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WO2025136204A1 - Fixed user equipment beams for beam management data collection - Google Patents

Fixed user equipment beams for beam management data collection Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2025136204A1
WO2025136204A1 PCT/SE2024/051108 SE2024051108W WO2025136204A1 WO 2025136204 A1 WO2025136204 A1 WO 2025136204A1 SE 2024051108 W SE2024051108 W SE 2024051108W WO 2025136204 A1 WO2025136204 A1 WO 2025136204A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
beams
csi
fixed
signal quality
measurement
Prior art date
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Pending
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PCT/SE2024/051108
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French (fr)
Inventor
Johan AXNÄS
Andreas Nilsson
Yufei Blankenship
Chunhui Li
Henrik RYDÉN
Krishna CHITTI
Hazhir SHOKRI RAZAGHI
Marco BELLESCHI
Siva Muruganathan
Reem KARAKI
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
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Publication of WO2025136204A1 publication Critical patent/WO2025136204A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/08—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the receiving station
    • H04B7/0868—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and combining
    • H04B7/088—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and combining using beam selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/06—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station
    • H04B7/0686—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission
    • H04B7/0695—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission using beam selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00—Local resource management
    • H04W72/04—Wireless resource allocation
    • H04W72/044—Wireless resource allocation based on the type of the allocated resource
    • H04W72/046—Wireless resource allocation based on the type of the allocated resource the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
    • H04W24/10—Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, systems and methods for fixed User Equipment (UE) beams for beam management data collection.
  • UE User Equipment
  • New Radio As compared to previous generations of wireless networks, is the ability to operate in higher frequencies such as, for example, above 10 GHz.
  • the available large transmission bandwidths in these frequency ranges can potentially provide large data rates.
  • pathloss and penetration loss increase.
  • highly directional beams are required to focus the radio transmitter energy in a particular direction on the receiver.
  • large radio antenna arrays - at both receiver and transmitter sides - are needed to create such highly direction beams.
  • analog beamforming To reduce hardware costs, large antenna arrays for high frequencies use time-domain analog beamforming.
  • the core idea of analog beamforming is to share a single radio frequency chain between many (or, potentially, all) of the antenna elements.
  • a limitation of analog beamforming is that it is only possible to transmit radio energy using one beam in one direction at a given time.
  • the above limitation requires the network (NW) and user equipment (UE) to preform beam management procedures to establish and maintain suitable transmitter (Tx) / receiver (Rx) beampairs.
  • NW network
  • UE user equipment
  • Tx transmitter
  • Rx receiver
  • beam management procedures can be used by a Tx to sweep a geographic area by transmitting reference signals on different candidate beams, during non-overlapping time intervals, using a predetermined pattern. By measuring the quality of this reference signals at the Rx side, the best transmit and receive beams can be identified.
  • Beam management procedures in NR are defined by a set of Layer 1 (Ll)/Layer 2 (L2) procedures that establish and maintain suitable beam pairs for both transmitting and receiving data.
  • a beam management procedure can include the following sub procedures: beam determination, beam measurements, beam reporting, and beam sweeping.
  • Pl is used to enable UE measurement on different transmission/reception point (TRP) Tx beams to support selection of TRP Tx beams/UE Rx beam(s).
  • TRP transmission/reception point
  • the gNodeB gNB transmits Synchronization Signal (SS)ZPhysical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB) beams in different directions to cover the whole cell.
  • SS Synchronization Signal
  • PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel
  • SSB Synchronization Signal
  • PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel
  • FIGURE 1 illustrates SSB beam selection as part of Initial access procedure according to Pl scenario.
  • Random access is then transmitted on the Random Access Channel (RACH) resources indicated by the selected SSB.
  • RACH Random Access Channel
  • the corresponding beam will be used by both the UE and the network to communicate until connected mode beam management is active.
  • the network infers which SSB beam was chosen by the UE without any explicit signalling.
  • TRP For beamforming at TRP, it typically includes an intra/inter-TRP Tx beam sweep from a set of different beams.
  • UE For beamforming at UE, it typically includes a UE Rx beam sweep from a set of different beams.
  • Procedure 2 (P2) For beamforming at UE, it typically includes an intra/inter-TRP Tx beam sweep from a set of different beams.
  • the network can use the SSB beam as an indication of which (narrow) Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) beams to try; that is, the selected SSB beam can be used to define a candidate set of narrow CSI-RS beams for beam management.
  • CSI-RS Channel State Information-Reference Signal
  • the UE measures the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and reports the result to the network.
  • RSRP Reference Signal Received Power
  • the network If the network receives a CSI-RSRP report from the UE where a new CSI- RS beam is better than the old used to transmit Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)/Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the network updates the serving beam for the UE accordingly, and possibly also modifies the candidate set of CSI-RS beams. The network can also instruct the UE to perform measurements on SSBs. If the network receives a report from the UE where a new SSB beam is better than the previous best SSB beam, a corresponding update of the candidate set of CSI-RS beams for the UE may be motivated.
  • PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel
  • PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel
  • P2 is performed on a possibly smaller set of beams for beam refinement than in Pl.
  • P2 can be a special case of Pl.
  • gNB configures the UE with different CSI-RSs and transmits each CSI-RS on corresponding beam.
  • UE measures the quality of each CSI-RS beam on its current Rx beam and send feedback about the quality of the measured beams. Thereafter, based on this feedback, gNB will decide and possibly indicate to the UE which beam will be used in future transmissions.
  • FIGURE 2 illustrates CSI-RS Tx beam selection in DL according to P2 scenario.
  • P3 is used to enable UE measurement on the same TRP Tx beam to change UE Rx beam in the case UE uses beamforming.
  • the UE is configured with a set of reference signals. Based on measurements, the UE determines which Rx beam is suitable to receive each reference signal in the set. The network then indicates which reference signals are associated with the beam that will be used to transmit PDCCH/PDSCH, and the UE uses this information to adjust its Rx beam when receiving PDCCH/PDSCH.
  • FIGURE 3 illustrates UE Rx beam selection for corresponding CSI-RS Tx beam in DL according to P3 scenario. In connected mode, P3 can be used by the UE to find the best Rx beam for corresponding Tx beam.
  • gNB keeps one CSI-RS Tx beam at a time, and UE performs the sweeping and measurements on its own Rx beams for that specific Tx beam. UE then finds the best corresponding Rx beam based on the measurements and will use it in future for reception when gNB indicates the use of that Tx beam.
  • a UE can be configured to report RSRP or/and Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR) for each one of up to four beams, either on CSI-RS or SSB.
  • UE measurement reports can be sent either over Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) to the network node such as, for example, gNB.
  • PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel
  • PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel
  • a CSI-RS is transmitted over each transmit (Tx) antenna port at the network node and for different antenna ports.
  • the CSI-RS are multiplexed in time, frequency, and code domain such that the channel between each Tx antenna port at the network node and each receive antenna port at a UE can be measured by the UE.
  • the time-frequency resource used for transmitting CSI- RS is referred to as a CSI-RS resource.
  • the CSI-RS for beam management is defined as a 1- or 2-port CSI-RS resource in a CSI-RS resource set where the filed repetition is present.
  • the following three types of CSI-RS transmissions are supported:
  • Periodic CSI-RS CSI-RS is transmitted periodically in certain slots. This CSI-RS transmission is semi-statically configured using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling with parameters such as CSI-RS resource, periodicity, and slot offset.
  • RRC Radio Resource Control
  • Semi-Persistent CSI-RS Similar to periodic CSI-RS, resources for semi- persistent CSI-RS transmissions are semi-statically configured using RRC signaling with parameters such as periodicity and slot offset. However, unlike periodic CSI-RS, dynamic signaling is needed to activate and deactivate the CSI-RS transmission.
  • Aperiodic CSI-RS This is a one-shot CSI-RS transmission that can happen in any slot. Here, one-shot means that CSI-RS transmission only happens once per trigger.
  • the CSI-RS resources i.e., the Resource Element (RE) locations which consist of subcarrier locations and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol locations
  • RE Resource Element
  • OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
  • aperiodic CSI-RS is triggered by dynamic signaling through PDCCH using the CSI request field in uplink (UL) Downlink Control Information (DCI), in the same DCI where the UL resources for the measurement report are scheduled.
  • DCI Downlink Control Information
  • Multiple aperiodic CSI-RS resources can be included in a CSI-RS resource set and the triggering of aperiodic CSI-RS is on a resource set basis.
  • an SSB consists of a pair of synchronization signals (SSs), PBCH), and Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) for PBCH.
  • An SSB is mapped to 4 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain and 240 contiguous subcarriers (20 RBs) in the frequency domain.
  • NR supports beamforming and beam-sweeping for SSB transmission, by enabling a cell to transmit multiple SSBs in different narrow-beams multiplexed in time.
  • the transmission of these SSBs is confined to a half frame time interval (5 ms). It is also possible to configure a cell to transmit multiple SSBs in a single wide-beam with multiple repetitions.
  • the design of beamforming parameters for each of the SSBs within a half frame is up to network implementation.
  • the SSBs within a half frame are broadcasted periodically from each cell.
  • the periodicity of the half frames with SS/PBCH blocks is referred to as SSB periodicity, which is indicated by SIB1.
  • the maximum number of SSBs within a half frame depends on the frequency band, and the time locations for these L candidate SSBs within a half frame depends on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SSBs.
  • the L candidate SSBs within a half frame are indexed in an ascending order in time from 0 to L-l.
  • a UE By successfully detecting PBCH and its associated DMRS, a UE knows the SSB index.
  • a cell does not necessarily transmit SS/PBCH blocks in all L candidate locations in a half frame, and the resource of the un-used candidate positions can be used for the transmission of data or control signaling instead. It is up to network implementation to decide which candidate time locations to select for SSB transmission within a half frame, and which beam to use for each SSB transmission.
  • a UE can be configured with the following:
  • Each CSI reporting setting is linked to one or more resource setting for channel and/or interference measurement.
  • the CSI framework is modular in the sense that several CSI reporting settings may be associated with the same Resource Setting.
  • the measurement resource configurations for beam management are provided to the UE by RRC information element (IE) (CSI-ResourceConfigs).
  • IE RRC information element
  • One CSI-ResourceConfig contains several NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSets and/or CSI-SSB-ResourceSets.
  • a UE can be configured to measure CSI-RSs using the RRC IE NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet.
  • a NZP CSI-RS resource set contains the configurations of Ks >1 CSI-RS resources.
  • Each CSI-RS resource configuration resource includes at least the following:
  • Up to 64 CSI-RS resources can be grouped together in a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet.
  • a UE can be configured to measure SSBs using the RRC IE CSI-SSB-ResourceSet.
  • Resource sets comprising SSB resources are defined in a similar manner to the CSI-RS resources defined above.
  • the network node configures the UE with S c CSI triggering states.
  • Each triggering state contains the aperiodic CSI report setting to be triggered along with the associated aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets.
  • Periodic CSI Reporting on PUCCH' is reported periodically by a UE. Parameters such as periodicity and slot offset are configured semi-statically by higher layer RRC signaling from the network node to the UE
  • Semi-Persistent CSI Reporting on PUSCH or PUCCH' Similar to periodic CSI reporting, semi-persistent CSI reporting has a periodicity and slot offset, which may be semi-statically configured. However, a dynamic trigger from network node to UE may be needed to allow the UE to begin semi-persistent CSI reporting. A dynamic trigger from network node to UE is needed to request the UE to stop the semi-persistent CSI reporting.
  • Aperiodic CSI Reporting on PUSCH This type of CSI reporting involves a single-shot (i.e., one time) CSI report by a UE, which is dynamically triggered by the network node using DCI. Some of the parameters related to the configuration of the aperiodic CSI report is semi-statically configured by RRC but the triggering is dynamic.
  • each CSI reporting setting the content and time-domain behavior of the report is defined, along with the linkage to the associated Resource Settings.
  • the CSI-ReportConfig IE comprise the following configurations:
  • reportConfigType o Defines the time-domain behavior (periodic CSI reporting, semi- persistent CSI reporting, or aperiodic CSI reporting) along with the periodicity and slot offset of the report for periodic CSI reporting.
  • reportQuantity Defines the reported CSI parameters — the CSI content; for example, the Precoder Matrix Indicator (PMI), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Rank Indicator (RI), Layer Indicator (LI), CSLRS Resource Index (CRI) and Ll-RSRP. Only certain combinations are possible; for example, ‘cri-RI-PMI-CQI’ is one possible value and ‘cri-RSRP’ is another) and each value of reportQuantity could be said to correspond to a certain CSI mode.
  • codebookConfig Defines the codebook used for PMI reporting, along with possible codebook subset restriction (CBSR).
  • CBSR codebook subset restriction
  • NR supported the following two types of PMI codebooks: Type I CSI and Type II CSI. Additionally, the Type I and Type II codebooks each have two different variants: regular and port selection.
  • reportFrequencyConfiguration o Define the frequency granularity of PMI and CQI (wideband or subband), if reported, along with the CSI reporting band, which is a subset of subbands of the bandwidth part (BWP) to which the CSI corresponds.
  • a UE can be configured to report LI -RSRP for up to four different CSLRS/SSB resource indicators.
  • the reported RSRP value corresponding to the first (best) CRI/SSBRI requires 7 bits, using absolute values, while the others require 4 bits using encoding relative to the first.
  • the report of Ll-SINR for beam management has already been supported.
  • FIGURE 5 illustrates Set A being a set of narrow beams and Set B being a set of wide beams.
  • Set A is a set of 30 narrow CSI-RS beams
  • Set B is a set of 8 wide SSB beams.
  • the UE measures beams in Set B and the AI/ML model should predict the best beam(s) from Set A.
  • the spatial beam prediction can be performed in the gNB or the UE.
  • the study item will cover both scenarios.
  • BM-Casel Beam Management-Case 1
  • BM-Case 2 Beam Management-Case 2
  • Alt.1 Beam prediction accuracy related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), e.g., Top-X/1 beam prediction accuracy
  • KPIs Key Performance Indicators
  • Alt.2 Link quality related KPIs, e.g., throughput, Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, hypothetical Block Error Rate (BLER)
  • KPIs e.g., throughput, Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, hypothetical Block Error Rate (BLER)
  • Alt.4 Measurements of the predicted best beam(s) corresponding to model output (e.g., Comparison between actual Ll-RSRP and predicted RSRP of predicted Top- ⁇ !K Beams)
  • Signalling/configuration/measurement/report for model monitoring e.g., signalling aspects related to assistance information (if supported), Reference signals
  • Optionl UE sends reporting to NW (e.g., for the calculation of performance metric at NW)
  • Option2 UE calculates performance metric(s), either reports it to NW or reports an event to NW based on the performance metric(s)
  • Type2 performance monitoring (UE-side performance monitoring):
  • the indication/request/report may be not needed in some case(s) Configuration/Signalling from gNB to UE for performance monitoring measurement and/or reporting
  • - UE calculates performance metric(s), either reports it to NW or reports an event to NW based on the performance metric(s)
  • UE makes decision(s) of model selection/activation/ deactivation/switching/fallback operation
  • Table 7.2.3-1 summarizes applicability of various alternatives for performance metric(s) of AI/ML model monitoring for BM-Casel and BM-Case2.
  • the AI/ML model for beam prediction can be at NW-side (i.e., executed in the gNB) or UE-side (i.e., executed in the UE).
  • the UE makes RSRP measurements and reports the measurement results to the NW for input into the AI/ML model.
  • the UE both makes the measurements and the AI/ML-model-based prediction and, thus, no reporting of the measurements is needed (only reporting of the final predicted beam(s)).
  • a key part of AI/ML-based prediction is data collection. Data collection is performed in several parts of the life-cycle management (LCM). First, a large amount of measurements must be collected in order to train the model. Second, when using the model for inference (i.e., beam prediction), the UE measurement data to feed into it must be collected; this is typically a smaller set of data at a time, but such collection typically happens more frequently than training. Finally, measurements are needed to monitor whether the model functions well. If not, actions need to be taken to ensure proper functioning of the system. For example, the action may be to disable the model or update the model.
  • LCM life-cycle management
  • the NW transmits some signal (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) using a set of several different Tx beams on the DL.
  • some signal e.g., CSI-RS or SSB
  • the UE measures the RSRP (or some other channel quality measurement) of the different DL transmissions
  • the UE here typically does Rx beamforming; this beamforming is, however, an implementation detail that it is up to the UE to decide on.
  • the UE reports the measured RSRP (or other channel quality measurement) values to the NW.
  • the measurements by the UE are subject to measurement errors.
  • the relative error is the difference in reported measurement value for two measurements that were performed under the same nominal conditions and should, thus, ideally be identical. However, according to 3 GPP specifications, the relative error can be substantial, up to 6.5 dB under normal condition. See, 3GPP TS 38.133, Table 10.1.20.1.2-1.
  • the relative error which may include variations in channel conditions, may be attributed to different sources and is affected by the circumstances under which the UE performs the measurements. Accordingly, while the UE is free to do the selection of Rx beam during data collection, actual and perceived measurement errors present certain challenges such as, for example, making Al beam prediction less accurate. See, Rl-2304749, Section 5.3.6.
  • Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are disclosed for providing a way for the NW to instruct the UE to use a fixed Rx beam or Rx antenna panel for a set of RSRP measurements. Certain embodiments are disclosed for configuring the UE or signaling to the UE which set of measurements should use a fixed beam/panel.
  • a method performed by a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting includes receiving, from a network node, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
  • a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting is configured to receive, from a network node, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
  • a method performed by a network node for providing information for beam measurement and/or beam reporting includes transmitting, to a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
  • a network node for providing information for beam measurement and/or beam reporting is configured to transmit, to a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
  • Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling a UE to use a fixed beam for performing certain measurements. Additionally, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the NW to be aware of the fixed beam used by the UE for performing certain measurements.
  • certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the UE to perform RSRP measurements that have smaller measurement errors. This benefit may fully or partially in some UEs be achievable by just fixing the panel (not the exact beam direction) at the UE.
  • certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the UE to perform RSRP measurements that are free from variability caused by varying spatial beam direction (and/or shape) and changing RF impairments within the period of beam sweeping at the UE.
  • Reduced error/variability can give better consistency between measurements within one data sample (one UE) during training or inference, as well as better consistency between training and inference, leading to better prediction performance.
  • FIGURE 2 illustrates CSI-RS Tx beam selection in DL according to P2 scenario
  • FIGURE 3 illustrates UE Rx beam selection for corresponding CSI-RS Tx beam in DL according to P3 scenario
  • FIGURE 5 illustrates a set A being a set of narrow beams and set B being a set of wide beams
  • FIGURE 6 illustrates an example of a UE evaluating different beams/ UE panels during different SSB transmission occasions, according to certain embodiments
  • FIGURES 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate exemplary schemes for multi-TRP transmission, according to certain embodiments
  • FIGURES 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate a UE receiving from one TRP at a time or two TRPs at the same time, according to certain embodiments;
  • FIGURE 9 illustrates an example communication system, according to certain embodiments.
  • FIGURE 10 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments
  • FIGURE 12 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments
  • FIGURE 13 illustrates an example method by a UE for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments
  • FIGURE 14 illustrates another example method by a UE for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments
  • FIGURE 15 illustrates an example method by a network node for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
  • FIGURE 16 illustrates another example method by a network node for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
  • gNB Baseband Unit
  • C-RAN access point
  • AP access point
  • RRU Remote Radio Unit
  • RRH Remote Radio Head
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • core network node e.g. Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.
  • O&M Operations & Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self Organizing Network
  • positioning node e.g. E- SMLC
  • UE user equipment
  • D2D device to device
  • V2V vehicular to vehicular
  • MTC UE machine type UE
  • M2M machine to machine
  • PDA Personal Digital Assistant
  • Tablet mobile terminals
  • smart phone laptop embedded equipment
  • LME laptop mounted equipment
  • USB Unified Serial Bus
  • time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time.
  • time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, system frame number (SFN) cycle, hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle etc.
  • Rx beam is used throughout this disclosure, other alternative terminology may be used in 3GPP specifications to describe ‘Rx beam’.
  • Such alternative terminology equivalent to ‘Rx beam’ include ‘spatial domain receive filter’, ‘spatial domain filter for reception’, ‘Rx spatial filter’, ‘spatial Rx filter’, etc.
  • Tx beam in this disclosure is non-limiting; other alternative terminology may be used in 3GPP specifications in place of ‘Tx beam’.
  • Such alternative terminology equivalent to ‘Tx beam’ include ‘spatial domain transmit filter’, ‘spatial domain filter for transmission’, ‘Tx spatial filter’, ‘spatial Tx filter’, etc.
  • the relative error can be substantial, up to 6.5 dB under normal condition.
  • the 6.5 dB also include variations in channel conditions, which would not normally be seen as a measurement error, but this variation is a minor part of the 6.5 dB.
  • the measurement error is a combination of several different sources, including the fact that different receive chains in the UE may have different absolute error. As a consequence, assuming for example that each antenna panel in the UE uses a different receive chain, the relative measurement error between two measurement occasions may on average be smaller if both measurements were made using the same antenna panel.
  • the relative error between two measurements is affected by other circumstances such as, for example, the time interval between the two measurements, whether the UE has to switch temporarily to another Rx beam to listen to another signal between the two measurements, or if the UE has to temporarily stop listening in order to transmit between the two measurements.
  • the relative RSRP measurement error in a UE is generally known to be smaller for measurements using the same Rx beam, but can be substantial (up to ⁇ 6.5 dB) between different Rx beams.
  • Rx beam switches by the UE during a Tx beam sweep can lead to unnecessarily large measurement error.
  • the main source of this uncertainty is Radio Frequency (RF) impairments at the UE side. These impairments are varying between different Rx beams due to analog beam sweeping, which may require using different RF chain.
  • the impairment error is independent and different with large margin between different RF chains.
  • the UE may hear the gNB less well using some Rx beams than others, and the NW does not know how much this contributes to differences in RSRP values between different measurements.
  • the NW does not know how much this contributes to differences in RSRP values between different measurements.
  • a change of Rx beams creates a source of variability between measurements, which, since unknown to the NW, can be seen as a measurement error (or uncertainty) by the NW.
  • Such measurement errors/uncertainties make Al beam prediction less accurate. See, Rl-2304749, Section 5.3.6.
  • methods and systems are disclosed for providing a way for the NW to instruct the UE to use a fixed Rx beam or Rx antenna panel for a set of RSRP measurements. It has been shown in evaluations (as described in more detail below) that use of fixed UE beam works well for data collection. Accordingly, various embodiments are disclosed for configuring the UE or signaling to the UE which set of measurements should use a fixed beam/panel for.
  • the NW can restrict the UE to some limited set of Rx beams (e.g., a single Rx beam) during a set of beam measurements or for a certain beam report. This may remove some uncertainty in the measurements from the NW perspective yielding both better consistency between measurements within a data sample (during training or inference) and better consistency between training and inference, and thereby improved AI/ML model beam prediction performance.
  • Figure 16 of 3GPP Rl-2302878, April 2023 illustrates the RSRP difference Cumulative Density Function (CDF) for two different models, according to certain embodiments.
  • CDF Cumulative Density Function
  • Figure 16 of 3GPP Rl-2302878 illustrates the RSRP difference CDF, for 4x8 array, selecting 16 out of 32 CSI-RS beams as SetB, performing the inference for given option of Rx beam for (a) model trained based on the dataset with 100% outdoor UEs and (b) model trained based on the dataset with 80%/20% in/outdoor UEs, respectively.
  • Option 1 is optimal Rx beam for each Tx beam
  • Option 2a is (randomly selected) fixed Rx beam for each Tx beam within a Tx beam sweep.
  • the fixed beam is randomly selected for each UE at the start of the sweep (with different randomization for training and inference).
  • a method by a UE includes receiving instructions from the NW to use Rx beam(s) only within a limited set of Rx beams during a set of DL signal quality measurements/or for a beam report.
  • the limited set of Rx beams may consist of one fixed Rx beam, consist of the Rx beams from one fixed UE panel, consist of a set of beams decided by the UE, be the beam used by the UE to receive PDCCH, or be the widest possible UE Rx beam (or one or more of the widest beams if multiple with same width).
  • the fixed Rx beam or Rx panel to be used are associated with different previous measurements at the UE, for example indicated via time (e.g. in terms of slots or seconds) and other quantities (e.g. Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, CSI-RS/SSB resource set, and/or CSI-RS/SSB measurement configuration or reporting configuration), NW configures the UE to use the same Rx-beam as in those time slots or other quantities;
  • TCI Transmission Configuration Indication
  • the set or radio measurement quantities are the radio measurement quantities relating to a certain CSI-RS or SSB resource set, a certain measurement resource configuration, a certain measurement reporting configuration, and/or any combination (logical or / logical and) of the above described embodiments.
  • the signal radio measurement quantity is an RSRP measurement, RSRQ measurement, SINR measurement, and/or hypothetical BLER such as, for example, using PDCCH.
  • the UE receives instructions from the network not to switch beam direction (or interrupt reception) even temporarily between two measurements. If necessary due to this instruction (by specification or UE implementation), the UE is allowed to skip listening to a signal that the UE would otherwise be mandated to listen to.
  • the DCI signaling is part of an CSI-RS activation command, an aperiodic measurement trigger, or an aperiodic report trigger.
  • the RRC configuration is part of a measurement configuration command or report configuration command.
  • the UE chooses among the Rx beam(s) within the set of limited beams based on predefined criteria, or criteria indicated by the gNB.
  • the Rx beam(s) may be chosen based on the history of RSRP measurements.
  • the performed radio measurements performed in the certain period of time are reported to the NW.
  • the reporting comprises one or more of the following information:
  • the UE for each performed radio measurements performed in different period of times, stores one or more of the above information associated to the performed radio measurements.
  • the UE reports to the network, e.g. RAN node, the one or more stored information associated to different radio measurements.
  • the stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different period of times, i.e. associated to radio measurements performed at different period of times. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different set of beams
  • the NW instructs the UE to use a single fixed Rx beam during a set of measurements (i.e., during a Tx beam sweep).
  • the UE may be free to select that Rx beam autonomously.
  • the UE is limited to select its “widest” possible Rx-beam. This can enable better hearability of NW Tx beams.
  • the network configures a ‘useSameRxBeam’ flag in the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet information element (IE) as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown below using a combination of underline and italics).
  • the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set represent different transmit beams, and the transmission of the NZP CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set represent a Tx beam sweep.
  • ‘useSameRxBeam’ is set to value ‘on’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set.
  • ‘useSameRxBeam’ is set to value ‘off or if ‘useSameRxBeam’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set.
  • NZP-CSI-RS-Pairing-rl7 SEQUENCE ⁇ nzp-CSI-RS-Resource!dl-rl7 INTEGER (1..7) , nzp-CSI-RS-Resource!d2-rl7 INTEGER (1..7)
  • the network (e.g., gNB) configures a ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ flag in the CSI-ReportConfig IE as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the CSI-ReportConfig IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown with a combination of underline and italics).
  • the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI- Resource configuration with ID given by esourcesForChannelMeasurement in the CSI report configuration represent different transmit beams
  • the transmission of the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement represent a Tx beam sweep.
  • ‘useSameRxBeam ’ is set to value ‘on’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
  • the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI- Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement .
  • ‘useSameRxBeam ’ may be an optional parameter with only enumerated value ‘true’ .
  • ‘useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to value ‘true’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
  • ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement .
  • the UE may only use one Rx beam corresponding to one of the TCI states associated with the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
  • CS I-ReportConfig : : SEQUENCE ⁇ reportConf igld GS T -Report Conf igld, carrier ServCell lndex OPTIONAL, -- Need S resourcesForChannelMeasurement CS I -Re sourceConf igld, csi-IM-Re sources For Interference CS I -Re sourceConf igld
  • OPTIONAL Need R nzp-CS I -RS -Re sources For Interference CS I -Re sourceConf igld OPTIONAL, — Need reportConf igType ⁇ periodic r epor t Slot Conf i Report Period! ci tyAndOf f set , pucch-CSI-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofBWPs ) )
  • OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource ⁇ OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource ⁇ , semiPersistentOnPUSCH SEQUENCE ⁇ reportSlotConf ig ENUMERATED ⁇ sl5, sllO, sl20, sl40,
  • timeRestrictionForChannelMeasurements ENUMERATED ⁇ configured, notConf igured ⁇ , t imeRes trict ionFor Int er ferenceMeasurements ENUMERATED
  • the network (e.g., gNB) configures a ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ flag in the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList IE as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown with a combination of underline and italics).
  • the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo represent different transmit beams
  • the transmission of the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo represent a Tx beam sweep.
  • the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C ⁇ -AssociatedReport(’onfigInfo.
  • "useSameRxBeam ’ may be an optional parameter with only enumerated value ‘true’ .
  • “useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to value ‘true’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in CSI- AssociatedReportConfiglnfo. If ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo .
  • the UE may only use one Rx beam corresponding to one of the TCI states associated with the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in CSI- AssociatedReportConfiglnfo .
  • a codepoint of the ‘CSI Request’ field in an UL DCI (e.g., a DCI with DCI format 0 0 or DCI format 0 1) is mapped to one of the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateA.
  • One or more CSI-AssociatedReportConfiglnfo elements can be associated with a CSI- AperiodicTriggerState via associatedReportConfiglnfoList.
  • the field "useSameRxBeam ’ may be configured within the CSI-AperiodicTriggerState field.
  • the UE uses one Rx beam for Tx beam sweeps associated with each of the CSI-AssociatedReportConfiglnfoA that are part of the associatedReportConfiglnfoList within the aperiodically triggered CSI-AperiodicTriggerState .
  • CS I-AperiodicTriggerStateList : : SEQUENCE ( S I ZE ( 1 . . maxNrOfCS I- AperiodicTriggers ) ) OF CS I-AperiodicTriggerState
  • the UE may be assigned with an ID of the Rx-beam it selected, allowing the NW to have consistency in the UE Rx-beam selection operation explained further in next embodiment.
  • the NW instructs the UE to use a fixed antenna panel, but not necessarily a fixed beam within that panel.
  • the instruction may be conditioned on the UE capability such as, for example, whether the UE can maintain a small relative measurement error between Rx beams within the same antenna panel.
  • the UE is mandated to use the same beam as it used to receive the PDCCH (containing the measurement or possibly reporting signaling).
  • a SetB with a large number of beams is split into multiple smaller mutually exclusive sets (called sub-SetBs).
  • Each sub-SetB has its own beam pattern, measurement/reporting occasion. So SetB measurement implies measurements from its composite sub-SetBs.
  • the NW may instruct UE on per sub-SetB basis.
  • NW instructions to UE when a certain sub-SetB is active include: 1) to not switch its Rx beam, 2) skip measurements, 3) to freely choose its Rx beam, 4) switch its Rx beam only to a restricted set of Rx beams.
  • An active sub-SetB implies Quasi Co Location (QCL) mappings indicated by active TCIs. Hence these NW instructions to the UE can be indicated via MAC-CE/DCI.
  • LIE configuration and NW decisions are based on joint data analysis of historical data, current ML context and UE application’s requirements.
  • the UE is required to use a fixed set of some number M of Rx beams to measure each Tx beam.
  • M may be configured or signaled, and/or be related to UE capability or hardware configuration such as, for example, how many Rx beams can measure simultaneously or how many panels the UE has.
  • the UE must report all the M measurements, while in another embodiment, the UE may be requested to select a subset of the beams to report such as, for example, the best measurement from each antenna panel.
  • an integer field ' useMRxBeams-r 19" may be configured in the NZP-CSI-RS- ResourceSet IE (i.e., by replacing ' useSameRxBeam-r 19' with 9iseMRxBeams-r 19' in the previous signaling embodiment related to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet IE).
  • NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet IE i.e., by replacing ' useSameRxBeam-r 19' with 9iseMRxBeams-r 19' in the previous signaling embodiment related to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet IE.
  • the UE is not limited to using at most A Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSLRS resource set.
  • the UE is not limited to using at most A/ Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
  • Some UEs may be able to maintain a small relative measurement error between measurements if and only if there is no intermediate switch of beam (even if just temporarily) or if there is an intermediate UE transmission.
  • An intermediate switch of beam may be required in order for the UE to perform measurements of some periodic signal, and the existence of such a periodic signal (i.e., if it has been configured) may hence be detrimental to UE beam measurements.
  • the NW may instruct the UE not to perform some such intermediate beam switches, either by allowing (or requiring) the UE to perform the intermediate measurements/reception without beam switch (at the expense of worse measurement accuracy), or by allowing (or requiring) the UE to skip the intermediate measurement entirely.
  • the fixed Rx beam is related to the windows determining phase consistency introduced in Release 17 NR coverage enhancement Work Item (WI).
  • the UE may be requested to use a fixed beam within any phase consistency window.
  • the NW instructs that the UE shall use one single beam/UE panel for all the reported beams in one beam report.
  • the UE typically sweeps through different UE beams /UE panels, which means that the UE will not maintain a fixed UE Rx beam/UE panel during all the SSB measurements; however, when the UE determines which beam to include in the beam report, the UE has to select SSBs measured with the same UE Rx beam/UE Rx panel.
  • the UE 112 determines which of the UE beams/UE panels that the UE 112 shall report SSB beams for, e.g. UE beaml, and then report SSB beams only received with that UE beam/UE panel.
  • UE 112 For each SSB measurement occasion or each periodic/semi-persistent CSI-RSs measurement occasion, UE 112 is configured not to switch its selected Rx beam during the measurement occasion even if UE 112 needs to measure other reference signals (i.e., SSB beams from neighboring cells and/or other periodic reference signals).
  • other reference signals i.e., SSB beams from neighboring cells and/or other periodic reference signals.
  • the same method as described above for SSB are also applied for peri odi c/semi -persi stent CSI-RSs .
  • a parameter is configured in an aperiodic trigger state, where the parameter indicates that the associated beam report should include TRP beams (e.g., DL-RS indexes) received with the same UE Rx beam/UE panel.
  • TRP beams e.g., DL-RS indexes
  • the network 110 indicates to the UE 112 to use the same UE Rx beam/UE panel for one or more consecutive beam report. This could, for example, be useful if the network 110 performs time-domain beam prediction and would like to make sure that the reported beams across different time instances are reported with as small measurement error as possible.
  • a single bitfield is included in DCI that triggers a beam report, and where the single bitfield is used to indicate if the UE 112 can change/cannot change UE Rx beam/UE panel for the report beams in the beam report compared to the last time the UE 112 transmitted the same beam report.
  • groupBasedBeamReporting is set to “enabled” and/or groupBasedBeamReporting-rl7 is configured:
  • NW 110 could instruct the UE 112 to use the one fixed Rx beam (spatial Rx filter) to measure the CSI-RS and/or SSB resources for all groups.
  • one fixed Rx beam spatial Rx filter
  • NW 110 could instruct the UE 112 to use the one fixed Rx beam (spatial Rx filter) to measure the CSI-RS and/or SSB resources for each group.
  • one fixed Rx beam spatial Rx filter
  • the following aspects can be configured to support multi-TRP transmission:
  • TCI states indicated in DCI for single DCI If one TCI state is indicated in the DCI, PDSCH is transmitted from one TRP. If two TCI states are indicated in the DCI, then multi-TRP transmission of PDSCH using the FDM scheme, or TDM scheme, or SDM scheme can be used. The exact scheme used depends on configurations such as the number of CDM groups of the PDSCH DMRS ports.
  • the UE 112 may receive from one TRP at a time or receive from two TRPs at the same time'.
  • the UE 112 may receive from one TRP at a time while switching between two TRPs, where the exact TRP to receive from is indicated by MAC CE or DCI.
  • FDM Frequency Division Multiplexing
  • SDM Spatial Division Multiplexing
  • the UE needs to be able to receive from two TRPs at the same time, though the arrangement of TRP1 and TRP2 transmissions are different.
  • FIGURES 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate example schemes for multi-TRP transmission, according to certain embodiments. Specifically, FIGURE 7A illustrates an example SDM scheme 200A, according to certain embodiments. FIGURE 7B illustrates an example FDM scheme 200B, according to certain embodiments.
  • FIGURE 7C illustrates an example TDM scheme 200C, according to certain embodiments .
  • FIGURES 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate an example of the UE 112 receiving from one TRP at a time (as depicted in example 300A in FIGURE 8 A and 300B in FIGURE 8B), or receiving from two TRPs at the same time (as depicted in 300C in FIGURE 8C).
  • the UE 112 may have Rx beam for several different types of DL transmission, including: (1) UE 112 receives from TRP1 110A only (as depicted in example 300A in FIGURE 8A); (2) UE 112 receives from TRP2 HOB only (as depicted in example 300B in FIGURE 8B); (3) UE 112 receives from both TRP1 110A and TRP2 HOB simultaneously (as depicted in 300C in FIGURE 8C) using SDM scheme (as shown in example 200A in FIGURE 7A); (4) UE 112 receives from both TRP1 110A and TRP2 110B simultaneously (as shown in example 300C in FIGURE 8C) using FDM scheme (as shown in example 200B in FIGURE 7B).
  • the UE 112 switches between receiving from TRP1 110A at one time, and receiving TRP2 110B at another time, thus a combination of (1) and (2).
  • the UE 112 need to use different Rx beam(s) for different types of DL transmission, see the illustration in FIGURES 7A, 7B, and 7C.
  • the configuration information need to be stored together with the measurement values of model input and output.
  • the configuration information need to be taken into account in model training, so that different models can be trained for different configurations.
  • the configuration information can be used to select the AI/ML model to use, if different models are trained for different configurations.
  • the configuration information can be used as a component of model input, if a larger model is trained to capture the different behavior for different configurations, i.e., model input includes both measurement data as well as the configuration information.
  • the model output may provide beam prediction corresponding to the configuration given at model input.
  • the configuration information may include one or more of the following:
  • TRPs used in DL transmission. Typical values include: single TRP, two TRPs.
  • the number of DCIs used in scheduling PDSCH • The number of DCIs used in scheduling PDSCH. Typical values include: one or two DCIs.
  • the number of CORESET groups configured for the PDCCH carrying the DCI • The number of CORESET groups configured for the PDCCH carrying the DCI. Typical values include: one or two CORESET groups.
  • the number of CDM groups of the PDSCH DMRS ports • The number of CDM groups of the PDSCH DMRS ports. Typical values include: one or two CDM groups.
  • multi-TRP the specific multi-TRP scheme configured: FDM, TDM, SDM.
  • the number of antenna panels used at the UE • The number of antenna panels used at the UE. Typical values include: single panel or two panels.
  • Criteria for choosing the Rx beams with the set of limited beams for measurement help guarantee that the provided measurements give reasonable accuracy of, for example, RF impairment effect and not, for example, completely drown in noise measurements etc. especially if UE is free to choose which beam(s) to fix.
  • the UE 112 is provided by set of criteria on how to choose the one or set of fixed Rx beams to perform the measurements. This criterion can be instructed by the network to the UE 112 to or can be predefined criteria in the specification. These criteria can be used to find specific statistics of correspond beam, antenna panel, etc. when free to select, by the UE 112, a specific beam or set of beams.
  • One criterion can be history record of different beams such as, for example, the beam with more fluctuations in the RSRP, or a beam with more stable RSRP, or beam with highest values of RSRPs depending on the statistics that gNB wants to collect.
  • any configuration/signaling related to fixed beam settings may be associated with an activation delay, possibly (if/when applicable) in accordance with existing specifications.
  • the radio measurements may consist of:
  • a single radio measurement performed during a certain period of time e.g., a certain set of consecutive radio resources such as OFDM symbols or slots
  • the single radio measurement represents for example an average of a radio measurement quantity performed over one or more of the beams in the limited set of beams, e.g. over all the best N Rx beams, or over all the beams.
  • a set of radio measurements performed during a certain period of time e.g., a certain set of consecutive radio resources such as OFDM symbols or slots
  • a radio measurement in the set of radio measurements consists of a radio measurement associated to one or more beam in the limited set of beams over the said period of time, e.g., an average of a radio measurement quantity for a given beam over the period of time.
  • the performed radio measurements performed in the certain period of time are reported to the NW, the reporting comprising one or more of the following information: a.
  • b. The limited set of beams taken into account when performing the said radio measurements, e.g., the limited set of beams configured by the network, wherein this can be represented by the SSB/CSI-RS indexes associated to the beams in the limited set of beams.
  • the beam(s) over which the radio measurements were performed e.g., the best N Rx beams in the limited set of beams, or all the beams in the limited set of beams.
  • the UE may store the associated radio measurement quantity(ies), the SSB/CSI-RS index for each of such beams, and any of the other one or more information listed herein after associated to the radio measurements in each of such beams.
  • d The timestamp associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed.
  • e The UE location associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed.
  • f The cell in which the radio measurements are performed.
  • the above information associated to radio measurements may reported as soon as they are available in the UE in a first transmission occasion via RRC.
  • the UE may report them periodically, or upon indicating the availability of this report to the network.
  • the UE may not start performing a new radio measurement, until the said report is transmitted to the network.
  • the UE for each performed radio measurements performed in different period of times, stores one or more of the above information associated to the different performed radio measurements.
  • This second method further comprises methods for the UE to report to the network the one or more stored information associated to different radio measurements, wherein:
  • the one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different period of times, i.e. associated to radio measurements performed at different period of times.
  • the one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different set of beams.
  • the report may contain information associated to radio measurements taken at different point in time. This allows the UE to perform a new radio measurement before reporting the radio measurement result of a previous radio measurement. That is because upon performing a radio measurement, the UE stores the radio measurement in UE variable allocated in the UE memory and it keeps until the report containing such radio measurement is transmitted to the network.
  • the report from the UE may comprise a list of radio measurements, wherein each entry in the list may comprise the said one or more information associated to each performed radio measurement related to measurements taken in a given period of time.
  • the term “measurement” can include layer 1 RSRP, RSRP, layer 1 SINR, or RSRQ measurement, or some other type of beam/channel quality measurement.
  • FIGURE 9 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the communication system 400 includes a telecommunication network 402 that includes an access network 404, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 406, which includes one or more core network nodes 408.
  • the access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 410A and 410B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 410), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point.
  • 3 GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • the UEs 412 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 410 and other communication devices.
  • the network nodes 410 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 412 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 402 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 402.
  • the core network 406 connects the network nodes 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts.
  • the core network 406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 408.
  • Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
  • MSC Mobile Switching Center
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • HSS Home Subscriber Server
  • AMF Access and Mobility Management Function
  • SMF Session Management Function
  • AUSF Authentication Server Function
  • SIDF Subscription Identifier De-concealing function
  • UDM Unified Data Management
  • SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy
  • NEF Network Exposure Function
  • UPF User Plane Function
  • the host 416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 404 and/or the telecommunication network 402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the host 416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
  • the communication system 400 of FIGURE 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts.
  • the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • the telecommunication network 402 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 402. For example, the telecommunications network 402 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.
  • URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication
  • eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband
  • mMTC Massive Machine Type Communication
  • the UEs 412 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 404.
  • a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode.
  • a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
  • MR-DC multi-radio dual connectivity
  • the hub 414 communicates with the access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 412C and/or 412D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 41 OB).
  • the hub 414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • the hub 414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core netw4ork 406 for the UEs.
  • the hub 414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs.
  • the hub 414 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data.
  • the hub 414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
  • the hub 414 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 410B.
  • the hub 414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE 412C and/or 412D), and between the hub 414 and the core network 406.
  • the hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection.
  • the hub 414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 404 and/or to another UE over a direct connection.
  • UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 410 while still connected via the hub 414 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • the hub 414 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 410B.
  • the hub 414 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 410B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
  • FIGURE 10 shows a UE 500, which may be an embodiment of the UE 412 of FIGURE 9, in accordance with some embodiments.
  • a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs.
  • Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc.
  • Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • MTC machine type communication
  • eMTC enhanced MTC
  • a UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle-to-everything (V2X).
  • D2D device-to-device
  • DSRC Dedicated Short-Range Communication
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle-to-everything
  • a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).
  • a UE may represent a device that is not
  • the processing circuitry 502 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 510.
  • the processing circuitry 502 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above.
  • the processing circuitry 502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
  • Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like.
  • the presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user.
  • a sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof.
  • An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the power source 508 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used.
  • the power source 508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 508 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 508.
  • Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 500 to which power is supplied.
  • the memory 510 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth.
  • the memory 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516.
  • the memory 510 may store, for use by the UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • the memory 510 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD-DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • DIMM external mini-dual in-line memory module
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • eUICC embedded UICC
  • iUICC integrated UICC
  • SIM card removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • the memory 510 may allow the UE 500 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data.
  • An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 510, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 512.
  • the communication interface 512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 522.
  • the communication interface 512 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network).
  • Each transceiver may include a transmitter 518 and/or a receiver 520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).
  • the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 522) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of the communication interface 512 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • UMTS Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • WiMax Ethernet
  • TCP/IP transmission control protocol/internet protocol
  • SONET synchronous optical networking
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • QUIC Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 512, via a wireless connection to a network node.
  • Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE.
  • the output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
  • a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection.
  • the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change.
  • the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
  • a UE when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare.
  • loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item- tracking
  • AR Augmented
  • a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node.
  • the UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard.
  • a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case.
  • a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’ s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone.
  • the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed.
  • the first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above.
  • a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
  • the processing circuitry 602 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 600 components, such as the memory 304, to provide network node 600 functionality.
  • the memory 604 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 602 and utilized by the network node 600.
  • the memory 604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 602 and/or any data received via the communication interface 306.
  • the processing circuitry 602 and memory 604 is integrated.
  • the communication interface 606 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 606 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.
  • the communication interface 606 also includes radio frontend circuitry 618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 610. Radio front-end circuitry 618 comprises filters 620 and amplifiers 622. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be connected to an antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio frontend circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602.
  • the antenna 610, communication interface 606, and/or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 610, the communication interface 606, and/or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • the power source 608 provides power to the various components of network node 600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component).
  • the power source 308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 600 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • the network node 600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 608.
  • the power source 608 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
  • Embodiments of the network node 600 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 1 Ifor providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein.
  • the network node 600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 600 and to allow output of information from the network node 600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 600.
  • Applications702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 700 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • Hardware 704 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth.
  • Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • the virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.
  • the VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706.
  • Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, and the implementations may be made in different ways.
  • Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
  • NFV network function virtualization
  • a VM 708 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine.
  • Each of the VMs 708, and that part of hardware 704 that executes that VM be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements.
  • a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702.
  • Hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization.
  • hardware 504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 702.
  • hardware 704 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.
  • some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • FIGURE 13 illustrates an example method 800 by a UE 412 for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
  • the method includes an obtaining step at 802.
  • the UE may obtain instructions from a network to use Rx beam(s) only within a limited set of Rx beams during a set of DL signal quality measurements and/or for a beam report.
  • FIGURE 14 illustrates another example method 900 by a UE 412 for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
  • the method includes receiving, at step 902, information from a network node 410.
  • the information indicates to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
  • the information indicates to use the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams and wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams are within a fixed UE panel.
  • the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam indicated by the network node 410. In a particular embodiment, the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam selected by the UE 412.
  • the information comprises an instruction to use only Rx beam(s) within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
  • the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises: at least one Rx beam decided by the UE 412, at least one Rx beam used by the UE 412 to receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
  • the fixed UE panel or the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams is selected and/or determined based on one or more of an Rx-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by a network node, at least one previous measurement performed by the UE 412 during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities, a geographical point, a certain reference point, a UE location, and/or a UE orientation.
  • the UE 412 performs the plurality of signal quality measurements for each Rx beam in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 412 performs the plurality of signal quality measurements for a number, A/ of Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
  • the UE 412 selects at least one Rx beam within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
  • the UE 412 sends, to the network node 410, a capability report comprising at least one of at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE 412 to select the at least one Rx-beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
  • the UE 412 receives, from a network node 410, an indication of when the UE 412 is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE 412 is not allowed to switch beam direction.
  • the UE 412 is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new TCI state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active. In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 receives, from a network node 410, instructions indicating that the UE is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
  • the UE 412 based on the instructions from the network 410 not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, the UE 412 skips listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE 412 is configured to listen.
  • the UE 412 performs the plurality of signal quality measurements during a period of time and transmits, to the network node 410, at least one value associated with the at least one quality measurement in a beam report.
  • the beam report includes at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements; the set of Rx beams used when performing the plurality of signal quality measurements; at least one beam over which the plurality of signal quality measurements is performed; a number of N RX beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; all the Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; a UE location in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; and a cell in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed.
  • FIGURE 15 illustrates an example method 1000 by a network node 410 for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
  • the method includes a transmitting step at 1002.
  • the network node 412 may transmit, to a UE 410, information indicating to use at least one Rx beam within a set of Rx beams for performing at least one signal quality measurement and/or for generating a beam report.
  • FIGURE 16 illustrates another example method 1100 by a network node 410 for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
  • the method includes transmitting information to a UE 412 operable to use a set of Rx, beams.
  • the information indicates to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
  • the information indicates to use the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams and wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams are within a fixed UE panel.
  • the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam indicated by the network node 410.
  • the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to select one fixed Rx beam from within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
  • the information comprises an instruction to use only Rx beams within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
  • the set of Rx beams comprises: at least one Rx beam decided by the UE 412, at least one Rx beam used by the UE 412 to receive a PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
  • the fixed UE panel or the fixed Rx beam is selected and/or determined based on one or more of: an RX-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by the network node 410; at least one previous measurement performed by the UE 412 during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities; a geographical point; a certain reference point; a UE location; and/or a UE orientation.
  • the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to perform at least one of: performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for each Rx beam in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; and performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for a number, N, of Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
  • the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to select at least one Rx beam within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
  • the network node 410 receives, from the UE 412, a capability report comprising at least one of: at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE 412 to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE 412 to select the at least one Rx beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
  • the network node 410 transmits, to the UE 412, an indication of when the UE 412 is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE 412 is not allowed to switch beam direction.
  • the UE 412 is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new TCI state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active.
  • the network node 410 transmits, to the UE 412, instructions indicating that the UE 412 is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
  • the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to, based on the instructions from the network node 410 not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skip listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE 412 is configured to listen.
  • the network node 410 receives, from the UE 412, a beam report comprising at least one value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements performed by the UE 412.
  • the beam report comprises at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement; the set of Rx beams used when performing the plurality of signal quality measurements; at least one beam over which the plurality of signal quality measurements is performed; a number of N Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; all the Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; a UE location in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; and a cell in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed.

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Abstract

A method (900) is performed by a user equipment, UE (412) operable to use a set of Receiver, Rx, beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting. The method includes receiving (902), from a network node (410), information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beam(s) within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.

Description

FIXED USER EQUIPMENT BEAMS FOR BEAM MANAGEMENT DATA COLLECTION
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, systems and methods for fixed User Equipment (UE) beams for beam management data collection.
BACKGROUND
One of the key features of New Radio (NR), as compared to previous generations of wireless networks, is the ability to operate in higher frequencies such as, for example, above 10 GHz. The available large transmission bandwidths in these frequency ranges can potentially provide large data rates. However, as carrier frequency increases, both pathloss and penetration loss increase. To maintain the coverage at the same level, highly directional beams are required to focus the radio transmitter energy in a particular direction on the receiver. However, large radio antenna arrays - at both receiver and transmitter sides - are needed to create such highly direction beams.
To reduce hardware costs, large antenna arrays for high frequencies use time-domain analog beamforming. The core idea of analog beamforming is to share a single radio frequency chain between many (or, potentially, all) of the antenna elements. A limitation of analog beamforming is that it is only possible to transmit radio energy using one beam in one direction at a given time.
The above limitation requires the network (NW) and user equipment (UE) to preform beam management procedures to establish and maintain suitable transmitter (Tx) / receiver (Rx) beampairs. For example, beam management procedures can be used by a Tx to sweep a geographic area by transmitting reference signals on different candidate beams, during non-overlapping time intervals, using a predetermined pattern. By measuring the quality of this reference signals at the Rx side, the best transmit and receive beams can be identified. NR Beam Management Procedures
Beam management procedures in NR are defined by a set of Layer 1 (Ll)/Layer 2 (L2) procedures that establish and maintain suitable beam pairs for both transmitting and receiving data. A beam management procedure can include the following sub procedures: beam determination, beam measurements, beam reporting, and beam sweeping.
In case of downlink (DL) transmission from the NW to the UE, beam management procedures can be performed to overcome the challenges of establishing and maintaining the beam pairs when, for example, a UE moves or some blockage in the environment requires changing the beams. Although these scenarios are not directly mentioned in specifications, there are relevant procedures (e.g., Procedure 1 (Pl), Procedure 2 (P2), Procedure 3 (P3)) defined that enable the realization of these scenarios. Examples of Pl, P2, and P3 are depicted in FIGURE 1, FIGURE 2, and FIGURE 3, respectively, and are described in more detail below.
Procedure 1 (Pl)
Pl is used to enable UE measurement on different transmission/reception point (TRP) Tx beams to support selection of TRP Tx beams/UE Rx beam(s). During initial access, for example, the gNodeB (gNB) transmits Synchronization Signal (SS)ZPhysical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB) beams in different directions to cover the whole cell. The UE measures signal quality on corresponding SSB signals to detect and select an appropriate SSB beam. FIGURE 1 illustrates SSB beam selection as part of Initial access procedure according to Pl scenario.
Random access is then transmitted on the Random Access Channel (RACH) resources indicated by the selected SSB. The corresponding beam will be used by both the UE and the network to communicate until connected mode beam management is active. The network infers which SSB beam was chosen by the UE without any explicit signalling.
For beamforming at TRP, it typically includes an intra/inter-TRP Tx beam sweep from a set of different beams. For beamforming at UE, it typically includes a UE Rx beam sweep from a set of different beams. Procedure 2 (P2)
P2 is used to enable UE measurement on different TRP Tx beams to possibly change inter/intra-TRP Tx beam(s). The network can use the SSB beam as an indication of which (narrow) Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) beams to try; that is, the selected SSB beam can be used to define a candidate set of narrow CSI-RS beams for beam management. Once CSI- RS is transmitted, the UE measures the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and reports the result to the network. If the network receives a CSI-RSRP report from the UE where a new CSI- RS beam is better than the old used to transmit Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)/Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the network updates the serving beam for the UE accordingly, and possibly also modifies the candidate set of CSI-RS beams. The network can also instruct the UE to perform measurements on SSBs. If the network receives a report from the UE where a new SSB beam is better than the previous best SSB beam, a corresponding update of the candidate set of CSI-RS beams for the UE may be motivated.
P2 is performed on a possibly smaller set of beams for beam refinement than in Pl. Note that P2 can be a special case of Pl. For example, in connected mode gNB configures the UE with different CSI-RSs and transmits each CSI-RS on corresponding beam. UE then measures the quality of each CSI-RS beam on its current Rx beam and send feedback about the quality of the measured beams. Thereafter, based on this feedback, gNB will decide and possibly indicate to the UE which beam will be used in future transmissions. FIGURE 2 illustrates CSI-RS Tx beam selection in DL according to P2 scenario.
Procedure 3 (P3)
P3 is used to enable UE measurement on the same TRP Tx beam to change UE Rx beam in the case UE uses beamforming. Once in connected mode, the UE is configured with a set of reference signals. Based on measurements, the UE determines which Rx beam is suitable to receive each reference signal in the set. The network then indicates which reference signals are associated with the beam that will be used to transmit PDCCH/PDSCH, and the UE uses this information to adjust its Rx beam when receiving PDCCH/PDSCH. FIGURE 3 illustrates UE Rx beam selection for corresponding CSI-RS Tx beam in DL according to P3 scenario. In connected mode, P3 can be used by the UE to find the best Rx beam for corresponding Tx beam. In this case, gNB keeps one CSI-RS Tx beam at a time, and UE performs the sweeping and measurements on its own Rx beams for that specific Tx beam. UE then finds the best corresponding Rx beam based on the measurements and will use it in future for reception when gNB indicates the use of that Tx beam.
Beam Measurement and Reporting in NR
For beam management, a UE can be configured to report RSRP or/and Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR) for each one of up to four beams, either on CSI-RS or SSB. UE measurement reports can be sent either over Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) to the network node such as, for example, gNB.
Reference Signal Configurations in NR
CSI-RS:
A CSI-RS is transmitted over each transmit (Tx) antenna port at the network node and for different antenna ports. The CSI-RS are multiplexed in time, frequency, and code domain such that the channel between each Tx antenna port at the network node and each receive antenna port at a UE can be measured by the UE. The time-frequency resource used for transmitting CSI- RS is referred to as a CSI-RS resource.
In NR, the CSI-RS for beam management is defined as a 1- or 2-port CSI-RS resource in a CSI-RS resource set where the filed repetition is present. The following three types of CSI-RS transmissions are supported:
• Periodic CSI-RS: CSI-RS is transmitted periodically in certain slots. This CSI-RS transmission is semi-statically configured using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling with parameters such as CSI-RS resource, periodicity, and slot offset.
• Semi-Persistent CSI-RS Similar to periodic CSI-RS, resources for semi- persistent CSI-RS transmissions are semi-statically configured using RRC signaling with parameters such as periodicity and slot offset. However, unlike periodic CSI-RS, dynamic signaling is needed to activate and deactivate the CSI-RS transmission. • Aperiodic CSI-RS This is a one-shot CSI-RS transmission that can happen in any slot. Here, one-shot means that CSI-RS transmission only happens once per trigger. The CSI-RS resources (i.e., the Resource Element (RE) locations which consist of subcarrier locations and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol locations) for aperiodic CSI-RS are semi-statically configured. The transmission of aperiodic CSI-RS is triggered by dynamic signaling through PDCCH using the CSI request field in uplink (UL) Downlink Control Information (DCI), in the same DCI where the UL resources for the measurement report are scheduled. Multiple aperiodic CSI-RS resources can be included in a CSI-RS resource set and the triggering of aperiodic CSI-RS is on a resource set basis.
SSB:
In NR, an SSB consists of a pair of synchronization signals (SSs), PBCH), and Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) for PBCH. An SSB is mapped to 4 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain and 240 contiguous subcarriers (20 RBs) in the frequency domain.
NR supports beamforming and beam-sweeping for SSB transmission, by enabling a cell to transmit multiple SSBs in different narrow-beams multiplexed in time. The transmission of these SSBs is confined to a half frame time interval (5 ms). It is also possible to configure a cell to transmit multiple SSBs in a single wide-beam with multiple repetitions. The design of beamforming parameters for each of the SSBs within a half frame is up to network implementation. The SSBs within a half frame are broadcasted periodically from each cell. The periodicity of the half frames with SS/PBCH blocks is referred to as SSB periodicity, which is indicated by SIB1.
The maximum number of SSBs within a half frame, denoted by L, depends on the frequency band, and the time locations for these L candidate SSBs within a half frame depends on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SSBs. The L candidate SSBs within a half frame are indexed in an ascending order in time from 0 to L-l. By successfully detecting PBCH and its associated DMRS, a UE knows the SSB index. A cell does not necessarily transmit SS/PBCH blocks in all L candidate locations in a half frame, and the resource of the un-used candidate positions can be used for the transmission of data or control signaling instead. It is up to network implementation to decide which candidate time locations to select for SSB transmission within a half frame, and which beam to use for each SSB transmission.
Measurement Resource Configurations in NR
A UE can be configured with the following:
- N> 1 CSI reporting settings (CSI-ReportConfig) and
- M> resource settings (CSI-ResourceConfig).
Each CSI reporting setting is linked to one or more resource setting for channel and/or interference measurement. The CSI framework is modular in the sense that several CSI reporting settings may be associated with the same Resource Setting.
The measurement resource configurations for beam management are provided to the UE by RRC information element (IE) (CSI-ResourceConfigs). One CSI-ResourceConfig contains several NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSets and/or CSI-SSB-ResourceSets.
A UE can be configured to measure CSI-RSs using the RRC IE NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet. A NZP CSI-RS resource set contains the configurations of Ks >1 CSI-RS resources. Each CSI-RS resource configuration resource includes at least the following:
- mapping to REs,
- the number of antenna ports, and
- time-domain behavior.
Up to 64 CSI-RS resources can be grouped together in a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet.
A UE can be configured to measure SSBs using the RRC IE CSI-SSB-ResourceSet. Resource sets comprising SSB resources are defined in a similar manner to the CSI-RS resources defined above.
In the case of aperiodic CSI-RS and/or aperiodic CSI reporting, the network node configures the UE with Sc CSI triggering states. Each triggering state contains the aperiodic CSI report setting to be triggered along with the associated aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets.
Periodic and semi-persistent resource settings can only comprise a single resource set (i.e., 5=1). Aperiodic resource settings can have many resources sets (5 =1), because one out of the S resource sets defined in the resource setting is indicated by the aperiodic triggering state that triggers a CSI report. Measurement Reporting
Three types of CSI reporting are supported in NR as follows:
• Periodic CSI Reporting on PUCCH'. CSI is reported periodically by a UE. Parameters such as periodicity and slot offset are configured semi-statically by higher layer RRC signaling from the network node to the UE
• Semi-Persistent CSI Reporting on PUSCH or PUCCH'. Similar to periodic CSI reporting, semi-persistent CSI reporting has a periodicity and slot offset, which may be semi-statically configured. However, a dynamic trigger from network node to UE may be needed to allow the UE to begin semi-persistent CSI reporting. A dynamic trigger from network node to UE is needed to request the UE to stop the semi-persistent CSI reporting.
• Aperiodic CSI Reporting on PUSCH : This type of CSI reporting involves a single-shot (i.e., one time) CSI report by a UE, which is dynamically triggered by the network node using DCI. Some of the parameters related to the configuration of the aperiodic CSI report is semi-statically configured by RRC but the triggering is dynamic.
In each CSI reporting setting, the content and time-domain behavior of the report is defined, along with the linkage to the associated Resource Settings.
The CSI-ReportConfig IE comprise the following configurations:
• reportConfigType o Defines the time-domain behavior (periodic CSI reporting, semi- persistent CSI reporting, or aperiodic CSI reporting) along with the periodicity and slot offset of the report for periodic CSI reporting.
• reportQuantity o Defines the reported CSI parameters — the CSI content; for example, the Precoder Matrix Indicator (PMI), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Rank Indicator (RI), Layer Indicator (LI), CSLRS Resource Index (CRI) and Ll-RSRP. Only certain combinations are possible; for example, ‘cri-RI-PMI-CQI’ is one possible value and ‘cri-RSRP’ is another) and each value of reportQuantity could be said to correspond to a certain CSI mode. • codebookConfig o Defines the codebook used for PMI reporting, along with possible codebook subset restriction (CBSR). NR supported the following two types of PMI codebooks: Type I CSI and Type II CSI. Additionally, the Type I and Type II codebooks each have two different variants: regular and port selection.
• reportFrequencyConfiguration o Define the frequency granularity of PMI and CQI (wideband or subband), if reported, along with the CSI reporting band, which is a subset of subbands of the bandwidth part (BWP) to which the CSI corresponds.
• Measurement restriction in time domain (ON/OFF) for channel and interference respectively
For beam management, a UE can be configured to report LI -RSRP for up to four different CSLRS/SSB resource indicators. The reported RSRP value corresponding to the first (best) CRI/SSBRI requires 7 bits, using absolute values, while the others require 4 bits using encoding relative to the first. In NR Release 16, the report of Ll-SINR for beam management has already been supported.
Agreements in 3GPP
During the 3 GPP meeting RANl#109-e, it was agreed to study Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) based spatial beam prediction, the core idea of which is as follows: Predict the “best” beam (or beams) from a Set A of beams using measurement results from another Set B of beams.
Set A and Set B of beams have not been defined yet (left for future study); however, the following two examples illustrate some scenarios that will likely be studied in Release 18:
Set B is a subset of a Set A. For example, Set A is a set of 8 SSB/CSLRS beams shown in FIGURE 4 (both light and dark circles). FIGURE 4 illustrates a grid-of-beam type radiation pattern. Each row (resp. column) depicts a certain zenith (resp. azimuth) angle from the antenna array. Set A has 8 beams and Set B has 4 beams (indicated by dark circles. The UE measures Set B (the 4 beams indicated by dark circles). The AI/ML model should predict the best beam (or beams) in Set A using only measurements from Set B.
- Set A and Set B correspond to two different sets of beams. FIGURE 5 illustrates Set A being a set of narrow beams and Set B being a set of wide beams. For example, Set A is a set of 30 narrow CSI-RS beams, and Set B is a set of 8 wide SSB beams. The UE measures beams in Set B and the AI/ML model should predict the best beam(s) from Set A.
The spatial beam prediction can be performed in the gNB or the UE. The study item will cover both scenarios.
During the 3 GPP meeting RAN1#110, it was agreed to study AI/ML model training both at the NW and UE side. Which side that performs the training is expected to impact how data collection is performed, where another agreement is to study the aspect of data collection for beam management. Moreover, it was agreed to study the aspect of model monitoring and the standard impact on AI/ML model inference (e.g., reporting of predicted values).
3GPP Study Item Technical Report
The following text is captured in the TR 38.843 regarding performance monitoring.
Performance monitoring:
For the performance monitoring of Beam Management-Case 1 (BM-Casel) and Beam Management-Case 2 (BM-Case2):
- Performance metric(s) with the following alternatives:
Alt.1 : Beam prediction accuracy related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), e.g., Top-X/1 beam prediction accuracy
Alt.2: Link quality related KPIs, e.g., throughput, Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, hypothetical Block Error Rate (BLER)
Alt.3 : Performance metric based on input/output data distribution of AI/ML Alt.4: The Ll-RSRP difference evaluated by comparing measured RSRP and predicted RSRP
Benchmark/reference for the performance comparison, including: Alt.1 : The best beam(s) obtained by measuring beams of a set indicated by gNB (e.g., Beams from Set A)
Alt.4: Measurements of the predicted best beam(s) corresponding to model output (e.g., Comparison between actual Ll-RSRP and predicted RSRP of predicted Top- \!K Beams)
Signalling/configuration/measurement/report for model monitoring, e.g., signalling aspects related to assistance information (if supported), Reference signals
For BM-Casel and BM-Case2 with a UE-side AI/ML model:
Typel performance monitoring:
Configuration/Signalling from gNB to UE for measurement and/or reporting
- UE may have different operations
Optionl : UE sends reporting to NW (e.g., for the calculation of performance metric at NW)
Option2: UE calculates performance metric(s), either reports it to NW or reports an event to NW based on the performance metric(s)
Indication from NW for UE to do Life-Cycle Management (LCM) operations
- Note: At least the performance and reporting overhead of model monitoring mechanism should be considered
Type2 performance monitoring (UE-side performance monitoring):
Indication/request/report from UE to gNB for performance monitoring
- Note: The indication/request/report may be not needed in some case(s) Configuration/Signalling from gNB to UE for performance monitoring measurement and/or reporting
- UE calculates performance metric(s), either reports it to NW or reports an event to NW based on the performance metric(s)
If it is for UE-side model monitoring, UE makes decision(s) of model selection/activation/ deactivation/switching/fallback operation
Indication from NW to UE to do LCM operation
- UE reporting of beam measurement s) based on a set of beams indicated by gNB
Signalling, e.g., RRC -based, Ll-based - Note: Performance and UE complexity, power consumption should be considered
-Mechanism that facilitates the UE to detect whether the functionality/model is suitable or no longer suitable
Table 7.2.3-1 summarizes applicability of various alternatives for performance metric(s) of AI/ML model monitoring for BM-Casel and BM-Case2.
Figure imgf000012_0001
Notel: The above analysis shall not give an indication about whether/which metric is supported or specified. Note2: Monitoring performance of the above alternatives are not addressed in the table.
NW-Side vs UE-Side Model
As mentioned above, the AI/ML model for beam prediction can be at NW-side (i.e., executed in the gNB) or UE-side (i.e., executed in the UE).
1. If the model is at NW-side, the UE makes RSRP measurements and reports the measurement results to the NW for input into the AI/ML model.
2. If the model is at UE-side, the UE both makes the measurements and the AI/ML-model-based prediction and, thus, no reporting of the measurements is needed (only reporting of the final predicted beam(s)). Data Collection
A key part of AI/ML-based prediction is data collection. Data collection is performed in several parts of the life-cycle management (LCM). First, a large amount of measurements must be collected in order to train the model. Second, when using the model for inference (i.e., beam prediction), the UE measurement data to feed into it must be collected; this is typically a smaller set of data at a time, but such collection typically happens more frequently than training. Finally, measurements are needed to monitor whether the model functions well. If not, actions need to be taken to ensure proper functioning of the system. For example, the action may be to disable the model or update the model.
For a NW-side model, all three types of data collection (training, inference, monitoring) follow the same general procedure:
1. The NW transmits some signal (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) using a set of several different Tx beams on the DL.
2. The UE measures the RSRP (or some other channel quality measurement) of the different DL transmissions
• The UE here typically does Rx beamforming; this beamforming is, however, an implementation detail that it is up to the UE to decide on.
3. The UE reports the measured RSRP (or other channel quality measurement) values to the NW.
Measurement Errors
The measurements by the UE are subject to measurement errors. The relative error is the difference in reported measurement value for two measurements that were performed under the same nominal conditions and should, thus, ideally be identical. However, according to 3 GPP specifications, the relative error can be substantial, up to 6.5 dB under normal condition. See, 3GPP TS 38.133, Table 10.1.20.1.2-1. The relative error, which may include variations in channel conditions, may be attributed to different sources and is affected by the circumstances under which the UE performs the measurements. Accordingly, while the UE is free to do the selection of Rx beam during data collection, actual and perceived measurement errors present certain challenges such as, for example, making Al beam prediction less accurate. See, Rl-2304749, Section 5.3.6.
SUMMARY
Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are disclosed for providing a way for the NW to instruct the UE to use a fixed Rx beam or Rx antenna panel for a set of RSRP measurements. Certain embodiments are disclosed for configuring the UE or signaling to the UE which set of measurements should use a fixed beam/panel.
According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting includes receiving, from a network node, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
According to certain embodiments, a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting is configured to receive, from a network node, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a network node for providing information for beam measurement and/or beam reporting includes transmitting, to a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
According to certain embodiments, a network node for providing information for beam measurement and/or beam reporting is configured to transmit, to a UE operable to use a set of Rx beams, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling a UE to use a fixed beam for performing certain measurements. Additionally, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the NW to be aware of the fixed beam used by the UE for performing certain measurements.
As another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the UE to perform RSRP measurements that have smaller measurement errors. This benefit may fully or partially in some UEs be achievable by just fixing the panel (not the exact beam direction) at the UE.
As yet another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the UE to perform RSRP measurements that are free from variability caused by varying spatial beam direction (and/or shape) and changing RF impairments within the period of beam sweeping at the UE. Reduced error/variability can give better consistency between measurements within one data sample (one UE) during training or inference, as well as better consistency between training and inference, leading to better prediction performance.
Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGURE 1 illustrates SSB beam selection as part of Initial access procedure according to Pl scenario;
FIGURE 2 illustrates CSI-RS Tx beam selection in DL according to P2 scenario;
FIGURE 3 illustrates UE Rx beam selection for corresponding CSI-RS Tx beam in DL according to P3 scenario;
FIGURE 4 illustrates a grid-of-beam type radiation pattern;
FIGURE 5 illustrates a set A being a set of narrow beams and set B being a set of wide beams;
FIGURE 6 illustrates an example of a UE evaluating different beams/ UE panels during different SSB transmission occasions, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURES 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate exemplary schemes for multi-TRP transmission, according to certain embodiments; FIGURES 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate a UE receiving from one TRP at a time or two TRPs at the same time, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 9 illustrates an example communication system, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 10 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 11 illustrates an example network node, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 12 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 13 illustrates an example method by a UE for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 14 illustrates another example method by a UE for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 15 illustrates an example method by a network node for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments; and
FIGURE 16 illustrates another example method by a network node for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.
As used herein, ‘node’ can be a network node or a UE. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi -standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g. E- SMLC), etc.
Another example of a node is user equipment (UE), which is a non-limiting term and refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc.
In some embodiments, generic terminology, “radio network node” or simply “network node (NW node)”, is used. It can be any kind of network node which may comprise base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNodeB (gNB), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), etc.
The term radio access technology (RAT), may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.
The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of DL physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, DMRS signals in SS/PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS, PRS etc. RS may be periodic e.g. RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g. 20 ms, 40 ms etc. The RS may also be aperiodic.
Each SSB carries New Radio-Primary Synchronization Signal (NR-PSS), New RadioSecondary Synchronization Signal (NR-SSS) and New Radio-Physical Broadcast Channel (NR- PBCH) in four successive symbols. One or multiple Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) are transmitted in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity such as, for example, 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g., serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms). Examples of uplink (UL) physical signals are reference signals such as Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS), etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels are Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Short PUSCH (sPUCCH), Short PDSCH (sPDSCH), Short PUCCH (sPUCCH), Short PUSCH (sPUSCH), MTC PDCCH (MPDCCH), Narrowband PBCH (NPBCH), Narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH), Narrowband PDSCH (NPDSCH), Narrowband PUSCH (NPUSCH), Enhanced PDCCH (E-PDCCH), etc.
The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, system frame number (SFN) cycle, hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle etc.
Although the terminology ‘Rx beam’ is used throughout this disclosure, other alternative terminology may be used in 3GPP specifications to describe ‘Rx beam’. Such alternative terminology equivalent to ‘Rx beam’ include ‘spatial domain receive filter’, ‘spatial domain filter for reception’, ‘Rx spatial filter’, ‘spatial Rx filter’, etc. Similarly, the use of terminology ‘Tx beam’ in this disclosure is non-limiting; other alternative terminology may be used in 3GPP specifications in place of ‘Tx beam’. Such alternative terminology equivalent to ‘Tx beam’ include ‘spatial domain transmit filter’, ‘spatial domain filter for transmission’, ‘Tx spatial filter’, ‘spatial Tx filter’, etc.
As described above, measurements performed by UEs are subject to measurement errors. For example, according to Table 10.1.20.1.2-1 in 3GPP TS 38.133, the relative error can be substantial, up to 6.5 dB under normal condition. The 6.5 dB also include variations in channel conditions, which would not normally be seen as a measurement error, but this variation is a minor part of the 6.5 dB. The measurement error is a combination of several different sources, including the fact that different receive chains in the UE may have different absolute error. As a consequence, assuming for example that each antenna panel in the UE uses a different receive chain, the relative measurement error between two measurement occasions may on average be smaller if both measurements were made using the same antenna panel. Furthermore, it is possible that the relative error between two measurements is affected by other circumstances such as, for example, the time interval between the two measurements, whether the UE has to switch temporarily to another Rx beam to listen to another signal between the two measurements, or if the UE has to temporarily stop listening in order to transmit between the two measurements.
While the UE is free to do the selection of Rx beam during data collection, this has at least two issues. First, as discussed above, the relative RSRP measurement error in a UE is generally known to be smaller for measurements using the same Rx beam, but can be substantial (up to ±6.5 dB) between different Rx beams. As such, Rx beam switches by the UE during a Tx beam sweep can lead to unnecessarily large measurement error. The main source of this uncertainty is Radio Frequency (RF) impairments at the UE side. These impairments are varying between different Rx beams due to analog beam sweeping, which may require using different RF chain. The impairment error is independent and different with large margin between different RF chains.
Second, the UE may hear the gNB less well using some Rx beams than others, and the NW does not know how much this contributes to differences in RSRP values between different measurements. Thus, even in the absence of actual measurement errors on the UE side, a change of Rx beams creates a source of variability between measurements, which, since unknown to the NW, can be seen as a measurement error (or uncertainty) by the NW. Such measurement errors/uncertainties make Al beam prediction less accurate. See, Rl-2304749, Section 5.3.6.
According to certain embodiments, methods and systems are disclosed for providing a way for the NW to instruct the UE to use a fixed Rx beam or Rx antenna panel for a set of RSRP measurements. It has been shown in evaluations (as described in more detail below) that use of fixed UE beam works well for data collection. Accordingly, various embodiments are disclosed for configuring the UE or signaling to the UE which set of measurements should use a fixed beam/panel for. According to certain embodiments, the NW can restrict the UE to some limited set of Rx beams (e.g., a single Rx beam) during a set of beam measurements or for a certain beam report. This may remove some uncertainty in the measurements from the NW perspective yielding both better consistency between measurements within a data sample (during training or inference) and better consistency between training and inference, and thereby improved AI/ML model beam prediction performance.
Note that it has been shown in evaluations that having the UE use a fixed Rx beam throughout the sweep of all Set B Tx beams performs as well as (or even better than) using the optimal Rx beam for every Tx beam. For example, Figure 16 of 3GPP Rl-2302878, April 2023, illustrates the RSRP difference Cumulative Density Function (CDF) for two different models, according to certain embodiments. More specifically, Figure 16 of 3GPP Rl-2302878 illustrates the RSRP difference CDF, for 4x8 array, selecting 16 out of 32 CSI-RS beams as SetB, performing the inference for given option of Rx beam for (a) model trained based on the dataset with 100% outdoor UEs and (b) model trained based on the dataset with 80%/20% in/outdoor UEs, respectively. Option 1 is optimal Rx beam for each Tx beam, while Option 2a is (randomly selected) fixed Rx beam for each Tx beam within a Tx beam sweep. Here, the fixed beam is randomly selected for each UE at the start of the sweep (with different randomization for training and inference).
Some example embodiments are described herein for performing radio measurements (see below for more information). For example, according to certain embodiments, a method by a UE includes receiving instructions from the NW to use Rx beam(s) only within a limited set of Rx beams during a set of DL signal quality measurements/or for a beam report.
In a particular embodiment, the limited set of Rx beams may consist of one fixed Rx beam, consist of the Rx beams from one fixed UE panel, consist of a set of beams decided by the UE, be the beam used by the UE to receive PDCCH, or be the widest possible UE Rx beam (or one or more of the widest beams if multiple with same width).
In a further particular embodiment, the UE measures all the Rx beams in the limited set and performs radio measurements for all or the N best Rx beams from the limited set of beams. In yet another particular embodiment, the UE is free to choose the Rx beam within the set.
In a further particular embodiment, the fixed beam, or fixed UE panel, is selected based on at least one of: A. Rx Beams/panels are associated to an Rx-beam or panel ID known at the NW, and NW configure the UE to use such ID;
B. Where the fixed Rx beam or Rx panel to be used are associated with different previous measurements at the UE, for example indicated via time (e.g. in terms of slots or seconds) and other quantities (e.g. Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, CSI-RS/SSB resource set, and/or CSI-RS/SSB measurement configuration or reporting configuration), NW configures the UE to use the same Rx-beam as in those time slots or other quantities;
C. UE selects a fixed Rx-beam related to a geographical point, for example the angle towards a certain reference point;
D. UE selects the fixed Rx-beam transparently to the NW;
E. UE location and/or orientation.
In a further particular embodiment, the fixed Rx-beam is assigned with an ID either via the NW or the UE.
In a further particular embodiment, the UE first sends a capability report of its Rx-beam selection process to the NW, including one or more of
A. Rx beam IDs are identified to the NW;
B. If UE are able to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error;
C. Capability of selecting an Rx-beam or panel towards a certain geographical direction.
In a further particular embodiment, the radio measurements consist of a single radio measurement performed during a certain period of time (e.g., a certain set of consecutive radio resources such as OFDM symbols or slots) in the limited set of beams, wherein the single radio measurement represents for example an average of a radio measurement quantity performed over one or more of the beams in the limited set of beams, e.g., over the best N Rx beams, or over all the beams. In yet another particular embodiment, the radio measurements consist of a set of radio measurements performed during a certain period of time (e.g., a certain set of consecutive radio resources such as OFDM symbols or slots) in the limited set of beams, wherein a radio measurement in the set of radio measurements consists of a radio measurement associated to one beam in the limited set of beams over the said period of time such as, for example, an average of a radio measurement quantity for a given beam over the period of time. In a further particular embodiment, the NW signals to the UE via DCI when it is allowed to switch beam direction (or, alternatively, when it is not allowed). The signaling can be specifically regarding beam switching. Alternatively, it can be implicit from another DCI message (e.g., UE is only allowed to switch beam when new TCI state activated, or only why certain TCI state is active).
In a further particular embodiment, the set or radio measurement quantities are the radio measurement quantities relating to a certain CSI-RS or SSB resource set, a certain measurement resource configuration, a certain measurement reporting configuration, and/or any combination (logical or / logical and) of the above described embodiments.
In a further particular embodiment, the instructions from the NW may be signaled via DCI, configured using RRC, configured using MAC, or are predefined in the specifications.
In a further particular embodiment, the signal radio measurement quantity is an RSRP measurement, RSRQ measurement, SINR measurement, and/or hypothetical BLER such as, for example, using PDCCH.
In a further particular embodiment, the UE receives instructions from the network not to switch beam direction (or interrupt reception) even temporarily between two measurements. If necessary due to this instruction (by specification or UE implementation), the UE is allowed to skip listening to a signal that the UE would otherwise be mandated to listen to.
In a further particular embodiment, the DCI signaling is part of an CSI-RS activation command, an aperiodic measurement trigger, or an aperiodic report trigger.
In a further particular embodiment, the RRC configuration is part of a measurement configuration command or report configuration command.
In a further particular embodiment, the UE chooses among the Rx beam(s) within the set of limited beams based on predefined criteria, or criteria indicated by the gNB. For example, the Rx beam(s) may be chosen based on the history of RSRP measurements.
In a further particular embodiment, the performed radio measurements performed in the certain period of time are reported to the NW. The reporting comprises one or more of the following information:
A. the radio measurement quantity(ies) associated to the radio measurements;
B. the limited set of beams taken into account when performing the said radio measurements; C. the beam(s) over which the radio measurements were performed, e.g. the best TVRx beams in the limited set of beams, or all the beams in the limited set of beams;
D. the timestamp associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed;
E. the UE location associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed; and
F. the cell in which the radio measurements are performed.
In a further particular embodiment, for each performed radio measurements performed in different period of times, the UE stores one or more of the above information associated to the performed radio measurements.
In a further particular embodiment, the UE reports to the network, e.g. RAN node, the one or more stored information associated to different radio measurements. In yet a further particular embodiment, the stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different period of times, i.e. associated to radio measurements performed at different period of times. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different set of beams
In an example particular embodiment, the NW instructs the UE to use a single fixed Rx beam during a set of measurements (i.e., during a Tx beam sweep). In one related embodiment, the UE may be free to select that Rx beam autonomously.
In another related embodiment for when the UE selects its Rx-beam freely, the UE is limited to select its “widest” possible Rx-beam. This can enable better hearability of NW Tx beams.
In a particular embodiment, for example, the network (e.g., gNB) configures a ‘useSameRxBeam’ flag in the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet information element (IE) as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown below using a combination of underline and italics). Note here that the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set represent different transmit beams, and the transmission of the NZP CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set represent a Tx beam sweep. • If ‘useSameRxBeam’ is set to value ‘on’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set.
• If ‘useSameRxBeam’ is set to value ‘off or if ‘useSameRxBeam’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set.
In an alternative particular embodiment, 'useSameRxBeam' may be an optional parameter with only enumerated value ‘true’ . In this alternative embodiment, if 'useSameRxBeam' is present and set to value ‘true’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set. If 'useSameRxBeam' is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set.
In another particular embodiment, when the field ‘useSameRxBeam’ is present and set to either ‘on’ or ‘true’, the UE may only use one Rx beam corresponding to one of the TCI states associated with the NZP CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSI-RS resource set. Thus, in a particular embodiment, each TCI state basically tells which Rx beam to use when receiving the corresponding NZP CSI-RS resource. Since we have to use only one Rx beam, in this embodiment, we say the UE uses one of the TCI states associated with NZP CSI-RS resources to determine the Rx beam.
NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet information element
— ASNl START
— TAG-NZP-CS I -RS-RESOURCESET-START
NZP-CS I -RS-ResourceSet : : = SEQUENCE { nzp-CS I -ResourceSet Id NZP-CS I -RS-ResourceSet Id, nzp-CS I -RS-Resources SEQUENCE ( S I ZE ( 1 . . maxNro fNZP-CS I -RS- ResourcesPerSet ) ) OF NZP-CS I -RS-Resource ld, repetition ENUMERATED { on, o f f } OPT IONAL , -
— Need S aperiodicTriggeringOf f set INTEGER ( 0 . . 6 )
OPT IONAL , — Need S trs- Info ENUMERATED { true } OPT IONAL , — Need
R aperiodicTriggeringOf fset-rl 6 INTEGER (0. .31) OPTIONAL — Need S pdc-Info-rl7 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, —
Need R cmrGroupingAndPairing-rl7 CMRGroupingAndPairing-rl7 OPTIONAL, — Need R aperiodicTriggeringOf fset-rl7 INTEGER (0..124)
OPTIONAL, — Need S aperiodicTriggeringOf fsetL2-rl7 INTEGER (0. .31) OPTIONAL — Need R
[[ useSameRxBeam-rl 9 ENUMERATED { on, off } OPTIONAL, — Need S
U
}
CMRGroupingAndPairing-rl7 : := SEQUENCE { nrofResourcesGroupl-rl7 INTEGER (1..7) , pairlOfNZP-CSI-RS-rl7 NZP-CSI-RS-Pairing-rl7
OPTIONAL, — Need R pair20fNZP-CSI-RS-rl7 NZP-CSI-RS-Pairing-rl7
OPTIONAL — Need R }
NZP-CSI-RS-Pairing-rl7 : := SEQUENCE { nzp-CSI-RS-Resource!dl-rl7 INTEGER (1..7) , nzp-CSI-RS-Resource!d2-rl7 INTEGER (1..7)
}
— TAG-NZP-CSI-RS-RESOURCESET-STOP
— ASN1STOP
In another particular embodiment, the network (e.g., gNB) configures a ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ flag in the CSI-ReportConfig IE as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the CSI-ReportConfig IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown with a combination of underline and italics). Note here that the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI- Resource configuration with ID given by esourcesForChannelMeasurement in the CSI report configuration represent different transmit beams, and the transmission of the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement represent a Tx beam sweep.
• If ‘useSameRxBeam ’ is set to value ‘on’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
• If ‘use SameRx Beam ’ is set to value ‘off or if ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI- Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement .
In an alternative particular embodiment, ‘useSameRxBeam ’ may be an optional parameter with only enumerated value ‘true’ . In this alternative embodiment, if ‘useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to value ‘true’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement. If ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement .
In another particular embodiment, when the field ‘useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to either ‘on’ or ‘true’, the UE may only use one Rx beam corresponding to one of the TCI states associated with the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
CSI-ReportConfig information element
— ASNl START
— TAG-CS I-REPORTCONFIG-START
CS I-ReportConfig : : = SEQUENCE { reportConf igld GS T -Report Conf igld, carrier ServCell lndex OPTIONAL, -- Need S resourcesForChannelMeasurement CS I -Re sourceConf igld, csi-IM-Re sources For Interference CS I -Re sourceConf igld
OPTIONAL, — Need R nzp-CS I -RS -Re sources For Interference CS I -Re sourceConf igld OPTIONAL, — Need reportConf igType { periodic r epor t Slot Conf i
Figure imgf000027_0001
Report Period! ci tyAndOf f set , pucch-CSI-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofBWPs ) )
OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource }, semiPersistentOnPUCCH SEQUENCE { r epor t Slot Conf ig CS I -Report Period! ci tyAndOf f set , pucch-CSI-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofBWPs ) )
OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource }, semiPersistentOnPUSCH SEQUENCE { reportSlotConf ig ENUMERATED {sl5, sllO, sl20, sl40,
S180, S1160, S1320}, reportSlotOf fsetList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL- Allocations) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..32 ) , pOalpha PO-PUSCH-AlphaSet Id
}, aperiodic SEQUENCE { reportSlotOf fsetList SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofUL- Allocations) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..32 )
}
}, reportQuantity CHOICE { none NULL, cri-RI-PMI-CQI NULL, cri-RI-il NULL, cri-RI-il-CQI SEQUENCE { pdsch-BundleSizeForCSI ENUMERATED {n2, n4 } OPTIONAL — Need S
}, cri-RI-CQI NULL, cri-RSRP NULL, ssb-Index-RSRP NULL, cri-RI-LI-PMI-CQI NULL
}, timeRestrictionForChannelMeasurements ENUMERATED {configured, notConf igured} , t imeRes trict ionFor Int er ferenceMeasurements ENUMERATED
{configured, notConf igured} , codebookConfig CodebookConfig OPTIONAL, --
Need R dummy ENUMERATED {nl, n2 } OPTIONAL, — Need
R groupBasedBeamReporting CHOICE { enabled NULL, disabled SEQUENCE { nrofReportedRS ENUMERATED {nl, n2, n3, n4 }
OPTIONAL — Need S
}
}, cqi-Table ENUMERATED {tablel, table2, tables, table4-rl7}
OPTIONAL, — Need R subbandSize ENUMERATED {valuel, value2 } , non-PMI-Port Indication SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-
ResourcesPerConf ig) ) OF Port IndexFor8Ranks OPTIONAL, -- Need R semiPersistentOnPUSCH-vl530 SEQUENCE { reportSlotConf ig-vl530 ENUMERATED {sl4, sl8, sll6}
} OPTIONAL — Need R semiPersistentOnPUSCH-vl 610 SEQUENCE { reportSlotOf f setListDCI-0-2-rl 6 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..32 ) OPTIONAL, — Need R reportSlotOf f setListDCI-O-l-rl 6 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..32 ) OPTIONAL — Need R
} OPTIONAL, — Need R aperiodic-vl 610 SEQUENCE { reportSlotOf f setListDCI-0-2-rl 6 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..32 ) OPTIONAL, — Need R reportSlotOf f setListDCI-O-l-rl 6 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..32 ) OPTIONAL — Need R
} OPTIONAL, — Need R reportQuantity-rl 6 CHOICE { cri-SINR-rl6 NULL, ssb-Index-SINR-rl 6 NULL
} OPTIONAL, — Need R codebookConf ig-rl 6 CodebookConf ig-rl 6 OPTIONAL
-- Need R cqi-BitsPerSubband-rl7 ENUMERATED {bits4} OPTIONAL, — Need R groupBasedBeamReporting-vl710 SEQUENCE { nrofReportedGroups-rl7 ENUMERATED {nl, n2, n3, n4 }
} OPTIONAL, — Need R codebookConf ig-r 17 CodebookConf ig-r 17
OPTIONAL, — Need R sharedCMR-rl7 ENUMERATED {enable} OPTIONAL, -
- Need R csi-ReportMode-rl7 ENUMERATED {model, mode2 }
OPTIONAL, — Need R numberOf SingleTRP-CSI-Model-rl7 ENUMERATED {nO, nl, n2 }
OPTIONAL, — Need R reportQuantity-rl7 CHOICE { cri-RSRP-Index-rl7 NULL, ssb-Index-RSRP-Index-rl7 NULL, cri-SINR-Index-rl7 NULL, ssb-Index-SINR-Index-rl7 NULL
} OPTIONAL — Need R semiPersistentOnPUSCH-vl720 SEQUENCE { reportSlotOf fsetList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL- Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..128 ) OPTIONAL, — Need R reportSlotOf f setListDCI-0-2-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..128 ) OPTIONAL, — Need R reportSlotOf f setListDCI-0-l-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..128 ) OPTIONAL — Need R
} OPTIONAL, — Need R aperiodic-vl720 SEQUENCE { reportSlotOf fsetList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL- Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..128 ) OPTIONAL, — Need R reportSlotOf f setListDCI-0-2-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..128 ) OPTIONAL, — Need R reportSlotOf f setListDCI-0-l-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl 6 ) ) OF INTEGER ( 0..128 ) OPTIONAL — Need R
} OPTIONAL — Need R codebookConf ig-vl730 CodebookConf ig-vl730
OPTIONAL — Need R
[[ useSameRxBeam-rl 9 ENUMERATED { on, off }
OPTIONAL, — Need S ] ]
}
— TAG-CS I-REPORTCONFIG-STOP
— ASN1STOP
In another particular embodiment, the network (e.g., gNB) configures a ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ flag in the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList IE as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown with a combination of underline and italics). Note here that the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo represent different transmit beams, and the transmission of the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo represent a Tx beam sweep. Note that even though this embodiment is written with respect to the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo, the embodiments are equally applicable to SSBs configured as part of the csi-SSB-Re sourceSet in CSI-AssociatedReportConfiglnfo .
• If "useSameRxBeam ’ is set to value ‘on’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in CSI- AssociatedReportConfiglnfo .
• If "useSameRxBeam ’ is set to value ‘off or if "useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C \-AssociatedReport(’onfigInfo.
In an alternative particular embodiment, "useSameRxBeam ’ may be an optional parameter with only enumerated value ‘true’ . In this alternative embodiment, if "useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to value ‘true’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in CSI- AssociatedReportConfiglnfo. If ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo .
In another particular embodiment, when the field ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to either ‘on’ or ‘true’, the UE may only use one Rx beam corresponding to one of the TCI states associated with the NZP CSI-RS resources configured as part of the resourceSet in CSI- AssociatedReportConfiglnfo .
The above embodiments related to specifying the field "useSameRxBeam ’ as part of CSI- AperiodicTriggerStateList are useful when triggering the Tx beam sweep via an aperiodic CSI reporting configuration. A codepoint of the ‘CSI Request’ field in an UL DCI (e.g., a DCI with DCI format 0 0 or DCI format 0 1) is mapped to one of the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateA. One or more CSI-AssociatedReportConfiglnfo elements can be associated with a CSI- AperiodicTriggerState via associatedReportConfiglnfoList. If "useSameRxBeam ’ is configured in any one of the C -AssociatedReportConfigInfo associated with a CSI-AperiodicTriggerState that is triggered by an UL DCI, then the UE uses only one Rx beam for the Tx beam sweep as described above.
In an alternative embodiment, the field "useSameRxBeam ’ may be configured within the CSI-AperiodicTriggerState field. In this case, the UE uses one Rx beam for Tx beam sweeps associated with each of the CSI-AssociatedReportConfiglnfoA that are part of the associatedReportConfiglnfoList within the aperiodically triggered CSI-AperiodicTriggerState .
CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList information element
— ASNl START
— TAG-CS I-APERIODICTRIGGERSTATELIST-START
CS I-AperiodicTriggerStateList : : = SEQUENCE ( S I ZE ( 1 . . maxNrOfCS I- AperiodicTriggers ) ) OF CS I-AperiodicTriggerState
CS I-AperiodicTriggerState : : = SEQUENCE { associatedReportConfiglnfoList SEQUENCE ( S I ZE ( 1 . . maxNrofReportConf igPerAperiodicTrigger ) ) OF CS I- AssociatedReportConf iglnf o , • • • J ap-CSI-MultiplexingMode-rl7 ENUMERATED {enabled} OPTIONAL — Need R } CSI-AssociatedReportConf iglnfo : := SEQUENCE { reportConf igld CS I -Report Conf igld, resourcesForChannel CHOICE { nzp-CSI-RS SEQUENCE { resourceSet INTEGER ( 1. .maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-
ResourceSetsPerConf ig) , qcl-info SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofAP-CSI-RS-
ResourcesPerSet ) ) OF TCI-Stateld OPTIONAL -- Cond Aperiodic }, csi-SSB-ResourceSet INTEGER ( 1. .maxNrofCSI-SSB- ResourceSetsPerConf ig) }, csi-IM-ResourcesForlnterf erence INTEGER (1. .maxNrofCSI-IM-
ResourceSetsPerConfig) OPTIONAL, — Cond CSI-IM- For Interference nzp-CSI-RS-ResourcesForlnterf erence INTEGER ( 1. .maxNrofNZP-CSI-
RS-ResourceSetsPerConf ig) OPTIONAL, — Cond NZP-CSI-RS-
For Interference resourcesForChanne!2-rl7 CHOICE { nzp-CSI-RS2-rl7 SEQUENCE { resourceSet2-rl7 INTEGER ( 1. .maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS- ResourceSetsPerConf ig) , qcl-info2-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrofAP-CSI-RS- ResourcesPerSet ) ) OF TCI-Stateld
OPTIONAL -- Cond Aperiodic
}, csi-SSB-ResourceSet2-rl7 INTEGER ( 1. .maxNrofCSI-SSB- ResourceSetsPerConf igExt )
} OPTIONAL, — Cond NoUnifiedTCI csi-SSB-ResourceSetExt INTEGER ( 1. .maxNrofCSI-SSB- ResourceSetsPerConf igExt ) OPTIONAL -- Need R
If useSameRxBeam-rl 9 _ ENUMERATED { on, off }
OPTIONAL, — Need S
U — TAG-CS I-APERIODICTRIGGERSTATELIST-STOP
— ASN1STOP
In another particular embodiment, the network (e.g., gNB) configures a ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ flag in the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList IE as shown below (changes newly introduced in this disclosure with respect to the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 are shown using a combination of underline and italics). Note here that the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerState represent different transmit beams, and the transmission of the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH- TriggerState represent a Tx beam sweep.
• If "useSameRxBeam ’ is set to value ‘on’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH- TriggerState .
• If "useSameRxBeam ’ is set to value ‘off or if "useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI- SemiPersistentOnP CNCH-Trigger State.
In an alternative particular embodiment, "useSameRxBeam ’ may be an optional parameter with only enumerated value ‘true’ . In this alternative embodiment, if "useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to value ‘true’, then the UE is instructed to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerState. If "useSameRxBeam ’ is not present, then the UE is not limited to use a single Rx beam when performing measurements on NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH- TriggerState . In another particular embodiment, when the field ‘ useSameRxBeam ’ is present and set to either ‘on’ or ‘true’, the UE may only use one Rx beam corresponding to one of the TCI states associated with the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-Trigger State.
The above embodiments related to specifying the field "useSameRxBeam ’ as part of CSI- SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList are useful when triggering the Tx beam sweep via a semi-persistent CSI report to be reported on PUSCH. A codepoint of the ‘CSI Request’ field in an UL DCI (e.g., a DCI with DCI format 0 0 or DCI format 0 1) is mapped to one of the CSI- AperiodicTriggerState' s. If "useSameRxBeam’ is configured in any one of the CSI- SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerState that is triggered by an UL DCI, then the UE uses only one Rx beam for the Tx beam sweep as described above.
CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList information element
— ASNl START
— TAG-CSI-SEMIPERSISTENTONPUSCHTRIGGERSTATELIST-START
CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList : := SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxNrOf SemiPersistentPUSCH-Triggers ) ) OF CSI-
SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerState
CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerState : := SEQUENCE { associatedReportConfiglnfo CSI -Report Conf igld,
• • • J sp-CSI-MultiplexingMode-rl7 ENUMERATED {enabled}
OPTIONAL — Need R
[[_ useSameRxBeam-rl 9 ENUMERATED { on, off }
OPTIONAL, — Need S
]]
— TAG-CSI-SEMIPERSISTENTONPUSCHTRIGGERSTATELIST-STOP
— ASN1STOP In a particular embodiment, the UE may be assigned with an ID of the Rx-beam it selected, allowing the NW to have consistency in the UE Rx-beam selection operation explained further in next embodiment.
In a particular embodiment, the Rx-beams at the UE are assigned with a certain identifier that are known at the NW. For example, the UE indicates its supported beam IDs in a UE capability report. Or the NW assigns the Rx-beam IDs to the UE, after the UE has for example indicated its number of Rx-beams. The NW thereafter configures which Rx-beam ID that should be used by the UE in each measurement instance. This can enable the NW with consistency from when it trained the model to when it is performing inference.
In an alternative particular embodiment, the NW requests the UE to select a fixed Rx beam that points towards a certain direction. For example, the NW requests the UE to point a beam towards the base station location. Next, in case the UE is capable of estimating its geolocation and orientation, it selects an Rx beam based on these quantities. Note that the UE capability of estimating its location and orientation can be part of the capability information.
In a particular embodiment, the NW provides instructions on fixed Rx beam selection based on TCI states. For example, the UE may be instructed (based on specifications and/or configuration/signaling) to use the same Rx beam for all Tx beams having same TCI state association. In one related embodiment, the NW may be instructed to use same Rx beam for Tx beams having any TCI state within some set of TCI states, where this set is, e.g., configured via RRC or signaled via DCI.
In a particular embodiment, the NW instructs the UE to use a fixed antenna panel, but not necessarily a fixed beam within that panel. The instruction may be conditioned on the UE capability such as, for example, whether the UE can maintain a small relative measurement error between Rx beams within the same antenna panel. In a particular embodiment, the UE is mandated to use the same beam as it used to receive the PDCCH (containing the measurement or possibly reporting signaling).
In one specific setup, a SetB with a large number of beams is split into multiple smaller mutually exclusive sets (called sub-SetBs). Each sub-SetB has its own beam pattern, measurement/reporting occasion. So SetB measurement implies measurements from its composite sub-SetBs. Towards this setup, the NW may instruct UE on per sub-SetB basis. Few examples for NW instructions to UE when a certain sub-SetB is active include: 1) to not switch its Rx beam, 2) skip measurements, 3) to freely choose its Rx beam, 4) switch its Rx beam only to a restricted set of Rx beams. An active sub-SetB implies Quasi Co Location (QCL) mappings indicated by active TCIs. Hence these NW instructions to the UE can be indicated via MAC-CE/DCI. LIE configuration and NW decisions are based on joint data analysis of historical data, current ML context and UE application’s requirements.
In a particular embodiment, the UE is required to use a fixed set of some number M of Rx beams to measure each Tx beam. M may be configured or signaled, and/or be related to UE capability or hardware configuration such as, for example, how many Rx beams can measure simultaneously or how many panels the UE has. In a related embodiment, the UE must report all the M measurements, while in another embodiment, the UE may be requested to select a subset of the beams to report such as, for example, the best measurement from each antenna panel.
The signaling details for these embodiments may vary. For example, in a particular embodiment, an integer field ' useMRxBeams-r 19" may be configured in the NZP-CSI-RS- ResourceSet IE (i.e., by replacing ' useSameRxBeam-r 19' with 9iseMRxBeams-r 19' in the previous signaling embodiment related to the NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet IE). In this embodiment:
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19 ’ is configured with an integer value M, then the UE is instructed to use at most A/Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSLRS resources in the NZP CSLRS resource set.
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is not configured, then the UE is not limited to using at most A Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources in the NZP CSLRS resource set.
In another particular embodiment, an integer field ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' may be configured in the CSI-ReportConfig IE (i.e., by replacing ‘ useSameRxBeam-r 19' with ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' in the previous signaling embodiment related to the CSL ReportConfig IE). In this embodiment:
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is configured with an integer value M, then the UE is instructed to use at most A/Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the C Si-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is not configured, then the UE is not limited to using at most A/ Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI-Resource configuration with ID given by resourcesForChannelMeasurement.
In another particular embodiment, an integer field ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' may be configured in the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList IE (i.e., by replacing ‘ useSameRxBeam- rl9’ with ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' in the previous signaling embodiment related to the CSI- AperiodicTriggerStateList IE). In this embodiment:
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is configured with an integer value M then the UE is instructed to use at most A/Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI- SemiPersistentOnP USCH - Trigger State .
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is not configured, then the UE is not limited to using at most A/ Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH- TriggerState .
In another particular embodiment, an integer field ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' may be configured in the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList IE (i.e., by replacing ‘useSameRxBeam-rl9’ with ‘useMRxBeams-r 19’ in the previous signaling embodiment related to the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList IE). In this embodiment:
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is configured with an integer value M then the UE is instructed to use at most A/Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI- SemiPersistentOnP USCH - Trigger State .
• If ‘ useMRxBeams-r 19' is not configured, then the UE is not limited to using at most A/ Rx beams when performing measurements on the NZP-CSI-RS resources configured as part of the CSI report configuration with ID associatedReportConfiglnfo in CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH- TriggerState . In some embodiments, the set of measurements to use a fixed Rx beam for (or a set of fixed beams according to any previous embodiment) is based on time interval that is configured or signaled. In some embodiments, both time (e.g., in terms of slots or seconds) and other quantities (e.g., TCI states, CSI-RS/SSB resource set, and/or CSI-RS/SSB measurement configuration or reporting configuration) are used to determine the set of measurements to use a fixed Rx beam for.
Some UEs may be able to maintain a small relative measurement error between measurements if and only if there is no intermediate switch of beam (even if just temporarily) or if there is an intermediate UE transmission. An intermediate switch of beam may be required in order for the UE to perform measurements of some periodic signal, and the existence of such a periodic signal (i.e., if it has been configured) may hence be detrimental to UE beam measurements. In order to prevent this negative impact of intermediate (temporary) beam switches, the NW may instruct the UE not to perform some such intermediate beam switches, either by allowing (or requiring) the UE to perform the intermediate measurements/reception without beam switch (at the expense of worse measurement accuracy), or by allowing (or requiring) the UE to skip the intermediate measurement entirely. In order to prevent the UE from the negative impact of switching temporarily to transmission, the network may allow the UE to skip transmission for the intermediate Tx occasion. In one related embodiment, Rx beam selection rule may be configured by the NW for UE not to change its Rx beam when some configured reference signals to be measured are overlapping with some periodic reference signal, i.e., SSB beams, in time domain. In some embodiments the configuration/signaling mentioned in preceding embodiments is via RRC, in some embodiments via DCI, and in yet some embodiments via MAC control.
In some embodiments, the fixed Rx beam is related to the windows determining phase consistency introduced in Release 17 NR coverage enhancement Work Item (WI). For example, the UE may be requested to use a fixed beam within any phase consistency window.
In some embodiments, the NW instructs that the UE shall use one single beam/UE panel for all the reported beams in one beam report. This could be useful, for example, for SSB beam reporting, where the UE might perform measurements on a rather long-time interval such as, for example, 1 sec. During that time-interval, the UE typically sweeps through different UE beams /UE panels, which means that the UE will not maintain a fixed UE Rx beam/UE panel during all the SSB measurements; however, when the UE determines which beam to include in the beam report, the UE has to select SSBs measured with the same UE Rx beam/UE Rx panel. FIGURE 7 illustrates an example 100 where the UE 112 evaluates different beams/ UE panels during different SSB transmission occasion, according to certain embodiments. But, when triggered with the beam report, the UE 112 only reports beam in the beam report associated with one of the UE Rx beams/UE panels (in order to reduce measurement error for the SSB beams). In this case, the UE 112 sweeps through different UE beams/UE panels during different SSB transmission occasions, which typically is done in commercial UEs today. After three SSB transmission occasions, the UE 112 is triggered with a beam report, where the UE 112 is indicated to only include SSB beams in the beam report received with the same UE beam/UE panel. In the next step, the UE 112 determines which of the UE beams/UE panels that the UE 112 shall report SSB beams for, e.g. UE beaml, and then report SSB beams only received with that UE beam/UE panel.
For each SSB measurement occasion or each periodic/semi-persistent CSI-RSs measurement occasion, UE 112 is configured not to switch its selected Rx beam during the measurement occasion even if UE 112 needs to measure other reference signals (i.e., SSB beams from neighboring cells and/or other periodic reference signals).
In one embodiment, the same method as described above for SSB are also applied for peri odi c/semi -persi stent CSI-RSs .
In a particular embodiment, for aperiodic beam reporting, a parameter is configured in an aperiodic trigger state, where the parameter indicates that the associated beam report should include TRP beams (e.g., DL-RS indexes) received with the same UE Rx beam/UE panel.
In a particular embodiment, the network 110 indicates to the UE 112 to use the same UE Rx beam/UE panel for one or more consecutive beam report. This could, for example, be useful if the network 110 performs time-domain beam prediction and would like to make sure that the reported beams across different time instances are reported with as small measurement error as possible. In one related embodiment, a single bitfield is included in DCI that triggers a beam report, and where the single bitfield is used to indicate if the UE 112 can change/cannot change UE Rx beam/UE panel for the report beams in the beam report compared to the last time the UE 112 transmitted the same beam report.
Examples For Group-Based Beam Measurement/Reporting When UE 112 supports the group-based beam reporting, i.e., groupBasedBeamReporting is set to “enabled” and/or groupBasedBeamReporting-rl7 is configured:
• NW 110 could instruct the UE 112 to use the one fixed Rx beam (spatial Rx filter) to measure the CSI-RS and/or SSB resources for all groups.
• NW 110 could instruct the UE 112 to use the one fixed Rx beam (spatial Rx filter) to measure the CSI-RS and/or SSB resources for each group.
Though certain embodiments are described with the focus being on reporting, it is recognized that the embodiments are equally applicable to measurements. Likewise, embodiments described with the focus on measurements are equally applicable to reporting. Thus, as used herein, phrases like “reported” / “report” / “reporting” can be replace by “measured” / “measurements” / “measuring” and vice versa.
Examples Relating to Multi-TRP
When expanding the AI/ML based beam management to include multi-TRP, more transmission and receptions configurations are possible, compared to single-TRP. For example, the following aspects can be configured to support multi-TRP transmission:
• Single-DCI and two-DCI (or multi-DCI in general)'. For single DCI, the default of single CORESET group is used. For two-DCI, two CORESET groups are used, and similar extensions can be applied for multi-DCI in general. When two CORESET groups are used, two TRPs can transmit PDCCH and PDSCH simultaneously to the UE 112, and correspondingly the UE 112 is equipped with two panels, with each panel receiving transmission from an associated TRP.
• Number of TCI states indicated in DCI for single DCI: If one TCI state is indicated in the DCI, PDSCH is transmitted from one TRP. If two TCI states are indicated in the DCI, then multi-TRP transmission of PDSCH using the FDM scheme, or TDM scheme, or SDM scheme can be used. The exact scheme used depends on configurations such as the number of CDM groups of the PDSCH DMRS ports.
• Depending on the multi-TRP scheme (e.g., FDM, TDM, SDM), the UE 112 may receive from one TRP at a time or receive from two TRPs at the same time'. When the UE 112 is connected to multiple TRPs, the UE 112 may receive from one TRP at a time while switching between two TRPs, where the exact TRP to receive from is indicated by MAC CE or DCI. For instance, for Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) and Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM), the UE needs to be able to receive from two TRPs at the same time, though the arrangement of TRP1 and TRP2 transmissions are different. For Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), the UE only need to receive from one TRP at a time. FIGURES 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate example schemes for multi-TRP transmission, according to certain embodiments. Specifically, FIGURE 7A illustrates an example SDM scheme 200A, according to certain embodiments. FIGURE 7B illustrates an example FDM scheme 200B, according to certain embodiments. FIGURE 7C illustrates an example TDM scheme 200C, according to certain embodiments .FIGURES 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate an example of the UE 112 receiving from one TRP at a time (as depicted in example 300A in FIGURE 8 A and 300B in FIGURE 8B), or receiving from two TRPs at the same time (as depicted in 300C in FIGURE 8C).
In summary, the UE 112 may have Rx beam for several different types of DL transmission, including: (1) UE 112 receives from TRP1 110A only (as depicted in example 300A in FIGURE 8A); (2) UE 112 receives from TRP2 HOB only (as depicted in example 300B in FIGURE 8B); (3) UE 112 receives from both TRP1 110A and TRP2 HOB simultaneously (as depicted in 300C in FIGURE 8C) using SDM scheme (as shown in example 200A in FIGURE 7A); (4) UE 112 receives from both TRP1 110A and TRP2 110B simultaneously (as shown in example 300C in FIGURE 8C) using FDM scheme (as shown in example 200B in FIGURE 7B). When TDM is used (as shown in example 200C in FIGURE 7C), the UE 112 switches between receiving from TRP1 110A at one time, and receiving TRP2 110B at another time, thus a combination of (1) and (2). The UE 112 need to use different Rx beam(s) for different types of DL transmission, see the illustration in FIGURES 7A, 7B, and 7C. On the other hand, it may be desirable that the UE 112 use a fixed Rx beam pattern for a given type of DL transmission, as described earlier.
In general, there are numerous antenna beam related configurations that AI/ML based beam management need to support, where different UE Rx beam(s) is expected to be used for different configurations. For a given DL Tx configuration, it may be desirable for the UE 112 to use fixed receiver beam pattem(s) to reduce the measurement error.
For training data collection, the configuration information need to be stored together with the measurement values of model input and output. The configuration information need to be taken into account in model training, so that different models can be trained for different configurations. In a particular example embodiment, the configuration information can be used to select the AI/ML model to use, if different models are trained for different configurations. In another example embodiment, the configuration information can be used as a component of model input, if a larger model is trained to capture the different behavior for different configurations, i.e., model input includes both measurement data as well as the configuration information. The model output may provide beam prediction corresponding to the configuration given at model input.
When performing model inference or model monitoring, similarly, the configuration information need to be collected together with measurement data for model input.
As discussed above, the configuration information may include one or more of the following:
• The number of TRPs used in DL transmission. Typical values include: single TRP, two TRPs.
• The number of DCIs used in scheduling PDSCH. Typical values include: one or two DCIs.
• The number of CORESET groups configured for the PDCCH carrying the DCI. Typical values include: one or two CORESET groups.
• The number of CDM groups of the PDSCH DMRS ports. Typical values include: one or two CDM groups.
• If multi-TRP is used, the specific multi-TRP scheme configured: FDM, TDM, SDM.
• The number of antenna panels used at the UE. Typical values include: single panel or two panels.
Criteria for choosing the Rx beams with the set of limited beams for measurement help guarantee that the provided measurements give reasonable accuracy of, for example, RF impairment effect and not, for example, completely drown in noise measurements etc. especially if UE is free to choose which beam(s) to fix. In a particular embodiment, the UE 112 is provided by set of criteria on how to choose the one or set of fixed Rx beams to perform the measurements. This criterion can be instructed by the network to the UE 112 to or can be predefined criteria in the specification. These criteria can be used to find specific statistics of correspond beam, antenna panel, etc. when free to select, by the UE 112, a specific beam or set of beams.
• One criterion can be history record of different beams such as, for example, the beam with more fluctuations in the RSRP, or a beam with more stable RSRP, or beam with highest values of RSRPs depending on the statistics that gNB wants to collect.
Note: It is to be understood that any configuration/signaling related to fixed beam settings according to any of the embodiments may be associated with an activation delay, possibly (if/when applicable) in accordance with existing specifications.
Examples Related to the Storing and Reporting of the Performed Radio Measurements
Certain of the methods described above relate to methods for the UE to perform radio measurements for one or more beams at a given point in time such as, for example, measurements performed over a specific period of time in a given set of beams.
The radio measurements may consist of:
• A single radio measurement performed during a certain period of time (e.g., a certain set of consecutive radio resources such as OFDM symbols or slots) in the limited set of beams, wherein the single radio measurement represents for example an average of a radio measurement quantity performed over one or more of the beams in the limited set of beams, e.g. over all the best N Rx beams, or over all the beams.
• A set of radio measurements performed during a certain period of time (e.g., a certain set of consecutive radio resources such as OFDM symbols or slots) in the limited set of beams, wherein a radio measurement in the set of radio measurements consists of a radio measurement associated to one or more beam in the limited set of beams over the said period of time, e.g., an average of a radio measurement quantity for a given beam over the period of time.
In a particular embodiment, the performed radio measurements performed in the certain period of time are reported to the NW, the reporting comprising one or more of the following information: a. The radio measurement quantity(ies) associated to the radio measurements. b. The limited set of beams taken into account when performing the said radio measurements, e.g., the limited set of beams configured by the network, wherein this can be represented by the SSB/CSI-RS indexes associated to the beams in the limited set of beams. c. The beam(s) over which the radio measurements were performed, e.g., the best N Rx beams in the limited set of beams, or all the beams in the limited set of beams. For example, for each of the best N Rx beams, the UE may store the associated radio measurement quantity(ies), the SSB/CSI-RS index for each of such beams, and any of the other one or more information listed herein after associated to the radio measurements in each of such beams. d. The timestamp associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed. e. The UE location associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed. f. The cell in which the radio measurements are performed.
For example, the above information associated to radio measurements may reported as soon as they are available in the UE in a first transmission occasion via RRC. For example, the UE may report them periodically, or upon indicating the availability of this report to the network. The UE may not start performing a new radio measurement, until the said report is transmitted to the network.
In an alternative example embodiment, for each performed radio measurements performed in different period of times, the UE stores one or more of the above information associated to the different performed radio measurements. This second method further comprises methods for the UE to report to the network the one or more stored information associated to different radio measurements, wherein:
1. The one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different period of times, i.e. associated to radio measurements performed at different period of times.
2. The one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different set of beams.
Thus, in this method, the report may contain information associated to radio measurements taken at different point in time. This allows the UE to perform a new radio measurement before reporting the radio measurement result of a previous radio measurement. That is because upon performing a radio measurement, the UE stores the radio measurement in UE variable allocated in the UE memory and it keeps until the report containing such radio measurement is transmitted to the network.
In this method, the report from the UE may comprise a list of radio measurements, wherein each entry in the list may comprise the said one or more information associated to each performed radio measurement related to measurements taken in a given period of time. Cloud Implementation In all embodiments described herein, the term “measurement” can include layer 1 RSRP, RSRP, layer 1 SINR, or RSRQ measurement, or some other type of beam/channel quality measurement.
FIGURE 9 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 400 includes a telecommunication network 402 that includes an access network 404, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 406, which includes one or more core network nodes 408. The access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 410A and 410B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 410), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 412A, 412B, 412C, and 412D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 412) to the core network 406 over one or more wireless connections.
Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 400 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 400 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
The UEs 412 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 410 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 410 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 412 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 402 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 402.
In the depicted example, the core network 406 connects the network nodes 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 408. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
The host 416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 404 and/or the telecommunication network 402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
As a whole, the communication system 400 of FIGURE 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
In some examples, the telecommunication network 402 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 402. For example, the telecommunications network 402 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive loT services to yet further UEs.
In some examples, the UEs 412 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 404. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). In the example, the hub 414 communicates with the access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 412C and/or 412D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 41 OB). In some examples, the hub 414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core netw4ork 406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 414. As another example, the hub 414 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
The hub 414 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 410B. The hub 414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE 412C and/or 412D), and between the hub 414 and the core network 406. In other examples, the hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 404 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 410 while still connected via the hub 414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 414 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 410B. In other embodiments, the hub 414 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 410B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
FIGURE 10 shows a UE 500, which may be an embodiment of the UE 412 of FIGURE 9, in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).
The UE 500 includes processing circuitry 502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 504 to an input/output interface 506, a power source 508, a memory 510, a communication interface 512, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
The processing circuitry 502 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 510. The processing circuitry 502 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
In the example, the input/output interface 506 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 500. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
In some embodiments, the power source 508 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 508 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 500 to which power is supplied.
The memory 510 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516. The memory 510 may store, for use by the UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
The memory 510 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 510 may allow the UE 500 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 510, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
The processing circuitry 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 512. The communication interface 512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 522. The communication interface 512 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 518 and/or a receiver 520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 522) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 512 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 512, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item- tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 500 shown in FIGURE 10.
As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’ s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
FIGURE 11 shows a network node 600, which may be an embodiment of the network node 110 of FIGURE 9, in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi -cell/multi cast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).
The network node 600 includes a processing circuitry 602, a memory 604, a communication interface 606, and a power source 608. The network node 600 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 600 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 600 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 600. The processing circuitry 602 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 600 components, such as the memory 304, to provide network node 600 functionality.
In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
The memory 604 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 602. The memory 604 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 602 and utilized by the network node 600. The memory 604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 602 and/or any data received via the communication interface 306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 and memory 604 is integrated.
The communication interface 606 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 606 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 606 also includes radio frontend circuitry 618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 610. Radio front-end circuitry 618 comprises filters 620 and amplifiers 622. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be connected to an antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio frontend circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 620 and/or amplifiers 622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 602. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 618, instead, the processing circuitry 602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 is part of the communication interface 606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 606 includes one or more ports or terminals 616, the radio front-end circuitry 618, and the RF transceiver circuitry 612, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
The antenna 610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 610 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 610 is separate from the network node 600 and connectable to the network node 600 through an interface or port.
The antenna 610, communication interface 606, and/or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 610, the communication interface 606, and/or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
The power source 608 provides power to the various components of network node 600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 608. As a further example, the power source 608 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
Embodiments of the network node 600 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 1 Ifor providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 600 and to allow output of information from the network node 600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 600.
FIGURE 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 700 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.
Applications702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 700 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Hardware 704 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.
The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
In the context of NFV, a VM 708 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 708, and that part of hardware 704 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702. Hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 702. In some embodiments, hardware 704 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
FIGURE 13 illustrates an example method 800 by a UE 412 for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes an obtaining step at 802.
For example, in a particular embodiment, at step 802, the UE may obtain instructions from a network to use Rx beam(s) only within a limited set of Rx beams during a set of DL signal quality measurements and/or for a beam report.
As another example, in a particular embodiment, at step 802, the UE 412 may obtain information indicating to use at least one Rx beam within a set of Rx beams for performing at least one signal quality measurement and/or for generating a beam report.
FIGURE 14 illustrates another example method 900 by a UE 412 for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes receiving, at step 902, information from a network node 410. The information indicates to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
In a particular embodiment, the information indicates to use the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams and wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams are within a fixed UE panel.
In a particular embodiment, the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam indicated by the network node 410. In a particular embodiment, the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam selected by the UE 412.
In a particular embodiment, the information comprises an instruction to use only Rx beam(s) within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
In a particular embodiment, the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises: at least one Rx beam decided by the UE 412, at least one Rx beam used by the UE 412 to receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
In a particular embodiment, the fixed UE panel or the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams is selected and/or determined based on one or more of an Rx-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by a network node, at least one previous measurement performed by the UE 412 during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities, a geographical point, a certain reference point, a UE location, and/or a UE orientation.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 performs the plurality of signal quality measurements for each Rx beam in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 412 performs the plurality of signal quality measurements for a number, A/ of Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 selects at least one Rx beam within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 sends, to the network node 410, a capability report comprising at least one of at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE 412 to select the at least one Rx-beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 receives, from a network node 410, an indication of when the UE 412 is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE 412 is not allowed to switch beam direction.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new TCI state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active. In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 receives, from a network node 410, instructions indicating that the UE is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
In a particular embodiment, based on the instructions from the network 410 not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, the UE 412 skips listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE 412 is configured to listen.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 performs the plurality of signal quality measurements during a period of time and transmits, to the network node 410, at least one value associated with the at least one quality measurement in a beam report.
In a particular embodiment, the beam report includes at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements; the set of Rx beams used when performing the plurality of signal quality measurements; at least one beam over which the plurality of signal quality measurements is performed; a number of N RX beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; all the Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; a UE location in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; and a cell in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed.
FIGURE 15 illustrates an example method 1000 by a network node 410 for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes a transmitting step at 1002. For example, at step 1002, the network node 412 may transmit, to a UE 410, information indicating to use at least one Rx beam within a set of Rx beams for performing at least one signal quality measurement and/or for generating a beam report.
FIGURE 16 illustrates another example method 1100 by a network node 410 for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes transmitting information to a UE 412 operable to use a set of Rx, beams. The information indicates to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report. In a particular embodiment, wherein the information indicates to use the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams and wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams are within a fixed UE panel.
In a particular embodiment, the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam indicated by the network node 410.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to select one fixed Rx beam from within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
In a particular embodiment, the information comprises an instruction to use only Rx beams within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
In a particular embodiment, the set of Rx beams comprises: at least one Rx beam decided by the UE 412, at least one Rx beam used by the UE 412 to receive a PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
In a particular embodiment, the fixed UE panel or the fixed Rx beam is selected and/or determined based on one or more of: an RX-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by the network node 410; at least one previous measurement performed by the UE 412 during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities; a geographical point; a certain reference point; a UE location; and/or a UE orientation.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to perform at least one of: performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for each Rx beam in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; and performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for a number, N, of Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to select at least one Rx beam within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 receives, from the UE 412, a capability report comprising at least one of: at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE 412 to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE 412 to select the at least one Rx beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction. In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 transmits, to the UE 412, an indication of when the UE 412 is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE 412 is not allowed to switch beam direction.
In a particular embodiment, the UE 412 is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new TCI state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 transmits, to the UE 412, instructions indicating that the UE 412 is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 configures the UE 412 to, based on the instructions from the network node 410 not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skip listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE 412 is configured to listen.
In a particular embodiment, the network node 410 receives, from the UE 412, a beam report comprising at least one value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements performed by the UE 412.
In a particular embodiment, the beam report comprises at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement; the set of Rx beams used when performing the plurality of signal quality measurements; at least one beam over which the plurality of signal quality measurements is performed; a number of N Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; all the Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams; at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; a UE location in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed; and a cell in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed.
Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.
EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
Group A Example Embodiments
Example Embodiment Al. A method performed by a user equipment for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising: any of the user equipment steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.
Example Embodiment A2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional user equipment steps, features or functions described above. Example Embodiment A3, The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the network node.
Group B Example Embodiments
Example Embodiment Bl. A method performed by a network node for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising: any of the network node steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.
Example Embodiment B2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above.
Example Embodiment B3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.
Group C Example Embodiments
Example Embodiment Cl. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for using fixed beam(s) for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising: obtaining instructions from a network to use Rx beam(s) only within a limited set of Rx beams during a set of DL signal quality measurements and/or for a beam report.
Example Embodiment C2. The method of Example Embodiment Cl, wherein the limited set of Rx beams comprises: one fixed Rx beam, Rx beams from one fixed UE panel, a set of Rx beams decided by the UE, a Rx beam used by the UE to receive PDCCH, or one or more widest Rx beams.
Example Embodiment C3. The method of Example Embodiment C2, wherein the fixed Rx beam or fixed UE panel is selected based on at least one of: Rx Beams/panels are associated to an Rx-beam or panel ID known at the NW, and NW configure the UE to use such ID, where the fixed Rx beam or Rx panel to be used are associated with different previous measurements at the UE, for example indicated via time (e.g. in terms of slots or seconds) and other quantities (e.g. TCI states, CSI-RS/SSB resource set, and/or CSI-RS/SSB measurement configuration or reporting configuration) , NW configures the UE to use the same Rx-beam as in those time slots or other quantities, UE selects a fixed Rx-beam related to a geographical point, for example the angle towards a certain reference point, UE selects the fixed Rx-beam transparently to the NW, and UE location and/or orientation.
Example Embodiment C4. The method of Example Embodiment C3, wherein the fixed Rx beam is assigned with an ID either via the NW or the UE.
Example Embodiment C5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C4, comprising at least one of: measuring all of the Rx beams in the limited set, performing radio measurements for all of the Rx beams in the limited set, and performing radio measurements for a number N of the best Rx beams in the limited set.
Example Embodiment C6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C5, wherein the UE is free to choose the Rx beam within the set.
Example Embodiment C7. The method of Example Embodiment C7, wherein the UE chooses among the Rx beam within the set of limited beams based on predefined criteria, or criteria indicated by the gNB e.g. based on the history of RSRP measurements.
Example Embodiment C8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C7, comprising sending, to the NW, a capability report of its Rx beam selection process, and wherein the capability report comprises at least one of: Rx beam IDs are identified to the NW, if UE are able to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and capability of selecting an Rx-beam or panel towards a certain geographical direction.
Example Embodiment C9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C8, wherein the radio measurements comprise: a single radio measurement performed during a certain period of time in the limited set of beams, wherein the single radio measurement represents for example an average of a radio measurement quantity performed over one or more of the beams in the limited set of beams, e.g. over the best N Rx beams, or over all the beams, or a set of radio measurements performed during a certain period of time in the limited set of beams, wherein a radio measurement in the set of radio measurements consists of a radio measurement associated to one beam in the limited set of beams over the said period of time, e.g. an average of a radio measurement quantity for a given beam over the period of time.
Example Embodiment CIO. The method of Example Embodiment C9, wherein the certain period of time comprises a set of consecutive OFDM symbols or slots. Example Embodiment Cl 1. The method of any one of Example Embodiment Cl to CIO, wherein the NW signals to the UE via DCI when it is allowed to switch beam direction (or, alternatively, when it is not allowed).
Example Embodiment C12. The method of Example Embodiment Cl l, wherein the signaling is specifically regarding beam switching.
Example Embodiment C13. The method of Example Embodiment Cl l, wherein the signaling is implicit from another DCI message.
Example Embodiment C14. The method of Example Embodiment C13, wherein the UE is only allowed to switch beam when new TCI state activated or only why certain TCI state is active.
Example Embodiment Cl 5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 4, wherein the set or radio measurement quantities are the radio measurement quantities relating to at least one of: a certain CSI-RS or SSB resource set, a certain measurement resource configuration, a certain measurement reporting configuration, and/or any one or combination (logical or / logical and) of Example Embodiments C8 and C3.
Example Embodiment Cl 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 5, wherein the instructions from the NW: are signaled via DCI, are configured using RRC, are signaled via MAC, and/or are predefined in the specifications.
Example Embodiment C17. The method of Example Embodiment C16, wherein the DCI is part of an CSI-RS activation command, an aperiodic measurement trigger, or an aperiodic report trigger.
Example Embodiment 18 The method of Example Embodiment C 16, wherein the RRC configuration is part of a measurement configuration command or report configuration command.
Example Embodiment Cl 9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 6, wherein the set of DL signal quality measurements comprises at least one of: an RSRP measurement, an RSRQ measurement, an SINR measurement, and a hypothetical BLER (e.g., using PDCCH).
Example Embodiment C20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 9, wherein the UE receives instructions from the network not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception even temporarily between two measurements. Example Embodiment C21. The method of Example Embodiment C200, comprising: based on the instructions from the network not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skipping listening to and/or for a signal that the UE is configured to listen to and/or for.
Example Embodiment C22. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C21, wherein the set of DL signal quality measurements performed in the certain period of time are reported to the NW, the reporting comprising one or more of the following information: the radio measurement quantity(ies) associated to the radio measurements, the limited set of beams taken into account when performing the said radio measurements, the beam(s) over which the radio measurements were performed, e.g. the best N Rx beams in the limited set of beams, or all the beams in the limited set of beams, the timestamp associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed, the UE location associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed, and the cell in which the radio measurements are performed.
Example Embodiment C23. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C 1 to C21 , wherein, for each performed radio measurement performed in different period of times, the method comprises storing information associated to the performed radio measurements, the information comprising one or more of the following: the radio measurement quantity(ies) associated to the radio measurements, the limited set of beams taken into account when performing the said radio measurements, the beam(s) over which the radio measurements were performed, e.g. the best N Rx beams in the limited set of beams, or all the beams in the limited set of beams, the timestamp associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed, the UE location associated to the point in time in which radio measurements were performed, and the cell in which the radio measurements are performed.
Example Embodiment C24. The method of Example Embodiment C23, wherein the UE reports to the network, the one or more stored information associated to different radio measurements, wherein: the one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different period of times, i.e. associated to radio measurements performed at different period of times, and/or the one or more stored information may be associated to radio measurements performed over different set of beams.
Example Embodiment C25. The method of Example Embodiments Cl to C24, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node. Example Embodiment C26. A user equipment comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C25.
Example Embodiment C27. A user equipment configured to and/or adapted to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C25.
Example Embodiment C28. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C25.
Example Embodiment C29. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C25.
Example Embodiment C30. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C25.
Example Embodiment C31. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C25.
Group D Example Embodiments
Example Embodiment DI . A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising at least one of obtaining information indicating to use at least one Rx beam within a set of Rx beams for performing at least one signal quality measurement and/or for generating a beam report.
Example Embodiment D2. The method of Example Embodiment DI, wherein the set of Rx beams comprises: one fixed Rx beam, at least one Rx beam from a fixed UE panel, at least one Rx beam decided by the UE, at least one Rx beam used by the UE to receive PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
Example Embodiment D3. The method of Example Embodiment D2, wherein the fixed Rx beam or fixed UE panel is selected and/or determined based on one or more of an Rx-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by a network node, at least one previous measurement performed by the UE during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities, a geographical point, a certain reference point, a UE location, and/or a UE orientation. Example Embodiment D4. The method of Example Embodiment D3, wherein the fixed
Rx beam is assigned with an identifier.
Example Embodiment D5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D4, comprising at least one of: measuring all of the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, performing the at least one signal quality measurement for each Rx beam in the set of Rx beams, and performing the at least one signal quality measurement for a number, N, of Rx beams in the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment D6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D5, comprising selecting, by the UE, the at least one Rx beam within the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment D7. The method of Example Embodiment D6, wherein selecting the at least one Rx beam comprises selecting the at least one Rx beam within the set of Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
Example Embodiment D8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D7, comprising receiving the at least one criteria from a network node.
Example Embodiment D9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D8, comprising: sending, to the network node, a capability report comprising at least one of: at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE to select the at least one Rx-beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
Example Embodiment DIO. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D9, wherein the at least one radio quality measurement comprises: a single radio measurement performed during a certain period of time in the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment DI 1. The method of Example Embodiment DIO, wherein the single radio measurement represents an average of a radio measurement quantity and/or quality over: one or more of the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, the best TV Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, or all of the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment D12. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D9, wherein the at least one radio quality measurement comprises: a set of radio measurements performed during a certain period of time in the set of beams, wherein a radio measurement in the set of radio measurements consists of a radio measurement associated to one beam in the set of Rx beams over the period of time. Example Embodiment D13. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DIO to D12, wherein the certain period of time comprises a set of consecutive OFDM symbols or slots.
Example Embodiment D14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D13, comprising: receiving, from a network node, an indication of when the UE is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE is not allowed to switch beam direction.
Example Embodiment DI 5. The method of Example Embodiment D14, wherein the indication of when the UE is allowed and/or not allowed to switch beam direction is received via DCI.
Example Embodiment DI 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D14 to DI 5, wherein the indication is specifically regarding beam switching.
Example Embodiment DI 7. The method of Example Embodiment DI 6, wherein the indication is implicit from another DCI message.
Example Embodiment DI 8. The method of Example Embodiment DI 7, wherein the UE is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new TCI state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active.
Example Embodiment DI 9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 8, wherein the at least one signal quality measurement and/or the beam report are associated with at least one of: a CSI-RS or SSB resource set, a measurement resource configuration, a measurement reporting configuration, and/or any one or combination (logical or / logical and) of Example EmbodimentsD3 and D9.
Example Embodiment D20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 9, wherein obtaining the information indicating to use the at least one Rx beam within the set of Rx beams comprises at least one of: receiving the information from a network node via DCI, receiving the information from a network node via RRC signaling, receiving the information from a network node via MAC, and/or determining the information in the specification and/or a configuration.
Example Embodiment D21. The method of Example Embodiment D20, wherein the DCI is part of an CSI-RS activation command, an aperiodic measurement trigger, or an aperiodic report trigger.
Example Embodiment D22. The method of Example Embodiment D20, wherein the RRC signaling is part of a measurement configuration command or report configuration command. Example Embodiment D23. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D22, wherein the at least one signal quality measurement comprises at least one of: an RSRP measurement, an RSRQ measurement, an SINR measurement, and a hypothetical BLER.
Example Embodiment D24. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D23, comprising receiving, from a network node, instructions indicating that the UE is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
Example Embodiment D25. The method of Example Embodiment D24, comprising: based on the instructions from the network not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skipping listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE is configured to listen.
Example Embodiment D26. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D25, comprising: performing the at least one signal quality measurement during a period of time, and transmitting, to the network node, at least one value associated with the at least one quality measurement in the beam report.
Example Embodiment D27. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D25, wherein the beam report comprises at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement, the set of Rx beams used when performing the at least one signal quality measurement, at least one beam over which the at least one signal quality measurement is performed, a number of TVRx beams in the set of Rx beams, all the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, a UE location in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, and a cell in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed.
Example Embodiment D28. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D27, wherein, for each of the at least one signal quality measurement performed in different period of times, the method comprises: storing information associated with the performed at least one signal quality measurement, the information comprising one or more of the following: at least one measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement, the set of Rx beams used when performing the at least one signal quality measurement, at least one beam over which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, a timestamp associated with a point in time during which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, a UE location associated with the UE when the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, and a cell in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed.
Example Embodiment D29. The method of Example Embodiment D28, comprising transmitting, to the network node, the one or more stored information associated to different signal quality measurements, wherein: the one or more stored information may be associated with the signal quality measurements performed over different period of times, and/or the one or more stored information may be associated with the signal quality measurements performed over different sets of beams.
Example Embodiment D30. The method of Example Embodiments DI to D29, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.
Example Embodiment D31. A user equipment comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D30.
Example Embodiment D32. A user equipment configured to and/or adapted to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D30.
Example Embodiment D33. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D30.
Example Embodiment D34. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D30.
Example Embodiment D35. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D30.
Example Embodiment D36. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D30.
Group E Example Embodiments
Example Embodiment El. A method performed by a network node for using at least one fixed beam for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising at least one of: transmitting, to a User Equipment (UE), information indicating to use at least one Rx beam within a set of Rx beams for performing at least one signal quality measurement and/or for generating a beam report.
Example Embodiment E2. The method of Example Embodiment El, wherein the set of Rx beams comprises: one fixed Rx beam, at least one Rx beam from a fixed UE panel, at least one Rx beam decided by the UE, at least one Rx beam used by the UE to receive PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
Example Embodiment E3. The method of Example Embodiment E2, wherein the fixed Rx beam or fixed UE panel is selected and/or determined based on one or more of: an Rx-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by the network node, at least one previous measurement performed by the UE during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities, a geographical point, a certain reference point, a UE location, and/or a UE orientation.
Example Embodiment E4. The method of Example Embodiment E3, wherein the fixed Rx beam is assigned with an identifier.
Example Embodiment E5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E4, comprising configuring the UE to perform at least one of: measuring all of the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, performing the at least one signal quality measurement for each Rx beam in the set of Rx beams, and performing the at least one signal quality measurement for a number, N, of Rx beams in the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment E6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E5, comprising configuring the UE to select the at least one Rx beam within the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment E7. The method of Example Embodiment E6, wherein configuring the UE to select the at least one Rx beam comprises configuring the UE to select the at least one Rx beam within the set of Rx beams based on at least one criteria,.
Example Embodiment E8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments E7, comprising transmitting, to the UE, the at least one criteria.
Example Embodiment E9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E8, comprising: receiving, from the UE, a capability report comprising at least one of: at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE to select the at least one Rx- beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
Example Embodiment E10. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E9, wherein the at least one radio quality measurement comprises: a single radio quality measurement performed by the UE during a certain period of time in the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment El 1. The method of Example Embodiment E10, wherein the single radio quality measurement represents an average of a radio measurement quantity and/or quality over: one or more of the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, the best TV Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, or all of the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams.
Example Embodiment E12. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E9, wherein the at least one radio quality measurement comprises: a set of radio measurements performed by the UE during a certain period of time in the set of beams, wherein a radio measurement in the set of radio measurements consists of a radio measurement associated to one beam in the set of Rx beams over the period of time.
Example Embodiment El 3. The method of any one of Example Embodiments E10 to E12, wherein the certain period of time comprises a set of consecutive OFDM symbols or slots.
Example Embodiment E14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E13, comprising: transmitting, to the UE, an indication of when the UE is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE is not allowed to switch beam direction.
Example Embodiment El 5. The method of Example Embodiment E14, wherein the indication of when the UE is allowed and/or not allowed to switch beam direction is received via DCI.
Example Embodiment El 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments E14 to El 5, wherein the indication is specifically regarding beam switching.
Example Embodiment El 7. The method of Example Embodiment E16, wherein the indication is implicit from another DCI message.
Example Embodiment E18. The method of Example Embodiment E17, wherein the UE is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new TCI state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active.
Example Embodiment E19. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E18, wherein the at least one signal quality measurement and/or the beam report are associated with at least one of: a CSI-RS or SSB resource set, a measurement resource configuration, a measurement reporting configuration, and/or any one or combination (logical or / logical and) of Example Embodiments E3 and E9.
Example Embodiment E20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E19, wherein transmitting the information indicating to use the at least one Rx beam within the set of Rx beams comprises at least one of: transmitting the information from a network node via DCI, transmitting the information from a network node via RRC signaling, and/or transmitting the information from a network node via MAC.
Example Embodiment E21. The method of Example Embodiment E20, wherein the DCI is part of an CSI-RS activation command, an aperiodic measurement trigger, or an aperiodic report trigger.
Example Embodiment E22. The method of Example Embodiment E20, wherein the RRC signaling is part of a measurement configuration command or report configuration command.
Example Embodiment E23. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E22, wherein the at least one signal quality measurement comprises at least one of: an RSRP measurement, an RSRQ measurement, an SINR measurement, and a hypothetical BLER.
Example Embodiment E24. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E23, comprising transmitting, to the UE, instructions indicating that the UE is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
Example Embodiment E25. The method of Example Embodiment E24, comprising configuring the UE to, based on the instructions from the network not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skip listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE is configured to listen.
Example Embodiment E26. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E25, comprising: receiving, from the UE, the beam report, wherein the beam report comprises at least one value associated with the at least one quality measurement performed by the UE.
Example Embodiment E27. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E26, wherein the beam report comprises at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement, the set of Rx beams used when performing the at least one signal quality measurement, at least one beam over which the at least one signal quality measurement is performed; a number of N Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, all the Rx beams in the set of Rx beams, at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, a UE location in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, and a cell in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed.
Example Embodiment E28. The method of any one of Example Embodiments El to E27, comprising configuring the UE to store information associated with each of the at least one signal quality measurement performed in different period of times, the information comprising one or more of the following: at least one measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement, the set of Rx beams used when performing the at least one signal quality measurement, at least one beam over which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, a timestamp associated with a point in time during which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, a UE location associated with the UE when the at least one signal quality measurement was performed, and a cell in which the at least one signal quality measurement was performed.
Example Embodiment E29. The method of Example Embodiment E28, comprising receiving, from the UE, the one or more stored information associated to different signal quality measurements, wherein: the one or more stored information may be associated with the signal quality measurements performed over different period of times, and/or the one or more stored information may be associated with the signal quality measurements performed over different sets of beams.
Example Embodiment E30. The method of any of the previous Example Embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.
Example Embodiment E31. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments El to E30.
Example Embodiment E32. A network node configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments El to E30.
Example Embodiment E33. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments El to E30.
Example Embodiment E34. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments El to E30. Example Embodiment E35. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments El to E30.
Group F Example Embodiments
Example Embodiment Fl. A user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A, C, and D Example Embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
Example Embodiment F2. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B and E Example Embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
Example Embodiment F3. A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A, C, and D Example Embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Claims

1. A method (900) performed by a user equipment, UE (412), operable to use a set of Receiver, Rx, beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising: receiving (902), from a network node ( 10), information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the information indicates to use the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams and wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams are within a fixed UE panel.
3. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 2, wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam indicated by the network node.
4. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 2, wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam selected by the UE.
5. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the information comprises an instruction to use only Rx beam(s) within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
6. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises: at least one Rx beam decided by the UE, at least one Rx beam used by the UE to receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
7. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the fixed UE panel or the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams is selected and/or determined based on one or more of: an Rx-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by a network node, at least one previous measurement performed by the UE during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities, a geographical point, a certain reference point, a UE location, and/or a UE orientation.
8. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 7, comprising at least one of: performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for each Rx beam in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams, and performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for a number, N, of Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
9. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 8, comprising selecting, by the UE, at least one Rx beam within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
10. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 9, comprising: sending, to the network node, a capability report comprising at least one of: at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE to select the at least one Rx-beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
11. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 10, comprising: receiving, from a network node, an indication of when the UE is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE is not allowed to switch beam direction.
12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the UE is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new Transmission Configuration Indication, TCI, state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active.
13. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 11, comprising receiving, from a network node, instructions indicating that the UE is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
14. The method of 13, comprising: based on the instructions from the network not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skipping listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE is configured to listen.
15. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 14, comprising: performing the plurality of signal quality measurements during a period of time, and transmitting, to the network node, at least one value associated with the at least one quality measurement in a beam report.
16. The method of Claim 15, wherein the beam report comprises at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements, the set of Rx beams used when performing the plurality of signal quality measurements, at least one beam over which the plurality of signal quality measurements is performed, a number of Af RX beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams, all the Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams, at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed, a UE location in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed, and a cell in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed.
17. A method (1100) performed by a network node (410) for providing information for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the method comprising: transmitting (1102), to a User Equipment, UE (412), operable to use a set of Receiver, Rx, beams, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
18. The method of Claim 17, wherein the information indicates to use the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams and wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams are within a fixed UE panel.
19. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 18, wherein the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams comprises one fixed Rx beam indicated by the network node.
20. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 18, configuring the UE to select one fixed Rx beam from within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
21. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 20, wherein the information comprises an instruction to use only Rx beams within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
22. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 21, wherein the set of Rx beams comprises: at least one Rx beam decided by the UE, at least one Rx beam used by the UE to receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, or at least one Rx beam having a width greater than other Rx beams and/or a width greater than a threshold.
23. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 22, wherein the fixed UE panel or the fixed Rx beam is selected and/or determined based on one or more of: an RX-beam identifier or panel identifier indicated by the network node, at least one previous measurement performed by the UE during an indicated time period, during one or more indicated resources, and/or being associated with one or more indicated quantities, a geographical point, a certain reference point, a UE location, and/or a UE orientation.
24. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 23, comprising configuring the UE to perform at least one of: performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for each Rx beam in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams, and performing the plurality of signal quality measurements for a number, N, of Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams.
25. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 24, comprising configuring the UE to select at least one Rx beam within the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams based on at least one criteria.
26. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 25, comprising: receiving, from the UE, a capability report comprising at least one of: at least one Rx beam identifier, an indication of a capability of the UE to switch Rx beams or Rx panels without extra measurement error, and an indication of a capability of the UE to select the at least one Rx beam or Rx panel towards a geographical direction.
27. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 26, comprising: transmitting, to the UE, an indication of when the UE is allowed to switch beam direction and/or when the UE is not allowed to switch beam direction.
28. The method of Claim 27, wherein the UE is only allowed to switch beam direction when a new Transmission Configuration Indication, TCI, state is activated or when a certain TCI state is active.
29. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 27, comprising transmitting, to the UE, instructions indicating that the UE is not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception between at least two measurements.
30. The method of Claim 29, comprising configuring the UE to, based on the instructions from the network not to switch beam direction and/or interrupt reception, skip listening to and/or listening for a signal for which the UE is configured to listen.
31. The method of any one of Claims 17 to 30, comprising: receiving, from the UE, a beam report comprising at least one value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements performed by the UE.
32. The method of Claim 31, wherein the beam report comprises at least one of: at least one radio measurement quantity and/or value associated with the at least one signal quality measurement, the set of Rx beams used when performing the plurality of signal quality measurements, at least one beam over which the plurality of signal quality measurements is performed, a number of Af Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams, all the Rx beams in the fixed subset of one or more Rx beams, at least one timestamp associated with a point in time in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed, a UE location in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed, and a cell in which the plurality of signal quality measurements was performed.
33. The method of any one of Claims 31 to 32, comprising using the at least one value associated with the plurality of signal quality measurements performed by the UE as input into an Artificial Intelligence/Machine model for beam prediction.
34. A User Equipment, UE (412), operable to use a set of Receiver, Rx, beams for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the UE configured to: receive, from a network node (410), information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements.
35. The UE of Claim 34, configured to perform any of the methods of Claims 2 to 16.
36. A network node (410) for providing information for beam measurement and/or beam reporting, the network node configured to: transmit, to a User Equipment, UE (412), operable to use a set of Receiver, Rx, beams, information indicating to use a fixed UE panel or a fixed subset of one or more Rx beams within the set of Rx beams for performing a plurality of signal quality measurements for at least one beam report.
37. The network node of Claim 36, configured to perform any of the methods of Claims 18 to
33.
PCT/SE2024/051108 2023-12-19 2024-12-18 Fixed user equipment beams for beam management data collection Pending WO2025136204A1 (en)

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