Control method for intelligent repeater

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for enhancing the functionality of directional repeaters (wireless devices that relay directional wireless signals). For example, by adding even limited capabilities to buffer digital samples, repeater functionality can be enhanced to provide better coverage and more efficiently utilize time, frequency, and space resources.

Description

[0001] background

[0002] Priority claim

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 16 / 945,507, filed on July 31, 2020, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 881,823, filed on August 1, 2019, both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes.

[0004] Public domain

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to techniques for providing control information for relaying directional wireless transmissions.

[0006] Related technical description

[0007] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems include Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name just a few.

[0008] In some examples, a wireless multiple access communication system may include several base stations (BS), each of which is capable of simultaneously supporting communication of multiple communication devices (also referred to as user equipment (UE)). In an LTE or LTE-A network, a set of one or more base stations may define an evolved B node (eNB). In other examples (e.g., in a next generation, new radio (NR), or 5G network), a wireless multiple access communication system may include several distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes (ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmission reception points (TRPs), etc.) in communication with several central units (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs), etc.), wherein a set of one or more DUs in communication with a CU may define an access node (e.g., which may be referred to as a BS, a 5G NB, a next generation B node (gNB or gNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), etc.). A BS or DU may communicate with a set of UEs on downlink channels (eg, for transmissions from the BS or DU to the UEs) and uplink channels (eg, for transmissions from the UEs to the BS or DU).

[0009] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at a city, country, region, and even global level. NR (e.g., New Radio or 5G) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is an enhancement set of the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMA with cyclic prefix (CP) on downlink (DL) and uplink (UL). To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0010] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements to NR and LTE technologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0011] Overview

[0012] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present disclosure as expressed in the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," it will be understood how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages including improved communications in an integrated access and backhaul system.

[0013] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a first wireless device. The method generally includes: receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device; extracting control information from the first RF signal of the first bandwidth; selecting at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information; and using the selected beam to at least one of: receiving a second RF signal of the first bandwidth between the second wireless device and a third wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal of the first bandwidth between the second wireless device and the third wireless device.

[0014] Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for wireless communication by a first wireless device. The apparatus generally includes: at least one processor and a memory, the at least one processor and the memory being configured to: receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device; extract control information from the first RF signal of the first bandwidth; select at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information; and use the one or more selected beams to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0015] Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication by a first wireless device. The apparatus generally includes: means for receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device; means for extracting control information from the first RF signal of the first bandwidth; means for selecting at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information; and means for using the one or more selected beams to at least one of: receiving a second RF signal from the second wireless device or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0016] Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for: receiving, by a first wireless device, a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device; extracting control information from the first RF signal of the first bandwidth; selecting at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information; and using the selected beam to perform at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal of the first bandwidth between the second wireless device and a third wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal of the first bandwidth between the second wireless device and the third wireless device.

[0017] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a second wireless device. The method generally includes: transmitting a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device; and including control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to at least one of: receiving a second RF signal from the second wireless device or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0018] Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for wireless communication by a second wireless device. The apparatus generally includes at least one processor and a memory, the at least one processor and the memory being configured to: transmit a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device; and include control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device, or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0019] Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication by a second wireless device. The apparatus generally includes: means for transmitting a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device; and means for including control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device, or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0020] Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for: transmitting, by a second wireless device, a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device; and including control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to at least one of: receiving a second RF signal from the second wireless device or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0021] To achieve the foregoing and related ends, one or more aspects include features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are only indicative of several of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects can be employed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to understand in detail the manner in which the above-stated features of the present disclosure are used, a more particular description of the content briefly summarized above may be made with reference to various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0024] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example wireless system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 3 Example components of a base station and user equipment are illustrated in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example communication protocol stack in a RAN in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame format for New Radio (NR) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example wireless system deploying repeaters in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed.

[0030] Fig. 7A and 7B Example scenarios are illustrated in which aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0031] Figure 8 is a block diagram of an example architecture for a directional repeater.

[0032] Fig. 9 Example operations that may be performed by a directional repeater in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0033] Fig.10 Illustrated are example operations that may be performed by a network entity to configure a directional repeater in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] Fig.11 Illustrated are example frequency resources for providing control information to smart repeaters in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig. 12A Illustrated are example frequency resources for RF signals relayed by a smart repeater in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0036] Fig. 12B The present invention describes some aspects of the present invention. Fig. 12A How an analog signal received on a frequency resource shown in can be relayed by a smart repeater.

[0037] Fig.13 Illustrated is how a smart repeater in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure may extract control information from a narrowband portion of a wider RF signal.

[0038] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized in other aspects without specific recitation.

[0039] Detailed Description

[0040] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for enhancing the functionality of a directional repeater (a wireless device that relays directional wireless signals). As described in more detail below, a network entity may provide control information to a smart repeater using a narrowband portion, such as a bandwidth portion (BWP) of a wider frequency band used to transmit an RF signal to be relayed by the smart repeater.

[0041] The following description provides examples rather than limiting the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Various examples may appropriately omit, replace, or add various procedures or components. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from the order described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Moreover, the features described with reference to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functionalities, or structures and functionalities as supplements to the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein or in addition. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the claims. The wording "exemplary" is used herein to mean "used as an example, instance, or explanation". Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" need not be interpreted as being superior to or superior to other aspects.

[0042] The techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication technologies, such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes other variants of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network can implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

[0043] New Radio (NR) is an emerging wireless communication technology being developed in collaboration with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Advanced LTE (LTE-A) are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein can be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, although various aspects may be described herein using terms commonly associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in communication systems based on other generations, such as 5G and later generations, including NR technologies.

[0044] New Radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology) can support various wireless communication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or higher), millimeter wave (mmW) targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or higher), massive machine type communication MTC (mMTC) targeting non-backward compatible MTC technology, and / or mission critical services targeting ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). These services may include latency and reliability requirements. These services may also have different transmission time intervals (TTIs) to meet corresponding quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition, these services can coexist in the same subframe.

[0045] The teachings herein may be incorporated into (eg, implemented within or performed by) a variety of wired or wireless devices (eg, nodes). In some aspects, a wireless node implemented in accordance with the teachings herein may comprise an access point or an access terminal.

[0046] An access point ("AP") may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as a Node B, a radio network controller ("RNC"), an evolved Node B (eNB), a base station controller ("BSC"), a base transceiver station ("BTS"), a base station ("BS"), a transceiver function ("TF"), a radio router, a radio transceiver, a basic service set ("BSS"), an extended service set ("ESS"), a radio base station ("RBS"), an IAB node (e.g., an IAB donor node, an IAB parent node, and an IAB child node), or some other terminology.

[0047] An access terminal ("AT") may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, a user equipment, a user station, or some other term. In some implementations, an access terminal may include a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol ("SIP") phone, a wireless local loop ("WLL") station, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), a handheld device with wireless connection capability, a station ("STA"), or some other suitable processing device (such as an AR / VR console and a head-mounted device) connected to a wireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone or a smart phone), a computer (e.g., a laptop computer), a portable communication device, a portable computing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. In some aspects, a node is a wireless node. Such a wireless node may provide connectivity for or to a network (eg, a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network), for example, via a wired or wireless communication link.

[0048] Example Wireless Communication System

[0049] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 is illustrated in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. Figure 1 As shown in , base station 110a may include an in-band control signal generator designed to provide in-band control information to repeater 110r within a narrowband portion of a wider band RF signal. As illustrated, repeater 110r may include an in-band control signal extractor to extract control information from the narrowband portion of the wider band RF signal.

[0050] For example, the wireless communication network 100 may be a new radio or 5G network. Figure 1 As explained in , the wireless communication network 100 may include several access points (APs) 110 and other network entities. An AP may be a station that communicates with a user equipment (UE). Each AP 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​a B node (NB) and / or a NB subsystem that serves the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In the NR system, the term "cell" and the next generation B node (gNB or gNodeB), NR AP, 5G NB, or transmission reception point (TRP) may be interchangeable. In some examples, the cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cell may move according to the location of the mobile AP. In some examples, the access points may be interconnected to each other and / or to one or more other access points or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, or analogs using any suitable transmission networks).

[0051] In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may also be referred to as radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency may also be referred to as carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, frequency modulation, subband, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0052] An AP may provide communication coverage for macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, and / or other types of cells. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may allow restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs of users in a residence, etc.). An AP for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro AP. An AP for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico AP. An AP for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto AP or a home AP. In Figure 1In the example shown in FIG. 1 , APs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be macro APs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. AP 110x may be a pico AP for pico cell 102x. APs 110y and 110z may be femto APs for femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. An AP may support one or more (e.g., three) cells.

[0053] The wireless communication network 100 may also include a relay station. A relay station is a station that receives transmissions of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., an AP or a UE) and sends transmissions of the data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or an AP). A relay station may also be a UE that relays transmissions for other UEs. Figure 1 In the example shown in , a relay station 110r may communicate with AP 110a and UE 120r to facilitate communication between AP 110a and UE 120r. A relay station may also be referred to as an IAB node, a relay AP, a relay, or the like.

[0054] The wireless communication network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of APs (e.g., macro APs, pico APs, femto APs, relays, etc.). These different types of APs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different effects on interference in the wireless communication network 100. For example, a macro AP may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 20 watts), while a pico AP, a femto AP, and a relay may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 1 watt).

[0055] The wireless communication network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, each AP may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different APs may be roughly aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, each AP may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different APs may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operation.

[0056] A network controller 130 may couple to a set of APs and provide coordination and control for the APs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the APs 110 via a backhaul. The APs 110 may also communicate with each other via a wireless or wired backhaul (eg, directly or indirectly).

[0057] UE 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, terminal, access terminal, subscriber unit, station, customer premises equipment (CPE), cellular phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, tablet computer, camera, gaming device, netbook, smartbook, ultrabook, appliance, medical device or medical equipment, biometric sensor / device, wearable device (such as smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet, etc.)), entertainment device (e.g., music device, video device, satellite radio, etc.), transportation component or sensor, smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which can communicate with an AP, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network (such as the Internet) or a cellular network), for example, via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0058] Some wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink (DL) and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink (UL). OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as frequency modulation, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain for OFDM and in the time domain for SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers can be 15kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (called a "resource block" (RB)) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.8 MHz (ie, 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0059] Although aspects of the examples described herein may be associated with LTE technology, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication systems, such as NR. NR may utilize OFDM with CP on the uplink and downlink and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. Beamforming may be supported and the beam direction may be dynamically configured. MIMO transmission with precoding may also be supported. MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas (with multi-layer DL transmissions of up to 8 streams) and up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmissions of up to 2 streams per UE may be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported using up to 8 serving cells.

[0060] In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled. A scheduling entity (e.g., an AP) allocates resources for communication between some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. A scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communications, subordinate entities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. An access point is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE may act as a scheduling entity, and may schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and other UEs may utilize resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In some examples, a UE may act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs may communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with a scheduling entity.

[0061] exist Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , a solid line with double arrows indicates a desired transmission between a UE and a serving AP, which is an AP designated to serve the UE on a downlink and / or uplink. A thin dashed line with double arrows indicates an interfering transmission between a UE and an AP.

[0062] Figure 2 An example architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) 200 including an example IAB network 250 is illustrated. Figure 1 The wireless communication network 100 described in the embodiment is implemented in FIG. Figure 2 As shown in , the distributed RAN includes a core network (CN) 202 and an access node (AN) configured as an IAB donor 208.

[0063] As shown, the IAB network 250 includes an IAB donor node 208. The IAB donor node 208 is a RAN node (e.g., an access point / gNB that terminates the NR Ng interface with the core network (e.g., the next generation NG core)) and is generally connected to the core network via a wired backhaul link. The CN 202 can host core network functions. The CN 202 can be centrally deployed. The CN 202 functionality can be offloaded (e.g., to Advanced Wireless Services (AWS)) in an effort to handle peak capacity. The CN 202 can include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 204 and a user plane function (UPF) 206. The AMF 204 and the UPF 206 can perform one or more core network functions.

[0064] The IAB donor 208 may communicate with the CN 202 (e.g., via a backhaul interface). The IAB donor 208 may communicate with the AMF 204 via an N2 (e.g., NG-C) interface. The IAB donor 208 may communicate with the UPF 206 via an N3 (e.g., NG-U) interface. The IAB donor 208 may include a central unit control plane (CU-CP) 210, one or more central unit user planes (CU-UP) 212, one or more distributed units (DU) 214-218, and one or more antenna / remote radio units (AU / RRU) (not shown). The CU and DU may also be referred to as gNB-CU and gNB-DU, respectively.

[0065] The IAB donor node 208 may also be referred to as an IAB anchor node and may include an IAB central unit (e.g., NR CU) or an IAB distributed unit (e.g., NR DU). The IAB network 250 further includes one or more non-donor IAB nodes (e.g., 220a-220e). Each IAB node (including donor and non-donor IAB nodes) may serve one or more UEs (e.g., 222a-222c) connected to the IAB node. As shown, each IAB node (including the donor IAB node 208) may be connected via a wireless backhaul link (e.g., an NR wireless backhaul link or a backup NR wireless backhaul link). Each IAB node is connected to the UE it serves via a corresponding access link.

[0066] Each IAB node is a RAN node (e.g., an access point / gNB) that provides IAB functionality with two roles, including a data unit function (DU-F) and a mobile termination function (MT-F). The DU-F of an IAB node is generally responsible for scheduling UEs (e.g., UEs served by the IAB node) and other IAB nodes (e.g., other IAB nodes connected to the IAB node as child nodes). The DU-F also controls both the access and backhaul links under its coverage. The MT-F of an IAB node is controlled and scheduled by the IAB donor node or another IAB node as its parent IAB node. In one aspect, the IAB donor node 208 includes only the DU-F and not the MT-F.

[0067] The CU-CP 210 may be connected to one or more of the DUs 214-218. The CU-CP 210 and the DUs 214-218 may be connected via a wired interface using the F1-C protocol. Figure 2 As shown in , the CU-CP 210 may be connected to a plurality of DUs, but a DU may be connected to only one CU-CP. Figure 2Only one CU-UP 212 is illustrated, but the IAB donor 208 may include multiple CU-UPs. The CU-CP 210 selects the appropriate CU-UP(s) for the requested service (e.g., for the UE). The CU-UP(s) 212 may be connected to the CU-CP 210. For example, the CU-UP(s) 212 and the CU-CP 210 may be connected via an E1 interface. The CU-CP(s) 212 may be connected to one or more of the DUs 214, 218. The CU-UP(s) 212 and the DUs 214, 218 may be connected via an F1-U interface. Figure 2 As shown in , the CU-CP 210 may be connected to a plurality of CU-UPs, but a CU-UP may be connected to only one CU-CP.

[0068] A DU (such as DU 214 and / or 218) may host one or more TRPs (transmission / reception points, which may include edge nodes (ENs), edge units (EUs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), etc.). A DU may be located at the edge of a network with radio frequency (RF) functionality. A DU may be connected to multiple CU-UPs, which are connected to the same CU-CP (e.g., under the control of the same CU-CP) (e.g., for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RaaS), and service-specific deployments). A DU may be configured to serve traffic to a UE individually (e.g., dynamically selected) or jointly (e.g., jointly transmitted). Each DU 214, 218 may be connected to one of the AU / RRUs.

[0069] The CU-CP 210 may be connected to multiple DUs that are connected to the same CU-UP 212 (e.g., under the control of the same CU-UP 212). Connectivity between the CU-UP 212 and the DUs may be established by the CU-CP 210. For example, a bearer context management function may be used to establish connectivity between the CU-UP 212 and the DUs. Data forwarding between the CU-UPs 212 may be via an Xn-U interface.

[0070] The distributed RAN 200 may support forward haul solutions across different deployment types. For example, the RAN 200 architecture may be based on transport network capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and / or jitter). The distributed RAN 200 may share features and / or components with LTE. For example, the IAB donor 208 may support dual connectivity with NR and may share a common forward haul for LTE and NR. The distributed RAN 200 may enable collaboration between and among DUs 214, 218, for example, via the CU-CP 212. Inter-DU interfaces may not be used.

[0071] The various logical functions may be dynamically distributed in the distributed RAN 200. Figure 4 Described in more detail, the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, the physical (PHY) layer and / or the radio frequency (RF) layer can be adaptively placed at the AN and / or the UE.

[0072] Figure 3 Explained (such as Figure 1 10 and UE 120) may be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure. For example, antenna 352, processors 366, 358, 364, and / or controller / processor 380 of UE 120 and / or antenna 334, processors 320, 330, 338, and / or controller / processor 340 of AP 110 may be used to perform the various techniques and methods described herein. For example, Figure 3 As shown in , the processor 340 includes a full-duplex (FD) time slot configuration circuit 290, which can be configured for full-duplex time slot configuration in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) communication system according to various aspects described herein. In some aspects, the full-duplex time slot communication circuit 290 enables the processor 340 to detect changes in one or more traffic parameters and dynamically modify the time slot mode based on the changes in the one or more traffic parameters. In some aspects, the AP 110 can be an IAB donor and / or parent node, or an IAB child node.

[0073] At the AP 110, a transmit processor 320 may receive data from a data source 312 and control information from a controller / processor 340. The control information may be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 320 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and the control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 320 may also generate reference symbols (e.g., of a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a cell-specific reference signal (CRS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 332a to 332t. Each modulator 332 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from modulators 332a to 332t may be transmitted via antennas 334a to 334t, respectively.

[0074] At the UE 120, antennas 352a to 352r may receive downlink signals from the access point 110 and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 354a to 354r in the transceiver, respectively. Each demodulator 354 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators 354a to 354r in the transceiver, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 360, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 380.

[0075] On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 364 may receive and process data from a data source 362 (e.g., data for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from a controller / processor 380 (e.g., control information for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 366, if applicable, further processed by demodulators 354a through 354r in the transceiver (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the access point 110. At the AP 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 may be received by the antenna 334, processed by the modulator 332, detected by the MIMO detector 336, if applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 120. Receive processor 338 may provide decoded data to data sink 339 and decoded control information to controller / processor 340 .

[0076] Controllers / processors 340 and 380 may direct the operations at AP 110 and UE 120, respectively. Processor 340 and / or other processors and modules at AP 110 may perform or direct the execution of processes for the techniques described herein. Memories 342 and 382 may store data and program codes for AP 110 and UE 120, respectively. Scheduler 344 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0077] Figure 4 A diagram showing an example of a communication protocol stack 400 for implementing a RAN (for example, such as RAN 200) according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The illustrated communication protocol stack 400 may be implemented by a device operating in a wireless communication system (such as a 5G NR system) (e.g., wireless communication network 100). In various examples, the layers of the protocol stack 400 may be implemented as separate software modules, parts of a processor or ASIC, parts of non-co-located devices connected by a communication link, or various combinations thereof. Co-located and non-co-located implementations may be used, for example, in a protocol stack for a network access device or UE. As shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown in , the system can support various services on one or more protocols. One or more protocol layers of the protocol stack 400 can be provided by an AN (e.g., Figure 2 AN 208 in or Figure 1 The AP 110a) and / or UE (e.g., UE 120) are implemented in the embodiment.

[0078] like Figure 4As shown in FIG. 4 , the protocol stack 400 is split in the AN. The RRC layer 405, the PDCP layer 410, the RLC layer 415, the MAC layer 420, the PHY layer 425, and the RF layer 430 may be implemented by the AN. For example, the CU-CP (e.g., Figure 2 210) and CU-UP (e.g., Figure 2 405 and PDCP layer 410. Figure 2 DUs 214 and 218 in the DU may implement RLC layer 415 and MAC layer 420. However, DU may also implement PHY layer(s) 425 and RF layer(s) 430 via AU / RRU connected to the DU. PHY layer 425 may include a high PHY layer and a low PHY layer.

[0079] A UE (eg, UEs 222a - 222c ) may implement the entire protocol stack 400 (eg, RRC layer 405 , PDCP layer 410 , RLC layer 415 , MAC layer 420 , PHY layer(s) 425 , and RF layer(s) 430 ).

[0080] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 500 for NR. The transmission timeline of each of the downlink and uplink may be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be divided into 10 subframes with indices 0 to 9, each subframe being 1 ms. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots, depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols), depending on the subcarrier spacing. An index may be assigned to the symbol period in each slot. A mini slot (which may be referred to as a subslot structure) refers to a transmission time interval having a duration less than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., DL, UL, or flexible) for data transmission, and the link direction for each subframe may be dynamically switched. The link direction may be based on the slot format. Each slot may include DL / UL data and DL / UL control information.

[0081] In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS block includes PSS, SSS, and two-symbol PBCH. The SS block can be in a fixed time slot position (such as Figure 50-3) shown in . PSS and SSS can be used by UE for cell search and acquisition. PSS can provide half-frame timing, and SS can provide CP length and frame timing. PSS and SSS can provide cell identity. PBCH carries some basic system information, such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within a radio frame, SS burst set periodicity, system frame number, etc. SS blocks can be organized into SS bursts to support beam sweeping. Further system information (such as remaining minimum system information (RMSI), system information block (SIB), other system information (OSI)) can be transmitted on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes. SS blocks can be transmitted up to 64 times, for example, up to 64 different beam directions for mmW. Up to 64 transmissions of SS blocks are called SS burst sets. SS blocks in SS burst sets are transmitted in the same frequency region, while SS blocks in different SS burst sets can be transmitted at different frequency positions.

[0082] In some cases, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) may communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-world applications of such sidelink communications may include public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relay, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoT communications, mission-critical mesh networks, and / or various other suitable applications. Generally, a sidelink signal may refer to a signal that is communicated from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to another subordinate entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying the communication through a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or AP), even if the scheduling entity may be used for scheduling and / or control purposes. In some examples, the sidelink signal may be communicated using a licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks, which typically use an unlicensed spectrum).

[0083] The UE may operate in various radio resource configurations, including a configuration associated with transmitting a pilot using a dedicated resource set (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC) dedicated state, etc.), or a configuration associated with transmitting a pilot using a shared resource set (e.g., an RRC shared state, etc.). When operating in the RRC dedicated state, the UE may select a dedicated resource set for transmitting a pilot signal to the network. When operating in the RRC shared state, the UE may select a shared resource set for transmitting a pilot signal to the network. In either case, the pilot signal transmitted by the UE may be received by one or more network access devices (such as an AN, or a DU, or parts thereof). Each receiving network access device may be configured to receive and measure a pilot signal transmitted on a shared resource set, and also receive and measure a pilot signal transmitted on a dedicated resource set allocated to a UE, wherein the network access device is a member of a monitoring network access device set for the UE. One or more receiving network access devices or a CU to which the receiving network access device transmits pilot signal measurements may use these measurements to identify a serving cell of the UE or initiate a change in a serving cell for one or more UEs.

[0084] Example Directional Repeater

[0085] Next generation (e.g., 5G) wireless networks have stated the goal of providing ultra-high data rates and supporting a wider range of application scenarios. Integrated access and backhaul (IAB) systems have been studied as a possible solution to help support these goals.

[0086] As mentioned above, in IAB, a wireless backhaul solution may connect a cell (IAB node) to a core network (e.g., it may use a wired backhaul). Some attractive features of IAB are support for multi-hop wireless backhaul, sharing the same technology (e.g., NR) and resources (e.g., frequency band) for both access and backhaul links.

[0087] There are various possible architectures for IAB nodes, including layer 2 (L2) and layer 3 (L3) solutions, and the specific architecture deployed may depend on which layers of the protocol stack are implemented in the intermediate node (IAB node). For example, an L2 relay may implement the PHY / MAC / RLC layers.

[0088] Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to L1 relays (referred to as repeaters). L1 relays / repeaters have many attractive features. For example, such repeaters can be relatively simple, low-cost, low-power, and can be wirelessly connected to a donor or another relay (e.g., a gNB).

[0089] Figure 6An example application of how repeaters may be used to help improve coverage by overcoming blockage (obstruction of RF signals by objects) is illustrated. It is generally understood that blockage is a major issue in mmW (e.g., high frequencies) where beamforming is used to send directional signals. In the illustrated example, repeaters r1 630-1, r2 630-2, 630-3 may allow the gNB 610 to serve UE1 620-1 and UE2 620-2 despite the fact that objects may block at least some of the gNB 610 directional RF signals from reaching the UEs 620-1, 620-2.

[0090] As illustrated, because relay 630-1 is not blocked, relay 630-1 can receive RF signals from gNB 610 and retransmit (e.g., forward) those signals to reach UE1 620-1 (even though UE1 620-1 is blocked from receiving signals directly from gNB 610). Similarly, because relay r2 630-2 is not blocked, relay r2 630-2 can receive RF signals from gNB 610 and retransmit (e.g., forward) those signals to reach UE2 620-2 (even though UE2 620-2 is blocked from receiving signals directly from gNB 610). Thus, L1 repeaters can be used as a relatively simple and inexpensive solution to provide protection against blocking, extend coverage of MMW cells, and fill coverage holes.

[0091] Fig. 7A and 7B Additional details are provided on how repeaters can help overcome blocking challenges. Fig. 7A As illustrated in , a conventional repeater 730 may receive an RF signal 734 in one panel (corresponding to a receive or Rx beam) and may transmit (retransmit) a signal 734' in another panel (corresponding to a transmit or Tx beam). For example, the repeater 730 simply amplifies the received signal 734 and forwards the signal to become a transmitted signal 734' (e.g., amplifies and forwards).

[0092] exist Fig. 7A In the example illustrated in , the repeater r1 may be able to receive an RF (e.g., downlink) signal 732 from the base station 710 and relay the RF signal to the UE 720, which is blocked from receiving the RF signal 732' directly from the base station 710. In the other (uplink) direction, the repeater r1 730 may receive the RF signal 732 from the base station 710 and relay the RF signal 732' to the UE 729. Figure 7B As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the receive and transmit panels 736 , 738 of the unconventional repeater 750 may be used to implement some fixed beam patterns.

[0093] For wider coverage, the beam pattern is typically wider and thus high array gain may not be achieved.A repeater may typically not know whether a signal is downlink or uplink in a TDD system and operate in both directions simultaneously (full duplex).

[0094] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating an example architecture 800 for a repeater (e.g., an L1 repeater) is shown. As mentioned above, this type of repeater may generally perform the following basic operations: receive an analog RF signal on its RX antenna (e.g., based on some configured RX beamforming), amplify the power of the received analog RF signal, and transmit the amplified signal from its TX antenna (e.g., based on some configured TX beamforming).

[0095] As illustrated, beamforming may be implemented via a phased antenna array 830 configured by the controller 810, while amplification may be implemented via a variable gain amplifier 840. The repeater may also communicate some control signals with a server (e.g., a base station acting as a donor, a control node, etc.) via a control interface 820. The control interface 820 may be implemented out-of-band (operating outside the carrier frequency on which the Rx signal is received) or in-band (e.g., using a smaller bandwidth portion of the same carrier frequency). The out-of-band control interface 820 may be implemented, for example, via a separate (e.g., low-frequency) modem using a different radio technology (such as BT) or a different frequency (LTE NB-IoT).

[0096] Example Control Method for a Smart Directional Repeater

[0097] Aspects of the present disclosure may enhance the functionality of directional repeaters. In some cases, a wireless device (e.g., a network entity such as a gNB) may provide control information to a smart repeater using a narrowband portion such as a bandwidth portion (BWP) of a wider frequency band used to transmit RF signals to be relayed by the smart repeater. This control information may allow the network entity (or other type of wireless device) to control spatial resources (e.g., receive and / or transmit beams) at the repeater, which may allow better coverage and potentially allow more UEs to be supported compared to conventional repeater deployments.

[0098] Fig. 9 900 for wireless communications by a first wireless device in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 900 may be performed, for example, by a repeater (e.g., Figure 7B 750 shown in FIG. 1 ).

[0099] Operation 900 begins at 902 by receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device. For example, the repeater may receive a first RF signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device via a receiving panel 736 (eg, Figure 7B ) receives a first RF signal.

[0100] At 904, the repeater extracts control information from a first RF signal of a first bandwidth. At 906, the repeater selects at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information. At 908, the repeater uses the one or more selected beams to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from a second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device (e.g., via the transmit panel 738).

[0101] Fig.10 1 illustrates example operations 1000 for wireless communications by a second wireless device (eg, a network entity), in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 1000 may be performed, for example, by a base station (eg, Figure 1 , 2 , 6, 7A or 7B) to perform an enhanced repeater configured to perform operation 900.

[0102] Operations 1000 begin by transmitting a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device at 1002. At 1004, the network entity includes control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from a second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0103] Fig.11 Illustrated is how in-band control information may be provided via a bandwidth portion (BWP) 1110 within a wider signal bandwidth 1120. A base station (e.g., gNB) may use this in-band control information to provide information for controlling a repeater.

[0104] For example, a repeater may have multiple narrow high-gain beams in both the RX and TX directions. The base station may then use the in-band control information to select from the available beams.

[0105] In some cases, the repeater may be made aware of the time division (TDD) signal direction (downlink or uplink) so that at a given time the repeater receives a signal from the base station and transmits it to the UE, or receives a signal from the UE and transmits it to the base station. The signaling direction may be controlled by the base station (and signaled to the repeater via in-band control information).

[0106] Fig. 12A Example frequency resources for RF signals relayed by a smart repeater according to certain aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In other words, Fig. 12A The RF signal 1220 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to Fig.11The wideband portion of the signal shown in . As described above, the signal that the repeater passes between the base station and the UE (eg, using amplify and forward) is a wideband signal.

[0107] like Fig. 12B As explained in , the repeater uses the RX beam to receive a broadband RF signal, and preferably forwards the RF signal to the TX beam for transmission. As explained, at any given time, the repeater can receive a broadband signal from the base station via the RX beam to forward to the UE or another wireless device (e.g., a sub-repeater, which refers to another repeater located between the repeater and the UE or base station) via the TX beam, or receive a broadband signal from the UE (or other wireless device) via the RX beam to forward to the base station.

[0108] As mentioned above, conventional repeaters may not typically convert RF signals to baseband and digitize them (as a base station or UE would do for higher layer processing). Instead, the received signal may typically be passed through the various components of the repeater as an RF analog signal (although the received signal may be converted to an IF signal in some components).

[0109] However, the received signal may include a signal intended, for example, as Fig.11 The BWP in the wider bandwidth shown in FIG. 4 exchanges control and data between the base station and the UE.

[0110] Fig.13 illustrates how a smart repeater according to certain aspects of the present disclosure can extract this control (and data) information from the narrowband portion of a wider RF signal. In other words, Fig.13 The RF signal shown in may correspond to Fig.11 The narrowband portion of the signal is shown in .

[0111] Thus, in addition to processing wideband RF analog signals, the repeater may also extract relatively narrowband signals that may be located in a predetermined bandwidth portion (BWP) of the wider signal bandwidth.In some cases, the repeater may monitor a BWP in a predetermined set of BWPs for control information.

[0112] In some cases, the base station may inform the repeater of the frequency location of the BWP. In such cases, the base station may change the location via the control interface (for the repeater to monitor for subsequent transmissions).

[0113] The repeater may digitally process the narrowband signal and retrieve (extract) control (PHY) information from the base station. As mentioned above, the control information may be related to the selection of beams and may indicate the DL / UL signal direction of the intended wideband RF analog signal. The control information may be exchanged (e.g., communicated) between the base station and the repeater (and thus, does not need to be forwarded with the rest of the wideband RF signal).

[0114] In some cases, the in-band control information may include other physical layer (PHY) control information, such as power control information, timing control information, power saving information (e.g., indicating when a repeater may power down certain components), and / or beam weights.

[0115] The repeater sets the beam and signal direction according to the PHY information received on the control interface. For example, the repeater may select a receive beam indicated by the control information for receiving the RF signal to be repeated and / or may select a transmit beam for repeating the RF signal.

[0116] Example Embodiments

[0117] Embodiment 1: A method for wireless communication by a first wireless device, comprising: receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device; extracting control information from the first RF signal of the first bandwidth; selecting at least one of one or more receiving beams or one or more transmitting beams based on the control information; and using the one or more selected beams to perform at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal from the second wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0118] Embodiment 2: A method as described in Embodiment 1: wherein the second wireless device includes a base station.

[0119] Embodiment 3: A method as described in Embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the control information is extracted from at least one bandwidth part (BWP) of the first bandwidth.

[0120] Embodiment 4: The method as described in Embodiment 3 further comprises: receiving signaling indicating the location of the at least one BWP.

[0121] Embodiment 5: The method as described in any one of Embodiments 3 or 4 further comprises: receiving signaling indicating a change in the location of the at least one BWP.

[0122] Embodiment 6: The method as described in any one of Embodiments 3 to 5, wherein the first wireless device monitors the BWPs in the predetermined set of BWPs to find the control information.

[0123] Embodiment 7: A method as described in any one of Embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the control information indicates at least one of power control, timing control, power saving, or beam weighting for the first wireless device to perform at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal from a second wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0124] Embodiment 8: A method as described in any one of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the first bandwidth includes a millimeter wave bandwidth.

[0125] Embodiment 9: A method for wireless communication by a second wireless device, comprising: transmitting a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device; and including control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to use for at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal from the second wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0126] Embodiment 10: A method as described in Embodiment 9, wherein the second wireless device includes a base station.

[0127] Embodiment 11: The method as described in Embodiment 9 or 10, wherein the control information is included in at least one bandwidth part (BWP) of the first bandwidth.

[0128] Embodiment 12: The method of embodiment 11 further comprises: transmitting signaling indicating the location of the BWP to the first wireless device.

[0129] Embodiment 13: The method as described in any one of Embodiments 11 or 12 further includes: transmitting signaling indicating a change in location of the BWP to the first wireless device.

[0130] Embodiment 14: The method as described in any one of Embodiments 11 to 13, wherein the second wireless device sends the control information on a BWP in a predetermined BWP set.

[0131] Embodiment 15: A method as described in any one of Embodiments 9 to 14, wherein the control information indicates at least one of power control, timing control, power saving, or beam weighting for the first wireless device to perform at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal from a second wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0132] Embodiment 16: A device for wireless communication, comprising at least one processor and a memory, wherein the at least one processor and the memory are configured to: receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device; extract control information from the first RF signal of the first bandwidth; select at least one of one or more receiving beams or one or more transmitting beams based on the control information; and use the one or more selected beams to perform at least one of the following: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device, or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0133] Embodiment 17: The apparatus as described in Embodiment 16, wherein the second wireless device comprises a base station.

[0134] Embodiment 18: The apparatus of embodiment 16 or 17, wherein the control information is extracted from at least one bandwidth part (BWP) of the first bandwidth.

[0135] Embodiment 19: The apparatus of Embodiment 18, wherein the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to: receive signaling indicating the location of the at least one BWP.

[0136] Embodiment 20: The apparatus as described in any one of Embodiments 18 or 19, wherein the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to: receive signaling indicating a change in the location of the at least one BWP.

[0137] Embodiment 21: The apparatus of any one of Embodiments 18 to 20, wherein the first wireless device monitors a BWP in a predetermined set of BWPs for control information.

[0138] Embodiment 22: An apparatus as described in any one of Embodiments 16 to 21, wherein the control information indicates at least one of power control, timing control, power saving, or beam weighting for use by a first wireless device to perform at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal from a second wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0139] Embodiment 23: The device as described in any one of Embodiments 16 to 22, wherein the first bandwidth includes a millimeter wave bandwidth.

[0140] Embodiment 24: An apparatus for wireless communication by a second wireless device, comprising at least one processor and a memory, the at least one processor and the memory being configured to: transmit a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth to a first wireless device; and include control information in the first bandwidth of the first RF signal, the control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams for the first wireless device to use for at least one of the following: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device, or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0141] Embodiment 25: The apparatus as described in Embodiment 24, wherein the second wireless device comprises a base station.

[0142] Embodiment 26: The apparatus of Embodiment 24 or 25, wherein the control information is included in at least one bandwidth part (BWP) of the first bandwidth.

[0143] Embodiment 27: The apparatus of Embodiment 26, wherein the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit signaling indicating the location of the BWP to the first wireless device.

[0144] Embodiment 28: The apparatus as described in any one of Embodiments 26 or 27, wherein the at least one processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit signaling indicating a change in location of the BWP to the first wireless device.

[0145] Embodiment 29: The apparatus as described in any one of Embodiments 26 to 28, wherein the apparatus sends control information on a BWP in a predetermined BWP set.

[0146] Embodiment 30: An apparatus as described in any one of Embodiments 24 to 29, wherein the control information indicates at least one of power control, timing control, power saving, or beam weighting for use by a first wireless device to perform at least one of the following: receiving a second RF signal from a second wireless device, or forwarding the second RF signal to a third wireless device.

[0147] Additional considerations

[0148] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the claims in language, wherein the singular reference to the elements is not intended to mean "there is and only one", but "one or more", unless otherwise stated. Unless otherwise stated, the term "some / some" refers to one or more. The elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure are all structural and functional equivalents currently or hereafter known to ordinary technicians in the field, and are explicitly incorporated herein by reference, and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be donated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recorded in the claims. Any element of the claim should not be interpreted under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6, unless the element is explicitly stated using the wording "device for..." or in the case of a method claim, the element is stated using the wording "step for...".

[0149] The various operations of the methods described above may be performed by any suitable device capable of performing the corresponding functions. These devices may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors. In general, where there are operations illustrated in the accompanying drawings, these operations may have corresponding paired device plus function components.

[0150] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Also, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0151] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as combinations including multiples of one or more members (aa, bb, and / or cc).

[0152] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0153] The steps of the method or algorithm described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in any form of storage medium known in the art. Some examples of usable storage media include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, and the like. The software module may include a single instruction, or many instructions, and may be distributed over several different code segments, distributed between different programs, and distributed across multiple storage media. A storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read and write information from / to the storage medium. In an alternative, a storage medium may be integrated into a processor.

[0154] The methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or actions for achieving the described methods. These method steps and / or actions may be interchangeable with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be changed without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0155] The means for receiving or the means for obtaining may include Figure 3 10, or the receiver (such as the receive processor 338) or the antenna(s) 334 of the access point 110, or the receive processor 358 or the antenna(s) 352 of the station 120. The means for transmitting or the means for outputting may include Figure 3 10, or the transmitter (such as the transmit processor 320) or the antenna(s) 334 of the access point 110, or the transmit processor 364 or the antenna(s) 352 of the station 120 as illustrated in FIG. The means for associating, the means for determining, the means for monitoring, the means for deciding, the means for providing, the means for detecting, the means for performing, and / or the means for setting may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as Figure 3 1. The receive processor 338 / 358, transmit processor 320 / 364, TX MIMO processor 330 / 366, or controller 340 / 380 of the access point 110 and station 120 illustrated in FIG.

[0156] In some cases, a device may not actually transmit a frame, but may have an interface (means for outputting) for outputting a frame for transmission. For example, a processor may output a frame to a radio frequency (RF) front end via a bus interface for transmission. Similarly, a device may not actually receive a frame, but may have an interface (means for obtaining) for obtaining a frame received from another device. For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a frame from an RF front end via a bus interface for reception.

[0157] The functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus may link together various circuits including a processor, a machine-readable medium, and a bus interface. The bus interface may be used to connect a network adapter, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the user terminal 120 (see Figure 1), a user interface (e.g., a keypad, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art and will not be described further.

[0158] The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software stored on a machine-readable medium. The processor may be implemented with one or more general and / or special processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuit systems that can execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other. As an example, a machine-readable medium may include RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), registers, disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage media, or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be implemented in a computer program product. The computer program product may include packaging materials.

[0159] In a hardware implementation, the machine-readable medium may be a part of a processing system that is separate from the processor. However, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the machine-readable medium or any part thereof may be external to the processing system. As an example, the machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated by data, and / or a computer product separated from a wireless node, all of which may be accessed by the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium or any part thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as a cache and / or a general register file may be the case.

[0160] The processing system can be configured as a general processing system having one or more microprocessors providing processor functionality and external memory providing at least a portion of the machine-readable medium, all linked together with other supporting circuitry via an external bus architecture. Alternatively, the processing system can be implemented with an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) with a processor, bus interface, user interface (in the case of an access terminal), supporting circuitry, and at least a portion of the machine-readable medium integrated in a single chip, or with one or more FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), controllers, state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware components, or any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. Depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system, those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the functionality described with respect to the processing system.

[0161] The machine-readable medium may include several software modules. These software modules include instructions that cause the processing system to perform various functions when executed by the processor. These software modules may include a transmission module and a reception module. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. As an example, when a triggering event occurs, the software module may be loaded into the RAM from the hard drive. During the execution of the software module, the processor may load some instructions into the cache to increase the access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into the general register file for execution by the processor. When the functionality of the software module is described below, it will be understood that such functionality is implemented by the processor when the processor executes the instructions from the software module.

[0162] If implemented in software, each function can be stored on or transmitted by one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and these media include any media that facilitate the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is also properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave), the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) is included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Disks, where disks often reproduce data magnetically, and discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects, computer-readable media may include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media). Additionally, for other aspects, computer-readable media may include transient computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0163] Thus, some aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having stored (and / or encoded) thereon instructions that can be executed by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. For some aspects, the computer program product may include packaging materials.

[0164] In addition, it should be appreciated that the modules and / or other appropriate devices for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the user terminal and / or access point where applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of the device for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage device (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or a floppy disk, etc.) so that once the storage device is coupled to or provided to a user terminal and / or access point, the device can obtain the various methods. In addition, any other suitable technology suitable for providing the methods and techniques described herein to the device can be utilized.

[0165] It will be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various changes, substitutions and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless device, the first wireless device comprising a repeater, the method comprising: receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device for forwarding to a user equipment (UE), wherein the first bandwidth includes a first bandwidth part (BWP); extracting control information from the first BWP of the first RF signal, wherein the control information indicates a beam weight for the first wireless device to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to the UE; amplifying and forwarding the first RF signal without extracting information from the first bandwidth excluding the first BWP; selecting at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information; selecting a signal direction of the one or more receive beams or the one or more transmit beams based on the control information; and The one or more selected beams are used to at least one of: receive the second RF signal from the second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to the UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The second wireless device comprises a base station.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Signaling indicating a location of at least one BWP is received.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Signaling is received indicating a change in location of at least one BWP.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring a BWP in a predetermined set of BWPs for the control information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first bandwidth includes a millimeter wave bandwidth.

7. An apparatus for wireless communication by a first wireless device, the first wireless device comprising a repeater, the apparatus comprising: a memory including instructions; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured individually or in any combination to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal of a first bandwidth from a second wireless device for forwarding to a user equipment (UE), wherein the first bandwidth includes a first bandwidth part (BWP); extracting control information from the first BWP of the first RF signal, wherein the control information indicates a beam weight for the first wireless device to at least one of: receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to the UE; amplifying and forwarding the first RF signal without extracting information from the first bandwidth excluding the first BWP; selecting at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams based on the control information; selecting a signal direction of the one or more receive beams or the one or more transmit beams based on the control information; and The one or more selected beams are used to at least one of: receive the second RF signal from the second wireless device or forward the second RF signal to the UE.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The second wireless device comprises a base station.

9. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more processors are configured, individually or in any combination, to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: receive signaling indicating a location of at least one BWP.

10. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more processors are individually or in any combination configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: receive signaling indicating a change in position of at least one BWP.

11. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more processors are individually or in any combination configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: monitor a BWP in a predetermined set of BWPs for the control information.

12. The device of claim 7, wherein: The first bandwidth includes a millimeter wave bandwidth.

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