TITLE Power Control TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD Examples of the disclosure relate to power control. Some relate to power control for uplink signals with orthogonal cover codes. BACKGROUND Orthogonal cover code (OCC) is a coding technique that can be used to enhance the capacity/throughput of a networks 100 such as those shown in Fig.1. Such techniques involve generating a set of orthogonal codes that have zero cross correlation and assigning different codes to different UEs 110. This enables different UEs 110 to achieve orthogonal uplink (UL) transmission using the same time frequency resources. BRIEF SUMMARY According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to perform at least: obtaining an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission; determining an uplink transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and transmitting an uplink transmission with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. Determining an uplink transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration can comprise using a power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration in a calculation of the transmit power.
The power adjustment parameter can comprise a scaling factor arranged to scale one or more parameters used to determine the uplink transmit power. The scaling factor can be determined by the UE based on the obtained OCC configuration. The power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration can comprise a delta power parameter wherein a value of the delta power parameter is indicated from a network entity. The uplink transmit power can be determined at least per one of: slot; discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol; resource element. The uplink transmit power can be determined for at least one of; non-reference signal symbols; reference signal symbols The OCC configuration can comprise at least one of; user equipment OCC codeword; OCC size; number of OCC multiplexed UEs, a power adjustment parameter; an indication of OCC configuration set. The OCC configuration can be obtained via an index field that enables the UE to determine the OCC from a set of OCC sequences preconfigured at the UE. The index field can relate to a subset of the OCC sequence. The OCC configuration can be obtained in signaling from a network entity.
The signaling from the network entity can comprise at least one of: downlink control information; higher layer configuration. The uplink transmission can comprise one of: physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a method comprising: obtaining an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission; determining an uplink transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and transmitting an uplink transmission with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a user equipment, cause the user equipment to perform at least: obtaining an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission; determining an uplink transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and transmitting an uplink transmission with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a network entity comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network entity to perform at least:
indicating an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) wherein the OCC configuration enables an uplink transmit power to be determined based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and receiving an uplink transmission from the UE with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. The at least one processor and memory may be configured to perform signalling to control whether power control based on OCC is enabled. The at least one processor and memory may be configured to perform determining a power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration and transmitting an indication of the power adjustment parameter to a user equipment. The at least one processor and memory may be configured to perform determining at least one power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration for multiple UEs The at least one power adjustment parameter may be determined such that different UEs have different power adjustment parameters. The power adjustment parameter may comprise a scaling factor arranged to scale one or more parameters used to determine the uplink transmit power. The power adjustment parameter may comprise a delta power parameter wherein a value of the delta power parameter is determined based at least in part, on the OCC configuration. The at least one power adjustment parameter uplink enables the uplink transmit power to be determined at least per one of: slot; discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol;
resource element. The at least one power adjustment parameter may enable the uplink transmit power to be determined for at least one of; non-reference signal symbols; reference signal symbols The OCC configuration may be indicated via an index field that enables the UE to determine the OCC from a set of OCC sequences preconfigured at the UE. The index field may relate to a subset of the OCC sequence. According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a method comprising: indicating an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) wherein the OCC configuration enables an uplink transmit power to be determined based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and receiving an uplink transmission from the UE with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to perform at least: indicating an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) wherein the OCC configuration enables an uplink transmit power to be determined based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and receiving an uplink transmission from the UE with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided an apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least a part of one or more methods described herein. According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided an apparatus comprising means for performing at least part of one or more methods described herein. The description of a function and/or action should additionally be considered to also disclose any means suitable for performing that function and/or action. Functions and/or actions described herein can be performed in any suitable way using any suitable method. According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided examples as claimed in the appended claims. While the above examples of the disclosure and optional features are described separately, it is to be understood that their provision in all possible combinations and permutations is contained within the disclosure. It is to be understood that various examples of the disclosure can comprise any or all the features described in respect of other examples of the disclosure, and vice versa. Also, it is to be appreciated that any one or more or all the features, in any combination, may be implemented by/comprised in/performable by an apparatus, a method, and/or computer program instructions as desired, and as appropriate. The description of a function should additionally be considered to also disclose any means suitable for performing that function BRIEF DESCRIPTION Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.1 shows an example network; FIG.2 shows an example method;
FIG.3 shows an example method; FIG.4 shows an example signal flow; FIG.5 shows an example signal flow; and FIG.6 shows an example controller. The figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and views of the figures can be shown schematically or exaggerated in scale in the interest of clarity and conciseness. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures can be exaggerated relative to other elements to aid explication. Corresponding reference numerals are used in the figures to designate corresponding features. For clarity, all reference numerals are not necessarily displayed in all figures. DEFINITIONS DCI Downlink Control Information DFT Discrete Fourier Transform DFT-s-OFDM Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing EPRE Energy per Resource Element gNB 5G Base Station MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme NTN Non-Terrestrial Network OCC Orthogonal Cover Code PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RAN Radio Access Network RE Resource Element RRC Radio Resource Control RS Reference Signal TBS Transport Block Size TPC Transmit Power Control UE User Equipment UL Uplink
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Fig.11 illustrates an example of a communications network 100 such as a 5G network or a 6G network or any other suitable type of network. The network 100 comprises a plurality of different types of nodes 110, 120, 130. The different types of nodes 110, 120, 130 can comprise terminal nodes 110, and network entities 120, 130. The network entities can comprise access nodes 120 and core network nodes 130 and/or any other suitable type of apparatus or device. The access nodes 120 can be configured to communicate with the terminal nodes 110. The core network nodes 130 communicate with the access nodes 120. In some examples the core network nodes 130 communicate with the terminal nodes 110. The core network nodes 130 can, in some examples, communicate with each other. The one or more access nodes 120 can, in some examples, communicate with each other. The network 100 can be a cellular network comprising a plurality of cells 122. Each of the cells is served by an access node 120. In this example, the interface between the terminal node 110 and an access node 120 providing a cell 122 is a wireless interface 124. The access nodes 120 can comprise one or more cellular radio transceivers. The terminal nodes 110 can comprise one or more cellular radio transceivers. The terminal nodes 110 can comprise user equipments (UEs) or any other suitable type of devices. The access nodes 120 can be base stations. The access nodes 120 can be any suitable type of base station. The access node 120 can be a network entity responsible for radio transmission and reception in one or more cells to or from terminal nodes 110.
The access node 120 can be a network element in a Radio Access Network (RAN), or any other suitable type of network. The core network nodes 130 can be part of a core network. The core network nodes 130 can be configured to manage functions relating to connectivity for the terminal nodes 110. For example, the core network nodes 130 can be configured to manage functions such as connectivity, mobility, authentication, authorization and/or other suitable functions. In the example of Fig.1 the core network node 130 is shown as a single entity. In some examples the core network node 130 could be distributed across multiple entities. For example, the core network node 130 could be cloud based or distributed in any other suitable manner. The network 100 can be any suitable type of network, for example it can be a New Radio (NR) network that uses gNB as access nodes. New Radio is the 3GPP name for 5G technology. In such cases the access nodes 120 can comprise gNBs configured to provide user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the terminal nodes 110 and/or to perform any other suitable functions. The gNBs are interconnected with each other by means of an X2/Xn interface 126. The gNBs are also connected by means of the N2 interface 128 to the core network nodes 130. Other types of networks and interfaces could be used in other examples. Other types of networks could comprise next-generation mobile and communication network, for example, a 6G network. Orthogonal cover code (OCC) is a coding technique that can be used to enhance the capacity/throughput of a networks 100 such as those shown in Fig.1. Such techniques involve generating a set of orthogonal codes that have zero cross correlation and assigning different codes to different UEs 110. This enables different UEs 110 to achieve orthogonal uplink (UL) transmission using the same time frequency resources. The orthogonal codes can comprise Walsh-Hadamard codes or any other suitable type of codes, e.g. DFT sequences.
In order to multiplex UEs 110 using OCC, repetitions of the UL signal are used. For example, to multiplex N UEs 110 at least N resource (for example, resource element (RE) or pre- discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sample/modulation symbol) repetitions in a same or different OFDM symbol or in a same or different slot within a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmission per UE are used. Therefore, when applying OCC the number of used REs will increase by a factor of N (to take into account the size OCC configuration and the repetitions). This means that the number of REs used when OCC is applied shall be N times greater than number of REs when OCC is not used in order to carry a same number of modulation symbols, i.e. a same information. UL power control determines the power for UL signals such as PUSCH or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or any other suitable UL transmissions. UL power control can be used to achieve a target received power at the gNB and this achieves a target performance and reduces interference and also power consumption by the UE 110. A general formula for UL power control is ^^^ = ^^^{^^^^^ , ^^ + ^ ∙ ^^ + ∆} Where: ^^^^^ is the UE configured maximum output power, ^^ is an open loop power control parameter and a pre-configured received power target assuming full pathloss compensation, ^ is a value between 0 and 1 is the fractional power control factor such that if α = 0 there is no pathloss compensation (all UEs 110 transmit at the same power) and if α = 1 there is full pathloss compensation (which tries to achieve same received power for all UEs 110), and ∆ is a closed loop power control component which enables a network entity such as a gNB to adjust the transmit power at UE 110. The closed loop power control component can be based on a transmit power control (TPC) command from downlink control information (DCI). Specifically the PUSCH power can be determined based on the following (from 3GPP TS 38.213):
If a UE transmits a PUSCH on active UL BWP ^ of carrier ^ of serving cell ^ using parameter set configuration with index ^ and PUSCH power control adjustment state with index ^, the UE determines the PUSCH transmission power ^PUSCH,^,^,^(^, ^, ^^ , ^) in PUSCH transmission occasion ^ as
The PUCCH power can be determined based on the following (from 3GPP TS 38.213): If a UE transmits a PUCCH on active UL BWP ^ of carrier ^ in the primary cell ^ using PUCCH power control adjustment state with index ^, the UE determines the PUCCH transmission power ^PUCCH,^,^,^(^, ^^, ^^ , ^) in PUCCH transmission occasion ^ as
The transmission power is capped by ^^^^^,^,^(^), which is defined as the UE 110 configured maximum output power. The UE 110 can set the ^^^^^,^,^, value in each slot, as long as the ^^^^^,^,^, is set within defined bounds. These power control formulas define the UL power proportional to the total number of allocated resource blocks ^^^,^,^,^ and therefore the total number of allocated REs. If the UEs 110 are using OCC with a size N then the total number of allocated RBs or REs can be N times larger than the number of RBs or REs without OCC for the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and transport block size (TBS). The additional (repeated) REs carry the same information, that is, they carry repetitions of the original modulation symbols and can be combined at the receiver. This means that using these formulas will cause a UE 110 to over-estimate the UL power for transmission of a certain TBS (i.e. of a certain information) because it does not take into account the
repeated REs. The overestimated UL power depletes the power of the UE 110 and causes additional interference. Examples of the disclosure address these issues and provide improved UL power estimates when UEs are using OCC. In examples of the disclosure the calculations of the UL power are adjusted to take into account the RE repetitions introduced by the use of OCC. Fig.2 shows an example method that can be used in some examples of the disclosure. The method can be implemented by a UE 110 or an apparatus such as a controller within a UE 110. The method of Fig.2 comprises at block 200 obtaining an OCC configuration for a UL transmission. The OCC configuration can be used for multiplexing multiple UEs 110. The OCC configuration can comprise any one or more of user equipment OCC codeword; OCC size; number of OCC multiplexed UEs 110, a power adjustment parameter; an indication of OCC configuration set, and/or any other suitable information. The OCC configuration can be obtained using any suitable means. In some examples the OCC configuration can be obtained via an index field that enables the UE 110 to determine the OCC from a set of OCC sequences preconfigured at the UE 110. The index field can relate to a subset of the OCC sequence. The OCC configuration can be obtained in signaling from a network entity such as a gNB 120. The signaling from the network entity can comprise at least one of: DCI or higher layer configuration, or any other suitable signaling. At block 202 the method comprises determining a UL transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration.
Determining a UL transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration can comprise using a power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration in a calculation of the transmit power. For example, a power adjustment parameter can be used in the formula for calculating UL transmit power or a power adjustment parameter can be used to scale one or more components or inputs used in the formula for calculating transmit power. The power adjustment parameter can be determined by the UE 110 or can be indicated by a gNB 120 or other network entity. For example, the power adjustment parameter can be determined by the UE 110 as the value in dB of the configured OCC length/size, i.e.10log10(OCC_size). In some examples a UE 110 centric power adjustment approach can be used. In such cases the UE 110 can determine the power adjustment parameter. The power adjustment parameter can be determined based on the OCC configuration. In some examples a network centric power adjustment approach can be used. In such cases the gNB 120 or other network entity can determine the power adjustment parameter. The power adjustment parameter can be determined based on the OCC configuration and/or any other suitable factors. For example a network entity could select or adjust a power adjustment parameter to balance power received from different UEs 110 so as to improve performance of the receiver. For example the power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration comprises a delta power parameter wherein a value of the delta power parameter is indicated from a gNB 120 or other network entity. The delta power parameter can be used in the formula for power control. In some examples the power adjustment parameter can comprise a scaling factor arranged to scale one or more parameters in the formula used to determine the UL transmit power. In some examples the scaling factor can be determined by the UE 110 based on the obtained OCC configuration. In other examples the scaling factor can be determined by a gNB or other network entity and indicated to the UE 110. The parameter that is scaled by the scaling factor can comprise an energy per resource element (EPRE) parameter or any other suitable parameter.
In some examples the UL transmit power can be determined per slot or per discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol or per RE In some examples the UL transmit power can be determined for reference signal (RS) symbols and/or for non-RS symbols. The RS symbols could be demodulation reference signals (DMRS) or any other suitable types of signals. If the UL transmit power is determined independently for the RS symbols and non-RS symbols this enables the RS power or EPRE to be kept independent of the OCC for data power. For example some RS might not be able to be combined at the receiver if OCC is applied on the RS. Therefore, if the UL transmit power is determined separately for reference signal (RS) symbols and/or for non-RS symbols it enables the RS signals to be scaled with a total RE allocation and not based on the OCC configuration. This can improve the accuracy of the estimation at the receiver (for example, channel estimation using DMRS), or can maintain the same accuracy as can be achieved in cases that do not use OCC. In some examples an adjustment parameter is determined to enable the uplink transmit power to be determined based on the OCC configuration. In some examples the parameter is determined based on the OCC configuration, for example the size the OCC. In some examples the parameter can be determined based on whether OCC is configured or not. For instance, if OCC is configured then the power adjustment parameter is applied and if OCC is not configured then the power adjustment is not applied. In such examples the power adjustment parameter could be indicated via a codepoint in the DCI. At block 204 the method comprises transmitting a UL transmission with OCC based on the determined UL transmit power. The UL transmission can comprise a PUSCH, PUCCH or any other suitable UL signal. Fig. 3 shows another example method that can be used in some examples of the disclosure. The method can be implemented by a network entity such as gNB 120 or
an apparatus such as a controller within a network entity. The network entity could be in communication with a UE 110 where the UE is performing the method of Fig.2. At block 300 the method comprises indicating an OCC configuration for a UL transmission from a UE 110 wherein the OCC configuration enables a UL transmit power to be determined based at least in part on the OCC configuration. The OCC configuration can be used for multiplexing multiple UEs 110. The OCC configuration can comprise any one or more of user equipment OCC codeword; OCC size; number of OCC multiplexed UEs 110, a power adjustment parameter; an indication of OCC configuration set, and/or any other suitable information. The OCC configuration can be indicated using any suitable means. In some examples the OCC configuration can be indicated via an index field that enables the UE 110 to determine the OCC from a set of OCC sequences preconfigured at the UE 110. The index field can relate to a subset of the OCC sequence. At block 302 the method comprises receiving an uplink transmission from the UE with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. In some examples the method can comprise additional blocks that are not shown in Fig. 3. For example the method can comprise signaling to control whether power control based on OCC is enabled. For instance, if interference is negligible and/or if the network entity 110 wants to take advantage of UE 110 power boost in OCC then the network entity can signal to the multiplexed UEs 110 that power control based on OCC is disabled. In such cases the UE 110 would then determine the UL transmit power without any reference to the OCC configuration. Conversely the network entity could signal to the UEs 110 that power control based on OCC is enabled. This could be the case if there is interference or for the purposes or reducing power consumption at the UEs. In such cases the UEs 110 would then determine the UL transmit power based, at least in part, on the OCC configuration.
In some examples where a network centric power adjustment approach is used the network entity could also be arranged to determine a power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration and transmit an indication of the power adjustment parameter to a UE 110. The network entity can be arranged to determine a power adjustment parameter for multiple UEs 110. The power adjustment parameters can be determined such that different UEs 110 have different power adjustment parameters. The different power adjustment parameters can be determined based on power imbalances between the respective UEs and/or any other suitable factors. The power adjustment parameter that is determined can be indicated to the UE 110 so that it can be used in a calculation of the transmit power. For example, it can be used in the formula for calculating UL transmit power or it can be used to scale one or more components or inputs used in the formula for calculating transmit power. In some examples power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration that is determined by the network entity can comprise a delta power parameter. The delta power parameter can be used in the formula for power control. In some examples power adjustment parameter based on the OCC configuration that is determined by the network entity can comprise a scaling factor. The scaling factor can be arranged to scale one or more parameters in the formula used to determine the UL transmit power. The parameter that is scaled by the scaling factor can comprise an EPRE parameter or any other suitable parameter. As mentioned above, in some examples a UE 110 centric approach can be used for determining the power adjustment parameters. In such examples the formula used to determine the UL transmit power can be modified to include one or more power adjustment parameters. In the UE 110 centric approach the one or more power adjustment parameters are determined by the UE 110 based on the OCC configuration. An example modified formula for determining the PUSCH transmit power is as follows:
Where ^ is the OCC size, the number of OCC multiplexed UEs 110 or the number of RE repetitions applied for implementing the OCC sequence. In some examples the number of allocated RBs used in the power control formula is defined as the number of RBs before applying OCC. That is the number of RBs before repetition of REs or modulation symbols and OCC sequence multiplication. This can be defined as ^^ ^ ^^ ,^ ^^ ,^ ^ ,^ ^^^^ An example modified formula for determining the PUSCH transmit power in this case is as follows:
As mentioned above, in some examples a network centric approach can be used for determining the power adjustment parameters. In such examples the formula used to determine the UL transmit power can be modified to include one or more power adjustment parameters. In the network centric approach the one or more power adjustment parameters are determined by the UE 110 based on the OCC configuration. An example modified formula for determining the PUSCH transmit power in a network centric case is as follows:
In the case the delta power OCC term∆^^^,^,^,^(^) provides a power adjustment parameter that is based on the OCC configuration. The network entity can determine the delta power OCC term and then indicate this to the UE 110. The delta power term can be indicated in DCI or higher signalling such as radio resource control (RRC) or a combination of both or any other suitable signalling. In some examples, the value(s) of the delta power OCC term is RRC configured in the form of a Table and associated to a codepoint. The codepoint is then indicated dynamically via DCI (e.g. via a new field in the DCI) to dynamically indicate to the UE the delta power OCC value to use for the UL transmission scheduled by the same DCI. Codepoint delta Power OCC values (Δ^^^) 00 0 01 -3 10 -6 11 -9 In some examples the value of the delta power term can be determined based on the size of the OCC. For example, a value can be assigned to the delta power term based on the size of the OCC. The following table shows an example of delta power OCC values that can be assigned for example sizes of OCC. Other values could be used in other examples. OCC configuration set delta Power OCC values (Δ^^^) 1 (e.g., no OCC or UE) 0 2 (e.g., OCC size=2) -3 3(e.g., OCC size =4) -6 4 (e.g., OCC size=8) -9
The network entity can indicate the OCC configuration to the UE 110 using higher level signaling such as RRC. This could be indicated by using at least one threshold (such as th1, th2 and th3): OCC configuration set 1: th1<=OCC length<th2 OCC configuration set 2: th2<=OCC length<th3 OCC configuration set 3: OCC length>th3 If the OCC configuration is signaled in this manner then a given value of the delta power OCC term can be assigned to a range of OCC lengths and not to a single length. In other examples a given value could be assigned to a single specific length. The network entity can also control whether power control based on OCC is enabled or disabled. The network entity can signal to the UEs 110 whether power control based on OCC is enabled or disabled. If the power control based on OCC is disabled then the delta power OCC term or other power adjustment parameter can be set to zero. The network entity could disable power control based on OCC if the interference caused by the overestimation of the power is not critical. The network entity could disable power control based on OCC to boost UE 110 coverage. Boosting UE 110 coverage can help to avoid re-transmission. This could be beneficial in a non- terrestrial networks (NTN). Boosting the UE 110 coverage could be useful if there is an NTN coverage issue or if a handover is expected soon due to satellite elevation angle and/or motion). In some examples a network entity could enable power control based on OCC for UEs 110 with limited power and/or coverage. For instance, power control based on OCC could be enabled if the power headroom for a UE 110 is below a threshold. In such cases the power control based on OCC would not be enabled for other UEs and these other UEs could benefit from the boosted power to avoid potential retransmissions or repetitions. In such cases a UE 110 can assume that power control based on OCC is not enabled unless the network indicates otherwise. That is power control based on OCC being disabled could be the default mode for a UE 110.
In some examples a network entity could enable power control based on OCC for UEs 110 with no coverage problems. For instance, power control based on OCC could be enabled if the UE 110 is at full power or has a power headroom above a threshold. In such cases the power control based on OCC would not be enabled for other UEs (i.e. either UEs at full power or UEs with power headroom below a threshold) and these other UEs could benefit from the boosted power to increase the likelihood of successful transmission. In such cases a UE 110 can assume that power control based on OCC is not enabled unless the network indicates otherwise. That is power control based on OCC being disabled could be the default mode for a UE 110. The network entity can indicate the power adjustment parameter to one or more UEs 110. Different power adjustment parameters can be used for different UEs 110. For examples, a first value for a delta power OCC term can be used for a first UE 110 and a second value for a delta power OCC term can be used for a second UE 110. In some examples the network entity can select the power adjustment term to balance the received power from the multiplexed UEs 110. This can provide improved performance of the receiver. In some examples the power adjustment parameter can comprise a scaling factor. The scaling factor can be applied to any appropriate term in the formula for determine the UL transmit power. This can be used in cases which use UL DFT-s-OFDM with OCC baseband signal generation. In some such embodiments the OCC codewords can be are pre-configured at the UE 110. A scaling factor to the power of OCC sequence is determined by UE once the OCC codewords are determined. Different scaling factors can be used by different UEs 110. For example, the scaling factor can be UE-specific. In some examples the scaling factor can be determined by the UE 110 based on the OCC configuration. In some examples the scaling factor can be determined by the network entity and signaled to the respective UEs 110. The network entity can select the scaling factor based on the OCC configuration and/or in order to mitigate an imbalanced received power at the network entity.
The scaling factor can be applied to any suitable terms within the formula for determining UL transmit power. For example, it can be applied to terms relating to EPRE. The scaling factor can be assigned to the UE 110 using any suitable means. In some examples, the value(s) of the scaling factor are RRC configured in the form of a Table and associated to a codepoint. The codepoint is then indicated dynamically via DCI (e.g. via a new field in the DCI) to dynamically indicate to the UE the scaling factor value to use for the UL transmission scheduled by the same DCI. Codepoint Scaling factor (β [dB]) 00 0 01 -3 10 -6 11 -9 In some examples the scaling factor can be assigned according to the number or REs with repetition in OCC, the size of the OCC, or any other suitable parameter. For example, it could be assigned using a table as follows or using any other suitable means. OCC configuration set Scaling factor (β [dB]) 1 (e.g., no OCC or UE) 0 2 (e.g., OCC size=2) -3 3(e.g., OCC size =4) -6 4 (e.g., OCC size=8) -9 Other values for the scaling factors can be used in other examples. The scaling factor can be used to scale a non-RS separately to a RS. For example, it can enable PUSCH data EPRE to be scaled without scaling the RS EPRE. An example procedure could be for UL data with PUSCH, if a UE 110 is configured with OCC on data, then the UE 110 can assume the data PUSCH EPRE ( β [dB]) is scaled
by β. The data scaling factor β for data EPRE in PUSCH is given by ^^ ^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ = ^ 10^ ^^ . Else if the UE 110 is not configured with OCC on data, the UE shall assume β=0 dB. In some examples it might be possible to combine some of the approaches described herein. For example, using the UE 110 centric approach or the network centric approach, the PUSCH power in a slot can be adjusted by a power reduction parameter based on OCC. In such cases the the RS (for example a DMRS symbol) can have the power or EPRE boosted according to the same value. The boosting of the EPRE for the RS can be achieved using a scaling factor but in this case the scaling factor (e.g.,
would be greater than one. This would ensure that the UL power reduction for PUSCH per slot would only impacting on data REs that are repeated and can be combined at the receiver. Examples of the disclosure therefore reduce OCC-enabled PUSCH power for the benefit of both UE 110 (by providing power saving) and the network (by providing reduced interference), while maintaining the same performance or signal quality. In addition, power imbalance issues at the receiver can be addressed with power adjustment parameters that are specific to a UE 110 and OCC. Examples of the disclosure enable adaptive control of power by taking into account OCC particularities. Fig. 4 shows an example signal flow that can be used in some examples of the disclosure. In this case OCC across OFDM symbols could be used. In this example flow the network entity is a gNB 120. The example shown in Fig.4 can be based on a UE 110 centric approach in which the UE 110 determines a power adjustment parameter for use in calculating the UL transmit power. The approach could make use of a scaling factor, an additional term for the formula or any other suitable power adjustment parameter. At block 400 the gNB 120 controls the OCC power adjustment. For example, the gNB 120 can enable or disable the OCC power adjustment. In some cases the gNB might only need to signal to the UE 110 is the OCC power adjustment is to be enabled. In
such cases the default of the UE 110 could be the OCC power adjustment is not enabled unless the gNB 120 signals otherwise. At block 402 the gNB 120 schedules or configures a UL transmission. The UL transmission can be a PUSCH transmission or any other suitable transmission. The gNB 120 can also indicate the OCC configuration for data to the UE 110. The OCC configuration can be indicated via an index field that enables the UE 110 to determine the OCC from a set of OCC sequences preconfigured at the UE 110. The index field can relate to a subset of the OCC sequence. The indexing field can be in DCI or any other suitable signaling. At block 404 the gNB 120 indicates an OCC configuration for a UL transmission to the UE 110. The indication could comprise a DCI based index. The index can refer to the specific OCC code in a pre-configured table characterizing the length and elements of the code. Other means for indicating the OCC configuration can be used in other examples. At block 406 the UE 110 determines the OCC configuration. The OCC configuration is determined based on the indication from the gNB 120. At block 408 the gNB 120 can indicate the power adjustment parameters that are not based on the OCC. At block 410 the UE 110 determines the UL transmit power. The OCC based power adjustment parameters are used to determine the UL transmit power. The UL transmit power can be determined using the equations and examples given herein and/or any suitable variations of these. At block 412 the UE 110 transmits the UL signal with OCC based on the determined UL transmit power. Fig. 5 shows an example signal flow that can be used in some examples of the disclosure. In this case OCC across OFDM symbols could be used. In this example
flow the network entity is a gNB 120. The example shown in Fig.4 can be based on a network centric approach in which the gNB 120 determines a power adjustment parameter for use in calculating the UL transmit power. The approach could make use of a scaling factor, an additional term for the formula or any other suitable power adjustment parameter. At block 500 the gNB 120 configures the OCC dependent parameters. These can be the parameters that can be used to enable OCC based power adjustment. The parameters can comprise additional terms to be added to the power control formula and/or scaling factors to be applied to one or more terms in the power control formula. At block 502 the gNB provides an indication of the OCC based power adjustment parameters. The gNB 120 can determine the OCC based power adjustment parameters. Any suitable process such as those described herein can be used to determine the OCC based power adjustment parameters. The OCC based power adjustment parameters can then be transmitted to the UE 110. The OCC based power adjustment parameters can be transmitted to the UE 110 using RRC signaling or any other suitable messaging. The signaling can comprise an indication of whether OCC power adjustment is to be used. For example, the signaling can indicated whether OCC power adjustment is to be enabled or disabled. The signaling can also comprise an indication of a power adjustment parameter such as a delta power value. In some examples a table of OCC dependent power adjustment parameters can be pre-configured at the UE 110. The table can be dynamic or semi-static. In such cases the signaling can indicate which parameters or values from the table are to be used. At block 504 the gNB 120 schedules or configures a UL transmission. The UL transmission can be a PUSCH transmission or any other suitable transmission. At block 506 the gNB 120 can also indicate the OCC configuration for data to the UE 110.
The OCC configuration can be indicated via an index field that enables the UE 110 to determine the OCC from a set of OCC sequences preconfigured at the UE 110. The index field can relate to a subset of the OCC sequence. The indexing field can be in DCI or any other suitable signaling. At block 508 the UE 110 determines the OCC configuration. The OCC configuration is determined based on the indication from the gNB 120. At block 510 the UE 110 determines the UL transmit power. The OCC based power adjustment parameters are used to determine the UL transmit power. The UL transmit power can be determined using the equations and examples given herein and/or any suitable variations of these. At block 512 the UE 110 transmits the UL signal with OCC based on the determined UL transmit power. Fig. 6 shows an example controller 600. The controller 600 could be provided within an entity such as a UE 110 or a gNB 120 or other suitable network entity. Implementation of the controller 600 may be as controller circuitry. The controller 600 may be implemented in hardware alone, have certain aspects in software including firmware alone or can be a combination of hardware and software (including firmware). As illustrated in Fig. 6 the controller 600 can be implemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable instructions of a computer program 606 in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor 602 that may be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory etc.) to be executed by such a processor 602. The processor 602 is configured to read from and write to the memory 604. The processor 602 may also comprise an output interface via which data and/or commands are output by the processor 602 and an input interface via which data and/or commands are input to the processor 602.
The memory 604 stores a computer program 606 comprising computer program instructions (computer program code) that controls the operation of the apparatus when loaded into the processor 602. The computer program instructions, of the computer program 606, provide the logic and routines that enables the apparatus to perform the methods illustrated in the Figs. The processor 602 by reading the memory 604 is able to load and execute the computer program 606. The controller 600 therefore comprises means for: obtaining 200 an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission; determining 202 an uplink transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and transmitting 204 an uplink transmission with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. The controller 600 therefore comprises means for: indicating 300 an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) wherein the OCC configuration enables an uplink transmit power to be determined based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and receiving 302 an uplink transmission from the UE with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. The computer program 606 may arrive at the apparatus via any suitable delivery mechanism 608. The delivery mechanism 608 may be, for example, a machine- readable medium, a computer-readable medium, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device, a record medium such as a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or a solid-state memory, an article of manufacture that comprises or tangibly embodies the computer program 606. The delivery mechanism may be a signal configured to reliably transfer the computer program 606. The apparatus may propagate or transmit the computer program 606 as a computer data signal.
The computer program 606 can comprise computer program instructions for causing a UE 110 to perform at least the following or for performing at least the following: obtaining 200 an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission; determining 202 an uplink transmit power based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and transmitting 204 an uplink transmission with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. The computer program 606 can comprise computer program instructions for causing a network entity 120 to perform at least the following or for performing at least the following: indicating 300 an orthogonal cover code (OCC) configuration for an uplink transmission from a user equipment (UE) wherein the OCC configuration enables an uplink transmit power to be determined based at least in part on the OCC configuration; and receiving 302 an uplink transmission from the UE with OCC based on the determined uplink transmit power. The computer program instructions may be comprised in a computer program, a non- transitory computer readable medium, a computer program product, a machine- readable medium. In some but not necessarily all examples, the computer program instructions may be distributed over more than one computer program. Although the memory 604 is illustrated as a single component/circuitry it may be implemented as one or more separate components/circuitry some or all of which may be integrated/removable and/or may provide permanent/semi-permanent/ dynamic/cached storage. Although the processor 602 is illustrated as a single component/circuitry it may be implemented as one or more separate components/circuitry some or all of which may be integrated/removable. The processor 602 may be a single core or multi-core processor.
The apparatus can be provided in an electronic device, for example, a mobile terminal, according to an example of the present disclosure. It should be understood, however, that a mobile terminal is merely illustrative of an electronic device that would benefit from examples of implementations of the present disclosure and, therefore, should not be taken to limit the scope of the present disclosure to the same. While in certain implementation examples, the apparatus can be provided in a mobile terminal, other types of electronic devices, such as, but not limited to: mobile communication devices, hand portable electronic devices, wearable computing devices, portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile computers, desktop computers, televisions, gaming devices, laptop computers, cameras, video recorders, GPS devices and other types of electronic systems, can readily employ examples of the present disclosure. Furthermore, devices can readily employ examples of the present disclosure regardless of their intent to provide mobility. The term ‘comprise’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y. If it is intended to use ‘comprise’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context by referring to ‘comprising only one...’ or by using ‘consisting.’ In this description, the wording ‘connect’, ‘couple’ and ‘communication’ and their derivatives mean operationally connected/coupled/in communication. It should be appreciated that any number or combination of intervening components can exist (including no intervening components), i.e., to provide direct or indirect connection/coupling/communication. Any such intervening components can include hardware and/or software components. As used herein, the term "determine/determining" (and grammatical variants thereof) can include, not least: calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, identifying, looking up (for example, looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, "determining" can include receiving (for example, receiving information), accessing (for example, accessing data
in a memory), obtaining and the like. Also, " determine/determining" can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like. In this description, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions in relation to an example indicates that those features or functions are present in that example. The use of the term ‘example’ or ‘for example’ or ‘can’ or ‘may’ in the text denotes, whether explicitly stated or not, that such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether described as an example or not, and that they can be, but are not necessarily, present in some of or all other examples. Thus ‘example’, ‘for example’, ‘can’, or ‘may’ refers to a particular instance in a class of examples. A property of the instance can be a property of only that instance or a property of the class or a property of a sub-class of the class that includes some but not all the instances in the class. It is therefore implicitly disclosed that a feature described with reference to one example but not with reference to another example, can where possible be used in that other example as part of a working combination but does not necessarily have to be used in that other example. As used herein, “at least one of the following:” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements. Although examples have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described above. Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.
The description of a feature, such as an apparatus or a component of an apparatus, configured to perform a function, or for performing a function, should additionally be considered to also disclose a method of performing that function. For example, description of an apparatus configured to perform one or more actions, or for performing one or more actions, should additionally be considered to disclose a method of performing those one or more actions with or without the apparatus. Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features may also be present in other examples whether described or not. The term ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising a/an/the Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. If it is intended to use ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context. In some circumstances the use of ‘at least one’ or ‘one or more’ may be used to emphasis an inclusive meaning but the absence of these terms should not be taken to infer any exclusive meaning. The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to that feature or (combination of features) itself and to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). The equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. The equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function, in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result. In this description, reference has been made to various examples using adjectives or adjectival phrases to describe characteristics of the examples. Such a description of a characteristic in relation to an example indicates that the characteristic is present in some examples exactly as described and is present in other examples substantially as described.
The above description describes some examples of the present disclosure however those of ordinary skill in the art will be aware of possible alternative structures and method features which offer equivalent functionality to the specific examples of such structures and features described herein above and which for the sake of brevity and clarity have been omitted from the above description. Nonetheless, the above description should be read as implicitly including reference to such alternative structures and method features which provide equivalent functionality unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the above description of the examples of the present disclosure. Whilst endeavoring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features believed to be of importance the Applicant may seek protection via the claims in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not emphasis has been placed thereon. I/we claim: