METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BEAM MANAGEMENT IN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

Description

1 / 38 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BEAM MANAGEMENT IN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS Cross-reference to related patent application(s)

[0001] This disclosure forms part of a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of priority under U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 506,388, filed June 6, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical field

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to beam management in mobile communications and, more particularly, to efficient beam management for massively multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) in mobile communications. State of the art

[0003] Unless otherwise indicated in this document, the approaches described in this section do not constitute prior art with respect to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by their inclusion in this section.

[0004] Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology was introduced in Fifth Generation (5G), New Radio (NR). Massive MIMO is a wireless transmission technology that utilizes massive antennas on a network node or base station (BS) (such as a Next Generation Node B (gNB)). In current NR standards, 32 antenna ports are supported for wireless transmission, and the number of ports may be further increased in future releases. However, as the number of ports increases, latency and overhead for beam management also increase.

[0005] Consequently, the way to perform beam management efficiently and accurately becomes an important issue for the wireless communication network. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 10 / 56 2 / 38 recently developed. Therefore, there is a need to provide suitable schemes to improve beam management for massive MIMO in mobile communications. Summary

[0006] The following summary is merely illustrative and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described in this document. Selected implementations are further described below in the detailed description. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0007] One objective of this disclosure is to propose solutions or schemes that address the aforementioned issues related to beam management in mobile communications.

[0008] In one aspect, a method may involve a communication apparatus measuring a beamformed reference signal (RS) from a network node and determining channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the apparatus based on the beamformed RS and on a predetermined beamformer used to transmit the beamformed RS. The method may also involve the communication apparatus determining channel feedback information associated with at least one channel based on the channel information relating to at least one channel and reporting the channel feedback information to the network node.

[0009] In one aspect, a method may involve a network node transmitting a beamformed first reference signal (RS) to a communication device and receiving first channel feedback information associated with the first Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 11 / 56 3 / 38 Beamformed RS from the communication device, wherein the first beamformed RS is a multi-port beamformed RS generated based on a predetermined beamformer, and wherein the first channel feedback information comprises a multi-channel spatial domain profile between the network node and the communication device.

[0010] It is noteworthy that, although the description provided in this document may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTEAdvanced Pro, Fifth Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NBIoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Sixth Generation (6G), the concepts, schemes and any variations / derivations proposed may be implemented in, for and by other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies. Thus, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the examples described in this document. Brief description of the figures

[0011] The accompanying figures are included to provide a better understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated into and form part of this disclosure. The figures illustrate implementations of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is understandable that the figures are not necessarily to scale, as some components may be shown out of proportion to their size in the actual implementation, in order to clearly illustrate the concept of this disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram that represents an example of a scenario according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 12 / 56 4 / 38

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram that represents an example of a scenario according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a diagram that represents examples of scenarios according to schemes based on implementations of this disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a diagram that represents an example of a scenario according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a diagram that represents an example of a scenario according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 6 is a diagram that represents an example of a scenario according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 7 is a diagram representing an example of a communication system containing an example of a communication device and an example of a network device according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 8 is a diagram that represents an example of a process according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 9 is a diagram that represents an example of a process according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Detailed description of preferred implementations

[0021] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed matters are disclosed in this document. However, it should be understood that the embodiments and implementations disclosed are merely illustrative of the claimed matters, which may be carried out in various ways. This disclosure may, however, be carried out in many different ways and should not be interpreted as Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 13 / 56 5 / 38 limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations presented herein. Conversely, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that the description of this disclosure is complete and detailed and fully conveys the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the description that follows, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments and implementations presented. Overview

[0022] Implementations according to this disclosure refer to various techniques, methods, schemes and / or solutions related to beam management in mobile communications. According to this disclosure, several possible solutions can be implemented separately or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another.

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of scenario 100 according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 100 illustrates an exemplary beamforming architecture of a network device (e.g., a network node, a base station (BS) or a gNB). In some implementations, the network node may have a hybrid beamforming architecture, i.e., comprising a digital precoder 110 and a matrix beamformer 130.

[0024] The 110 digital pre-encoder performs pre-coding on S streams and provides the pre-coded streams or signals to a plurality of radio transmitting units (TXRUs). The plurality of TXRUs may comprise TXRU 120-1, TXRU 120-2, ...TXRU 120-M, where S and M are positive integers.

[0025] The 130 matrix beam former can be a Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 14 / 56 6 / 38 analog beamformer and may comprise a plurality of phase shifters, each configured to adjust the phase of a signal supplied to it before the signal is transmitted by an antenna element. With the 130 array beamformer, one or more beamformed signals may be transmitted by the network node via the associated antenna elements.

[0026] In some implementations, an antenna element can be an antenna port or a physical antenna of the network node. Additionally, in some implementations, an antenna port can be associated with one or more physical antennas of the network node.

[0027] To achieve efficient and accurate beam management, several types of beamformer training are proposed.

[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of scenario 200 according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 200 illustrates antenna element training, which may be non-beam sweeping based beam training.

[0029] In some implementations, a TXRU may be associated with a subarray that needs to determine a beamformer for data transmission. Assuming there are N antenna elements in a subarray or subset, where N is a positive integer. The TXRU may be sequentially connected to one of the N antenna elements as well as its associated phase shifter, and may transmit at least one training (or pilot) signal to perform the respective training.

[0030] In some implementations, during the training phase, a TXRU may be connected to only one (or a subset of) antenna element(s) in an associated array or subarray. In some implementations, there may be a division multiplexing operation. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, p. 15 / 56 7 / 38 time (TDM-ed) between the TXRU and the antenna elements of the subarray, so that different antenna elements can be connected to the TXRU at different times.

[0031] In some implementations, a communication device (e.g., a UE) that receives training or pilot signals can measure the received training or pilot signals and determine the channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the UE based on the training or pilot signals.

[0032] In some implementations, the channel information h associated with the channels between the network node's antenna elements and the UE's receiving (RX) antenna can be measured (and determined or estimated) by the UE and can be expressed as h = [^ ... hN]T, where hr can represent the channel information of a channel between the first antenna element of the network node and the UE's RX antenna, hN can represent the channel information of a channel between the nth antenna element of the network node and the UE's RX antenna, and so on.

[0033] In some implementations, the UE may report h-channel information to the network node so that the network node derives or determines the beamformer for data transmission (e.g., the amount of phase shift to be performed by one or more phase shifters in the 130 matrix beamformer).

[0034] In some implementations, the UE may also determine channel feedback information associated with the channels according to the channel information and report the channel feedback information to the network node so that the network node derives or determines the beamformer for data transmission.

[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of scenario 300 according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 300 illustrates training by subset of Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 16 / 56 8 / 38 antennas, which could be a beam training method not based on beam scanning.

[0036] A TXRU can be associated with a subarray of N antenna elements that needs to determine a beamformer for data transmission, where N is a positive integer. In some implementations, there may be two antenna elements in a subset, and training and measurement can be performed by a subset of antennas in a subarray. The TXRU can be sequentially connected to a subset of antenna elements, as well as their associated phase shifters, and can transmit at least one training (or pilot) signal to perform the respective training.

[0037] In some implementations, during the training phase, a TXRU may be connected to a subset of antenna elements in an associated array or subarray. In some implementations, there may be a TDM-ed multiplexing operation between the TXRU and the antenna elements of the subarray, so that different subsets of antenna elements may be connected to the TXRU at different times.

[0038] In some implementations, the beamformer for each antenna subset in the training phase can be determined by network planning and can be transparent to the UE.

[0039] In some implementations, the UE that receives the training or pilot signals can measure the received training or pilot signals and determine the channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the UE based on the training or pilot signals. In some implementations, the UE can report the channel information to the network node so that the network node can derive or determine the beamformer for data transmission.

[0040] In some implementations, the UE may also determine associated channel feedback information. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 17 / 56 9 / 38 to the channels according to the channel information and report the channel feedback information to the network node so that the network node derives or determines the beamformer for data transmission.

[0041] In some implementations, the number of antenna elements in a subset may be one, as illustrated in FIG. 2, two, as illustrated in FIG. 3, or more than two. In some implementations, the number of antenna elements in a subset and / or the number of antenna subsets may depend on the network configuration for the measurement feature.

[0042] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of scenario 400 according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 400 illustrates beam training.

[0043] In some implementations, a TXRU may be associated with a subarray that needs to determine a beamformer for data transmission and may transmit at least one training (or pilot) signal to implement the respective training. In some implementations, during beam training, predefined beamformers may be applied for the transmission of the training or pilot signal. The UE may have knowledge of the predefined beamformers, which may be (pre-)specified or (pre-)configured.

[0044] In some implementations, the UE that receives the training or pilot signals can measure the received training or pilot signals and determine the channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the UE based on the training or pilot signals. In some implementations, the UE can report the channel information to the network node so that the network node can derive or determine the beamformer for data transmission.

[0045] In some implementations, the UE may also determine associated channel feedback information. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 18 / 56 10 / 38 to the channels according to the channel information and report the channel feedback information to the network node so that the network node derives or determines the beamformer for data transmission.

[0046] With respect to the UE, in some implementations, the UE can measure a beamformed reference signal (RS) from the network node and determine channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the UE based on the beamformed RS and a pre-determined beamformer used to transmit the beamformed RS. In some implementations, the UE can determine channel feedback information associated with at least one channel based on the channel information relating to at least one channel and report the channel feedback information to the network node. In some implementations, the pre-determined beamformer is known to the UE. For example, the pre-determined beamformer can be configured for the UE by the network node via upper-layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling).In another example, the pre-determined beamformer may be predefined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications. One or more beamformers may be specified in the 3GPP specifications for certain conditions or scenarios. The UE may know which beamformer should be used according to the 3GPP specifications.

[0047] In some implementations, the beamformed RS may be the training or pilot signal mentioned earlier, transmitted by a single antenna element, as shown in FIG. 2, or transmitted by a subset of antenna elements, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Note that the number of antenna elements in a subset may be one, two, or more than two, and the scope of this disclosure is not limited to any number. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 19 / 56 11 / 38 specific.

[0048] In some implementations, assuming that the observed reception g (e.g., received signals or UE measurements) can be expressed as: g = [gi, g2, ..., gn], and that the predetermined or predefined beamformer B can be expressed as: B = [bi, b2, ..., bn], where bj represents the jth predetermined or predefined beamformer and can be expressed as: bjT = [bij, b2j, ..., bnj]. With knowledge of the predetermined or predefined beamformer, the channel information can be derived based on the following equation: g= hT* [ bi, b2, ..., bN] =h*B Eq. (1).

[0049] In some implementations, channel information can be derived by least squares estimation based on knowledge of 5( / ) and B, according to the following equation: h(f)=g(J)BH(BBH)-1Eq. (2) where f is the frequency index whose resolution can be flexibly designed (e.g., f can be a subcarrier index or a subband index), 9(f) represents the received signal (measurements) and B are the predefined beamformers used to transmit the signal so that the receiver observes g(f).

[0050] In some implementations, the beamformed RS may be a multi-port beamformed RS, wherein the channel information relating to at least one channel may comprise information relating to multiple channels between the network node and the UE.

[0051] In some implementations, a “port” may be associated with a channel between a Tx-RX pair, and a “multi-port” may be associated with multiple channels (multiple Tx-RX pairs) that can be differentiated by a receiver. Furthermore, in some implementations, a port may be mapped to one or a subset of antenna elements, as illustrated in Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, p. 20 / 56 12 / 38 FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, where different ports can be mapped to different or identical sets or subsets of antenna elements.

[0052] In some implementations, channel information relating to at least one channel can be determined based on a first beamformer applied to a first subset of antenna elements (or antenna ports) of the network node and associated with a first multi-port beamforming RS port.

[0053] In some implementations, channel information relating to at least one channel can be determined based on a first beamformer and a second beamformer, wherein the first beamformer is applied to a first subset of antenna elements (or antenna ports) of the network node and associated with a first multi-port beamformed RS port, and the second beamformer is applied to a second subset of antenna elements (or antenna ports) of the network node and associated with a second multi-port beamformed RS port.

[0054] In some implementations, the first beamformer may be different from the second beamformer.

[0055] In some implementations, the first or second subset of antenna elements may comprise all antenna elements whose channel information must be considered to derive the channel feedback information. In some implementations, the first or second subset of antenna elements may comprise part of all antenna elements whose channel information must be considered to derive the channel feedback information. In some implementations, the first or second port may comprise a subset of all antenna elements whose channel information must be considered to derive the channel feedback information, wherein the Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 21 / 56 13 / 38 subset may comprise one or more antenna elements.

[0056] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0057] In some implementations, the first beamformer and the second beamformer may be known by the UE. The UE may derive the channel information based on equation Eq. (1) and / or Eq. (2).

[0058] In some implementations, the first beamformer and / or the second beamformer may be unknown (i.e., transparent) to the UE. For example, the network node may use different beams to transmit different reference signals (RSs), and the UE may provide feedback indicating which RS offers the best reception quality (thus providing beam information). In some implementations, the UE may also provide the received reference signal power (RSRP) of the received signal or the received channel gain.

[0059] As another example, the first beamformer and / or the second beamformer may be a dummy beamformer, such as an identity beamformer, which may be a matrix containing only “1” in the diagonal elements, while the other elements are zeros.

[0060] In some implementations, the first and second ports of the multi-port beamlined RS may be scheduled on orthogonal resources. In some implementations, orthogonal resources may comprise at least one of the following: TDM-ed resources, frequency division multiplexed (FDM-ed) resources, and code division multiplexed (CDM-ed) resources. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 22 / 56 14 / 38

[0061] In some implementations, measurement features may be orthogonal features for different antenna elements, different subsets of antenna elements, or different predefined beamformers. In some implementations, different ports of the multi-port beamformed RS may be FDM-ed and / or TDM-ed features.

[0062] In some implementations, orthogonal features may be TDM-ed features, in which transmissions associated with different antenna elements, different subsets of antenna elements, or all antenna elements in a subarray with a predefined beamformer may occur at different times, for example, on different symbols and / or different slots. In one example, TDM-ed features may be treated as multi-port features, and the UE may measure and extract the desired information based on the multi-port features.

[0063] In some implementations, orthogonal resources may be FDM-ed resources, in which transmissions associated with different antenna elements, different subsets of antenna elements, or all elements of a predefined beamforming subarray may occur at different frequency elements, for example, different offsets in comb structure. In one example, there may be more than one TXRU, and the TXRUs may be individually connected to different antenna elements or subsets of antenna elements, or connected to all elements in a predefined beamforming subarray.

[0064] In some implementations, orthogonal features may be a hybrid form of TDM, FDM, and / or CDM.

[0065] In some implementations, the beamformed RS may be a first multi-port beamformed RS, the channel information relating to at least one channel may be first channel information determined according to Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 23 / 56 15 / 38 The first multi-port beamforming RS is based on a first beamformer associated with the first multi-port beamforming RS, and the channel feedback information can be determined according to the first channel feedback information. In some implementations, the UE can also measure a second multi-port beamforming RS from the network node and determine second channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the UE according to the second multi-port beamforming RS and based on a second beamformer associated with the second multi-port beamforming RS.

[0066] In addition, in some implementations, the UE can determine second channel feedback information associated with at least one channel based on the second channel information and report the second channel feedback information to the network node. In some implementations, the first beamformer and the second beamformer may be different.

[0067] In some implementations, the size of a first network node antenna array used to transmit the first multi-port beamformed RS and the size of a second network node antenna array used to transmit the second multi-port beamformed RS may be different.

[0068] Furthermore, in some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multiport bundle RS and the number of ports associated with the second multiport bundle RS may be equal. In some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multiport bundle RS and the number of ports associated with the second multiport bundle RS may be different.

[0069] In some implementations, a TXRU may be Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, p. 24 / 56 16 / 38 associated or connected to more than one subarray to form a larger subarray. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of scenario 500 according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 500 illustrates a TXRU connected to two subarrays of N antenna elements to form a larger subarray with 2N antenna elements.

[0070] In some implementations, transmissions can be divided into two phases, including the training phase and the data transmission phase. In the training phase, a matrix beamformer is determined for the resulting larger submatrix. In the data transmission phase, the determined matrix beamformer is applied to the resulting larger submatrix for data transmission.

[0071] In some implementations, during the training phase, the training may consider the resulting larger submatrix, as represented in FIG. 5, and apply the methods introduced above (e.g., antenna element training, antenna subset training, beam training, and / or multi-port beamforming RS training) to determine the matrix beamformer.

[0072] In some implementations, training may consider a smaller subarray connection and may be performed by more than one TXRU.

[0073] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of scenario 600 according to schemes in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 600 illustrates two TXRUs, each connected to a submatrix of N antenna elements, to train a larger submatrix with 2N antenna elements by means of the two TXRUs.

[0074] In some implementations, the UE may receive a 2N-port RS for measurement. The UE may report channel information or channel feedback information relating to the channel associated with the 2N-port RS based on the measurements, Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, p. 25 / 56 17 / 38 according to the methods introduced above.

[0075] Furthermore, measurement features can be orthogonal features as introduced above. For example, orthogonal features can be hybrids of TDM and FDM, where features associated with the same TXRU can be TDM-ed and features associated with different TXRUs can be FDM-ed. In some implementations, orthogonal features can even be CDM-ed over FDM-ed features.

[0076] In some implementations, channel feedback information may comprise at least information related to the (derivation of) channel spatial domain profile. In some implementations, channel feedback information may comprise at least one indication of at least one Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with cross-polarization antenna phasing information, and an angle of departure (AoD) associated with at least one channel.

[0077] In some implementations, the channel feedback information reported by the UE may be an indication of a DFT beamformer, which may be one-dimensional or two-dimensional, or a vector originating from oversampled DFT beamformers. In some implementations, the DFT beamformer may be determined based on a (pre-)configuration.

[0078] In some implementations, the channel feedback information reported by the UE may be a wideband precoding matrix indicator (PMI) associated with a codebook. The wideband PMI may have the same amplitude for each subset of antennas or antenna elements. In some implementations, the feedback information of Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 26 / 56 The 18 / 38 channel reported by the EU may be a collection of departure angles (AoD).

[0079] With respect to the network node, in some implementations, the network node may transmit a first beamformed RS to a communication device (e.g., a UE) and receive the first channel feedback information associated with the first beamformed RS from the communication device. In some implementations, the first channel feedback information may comprise a spatial domain profile of at least one channel between the network node and the communication device.

[0080] In some implementations, the first beamformed RS may be a multi-port beamformed RS generated based on one or more pre-determined beamformers known to the communication device, and the first channel feedback information may comprise the multi-channel spatial domain profile between the network node and the communication device.

[0081] In some implementations, the network node may apply a first beamformer to a first subset of antenna elements and apply a second beamformer to a second subset of antenna elements. In some implementations, the first beamformer may be associated with a first multiport beamformed RS port and the second beamformer may be associated with a second multiport beamformed RS port, and the first beamformer may be different from the second beamformer.

[0082] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0083] In some implementations, at least one element Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, p. 27 / 56 19 / 38 of the antenna in the first subset of antenna elements may be different from at least one antenna element in the second subset of antenna elements. In some implementations, the antenna element(s) in different subsets may be distinct antenna elements.

[0084] In some implementations, the network node can schedule the first port and second port of the multi-port beam RS on orthogonal resources. In some implementations, orthogonal resources can comprise at least one of time-division multiplexed resources, frequency-division multiplexed resources, and code-division multiplexed resources.

[0085] In some implementations, the first beamformer may be a first multiport beamformer, and the first channel feedback information may be associated with the first multiport beamformer. The network node may also transmit a second multiport beamformer to the communication device and receive second channel feedback information associated with the second multiport beamformer from the communication device. In some implementations, a first beamformer associated with the first multiport beamformer and a second beamformer associated with the second multiport beamformer may be different.

[0086] In some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multi-port beam RS and the number of ports associated with the second multi-port beam RS may be different.

[0087] In some implementations, the size of a first antenna array used to transmit the first RS formed by multi-port beam and the size of a second antenna array used to transmit the second RS formed Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 28 / 56 20 / 38 per multi-port beam may be different.

[0088] In some implementations, the first multiport beam-formed RS and the second multiport beam-formed RS can be transmitted through the same TXRU of the network node.

[0089] In some implementations, the first multiport beam-formed RS and the second multiport beam-formed RS can be transmitted via different TXRUs of the network node.

[0090] In some implementations, the spatial domain profile may comprise at least one indication of at least one DFT vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with cophasing information in cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel. Illustrative implementations

[0091] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a 700 communication system containing an example of a 710 communication device and an example of a 720 network device, according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of the 710 communication and 720 network devices can perform various functions to implement schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described in this document related to beam management with respect to user equipment and network devices in mobile communications, including the scenarios / schemes described above, as well as the 800 process and the 900 process described below.

[0092] The 710 communication device may be part of an electronic device, which may be a UE, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the 710 communication device may be implemented in a Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 29 / 56 21 / 38 smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet, laptop, or notebook. The 710 communication device can also be part of a machine-type device, which can be an IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT device, such as a stationary or fixed device, a household appliance, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, the 710 communication device can be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center.Alternatively, the 710 communication device may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuits (ICs), such as, by way of example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors. The 710 communication device may include at least some of the components shown in FIG. 7, such as, for example, a 712 processor. The 710 communication device may also include one or more other components not relevant to the scheme proposed in this disclosure (for example, internal power supply, display device and / or user interface device) and, therefore, such component(s) of the 710 communication device are not shown in FIG. 7 nor described below, in the interest of simplicity and conciseness.

[0093] The 720 network appliance can be part of a network device, which can be a network node, such as a satellite, a base station, a small cell, a router, or a gateway. For example, the 720 network appliance can be deployed in an eNodeB in an LTE network, in a gNB in ​​a 5G / NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT network, or in a satellite or base station. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 30 / 56 22 / 38 base in a 6G network. Alternatively, the 720 network appliance may be implemented in the form of one or more ICs, such as, by way of example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. The 720 network appliance may include at least some of the components shown in FIG. 7, such as, for example, a 722 processor. The 720 network appliance may also include one or more other components not relevant to the scheme proposed in this disclosure (for example, internal power supply, display device and / or user interface device) and, therefore, such component(s) of the 720 network appliance are not shown in FIG. 7 nor described below, in the interest of simplicity and conciseness.

[0094] In one aspect, each of the 712 and 722 processors may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term “a processor” is used in this document to refer to the 712 and 722 processors, each of the 712 and 722 processors may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in other implementations, according to the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of the 712 and 722 processors may be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally firmware) with electronic components including, by way of example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more varactors, configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes according to the present disclosure.In other words, in at least some implementations, each of the 712 and 722 processors is a purpose-built machine. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 31 / 56 23 / 38 arranged and configured specifically to perform specific tasks, including autonomous reliability enhancements in a device (for example, represented by the communication device 710) and in a network (for example, represented by the network device 720), according to various implementations of this disclosure.

[0095] In some implementations, the communication device 710 may also include a transceiver 716 coupled to the processor 712 and capable of transmitting and receiving data wirelessly. In some implementations, the communication device 710 may also include a memory 714 coupled to the processor 712, capable of being accessed by the processor 712 and of storing data. In some implementations, the network device 720 may also include a transceiver 726 coupled to the processor 722 and capable of transmitting and receiving data wirelessly. In some implementations, the network device 720 may have a plurality of physical antennas associated with a plurality of antenna ports. In some implementations, the 720 network appliance may include a digital pre-encoder (such as the digital pre-encoder shown in FIG. 1), one or more TXRUs (such as the TXRUs shown in FIG. 1), and a beamformer (such as the array beamformer shown in FIG. 1).

[0096] In some implementations, the 720 network device may also include a 724 memory coupled to the 722 processor, which can be accessed by the 722 processor and store data. Thus, the 710 communication device and the 720 network device can communicate wirelessly with each other via the 716 transceiver and the 726 transceiver, respectively. To aid better understanding, the following description of the operations, functionalities, and capabilities of each of the 710 communication and 720 network devices is provided in the context of a mobile communication environment in which the device Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 32 / 56 24 / 38 communication 710 is implemented in either a communication device or a UE, and network device 720 is implemented in either a network node or a network device of a communication network.

[0097] In some implementations, in beam management operations, the 712 processor of the 710 communication device can measure a beamformed RS from a network node (e.g., the 720 network device) and determine the channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the 710 communication device based on the beamformed RS and on one or more pre-determined beamformers known to the 712 processor and used to transmit the beamformed RS. The 712 processor can also determine channel feedback information associated with at least one channel based on the channel information relating to at least one channel and report the channel feedback information to the network node.

[0098] In some implementations, the beamformed RS may be a multi-port beamformed RS, and the channel information relating to at least one channel may comprise information relating to multiple channels between the network node and the communication device 710.

[0099] In some implementations, channel information relating to at least one channel can be determined based on a first beamformer applied to a first subset of network node antenna elements and associated with a first multi-port beamformed RS port and a second beamformer applied to a second subset of network node antenna elements and associated with a second multi-port beamformed RS port.

[0100] In some implementations, the first beamformer may be different from the second beamformer. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 33 / 56 25 / 38

[0101] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0102] In some implementations, the first and second ports of the RS formed by a multi-port beam can be scheduled on orthogonal resources.

[0103] In some implementations, orthogonal resources may comprise at least one of the following: time-division multiplexed resources, frequency-division multiplexed resources, and code-division multiplexed resources.

[0104] In some implementations, the beamformed RS may be a first multi-port beamformed RS, the channel information relating to at least one channel may be first channel information determined according to the first multi-port beamformed RS and based on a first beamformer associated with the first multi-port beamformed RS, and the channel feedback information may be first channel feedback information determined according to the first channel information. Processor 712 may measure a second multi-port beamformed RS from the network node and determine second channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and communication device 710 according to the second multi-port beamformed RS and based on a second beamformer associated with the second multi-port beamformed RS.

[0105] In some implementations, the 712 processor can further determine second channel feedback information associated with at least one channel according to the second channel information and report the second channel feedback information to the network node. In some implementations, the first beamformer and the Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 34 / 56 26 / 38 second beam former may be different.

[0106] In some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multi-port beam RS and the number of ports associated with the second multi-port beam RS may be different.

[0107] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0108] In some implementations, channel feedback information may comprise at least one indication of at least one DFT vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with cophasing information in cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel.

[0109] In some implementations, in beam management operations with respect to a network node, the 722 processor of the 720 network device may transmit a first beamformed RS to a communication device (e.g., the communication device 710) and receive the first channel feedback information associated with the first beamformed RS from the communication device. In some implementations, the first channel feedback information may comprise a spatial domain profile of at least one channel between the 720 network device and the communication device.

[0110] In some implementations, the first beamformed RS may be a multi-port beamformed RS generated based on one or more pre-determined beamformers known to the communication device, and the first channel feedback information may comprise the multi-channel spatial domain profile between the Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 35 / 56 27 / 38 720 network device and communication device.

[0111] In some implementations, the 722 processor may apply a first beamformer to a first subset of antenna elements and apply a second beamformer to a second subset of antenna elements. In some implementations, the first beamformer may be associated with a first multiport beamformed RS gate and the second beamformer may be associated with a second multiport beamformed RS gate, and the first beamformer may be different from the second beamformer.

[0112] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0113] In some implementations, at least one antenna element in the first subset of antenna elements may be different from at least one antenna element in the second subset of antenna elements. In some implementations, the antenna element(s) in different subsets may be distinct antenna elements.

[0114] In some implementations, the 722 processor can schedule the first gate and second gate of the multi-port beam RS on orthogonal resources. In some implementations, the orthogonal resources may comprise at least one of time-division multiplexed resources, frequency-division multiplexed resources, and code-division multiplexed resources.

[0115] In some implementations, the first beamformed RS may be a first multiport beamformed RS, and the first channel feedback information may be associated with the first multiport beamformed RS. The 722 processor may also transmit a second RS. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 36 / 56 28 / 38 formed by a multi-port beamformer to the communication device and receive second channel feedback information associated with the second multi-port beamformer from the communication device. In some implementations, a first beamformer associated with the first multi-port beamformer and a second beamformer associated with the second multi-port beamformer may be different.

[0116] In some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multi-port beam RS and the number of ports associated with the second multi-port beam RS may be different.

[0117] In some implementations, the size of a first antenna array used to transmit the first multi-port beamformed RS and the size of a second antenna array used to transmit the second multi-port beamformed RS may be different.

[0118] In some implementations, the first RS formed by a multi-port beam and the second RS formed by a multi-port beam can be transmitted through the same TXRU of the 720 network device.

[0119] In some implementations, the first multiport beamformed RS and the second multiport beamformed RS can be transmitted via different TXRUs of the 720 network appliance.

[0120] In some implementations, the spatial domain profile may comprise at least one indication of at least one DFT vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with cophasing information in cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel. Illustrative processes Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 37 / 56 29 / 38

[0121] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of process 800 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 800 may be an exemplary implementation of the above scenarios / schemes, in whole or in part, with respect to beam management as per the present disclosure. Process 800 may represent an aspect of the implementation of the functionalities of communication device 710. Process 800 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 810, 820, 830, and 840. Although illustrated as distinct blocks, several blocks of process 800 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into a smaller number of blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Furthermore, the blocks of process 800 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 8 or, alternatively, in a different order.Process 800 can be implemented by communication device 710 or by any suitable UE or machine-type device. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 800 is described below in the context of communication device 710. Process 800 can start in block 810.

[0122] In 810, process 800 may involve processor 712 of communication device 710 measuring a beamformed RS from a network node (e.g., network device 720). Process 800 may proceed from 810 to 820.

[0123] In 820, process 800 may involve processor 712 determining channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the communication device 710 according to the beamformed RS and based on a predetermined beamformer used to transmit the beamformed RS. Process 800 may proceed from 820 to 830.

[0124] In 830, process 800 may involve processor 712 determining channel feedback information. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 38 / 56 30 / 38 associated with at least one channel according to the channel information relating to at least one channel. Process 800 can proceed from 830 to 840.

[0125] In 840, process 800 may involve processor 712 reporting channel feedback information to the network node.

[0126] In some implementations, the beamformed RS may be a multi-port beamformed RS, and the channel information relating to at least one channel may comprise information relating to multiple channels between the network node and the communication device 710.

[0127] In some implementations, channel information relating to at least one channel can be determined based on a first beamformer applied to a first subset of network node antenna elements and associated with a first multi-port beamformed RS port, and a second beamformer applied to a second subset of network node antenna elements and associated with a second multi-port beamformed RS port.

[0128] In some implementations, the first beamformer may be different from the second beamformer.

[0129] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0130] In some implementations, the first and second ports of the RS formed by a multi-port beam can be scheduled on orthogonal resources.

[0131] In some implementations, orthogonal resources may comprise at least one of the following: time-division multiplexed resources, frequency-division multiplexed resources, and code-division multiplexed resources.

[0132] In some implementations, the RS formed by a bundle Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, page 39 / 56 31 / 38 may be a first multi-port beamformed RS, the channel information relating to at least one channel may be first channel information determined according to the first multi-port beamformed RS and based on a first beamformer associated with the first multi-port beamformed RS, and the channel feedback information may be first channel feedback information determined according to the first channel information. Process 800 may involve processor 712 measuring a second multi-port beamformed RS from the network node and determining second channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and communication device 710 according to the second multi-port beamformed RS and based on a second beamformer associated with the second multi-port beamformed RS.

[0133] In some implementations, process 800 may also involve processor 712 determining second channel feedback information associated with at least one channel according to the second channel information and reporting the second channel feedback information to the network node. In some implementations, the first beamformer and the second beamformer may be different.

[0134] In some implementations, the size of a first network node antenna array used to transmit the first multi-port beamformed RS and the size of a second network node antenna array used to transmit the second multi-port beamformed RS may be different.

[0135] In some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multi-port beam RS and the number of ports associated with the second multi-port beam RS may be different.

[0136] In some implementations, the information of Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 40 / 56 32 / 38 channel feedback may comprise at least one indication of at least one DFT vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with cophasing information on cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel.

[0137] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of process 900 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 900 may be an exemplary implementation of the above scenarios / schemes, in whole or in part, with respect to beam management as per the present disclosure. Process 900 may represent an aspect of the implementation of the functionalities of the 720 network appliance. Process 900 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 910 and 920. Although illustrated as distinct blocks, several blocks of process 900 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into a smaller number of blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Furthermore, the blocks of process 900 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 9 or, alternatively, in a different order. Process 900 may be implemented by the 720 network appliance or by any suitable network device or node.For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 900 is described below in the context of network device 720. Process 900 can start in block 910.

[0138] In 910, process 900 may involve processor 722 of network device 720 transmitting a first beamformed RS to a communication device (e.g., communication device 710). Process 900 may proceed from 910 to 920.

[0139] In 920, process 900 may involve processor 722 receiving the first feedback information from Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 41 / 56 33 / 38 channels associated with the first beamformed RS from the communication device. The first beamformed RS may be a multi-port beamformed RS generated based on a pre-determined beamformer, and the first channel feedback information may comprise a multi-channel spatial domain profile between the 720 network device and the communication device.

[0140] In some implementations, process 900 may involve processor 722 applying a first beamformer to a first subset of antenna elements and applying a second beamformer to a second subset of antenna elements. In some implementations, the first beamformer may be associated with a first multi-port beamforming RS gate and the second beamformer may be associated with a second multi-port beamforming RS gate, wherein the first beamformer may be different from the second beamformer.

[0141] In some implementations, the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements may be identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

[0142] In some implementations, at least one antenna element in the first subset of antenna elements may be different from at least one antenna element in the second subset of antenna elements. In some implementations, the antenna element(s) in different subsets may be distinct antenna elements.

[0143] In some implementations, process 900 may involve processor 722 scheduling the first gate and second gate of the multi-port bundle RS on orthogonal resources. In some implementations, the orthogonal resources may comprise at least one of the multiplexed resources. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 42 / 56 34 / 38 time-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, and code-division multiplexing.

[0144] In some implementations, the first beamformer may be a first multiport beamformer, and the first channel feedback information may be associated with the first multiport beamformer. Process 900 may also involve processor 722 transmitting a second multiport beamformer to the communication device and receiving second channel feedback information associated with the second multiport beamformer from the communication device. In some implementations, a first beamformer associated with the first multiport beamformer and a second beamformer associated with the second multiport beamformer may be different.

[0145] In some implementations, the size of a first antenna array used to transmit the first multi-port beamformed RS and the size of a second antenna array used to transmit the second multi-port beamformed RS may be different.

[0146] In some implementations, the number of ports associated with the first multi-port beam RS and the number of ports associated with the second multi-port beam RS may be different.

[0147] In some implementations, the first RS formed by a multi-port beam and the second RS formed by a multi-port beam can be transmitted through the same TXRU of the 720 network device.

[0148] In some implementations, the first multiport beamformed RS and the second multiport beamformed RS can be transmitted via different TXRUs of the 720 network appliance.

[0149] In some implementations, the domain profile Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 43 / 56 35 / 38 spatial may comprise at least one indication of at least one DFT vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with cophasing information on cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel. Additional notes

[0150] The subject described here sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected to, different other components. It should be understood that such represented architectures are merely examples and that, in fact, many other architectures can be implemented to achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components that achieves the same functionality is effectively “associated,” so that the desired functionality is obtained. Thus, any two components combined here to achieve a specific functionality can be considered “associated with each other” in such a way that the desired functionality is achieved, regardless of the architectures or intermediate components.Similarly, any two components thus associated can also be seen as “operationally connected” or “operationally coupled” to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being thus associated can also be seen as “capable of being operationally coupled” to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of components capable of being operationally coupled include, but are not limited to, physically interlocking and / or physically interactive components and / or components that can interact wirelessly and / or are interacting wirelessly and / or logically interactive and / or logically interactable components. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 44 / 56 36 / 38

[0151] Furthermore, with regard to the use of any singular and / or plural terms in this document, those skilled in the art may translate from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate to the context and / or application. The various singular / plural permutations may be expressly presented in this document for the sake of clarity.

[0152] Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, the terms used in this document, and especially in the appended claims (for example, in the bodies of the appended claims), are generally intended to be “open” terms, for example, the term “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limited to”, the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least”, the term “comprises” should be interpreted as “comprises, but is not limited to”, and so forth. It will further be understood by those skilled in the art that, if a specific number in a claim wording is intended, such intention will be explicitly indicated in the claim and, in the absence of such indication, such intention will not be present. For example, to aid understanding, the appended claims may contain the use of the introductory expressions “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim elements.However, the use of such expressions should not be interpreted as meaning that introducing a claim wording with the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any claim containing such wording to implementations that have only one of these elements, even when the same claim includes introductory expressions such as “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”, for example, “a” and / or “an” should be interpreted as meaning “at least one” or “one or more”, and the same applies to the use of definite articles to introduce. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 45 / 56 37 / 38 wording of claims. Furthermore, even if a specific number is explicitly stated, those skilled in the art will recognize that such statement should be interpreted as meaning at least the number indicated, for example, the simple wording “two parts,” without other qualifiers, means at least two parts, or two or more parts. Moreover, in cases where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction should be understood in the sense that a person skilled in the art would understand the convention, for example, “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include, but not be limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. In cases where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is usedIn general, such a construction should be understood in the sense that a person skilled in the art would understand the convention, for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include, but not be limited to, systems that have only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. It will further be understood by those versed in the art that practically any disjunctive word and / or expression that presents two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood as contemplating the possibilities of including one of the terms, any of the terms, or both terms.

[0153] From the foregoing, it will be possible to understand that several implementations of this disclosure have been described here for illustrative purposes, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Thus, the various implementations here Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 46 / 56 Claims 38 / 38 disclosed are not intended to be limiting, the true scope and spirit of which are indicated by the claims that follow. Petition 870250096348, dated 10 / 22 / 2025, pp. 47 / 56

Claims

1 / 6 CLAIMS 1. A method characterized in that it comprises: measuring, by a device processor, a beamforming reference signal (BRS) from a network node; determining, by the processor, channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the device according to the beamforming BRS and based on a predetermined beamformer used to transmit the beamforming BRS; determining, by the processor, channel feedback information associated with at least one channel according to the channel information relating to at least one channel; and reporting, by the processor, the channel feedback information to the network node.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the beamformed RS is a multi-port beamformed RS, and in that the channel information relating to at least one channel comprises information relating to multiple channels between the network node and the device.

3. Method, according to claim 2, characterized in that the channel information relating to at least one channel is determined based on a first beamformer applied to a first subset of antenna elements of the network node and associated with a first multi-port beamforming RS port and a second beamformer applied to a second subset of antenna elements of the network node and associated with a second multi-port beamforming RS port.

4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the first beam former is different from the second beam former.

5. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the first subset of antenna elements Petition 870250090435, dated 10 / 03 / 2025, page 17 / 26 2 / 6 and the second subset of antenna elements are identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

6. Method, according to claim 3, characterized in that the first gate and the second gate of the RS formed by a multi-port beam are programmed in orthogonal features.

7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that the orthogonal features comprise at least one of time-division multiplexed features, frequency-division multiplexed features, and code-division multiplexed features.

8. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the beamformed RS is a first multi-port beamformed RS, the channel information relating to at least one channel is first channel information determined according to the first multi-port beamformed RS and based on a first beamformer associated with the first multi-port beamformed RS, and the channel feedback information is first channel feedback information determined according to the first channel information, and wherein the method further comprises: measuring, by the processor, a second multi-port beamformed RS from the network node, determining, by the processor, second channel information relating to at least one channel between the network node and the device according to the second multi-port beamformed RS and based on a second beamformer associated with the second multi-port beamformed RS;to determine, by the processor, second channel feedback information associated with at least one channel according to the second channel information; and Petition 870250090435, dated 10 / 03 / 2025, page 18 / 26 3 / 6 to report, by the processor, the second channel feedback information to the network node, where the first beamformer and the second beamformer are different.

9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that the size of a first network node antenna array used to transmit the first multi-port beamformed RS and the size of a second network node antenna array used to transmit the second multi-port beamformed RS are different.

10. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the channel feedback information comprises at least one indication of at least one Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) vector, an indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, an indication of at least one DFT vector with co-phasing information in cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel.

11. A method characterized in that it comprises: transmitting, by a processor at a network node, a first beamforming reference signal (RS) to a communication device; and receiving, by the processor, first channel feedback information associated with the first beamforming RS from the communication device, wherein the first beamforming RS is a multi-port beamforming RS generated based on a predetermined beamformer, and wherein the first channel feedback information comprises a multi-channel spatial domain profile between the network node and the communication device.

12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that it further comprises: Petition 870250090435, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, p. 19 / 26 4 / 6 applying, by the processor, a first beamformer to a first subset of antenna elements, wherein the first beamformer is associated with a first multiport beamforming RS port; and applying, by the processor, a second beamformer to a second subset of antenna elements, wherein the second beamformer is associated with a second multiport beamforming SR port, and wherein the first beamformer is different from the second beamformer.

13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that the first subset of antenna elements and the second subset of antenna elements are identical subsets of antenna elements within an antenna array.

14. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that at least one antenna element in the first subset of antenna elements is different from at least one antenna element in the second subset of antenna elements.

15. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises: programming, by the processor, the first gate and the second gate of the RS formed by a multi-port bundle in orthogonal features, wherein the orthogonal features comprise at least one of time-division multiplexed features, frequency-division multiplexed features and code-division multiplexed features.

16. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the first beamforming RS is a first multi-port beamforming RS and the first channel feedback information is associated with the first multi-port beamforming RS, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, by the processor, a second multi-port beamforming RS to the communication apparatus; and receiving, by the processor, second channel feedback information associated with the second multi-port beamforming RS from the communication apparatus, wherein a first beamformer associated with the first multi-port beamforming RS and a second beamformer associated with the second multi-port beamforming RS are different.

17. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that the size of a first antenna array used to transmit the first multiport beamformed RS and the size of a second antenna array used to transmit the second multiport beamformed RS are different.

18. Method, according to claim 16, characterized in that the first multi-port beamforming RS and the second multi-port beamforming RS are transmitted through the same transmit radio unit (TXRU) of the network node.

19. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that the first multi-port beamformed RS and the second multi-port beamformed RS are transmitted through different transmit radio units (TXRUs) of the network node.

20. Method, according to claim 11, characterized in that the spatial domain profile comprises at least one indication of at least one Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) vector, one indication of at least one DFT vector with its associated channel gain, one indication of at least one DFT vector with cophasing information in cross-polarized antennas, and a departure angle associated with at least one channel. Petition 870250090435, dated 03 / 10 / 2025, page 21 / 26 6 / 6

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