on the beamformed wireless signal, wherein the joint signal quality indicator includes a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas;
estimating, by the second terminal, uplink channel information based on the joint signal quality indicator; and
establishing, by the second terminal, a relationship between an uplink channel associated with the uplink channel information and a corresponding downlink channel.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the second terminal, uplink sounding symbols based on the uplink channel information.
10. A method for communication of an uplink signal from a second terminal to a base station, comprising:
eavesdropping, by the second terminal, on a wireless signal comprising a plurality of beams transmitted from the base station to a plurality of first terminals, wherein the eavesdropping comprises receiving the wireless signal of over multiple receive antennas;
measuring, by the second terminal, a joint signal quality indicator based on the wireless signal, wherein the joint signal quality indicator includes an estimate of a product of the wireless signal and a channel between the base station and the second terminal;
estimating, by the second terminal, uplink channel information based on the joint signal quality indicator by performing a singular value decomposition on the estimate of the product of the wireless signal and the channel between the base station and the second terminal; and
transmitting, by the second terminal, the uplink signal to the base station, wherein the uplink signal is based on the uplink channel information.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
applying, by the base station, a cyclic-delay to the wireless signal.
12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
establishing a relationship between an uplink channel associated with the uplink channel information and a corresponding downlink channel.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the wireless signal comprises a pilot signal.
14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
selecting, by the second terminal, a beamforming mode of transmission to the base station when a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas is below a threshold, wherein the signal quality difference is included in the joint signal quality indicator.
15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
selecting, by the second terminal, a spatial multiplexing mode of transmission to the base station when a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas is above a threshold, wherein the signal quality difference is included in the joint signal quality indicator.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of beams are orthogonal to one another.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein communication between the second terminal and the base station is a time division duplex (TDD) transmission.
18. A system for communication of an uplink signal to a base station, comprising:
a first terminal with an antenna; and
a second terminal with multiple antennas,
wherein the second terminal is configured to:
eavesdrop on a beamformed wireless signal transmitted from the base station to the first terminal, wherein the eavesdropping comprises receiving the beamformed wireless signal over the multiple antennas,
measure a joint signal quality indicator based on the beamformed wireless signal, wherein the joint signal quality indicator includes an estimate of a product of the wireless signal and a channel between the base station and the second terminal,
estimate uplink channel information based on the joint signal quality indicator by performing a singular value decomposition on the estimate of the product of the wireless signal and the channel between the base station and the second terminal, and
transmit the uplink signal to the base station, wherein the uplink signal is based on the uplink channel information.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the second terminal is further configured to select a beamforming mode of transmission to the base station when a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas is below a threshold, wherein the signal quality difference is included in the joint signal quality indicator.
20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the second terminal is further configured to select a spatial multiplexing mode of transmission to the base station when a signal quality difference between the multiple receive antennas is above a threshold, wherein the signal quality difference is included in the joint signal quality indicator.