Flexible beamforming techniques for wireless devices
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A wireless device such as a user equipment (UE) may include multiple antenna arrays used to support wireless communications. The antenna arrays may be located at different parts of the UE and may allow the UE to flexibly perform beamforming communications. The antenna arrays maybe configured as antenna sets, and the size of each antenna set may vary based on the configuration of the UE. For example, a UE may include a foldable display having multiple foldable display units, and the communication parameters used for transmission and reception of signals via the antenna arrays may depend on the configuration of the foldable display units. In some aspects, a state of the foldable display units or the arrangement of the antenna arrays relative to one another may be used to configure and perform beamforming communications between the UE and a base station.
1. A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) having one or more foldable units, comprising:
identifying foldable state capability information of the UE, the foldable state capability information corresponding to a state of the one or more foldable units;
transmitting an indication of the foldable state capability information to a base station in communications with the UE; and
performing a beamforming communication between the base station and the UE based at least in part on the foldable state capability information.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a number of independently foldable units of the one or more foldable units of the UE; and
transmitting the number of the independently foldable units in the foldable state capability information to the base station.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining angle information associated with the one or more foldable units; and
transmitting the angle information associated with the one or more foldable units in the foldable state capability information.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the angle information comprises:
identifying an angle separation between a first antenna array of a first foldable unit of the one or more foldable units and a second antenna array of a second foldable unit of the one or more foldable units.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the angle information comprises:
obtaining relative positioning information from one or more sensors of the UE with respect to a reference direction; and
determining an angle between two or more antenna arrays of the one or more foldable units based at least in part on the relative positioning information.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving the beamformed communication according to a beamwidth used by the base station based at least in part on the foldable state capability information; and
adjusting a beamwidth used by the UE based at least in part on the beamwidth used by the base station.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a foldable state of the UE based at least in part on the one or more foldable units; and
transmitting an indication of the foldable state in the foldable state capability information.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the foldable state of the UE comprises a single quantized state from a set of quantized states associated with the UE.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the foldable state of the UE comprises an indication for one of a folded state, one or more partially open states, a fully open state, or a flat state.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the foldable state of the UE is associated with a 0 degree angle, a 90 degree angle, a 180 degree angle, or an intermediate angle between two or more of the one or more foldable units.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
including the indication of the foldable state capability information in a UE capability message.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the beamforming communication comprises:
configuring a set of receive antenna arrays of the UE based at least in part on the foldable state capability information; and
receiving a beamformed signal from the base station via the configured set of receive antenna arrays.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the beamforming communication comprises:
configuring a set of transmit antenna arrays of the UE based at least in part on the foldable state capability information; and
transmitting a beamformed signal to the base station via the configured set of transmit antenna arrays.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more foldable units comprise a rollable folding display or an extendable display.
15. An apparatus for wireless communications having one or more foldable units, comprising:
a processor;
memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory configured to:
identify foldable state capability information, the foldable state capability information corresponding to a state of the one or more foldable units;
transmit an indication of the foldable state capability information to a base station in communications with the apparatus; and
perform a beamforming communication between the base station and the apparatus based at least in part on the foldable state capability information.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory are further configured to:
determine a number of independently foldable units of the one or more foldable units of the UE; and
transmit the number of the independently foldable units in the foldable state capability information to the base station.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory are further configured to:
determine angle information associated with the one or more foldable units; and
transmit the angle information associated with the one or more foldable units in the foldable state capability information.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the processor and memory configured to determine the angle information are further configured to:
identify an angle separation between a first antenna array of a first foldable unit of the one or more foldable units and a second antenna array of a second foldable unit of the one or more foldable units.
19. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the processor and memory configured to determine the angle information are further configured to:
obtain relative positioning information from one or more sensors of the UE with respect to a reference direction; and
determine an angle between two or more antenna arrays of the one or more foldable units based at least in part on the relative positioning information.
20. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory are further configured to:
receive the beamformed communication according to a beamwidth used by the base station based at least in part on the foldable state capability information; and
adjust a beamwidth used by the UE based at least in part on the beamwidth used by the base station.
21. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory are further configured to:
determine a foldable state of the UE based at least in part on the one or more foldable units; and
transmit an indication of the foldable state in the foldable state capability information.
22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the foldable state of the UE comprises a single quantized state from a set of quantized states associated with the UE.
23. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory are further configured to:
include the indication of the foldable state capability information in a UE capability message.
24. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory configured to perform the beamforming are further configured to:
configure a set of receive antenna arrays of the UE based at least in part on the foldable state capability information; and
receive a beamformed signal from the base station via the configured set of receive antenna arrays.
25. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor and memory configured to perform the beamforming are further configured to:
configure a set of transmit antenna arrays of the UE based at least in part on the foldable state capability information; and
transmit a beamformed signal to the base station via the configured set of transmit antenna arrays.
26. An apparatus for wireless communications having one or more foldable units, comprising:
means for identifying foldable state capability information, the foldable state capability information corresponding to a state of the one or more foldable units;
means for transmitting an indication of the foldable state capability information to a base station in communications with the apparatus; and
means for performing a beamforming communication between the base station and the apparatus based at least in part on the foldable state capability information.
27. The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising:
means for determining a number of independently foldable units of the one or more foldable units of the UE; and
means for transmitting the number of the independently foldable units in the foldable state capability information to the base station.
28. The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising:
means for determining angle information associated with the one or more foldable units; and
means for transmitting the angle information associated with the one or more foldable units in the foldable state capability information.
29. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the means for determining the angle information comprises:
means for identifying an angle separation between a first antenna array of a first foldable unit of the one or more foldable units and a second antenna array of a second foldable unit of the one or more foldable units.
30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:
identify foldable state capability information, the foldable state capability information corresponding to a state of the one or more foldable units;
transmit an indication of the foldable state capability information to a base station in communications with the apparatus; and
perform a beamforming communication between the base station and the apparatus based at least in part on the foldable state capability information.