Paging with Enhanced Beamforming

Abstract

The present disclosure describes methods and apparatuses for paging with enhanced beamforming. In example implementations, a base station (BS) transmits at a paging occasion a paging message to multiple end-user devices (EUDs) via a downlink communication with a wide beam. If an EUD fails to obtain the paging message, the EUD selects a frequency sub-band and formulates a paging request with an EUD identifier. The EUD transmits the paging request to the BS via an uplink communication with a narrow beam using the selected frequency sub-band. The BS processes the paging request and formulates a paging response based on the identifier. The BS transmits the paging response via a downlink communication with a narrow beam on the selected frequency sub-band. The BS determines a direction of the narrow beam of the downlink communication based on a direction of the narrow beam of the uplink communication to answer the paging response.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method performed by a base station to implement paging with enhanced beamforming, the method comprising:
 receiving, from an end-user device, a paging request via an uplink communication with a narrow beam, the paging request configured to inquire whether a page exists for the end-user device; and   transmitting, toward the end-user device based on the paging request, a paging response via a downlink communication, the paging response indicative of whether a page exists for the end-user device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 prior to the receiving, transmitting, toward multiple end-user devices, a paging message via another downlink communication with a wide beam, the multiple end-user devices including the end-user device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the transmitting the paging message comprises transmitting the paging message based on a paging occasion that occurs repeatedly. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 transmitting another paging message based on a next paging occasion,   wherein the receiving is performed between the transmitting the paging message and the transmitting the other paging message.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the paging response is performed in a next downlink region after an uplink region in which the receiving the paging request is performed. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the paging response comprises transmitting the paging response via the downlink communication with another narrow beam. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein a direction of the other narrow beam of the downlink communication is determined at least partially based on a direction of the narrow beam of the uplink communication that is received. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the transmitting the paging response comprises transmitting the paging response via the downlink communication with the other narrow beam by using a reciprocal of the narrow beam of the uplink communication. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the receiving the paging request comprises learning at least one beamforming parameter using the uplink communication with the narrow beam; and   the transmitting the paging response comprises transmitting the paging response via the downlink communication with the other narrow beam by using the reciprocal of the narrow beam of the uplink communication using the learned at least one beamforming parameter.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the uplink communication corresponds to at least one frequency sub-band; and   the transmitting the paging response comprises transmitting the paging response via the downlink communication using the at least one frequency sub-band.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the paging request includes an identifier of the end-user device; and   the transmitting the paging response comprises transmitting, based on the identifier, the paging response with an indication of at least one reason the page exists for the end-user device.   
     
     
         12 . A base station comprising:
 one or more antennas;   at least one communication unit coupled to the one or more antennas; and   a processor and memory system, operatively coupled to the at least one communication unit, implementing a beamforming enhancement module configured to:
 receive, from an end-user device, a paging request via an uplink communication with a narrow beam, the paging request configured to inquire whether a page exists for the end-user device; and 
 transmit, toward the end-user device based on the paging request, a paging response via a downlink communication, the paging response indicative of whether a page exists for the end-user device. 
   
     
     
         13 . The base station of  claim 12 , wherein the beamforming enhancement module is further configured to:
 prior to receipt of the paging request, transmit, toward multiple end-user devices, a paging message via another downlink communication with a wide beam, the multiple end-user devices including the end-user device.   
     
     
         14 . The base station of  claim 13 , wherein the beamforming enhancement module is configured to transmit the paging message based on a paging occasion that occurs repeatedly. 
     
     
         15 . The base station of  claim 12 , wherein the beamforming enhancement module is configured to transmit the paging response in a next downlink region after an uplink region in which the paging request is received. 
     
     
         16 . The base station of  claim 12 , wherein the beamforming enhancement module is configured to transmit the paging response via the downlink communication with another narrow beam. 
     
     
         17 . The base station of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the uplink communication corresponds to at least one frequency sub-band; and   the beamforming enhancement module is configured to transmit the paging response via the downlink communication using the at least one frequency sub-band in a direction that corresponds to a direction of the narrow beam of the uplink communication that is received.   
     
     
         18 . A base station comprising:
 one or more antennas;   at least one communication unit coupled to the one or more antennas; and   a processor and memory system, operatively coupled to the at least one communication unit, including:
 means for receiving, from an end-user device, a paging request via an uplink communication with a narrow beam, the paging request configured to inquire whether a page exists for the end-user device; and 
 means for transmitting, toward the end-user device and based on the paging request, a paging response via a downlink communication, the paging response indicative of whether a page exists for the end-user device. 
   
     
     
         19 . The base station of  claim 18 , wherein the processor and memory system further include:
 means for transmitting, toward multiple end-user devices and prior to receipt of the paging request, a paging message via another downlink communication with a wide beam, the multiple end-user devices including the end-user device.   
     
     
         20 . The base station of  claim 18 , wherein:
 the uplink communication corresponds to at least one frequency sub-band, and the narrow beam of the uplink communication has a direction; and   the means for transmitting the paging response is configured to transmit the paging response via the downlink communication with another narrow beam, wherein at least one of:
 the downlink communication corresponds to the at least one frequency sub-band; or 
 a direction of the other narrow beam of the downlink communication corresponds to the direction of the narrow beam of the uplink communication.