Sidelink transmission beam scanning

Abstract

A sidelink transmission beam scan may be performed; performing sidelink by transmitting a first portion of a symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the start of the slot during a sidelink transmission slot comprising a plurality of symbols and transmitting two or more second portions of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion The transmission beam is scanned, one second portion per narrow beam, and a second transmission power is determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam. The first portion includes at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portions include at least reference signals, one reference signal per second portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems are evolving. For example, devices near each other (e.g., cars, robots, and sensors) can use sidelink communications to communicate directly with each other without relaying their data, for example, via a base station. Sidelink communications can also use beams for transmission. In order to use the best beam in a sidelink communication between a transmitting device and a receiving device, the transmitting device performs sidelink transmission beam scanning. Summary of the invention

[0003] The subject matter of the independent claims defines the scope.

[0004] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the device to at least: perform sidelink transmission beam scanning by sending a first part of the symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot including a plurality of symbols during the time slot, and sending two or more second parts of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first part, one second part for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first part comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second part comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal for each second part.

[0005] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: performing sidelink transmission beam scanning by sending a first part of the symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot including a plurality of symbols during the time slot, and sending two or more second parts of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first part, one second part for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first part includes at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second part includes at least a reference signal, one reference signal for each second part.

[0006] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising means for performing sidelink transmission beam scanning by transmitting a first portion of the symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot including a plurality of symbols during a sidelink transmission time slot and transmitting two or more second portions of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion, one second portion for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal for each second portion.

[0007] In an embodiment, the reference signal is a reference signal for channel state information.

[0008] In an embodiment, the gain difference is determined based on the number of narrow beams and / or based on the relative angle between the wide beam and the narrow beam and / or based on the beam shapes of the wide beam and the narrow beam.

[0009] In an embodiment, a transmission beam for transmission to the receiving device is selected upon receiving information indicative of a reception quality of at least one or more narrow beams from the receiving device.

[0010] In an embodiment, based on the indicated reception quality of the narrow beam, the indicated reception quality is updated to take into account the transmission gain difference; and the transmission beam is selected based on the updated reception quality.

[0011] In an embodiment, before performing sidelink transmission beam scanning, a message requesting channel state information is sent to at least one of the one or more receiving devices, the message including at least a measurement report instruction for two or more narrow beams.

[0012] In an embodiment, during an exchange of radio resource control configuration information for sidelink communication between the apparatus and a receiving apparatus of one or more receiving apparatuses, at least information regarding sidelink beam alignment capabilities is exchanged.

[0013] In an embodiment, when there are multiple panels, side link transmission beam scanning is performed by sending a first part panel by panel using a wide beam on the panel and sending two or more second parts using narrow beams on the panel.

[0014] In an embodiment, when multiple panels are included, sidelink transmit beam scanning is performed by at least partially simultaneously sending a first portion on at least two of the multiple panels at a first transmission power using a wide beam during a time slot and sending two or more second portions using a narrow beam using one of the at least two panels at a time.

[0015] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the device to at least: during a side link transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and comprising a plurality of symbols, receive a first part of the symbol at the beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device performing the side link transmission beam scanning, the first part comprising at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control; based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first part of the time slot, set an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during reception of the time slot; in the side link transmission time slot, after the first part, detect at least one second part from two or more second parts; based on the detected second part, perform measurement on a reference signal in the detected second part; and based on the measurement, send a message indicating at least the best second part to the transmitting device.

[0016] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: during a side link transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols, receiving a first part of the symbols at the beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device that performs the side link transmission beam scanning, the first part including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control; setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first part of the time slot; in the side link transmission time slot, after the first part, detecting at least one second part from two or more second parts; based on the detected second part, performing measurement on a reference signal in the detected second part; and sending a message indicating at least the best second part to the transmitting device based on the measurement.

[0017] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising: a component for receiving a first part of the symbols from a transmitting device performing sidelink transmission beam scanning at the beginning of the time slot during a sidelink transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including multiple symbols, the first part including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control; a component for setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first part of the time slot; a component for detecting at least one second part from two or more second parts after the first part in the sidelink transmission time slot; a component for performing measurement of a reference signal in the detected second part based on the detected second part; and a component for sending a message indicating at least the best second part to the transmitting device based on the measurement.

[0018] In an embodiment, prior to receiving a sidelink transmission time slot, information indicating a power gain between the transmission powers of the first and second parts of each second part is received from the transmitting device; and the information is used in determining at least the optimal second part.

[0019] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon for at least one of a first function or a second function, for performing the corresponding function: wherein the first function comprises at least: performing sidelink transmission beam scanning by transmitting a first portion of the symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot comprising a plurality of symbols during the time slot, and transmitting two or more second portions of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion, one second portion per narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, each second portion comprising a reference signal. part of a reference signal; and wherein the second function includes at least: in response to receiving a first part of the symbol at the beginning of a side link transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols from a transmitting device performing side link transmission beam scanning, the first part including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control, setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first part of the time slot; in the side link transmission time slot, after the first part, detecting at least one second part from two or more second parts; based on the detected second part, performing measurement on a reference signal in the detected second part; and based on the measurement, sending a message indicating at least the best second part to the transmitting device.

[0020] In an embodiment, the computer readable medium is a non-transitory computer readable medium.

[0021] According to one aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions for at least one of a first function or a second function, which when executed by an apparatus causes the apparatus to perform at least the first function or the second function, wherein the first function comprises at least: performing sidelink transmission beam scanning by transmitting a first portion of the symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot comprising a plurality of symbols during the time slot, and transmitting two or more second portions of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion, one second portion for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal , one reference signal for each second part; and wherein the second function includes at least: in response to receiving a first part of the symbol at the beginning of a side link transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols from a transmitting device performing side link transmission beam scanning, the first part including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control, setting the analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first part of the time slot; in the side link transmission time slot, after the first part, detecting at least one second part from two or more second parts; based on the detected second part, performing measurement on the reference signal in the detected second part; and based on the measurement, sending a message indicating at least the best second part to the transmitting device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Embodiments are described below by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0023] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown;

[0024] Figure 2 An exemplary sidelink scenario with different transmission beams is shown;

[0025] Figure 3 An example of a sidelink time slot is shown;

[0026] Figure 4A An example of a transmission beam in a multi-panel device is shown;

[0027] Figure 4B The measured beam gain is shown;

[0028] Figures 5 to 9 is a flow chart illustrating example functionality;

[0029] Figures 10 to 12 An example of information exchange is shown; and

[0030] Fig.13 is a schematic block diagram. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following embodiments are presented as examples only. Although the specification may mention "an", "one" or "some" embodiments and / or examples in several locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference points to the same (multiple) embodiments or (multiple) examples, or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment and / or a single example. Individual features of different embodiments and / or examples may also be combined to provide other embodiments and / or examples. In addition, the words "comprising" and "including" should be understood as not limiting the embodiments to include only the features mentioned, and such embodiments may also include features / structures that have not been specifically mentioned. In addition, although terms including ordinal numbers (such as "first", "second", etc.) may be used to describe various elements, structural elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish elements from other elements. For example, a first transmission power may be referred to as a second transmission power, and similarly, a second transmission power may also be referred to as a first transmission power without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0032] In the following, different exemplary embodiments will be described using a radio access architecture based on Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE Advanced, LTE-A) or New Radio (NR, 5G) as an example of an access architecture to which these embodiments can be applied, however, the embodiments are not limited to such an architecture. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that these embodiments can also be applied to other types of communication networks with appropriate components by appropriately adjusting the parameters and processes. Some examples of other options for suitable systems are Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Radio Access Network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE, same as E-UTRA), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN or WiFi), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MA-NET) and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) or any combination thereof.

[0033] Figure 1 An example of a simplified system architecture is depicted, showing only some elements and functional entities, which are all logical units and whose implementation may differ from what is shown. Figure 1The connections shown in are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the system typically also includes Figure 1 Other functions and structures than those shown.

[0034] However, the embodiments are not limited to the system 100 given as an example, and a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems having the necessary properties.

[0035] Figure 1 The example of FIG. 1 shows a portion of an exemplary radio access network.

[0036] Figure 1 User equipment 101, 101' is shown, which is configured to be wirelessly connected to an access node (e.g., (e / g) NodeB) providing the cell on one or more communication channels in the cell. The physical link from the user equipment to the (e / g) NodeB is called an uplink or reverse link, and the physical link from the (e / g) NodeB to the user equipment is called a downlink or forward link. It should be understood that the (e / g) NodeB or its functions can be implemented by using any node, host, server, or access point entity suitable for such purposes.

[0037] A communication system typically includes more than one (e / g)NodeB, in which case the (e / g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links designed for this purpose. These links may be used for signaling purposes. (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point, or any other type of interface device, including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. (e / g)NodeB includes or is coupled to a transceiver. From the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB, a connection is provided to an antenna unit, which establishes a bidirectional radio link to the device. The antenna unit may include multiple antennas or antenna elements. (e / g)NodeB is also connected to a core network 105 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side can be a serving gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), used to provide user equipment (UE) with connectivity to external packet data networks, or a mobility management entity (MME), or a user plane function (UPF), or an access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

[0038] User equipment (also referred to as UE, user equipment, user terminal, terminal device, etc.) shows a type of device to which air interface resources are allocated and assigned, and therefore, any features described herein with user equipment can be implemented using corresponding devices (such as relay nodes). An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) toward a base station.

[0039] User equipment generally refers to a computing device (e.g., a portable computing device) including a wireless mobile communication device that operates with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile stations (mobile phones), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, devices using wireless modems (alarm or measurement devices, etc.), laptops and / or touch screen computers, tablets, game consoles, notebooks, and multimedia devices. It should be understood that user equipment can also be an almost exclusive uplink device, one example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to a network. User equipment can also be a device with the ability to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, which is a scenario in which objects have the ability to transmit data over a network without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, such as being used for smart grids and networked vehicles. User equipment can also utilize the cloud. In some applications, a user device may include a user-portable device with a radio component (such as a watch, headphones, glasses, other wearable accessories or wearable devices), and the calculation is performed in the cloud. The user device (or in some embodiments, a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more of the user device functions. A user device may also be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, or a user equipment (UE), to name a few names or devices. In addition, it should be understood that the number of receive and / or transmit antennas in a user device may vary depending on the implementation and / or type of the user device.

[0040] The various techniques described herein can also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems of cooperating computing elements that control physical entities). CPS can enable the implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects in different locations. Mobile cyber-physical systems are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems where the physical system in question has inherent mobility. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0041] Furthermore, although these devices have been described as a single entity, different units, processors and / or memory units ( Figure 1 Not all are shown) malicious intent is realized.

[0042] 5G supports the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites that operate in cooperation with smaller stations, and adopts various radio technologies depending on service requirements, use cases and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications support a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing and various forms of machine-type applications (such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC)), including vehicle safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and can also be integrated with existing traditional radio access technologies (such as LTE). At least in the early stages, integration with LTE can be implemented as a system in which macro coverage is provided by LTE and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to LTE. In other words, 5G plans to support both inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6GHz-cmWave, below 6GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of the concepts being considered for use in 5G networks is network slicing, where multiple independent and dedicated virtual subnetworks (network instances) can be created in the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput, and mobility.

[0043] The current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G require bringing content close to the radio, giving rise to local breakthroughs and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analytics and knowledge generation to be done at the data source. This approach requires leveraging resources that may not be continuously connected to the network, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content close to cellular subscribers to speed up response times. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data collection, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer self-organizing networks and processing (also categorized as local cloud / fog computing and grid / mesh computing), exposed computing, mobile edge computing, cloud computing, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomous self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented reality and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and / or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0044] The communication system may also be able to communicate with or utilize services provided by other networks, such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 106. The communication network may also be able to support the use of cloud services, for example, at least part of the core network operations may be performed as a cloud service (this is in the Figure 1 The communication system may also include a central control entity or the like, providing facilities for networks of different operators to collaborate, for example in terms of spectrum sharing.

[0045] Edge cloud can be introduced into the radio access network (RAN) by leveraging network function virtualization (NVF) and software defined networking (SDN). Using edge cloud may mean that access node operations are at least partially performed in a server, host or node that is operationally coupled to a remote radio head or base station including radio components. Node operations may also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes or hosts. The application of cloudRAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be performed on the RAN side (in the distributed unit DU 102), while non-real-time functions can be performed in a centralized manner (in the central unit CU 104).

[0046] It should also be understood that the division of labor between core network operations and base station operations may be different from LTE or even non-existent. Some other technological advances that may be used include big data and all-IP, which may change the way networks are built and managed. 5G (or New Radio NR) networks are being designed to support multiple hierarchical structures, where MEC servers can be placed between the core and the base station or nodeB (gNB). It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks.

[0047] 5G can also make use of satellite communications to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, for example by providing backhaul. Possible use cases are to provide service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (IoT) devices or passengers on board a vehicle, or to ensure service availability for critical communications and future rail / maritime / aeronautical communications. Satellite communications can make use of geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite systems as well as low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particular mega constellations (systems where hundreds of (nano) satellites are deployed). Each satellite 103 in a mega constellation can cover several satellite-enabled network entities creating a ground cell. The ground cell can be created by a ground relay node 102 or by a gNB located on the ground or in a satellite.

[0048] For a person skilled in the art, it is clear that the depicted system is only an example of a part of a radio access system, and in practice, the system may include multiple (e / g)NodeBs, user equipment may have access to multiple radio cells, and the system may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements. At least one of the (e / g)NodeBs may be a home (e / g)nodeB. In addition, in a geographical area of ​​the radio communication system, multiple different types of radio cells as well as multiple radio cells may be provided. A radio cell may be a macro cell (or umbrella cell), which is a large cell typically having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or a smaller cell, such as a micro, femto or pico cell. Figure 1 The (e / g)NodeB can provide any type of these cells. A cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including several types of cells. Usually, in a multi-layer network, one access node provides one or more types of cells, so multiple (e / g)NodeBs are required to provide such a network structure.

[0049] In order to meet the demand for improved deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB has been introduced. Generally, a network that can use "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB includes a home NodeB gateway or HNB-GW (H(e / g)nodeBs) in addition to the home NodeB (H(e / g)nodeBs). Figure 1 The HNB Gateway (HNB-GW), which is usually installed in the operator's network, can aggregate traffic from a large number of HNBs back to the core network.

[0050] 6G networks are expected to adopt flexible decentralized and / or distributed computing systems and architectures and ubiquitous computing, and leverage local spectrum licensing, spectrum sharing, infrastructure sharing, and intelligent automated management, all based on mobile edge computing, artificial intelligence, short packet communications, and blockchain technologies. The main features of 6G include intelligent connection management and control capabilities, programmability, integrated sensing and communications, reduced energy footprint, trusted infrastructure, scalability, and affordability. In addition to this, 6G also targets new use cases, covering the integration of positioning and sensing capabilities into system definitions to unify user experience in the physical and digital worlds.

[0051] In the era of 5G and beyond, services based on mobile smart devices will become increasingly popular. A non-limiting list of examples of such mobile smart devices and services include driverless mobility with fully autonomous connected vehicles, other vehicle-to-everything (V2X) services, or smart industries with different Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, such as automated guided vehicles or mobile robots or mobile robotic arms. These services can use sidelink transmissions between mobile smart devices, as well as sidelink transmissions between mobile devices and more stationary user devices. The following term "device" is used for any device, including but not limited to the above examples and any consumer gadgets, that is configured to use sidelink communications. The device can communicate via the sidelink using beamforming technology. The transmitting device can have multiple panels and / or multiple patch antennas (e.g., antenna elements, antenna modules, antenna arrays), such as polarized patch antennas in one panel, which are used to form transmission beams to communicate with other devices, such as Figure 2 and 4A shown.

[0052] Different examples are described below using the principles and terminology of 5G technology, but the examples are not limited to 5G and the terminology used.

[0053] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 , which relates to sidelink communications, and more precisely, different transmit beams 210, 211, 212, 213, 214 during sidelink transmit beam scanning. Beam scanning is a technique of sending beams in bursts in different directions at regular intervals, e.g. for narrow transmit beam alignment to select a beam for future sidelink communications. Figure 2 The devices shown in are merely examples of devices and may be replaced by any device that can send and / or receive sidelink transmissions.

[0054] refer to Figure 2 In the illustrated example, the device 201 provides coverage for sidelink transmissions at least over a spatial region using a wide beam 210 or two or more narrow beams 211, 212, 213, 214 between the device 201 and one or more receiving devices 201a, 201b, such as using the narrow beam 211 to the device 201a and using the narrow beam 213 to the device 201b. In the illustrated example, the wide beam 210 covers the spatial region covered by the narrow beams 211, 212, 213, 214 during the sidelink transmission beam scan. It should be understood that in another example, the wide beam may cover most of the spatial region covered by the narrow beam during the sidelink transmission beam scan.

[0055] exist Figure 2In the example shown, the wide beam 210 is transmitted using a higher transmission power than the narrow beams 211, 212, 213, 214 that spatially overlap with the wide beam. In other words, less energy is put into the more directional beams (narrower beams). This enables symbol level sidelink transmission beam scanning, for example using Figure 3 , while ensuring that nearby receiving devices 210'a, 210'b will not, for example, experience saturation of their analog-to-digital converters processing the received signals.

[0056] Figure 3 An example of a sidelink transmission slot 300 is shown, which includes a plurality of symbols and may be used for symbol level sidelink transmission beam scanning, for example using Figure 2 For example, a sidelink timeslot may include 14 symbols, or 7 symbols, or any number of symbols between 7 and 14 symbols, or when a physical sidelink feedback channel is enabled, 10 symbols, or any number of symbols between 7 and 10 symbols. Additional examples include different subcarrier spacings, such as 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 kHz subcarrier spacing, and with slot aggregation, each sidelink timeslot may have 14, 28, 56, 112, 228 symbols, or any multiple of 14.

[0057] refer to Figure 3 , at the beginning of time slot 300, there is a first part of symbols that are sent with a first transmission power using a wide beam. In the example shown, the first part is a combination of sub-parts 301, 302 and 303, but the first part may include only sub-part 301. More precisely, the first part includes at least one or more symbols 301 for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, but the first part may also include symbols carrying other information (e.g., sidelink control information). Symbol 302 may be used for a physical sidelink shared channel, for a physical sidelink control channel, and for a reference signal, while symbol 303 may be used only for a reference signal or for a reference signal that is time-multiplexed with a physical sidelink shared channel. A non-limiting example of a reference signal that may be sent in the first part is a demodulation reference signal.

[0058] After the first portion, the time slot 300 includes two or more second portions of symbols for two or more narrow beams, one second portion for each narrow beam symbol. Figure 2In the example shown, there are four narrow beams, and therefore there are four second parts 304, 305, 306, 307, which include at least reference signals, one reference signal for each second part. The reference signal can be a reference signal for channel state information, such as a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS or a demodulation reference signal DM-RS. The reference signals in the second part can be different from each other, for example, different in the time domain (i.e., sent at different time instances) and / or different in the code domain (i.e., different sequences or sequence indices).

[0059] The first part of the time slot is sent at a first transmission power and the second part is sent at a second transmission power, either using one second transmission power for all second parts or using different second transmission powers. The second transmission power may be determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam.

[0060] As is well known, there is a guard period at the end of time slot 300.

[0061] In another embodiment, a dedicated time slot structure allows symbol level transmission beam scanning without over saturation, thereby enabling the use of the first transmission power in all parts. In the dedicated time slot structure, the first part can be similar to that described above, and the second part is different in that the second part starts with one or more symbols for automatic gain control.

[0062] Compared to a solution where the sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed at the time slot level (i.e., one time slot is used for one beam, whether narrow or wide), the above disclosed example of symbol level sidelink transmission beam scanning provides a faster solution. For example, when there are 8 narrow beams, one time slot may be used for the sidelink transmission beam scanning, while at the time slot level, 8 time slots are required to scan the 8 narrow beams. The longer it takes to perform the sidelink transmission beam scanning, the greater the risk that the environment has changed or the transmitting and / or receiving device has moved or rotated and the measurement is outdated, especially for mobile devices.

[0063] Figure 4A A highly simplified example of a transmitting device 401 equipped with multiple antenna panels is shown, indicated by small black boxes. It should be understood that the transmitting device may have two or more panels on the same side of the device, even if not shown for clarity.

[0064] refer to Figure 4A In the illustrated example, the panels are depicted in block 400-1 as having one wide beam per panel and in block 400-2 as having two narrow beams per panel.

[0065] In the illustrated example, the angle 422 between the direction 421 of the wide beam 410 and the panel 401-1 is 90 degrees. In other words, the direction is the same as the visual axis. There is a relative angle 424 between the direction 423 of the narrow beam 412 and the direction 421 of the wide beam, and correspondingly, there is a relative angle 426 between the direction 425 of the narrow beam 411 and the direction 421 of the wide beam. When the transmission power for the narrow beam is determined, the information about the relative angle can be used, as will be described in more detail below. The device 401 can be pre-configured with this information, for example, by the manufacturer of the device based on the antenna design.

[0066] Other beam gain characteristics related to the wide beam and the narrow beam may also be preconfigured to the device 401. For example, the transmitting device may be preconfigured with power compensation information. (Power compensation may be referred to as power backoff.) The power compensation is determined based on the gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, and thus the transmission power determined using the power compensation is determined based on the gain difference.

[0067] Figure 4B The measured beam gain is shown, depicting the gain in different directions (vertical axis), i.e. different relative angles (horizontal axis) with respect to the boresight (0 degrees). In other words, Figure 4B The measured directional power for a single beam is shown. Beam gain is the beam gain of a single beam generated by a panel with 1, 2 or 4 patches per panel, patches refers to the number of polarized patch antennas per panel and determines how narrow the beam can be made. Figure 4B It also shows how the gain difference varies from Figure 4A was obtained in the measurements of the examples shown in . Figure 4A The wide beam 410 in FIG. 4 is a beam generated using 1 patch per panel, while the two narrow beams 411, 412 are generated using 2 patches per panel when they point in the same direction as the wide beam (for clarity, Figure 4A ) and is measured at a 45 degree offset from the wide beam, corresponding to Figure 4A Two narrow beams 411 and 412 in.

[0068] Assuming three narrow beams, based on Figure 4B The power compensation information obtained from the measurement results in can be as follows: (It should be understood that the relative angle information or the actual power compensation value can be omitted or replaced by other information, based on which the gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam can be determined, so that the power compensation value can be determined.)

[0069] Narrow beam Relative angle (degrees) Power compensation (dB) #1 -45 5 #2 0 3 #3 -45 5

[0070] In another example, assuming that each panel generates a wide beam with 1 patch and each panel generates a narrow beam with 4 patches, Figure 4B In the beam gain measurement in , the following power compensation values ​​can be obtained:

[0071] Narrow beam Relative angle (degrees) Power compensation (dB) #1 60 11 #2 30 7 #3 -30 7 #4 -60 11

[0072] It should be understood that the above power compensation values ​​are given only as examples. Figure 4A and 4B In the example shown, the power compensation information is based on a comparison of a wide beam and a narrow beam in one dimension with relative angles measured in the horizontal plane, but the power compensation information can be based on relative angles measured in both the horizontal and vertical planes, such as comparing a wide beam and a narrow beam in three dimensions.

[0073] Figures 5 to 8 The transmitting device is shown to be configured to perform different example functions for sidelink transmission (TX) beam scanning, such as during sidelink transmission beam scanning. It should be understood that the device can be configured with any combination of the examples shown. In the example, it is assumed that the sidelink transmission time slot used is based on Figure 3 The time slot structure shown in Figure 2 The spatial overlap of the sidelink transmission beams is shown in .

[0074] refer to Figure 5 , the apparatus performs sidelink transmission beam scanning during a sidelink transmission time slot, the sidelink transmission time slot comprising a plurality of symbols. More specifically, the apparatus transmits (block 501) a first portion of the symbol at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot. After the first portion, the apparatus transmits (block 502) two or more second portions of the symbol at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams, one second portion per narrow beam, the second transmission power may be less than the first transmission power and / or wherein the second transmission power may be determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam (e.g., a transmission power gain difference).

[0075] As described above, the first part includes at least one or more symbols used for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second part includes at least reference signals, one reference signal per second part.

[0076] refer to Figure 6 , the transmitting device may be configured to determine (block 601) a power offset per narrow beam based on a gain difference between a wide beam and a narrow beam before performing sidelink transmission beam scanning, and to set (block 602) a second transmission power per narrow beam by reducing the power offset determined for the narrow beam in block 601 from the first transmission power (transmission power of the wide beam). Then, the first transmission power and the determined second transmission power are used (block 603) for one or more sidelink transmission (TX) beam scanning.

[0077] The determination of the power compensation in block 601 may include obtaining a preconfigured value, or determining a compensation value based on a gain difference. The gain difference may be determined based on the number of narrow beams and / or based on the relative angle between the wide beam and the narrow beam and / or based on the beam shape of the wide beam and the narrow beam. The gain difference may be determined by obtaining a preconfigured value or by a value obtained by performing a measurement. Even though the gain difference depends on multiple factors, for sidelink transmission beam scanning, the accuracy provided by using only the number of beams is an option. For example, 2 narrow beams means 3dB gain per narrow beam, 4 narrow beams means 6dB gain per narrow beam, 8 narrow beams means 9dB gain per narrow beam, etc., assuming that the number of patch antennas used to generate a single beam is equal to the number of feasible beams generated. However, also considering the above Figure 4A and 4B By describing the relative angle, the accuracy of determining the power compensation is increased.

[0078] Furthermore, in some implementations, in block 602, when the second transmission power or powers are set, a safety margin may be applied, such as 1 dB, on top of the determined power backoff to reduce the chance of saturation of an analog-to-digital converter in any receiving device. For example, the radiation beam pattern or shape may be changed for a variety of reasons, including changes in the vicinity of the transmitting device, which effectively changes the beam pattern and thus may create a risk of saturation of the analog-to-digital converter. Of course, the margin may be applied when the power backoff is determined in block 601.

[0079] Figure 7 and Figure 8 The functionality of sidelink transmit (TX) beam scanning when performed on multiple (ie, two or more) panels is disclosed. Figure 7 In the example of , sidelink transmit beam scanning is performed on one panel at a time, while Figure 8 In the example, sidelink transmit beam scanning is performed on multiple panels at once.

[0080] exist Figure 7In the example, a sidelink transmission (TX) beam scan (block 700) is performed by transmitting a first portion using a wide beam on the panel and two or more second portions using a narrow beam on the panel, panel by panel. In the non-limiting example shown, an unused panel is employed (block 701), i.e., a panel that has not been used during this sidelink transmission beam scan, and a first portion of the sidelink transmission time slot is transmitted using a wide beam on the panel at a first transmission power (block 702), and then two or more second portions (block 703) are transmitted using two or more narrow beams on the panel at (multiple) second transmission powers. The process of blocks 701 to 703 is repeated until (block 704) all panels used for this transmission sidelink beam scan (i.e., the panels that generated the narrow beams to be scanned this time) have been used during the sidelink transmission beam scan. The process then continues with selecting (block 705) one or more transmission beams for future use, as will be described below. Fig.10 , 11 and any one of 12 is described in more detail.

[0081] exist Figure 8 In an example, sidelink transmission (TX) beam scanning (block 800) is performed by transmitting a first portion at least partially simultaneously (i.e., with overlapping transmission times, e.g., simultaneously or with some offset in the start time of transmission) on at least two of the plurality of panels using a wide beam at a first transmission power during a time slot, and transmitting two or more second portions using one of the at least two panels at a time using a narrow beam. In other words, the apparatus may use narrow beams on all panels or on a subset of the panels.

[0082] exist Figure 8 In the example of , for ease of description, it is assumed that all panels have been used and that the narrow beams available via the panels are at most as many as one time slot can occupy the second part, but the example is not limited to such a solution. If more narrow beams are available than one time slot can occupy, the process can be performed over multiple time slots, i.e. repeated with different narrow beams. For this purpose, for example, the receiving device can be configured to report for each time slot used, or the receiving device can receive the number of time slots used during the scanning process to be reported in the configuration information after the scanning has been performed.

[0083] refer to Figure 8, sidelink transmit (TX) beam scanning (block 800) is performed by transmitting (block 801) a first portion on multiple panels at a first transmission power using wide beams at least partially simultaneously during a time slot. It should be understood that the first transmission power may be different on different panels. Then one of the multiple panels (block 802) can be selected and the unused narrow beams of the selected panel, and a second portion of a time slot is transmitted (block 803) using the selected narrow beam at its second transmission power. The process of selecting (block 803) panels and narrow beams and then transmitting (block 803) the second portion is repeated until (block 804) all narrow beams have been transmitted. The process then continues with selecting (block 805) one or more transmission beams, as will be described below using Fig.10 , 11 Any of 1 and 12 are described in more detail. One or more transmission beams are selected for future transmission in one or more additional time slots, for example for data transmission.

[0084] Fig. 9 An example function of a receiving device during a sidelink transmission beam scan is shown. The receiving device does not need to know in advance how the transmitting device performs the sidelink transmission beam scan, and when the receiving device is located near the transmitting device, it receives one sidelink transmission time slot, or at least a first part, and at least a second part in the example shown. The one sidelink transmission time slot is used for transmission beam scanning and includes a plurality of symbols.

[0085] refer to Fig. 9 , the device receives (block 901) a first portion of symbols from a transmitting device performing a sidelink transmission beam scan during a sidelink transmission (TX) time slot, the first portion including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control. The device sets (block 902) its analog-to-digital converter (ADC) gain to be used during the receive time slot based on one or more symbols for automatic gain control received at the beginning. The analog-to-digital gain can be set based on symbol 0 of the time slot and the power level on the carrier or channel during the first portion. For example, the device can decode the first symbol and look for the sidelink control information first phase and second phase. The first phase is sent in the physical sidelink control channel, and based on the first phase, the receiving device knows where to find the physical sidelink shared channel and how to decode it, as well as many other settings, such as whether to request channel state information. The device can measure the energy level on the frequency band during one or more symbols for automatic gain control and set its ADC gain to a predefined target, subject to a maximum gain constraint, which can be preconfigured by the manufacturing transmission of the device, for example, the goal is to provide an accurate value without saturation and without adding too much noise. When out-of-band signals are filtered, the ADC gain can be for the entire frequency band.

[0086] The device then detects (block 903) a second portion from at least one of the two or more second portions in a sidelink transmission time slot after the first portion, and measures (block 904), i.e., performs a measurement based on the detected second portion. The device then sends (block 905) information, such as a message, to the transmitting device, indicating at least the best second portion based on the measurement.

[0087] Figures 10 to 12 An example of information exchange to a receiving device described by a receiving device (device B) through a side link provided by a transmitting device (device A) when side link transmission beam scanning is performed during one time slot (time slot N) is shown. In addition, in the example shown, it is assumed that the number of narrow beams is four and the time slot structure corresponds to Figure 3 For completeness of description, it is further assumed that device B detects corresponding four second parts and thus four reference signals. It is straightforward to implement these examples to any number of narrow beams and / or a receiving device that detects a subset of the second parts during sidelink transmission beam scanning. Differences between the examples are indicated by reference numerals, in this way Fig.10 and / or Fig.11 and / or Fig.12 The same reference numbers in the drawings indicate similar functions or messages.

[0088] exist Fig.10 In the example shown, it is assumed that the discovery process, sidelink initialization and configuration process (including measurement report configuration) between device A and device B do not include features dedicated to the sidelink transmission beam scanning disclosed herein. For example, they may be based on traditional processes, or any corresponding future processes (not including dedicated features).

[0089] refer to Fig.10 , device A determines (block 10-1) the power compensation for the second part, for example as described above Figure 6 The power compensations may be determined as part of the transmit beam scanning process, or in an early stage of the beam alignment process, or they may be determined already when device A starts providing four transmit beams for the side link, for example, or just before device A starts a discovery process to discover nearby devices (receiving devices), or during the discovery process, or during an earlier discovery process started by the receiving device (which may be device B or another receiving device).

[0090] When slot N starts (block 10-2), device A starts transmitting (message 10-3) symbols in the first part using a wide beam at a first transmit power. In the example shown, it is assumed that symbol 0 is an AGC symbol, ie, a symbol for automatic gain control (AGC).

[0091] When device B receives the first part (message 10-3), it performs AGC, i.e. sets (block 10-4) its ADC gain (analog to digital converter gain) based on the power level on the carrier / channel during symbol 0, e.g. as described above using Fig. 9 Then, device B will decode other symbols in the first part to obtain other possible information, such as side link control information. In addition, device B may perform one or more reference signal measurements and / or other measurements on the first part in block 10-4, and report the measurement results separately according to the measurement report configuration or report the measurement results using a narrow beam measurement report.

[0092] After the first part, device A sends the second part using a narrow beam with (multiple) second transmission powers. In the example shown, the reference signal sent in the second part is a CSI-RS (channel state information reference signal). Correspondingly, in the example shown, device B performs reference signal measurement on the detected second part. More specifically, device A uses a first narrow beam to send (block 10-5-1) the first and second parts including CSI-RS#1 with a corresponding reduced transmission power (second transmission power, determined in block 10-1), and device B performs (block 10-6-1) channel state information measurement for CSI-RS#1. Then, device A uses a second narrow beam to send (block 10-5-2) the second part including CSI-RS#2 with a corresponding reduced transmission power (second transmission power, determined in block 10-1), and device B performs (block 10-6-2) channel state information measurement for CSI-RS#2. Then, device A transmits (block 10-5-3) a third second portion including CSI-RS#3 using a third narrow beam with a corresponding reduced transmission power (second transmission power, determined in block 10-1), and device B performs (block 10-6-3) channel state information measurement for CSI-RS#3. Then, device A transmits (block 10-5-4) a fourth second portion including CSI-RS#4 using a fourth narrow beam with a corresponding reduced transmission power (second transmission power, determined in block 10-1), and device B performs (block 10-6-4) channel state information measurement for CSI-RS#4.

[0093] Device B processes the measurement results (block 10-7) into one or more reports to indicate the reception quality according to the measurement report configuration, and sends (message 10-8) one or more reports to device A. For example, device B may calculate one or more measurement values ​​for each second part (each narrow beam) as measurement results. One or more measurement values ​​indicating the reception quality of the narrow beam may include reference signal received power (RSRP) and / or reference signal strength indicator (RSSI) and / or channel quality indicator (CQI). The report may include one or more measurement results, and the measurement report is associated with the corresponding beam index or CSI-RS index or symbol number in the report. For example, for the purpose of joint CQI and beam reporting, device B may report CQI values ​​and CSI-RS indexes in pairs.

[0094] exist Fig.10 In the example shown, upon receiving the measurement result (message 10-8), device A updates (block 10-9) the measurement result according to the narrow beam included in the report (message 10-8) to take into account the difference between the first transmission power and the second transmission power of the narrow beam. Figure 4B In the example of 4 beams described in , RSRP#1 measured on CSI-RS#1 can be updated by power compensation of 11dB, RSRP#2 measured on CSI-RS#2 can be updated by power compensation of 7dB, and so on. In another example, the report includes a CQI value. In the example, the updated CQI value can be obtained by mapping the received CQI value to a signal to interference plus noise ratio SINR (for example, by using a link curve), adding the corresponding gain to the SINR to obtain an updated SINR, and then mapping the updated SINR to a CQI value (updated CQI value), for example, by using a link curve. Device A uses the updated result to select (block 10-9) a transmission beam for transmission to device B. Device A can also determine a modulation and coding scheme, for example, using the updated result of the selected beam. By using the updated value, the transmission parameters can better reflect the future transmission quality, while using the value that has not been updated, the transmission parameters will be more conservative, that is, selected for poor link quality. Thus, updating may be performed even in the case where the reception quality of only one beam has been reported, for example because it is the only beam detected, the fact that one beam is reported will cause that beam to be selected.

[0095] It should be understood that the selected transmission beam (block 10-9) may be one of a narrow beam or one of a wide beam and a narrow beam.For example, device B may be configured to measure and report a reference signal, such as a demodulation reference signal, received in the first portion.

[0096] exist Fig.11In the example shown, it is assumed that the sidelink initialization and configuration process (including measurement report configuration) includes features specific to the sidelink transmit beam scanning disclosed herein.

[0097] refer to Fig.11 , device A determines (block 10-1) the power compensation for the second part, as described above using Fig.10 described.

[0098] During initialization and configuration, device A and device B exchange (one or more messages 11-2) information related to sidelink communication. The information may be "PC5 RRC (re) configuration", which may be modified to include the device's ability to support beamforming (beam capabilities) and CSI-RS configuration options configured for use in the sidelink. The information (one or more messages 11-2) may include one or more of the following:

[0099] -Indication of whether CSI-RS is enabled.

[0100] - An indication of whether CSI-RS for transmit beam alignment is enabled.

[0101] - CSI-RS configuration (CSI-RS(s) configured for transmit beam alignment per slot or subchannel or per narrow beam (second part within each slot)) - subject to the transmit beam switching time capability of the device.

[0102] The information may also contain receive beam alignment related information, such as:

[0103] - An indication of whether CSI-RS for receive beam alignment is enabled.

[0104] - CSI-RS configuration (CSI-RS(s) configured per slot or subchannel for receive beam alignment) - is subject to the capabilities of the device's receive beam switching time and receive beam measurement time.

[0105] In other words, during the exchange of radio resource control configuration information for sidelink communication between device A and device B, at least some information regarding the sidelink beam alignment capabilities is exchanged.

[0106] In addition, device A sends a message, namely a request (message 11-3), requesting channel state information, which message at least includes measurement report instructions for two or more narrow beams. The message may be a CSI request, which may include one or more of the following:

[0107] - an indication of the type of request or an indication of the CSI-RS type. The type may be CQI or transmit beam alignment, or both CQI and transmit beam alignment. The indication of the type indicates to device B the type of measurement and what to report. For CQI type, device B may report a CQI value and a rank indicator. For transmit beam alignment, device B may report at least one index associated with one or more strongest detected beams, for example explicitly using a CSI-RS index, or the start / end symbol of the reported CSI-RS.

[0108] - The CSI configuration used, in particular if more than one CSI configuration is available, e.g. to support different numbers of CSI-RS per slot.

[0109] -The number of CSI-RS to be measured.

[0110] - Indication of time slot N.

[0111] When time slot N begins (block 10-2), sidelink transmit beam scanning and beam selection are performed (block 11-5), for example as described above using Fig.10 As described, or as will be used Fig.12 described.

[0112] Fig.12 The example shown in Fig.10 and 11 Unlike the example shown in , device A sends information to device B, the information indicating the gain difference between the transmission power of the first part and the second part of each second part.

[0113] refer to Fig.12 , device A determines (block 10-1) the power compensation for the second part, as described above using Fig.10 As described above, the power compensation or information indicating the power compensation is then sent to the device B (message 12-1). The power compensation or information indicating the power compensation can be sent using a dedicated message, or sent in the information related to the side link communication, that is, in Fig.11 In one or more messages 11-2, for example as part of the CSI-RS configuration, or in a message requesting channel state information, i.e. Fig.11 If both devices are preconfigured to determine the power compensation in a similar manner, the information indicating the power compensation may be information indicating the number of narrow beams, such as the number of CSI-RS to be measured, or information about the relative angle, such as described above using Figure 6 shown.

[0114] When time slot N begins (block 10-2), the sidelink transmission beam is scanned and measured as described above using Fig.10In addition, device B processes the measurement results (block 12-7) into one or more reports according to the measurement report configuration to indicate the reception quality, as described using block 10-7. Fig.12 In the example of , device B also updates one or more measurement values ​​to account for the difference between the first transmission power and the second transmission power of the narrow beam before processing the measurement results into a report. Figure 4B In the example of 4 beams described, RSRP#1 measured on CSI-RS#1 can be updated by power compensation of 11dB, RSRP#2 measured on CSI-RS#2 can be updated by power compensation of 7dB, and so on. In another example, the report includes a CQI value. In the example, the updated SINR can be obtained by mapping the received CQI value to the signal to interference plus noise ratio SINR (for example, by using a link curve), adding the corresponding gain to the SINR, and then mapping the updated SINR to the CQI value (updated CQI value), for example, by using the link curve. Device B processes (block 12-7) the updated measurement value (updated measurement result) into one or more reports according to the measurement report configuration to indicate the reception quality, and sends (message 12-8) one or more reports to device A.

[0115] Device A uses the measurement result(s) in the one or more reports to select (block 12-9) a transmission beam for transmission to device B. Device A may also determine a modulation coding scheme, for example, using the results reported by device B for the selected beam.

[0116] The above different methods of implementing symbol level transmission beam scanning that can be performed during a single time slot can be implemented without the need for the single time slot resource used for sidelink transmission beam scanning to be time orthogonal to other sidelink transmissions, and AGC problems are avoided. In addition, the delay in the beam alignment process is reduced, thereby consuming less power. In addition, the restrictions on the beam tracking algorithm are simplified.

[0117] The above-mentioned Figures 2 to 12 The blocks, related functions and information exchanges (messages) described have no absolute time order, some of them may be executed simultaneously or in a different order than the given order. Other functions may also be executed between them or within them, and other information may be sent and / or other rules may be applied. Some of the blocks or parts of the blocks or one or more pieces of information may also be omitted or replaced by corresponding blocks or parts of the blocks or one or more pieces of information.

[0118] Fig.13An apparatus 1301 according to some embodiments is shown. The apparatus may be any device or apparatus that can use sidelink communication. For example, the apparatus 1301 may be a standalone electronic device or an electronic device included in another device or a wearable device. Another example of the apparatus is described above using Figure 1 and Figure 2 are listed.

[0119] The device 1301 may include one or more communication control circuit systems 1320 (such as at least one processor) and at least one memory 1330 (including one or more algorithms 1331, such as computer program code (software)), wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) together with the at least one processor are configured to enable the device to perform any one of the exemplary functions of the above-mentioned device. The at least one memory 1330 may also include at least one database 1332.

[0120] refer to Fig.13 , the one or more communication control circuit systems 1320 of the device 1301 include at least one side link transmission beam scanning circuit system 1321 (SL TX beam scanning). According to an embodiment, the side link transmission beam scanning circuit system 1321 is configured to perform at least one of the functions of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or at least perform the functions of a transmitting device and a receiving device, depending on its role in the side link communication. To this end, the side link transmission beam scanning circuit system 1321 of the device 1301 is configured to use one or more separate circuit systems to perform at least some of the functions of the above-mentioned corresponding devices, for example, by Figures 2 to 12 .

[0121] refer to Fig.13 , memory 1330 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory.

[0122] refer to Fig.13, the device 1301 may also include different interfaces 1310, such as one or more communication interfaces (TX / RX), which include hardware and / or software for implementing communication connectivity according to one or more communication protocols. One or more communication interfaces 1310 can enable connection to the core network of the Internet and / or wireless communication network. One or more communication interfaces 1310 can provide the device with communication capabilities to communicate in a cellular communication system and to enable communication with different network nodes or elements, for example using side link communication. One or more communication interfaces 1310 may include standard well-known components, such as amplifiers, filters, frequency converters, (de)modulators and encoder / decoder circuit systems controlled by corresponding control units, as well as one or more panels (antennas).

[0123] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations only, such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuitry only, and (b) combinations of hardware circuitry and software (and / or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software, including a digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s), which work together to enable an apparatus (such as a terminal device or access node) to perform various functions, and (c) hardware circuitry and processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), which requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when the software is not required for operation. This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" also covers implementations of hardware circuitry or processor(s) or a portion of a hardware circuitry or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuitry" also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit for an access node or terminal device or other computing or networking equipment, if applicable to a particular claim element.

[0124] In one embodiment, Fig.13 At least some of the functions of the apparatus may be shared between two physically separate devices to form an operating entity. Therefore, the apparatus may be regarded as depicting an operating entity comprising one or more physically separate devices for performing at least some of the described processes.

[0125] In one embodiment, Figures 2 to 12At least some of the processes described in connection with the invention may be performed by an apparatus including corresponding components for performing at least some of the described processes. Some example components for performing these processes may include at least one of the following: a detector, a processor (including dual-core and multi-core processors), a digital signal processor, a controller, a receiver, a transmitter, an encoder, a decoder, a memory, a RAM, a ROM, software, firmware, a display, a user interface, a display circuit system, a user interface circuit system, a user interface software, a display software, a circuit, an antenna, an antenna circuit system, and a circuit system. In one embodiment, at least one processor, a memory, and a computer program code form a processing component or include one or more computer program code portions for performing the processing according to the invention. Figures 2 to 12 Any embodiment or operation thereof performs one or more operations.

[0126] The embodiments may also be implemented in the form of a computer process defined by a computer program or part thereof. Figures 2 to 12 The described examples and embodiments of implementation can be performed by executing at least a portion of a computer program including corresponding instructions. The computer program can be provided as a computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon or as a non-transient computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon. The computer program can be in source code form, object code form, or some intermediate form, and can be stored in a carrier, which can be any entity or device capable of carrying a program. For example, a computer program can be stored on a computer program distribution medium readable by a computer or processor. For example, a computer program medium can be, for example, but not limited to, a recording medium, a computer memory, a read-only memory, an electric carrier signal, a telecommunication signal, and a software distribution package. The computer program medium can be a non-transient medium. As used herein, the term "non-transient" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM and ROM). The coding of the software for executing the illustrated and described embodiments fully belongs to the scope of those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0127] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the examples in the accompanying drawings, it is clear that the embodiments are not limited thereto, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate the embodiments, rather than to limit them. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, with the advancement of technology, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments can (but not necessarily) be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

Claims

1. A device comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: Sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by, during a sidelink transmission time slot comprising a plurality of symbols, sending a first portion of the symbols at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot, and sending two or more second portions of the symbols at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion, one second portion for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal for each second portion. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the reference signal is a reference signal for channel state information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further at least perform: The gain difference is determined based on the number of the narrow beams, and / or based on a relative angle between the wide beam and the narrow beam, and / or based on beam shapes of the wide beam and the narrow beam.

4. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: After receiving information indicative of reception quality of at least one or more narrow beams from a receiving device, a transmission beam is selected for transmission to the receiving device.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: updating the indicated reception quality to account for the transmission gain difference based on the indicated reception quality of the narrow beam; and Based on the updated reception quality, the transmission beam is selected.

6. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: Before performing the sidelink transmission beam scanning, a message requesting channel state information is sent to at least one of the one or more receiving devices, the message including at least a measurement report instruction for the two or more narrow beams.

7. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: During an exchange of radio resource control configuration information for sidelink communication between the device and a receiving device among the one or more receiving devices, at least information regarding a sidelink beam alignment capability is exchanged.

8. The apparatus of any preceding claim, comprising a plurality of panels, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: The sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by transmitting the first portion panel by panel using the wide beam on the panel and transmitting the two or more second portions using the narrow beam on the panel.

9. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, comprising a plurality of panels, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: The sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by at least partially and simultaneously using a wide beam to transmit the first part on at least two of the multiple panels at a first transmission power during the one time slot, and using a narrow beam to transmit the two or more second parts using one panel of the at least two panels at a time.

10. A device comprising at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: During a sidelink transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols, receiving a first portion of the symbols at the beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device performing the sidelink transmission beam scanning, the first portion including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control; setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during the reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first portion of the time slot; detecting at least one second portion from two or more second portions after the first portion in the sidelink transmission time slot; performing a measurement on a reference signal in the detected second portion according to the detected second portion; as well as Based on the measurement, a message indicating at least the best second part is sent to the sending device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further perform at least: receiving, prior to receiving the one sidelink transmission time slot, information indicating a power gain between transmission powers of the first portion and the second portion of each second portion from the transmitting device; and Said information is used when determining at least said optimal second portion.

12. A method comprising: Sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by, during a sidelink transmission time slot comprising a plurality of symbols, sending a first portion of the symbols at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot, and sending two or more second portions of the symbols at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion, one second portion for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal for each second portion. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the reference signal is a reference signal for channel state information.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising: The gain difference is determined based on the number of the narrow beams, and / or based on a relative angle between the wide beam and the narrow beam, and / or based on beam shapes of the wide beam and the narrow beam.

15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 12 to 14, further comprising: After receiving information indicative of reception quality of at least one or more narrow beams from a receiving device, a transmission beam is selected for transmission to the receiving device.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: updating the indicated reception quality to account for the transmission gain difference based on the indicated reception quality of the narrow beam; as well as Based on the updated reception quality, the transmission beam is selected.

17. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 12 to 16, further comprising: Before performing the sidelink transmission beam scanning, a message requesting channel state information is sent to at least one of the one or more receiving devices, the message including at least a measurement report instruction for the two or more narrow beams.

18. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 12 to 17, further comprising: During an exchange of radio resource control configuration information for sidelink communication between the device and a receiving device among the one or more receiving devices, at least information regarding a sidelink beam alignment capability is exchanged.

19. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 12 to 18, further comprising: The sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by transmitting the first portion panel by panel using the wide beam on the panel and transmitting the two or more second portions using the narrow beam on the panel.

20. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 12 to 18, further comprising: The sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by at least partially and simultaneously using a wide beam to transmit the first part on at least two of the multiple panels at a first transmission power during the one time slot, and using a narrow beam to transmit the two or more second parts using one panel of the at least two panels at a time.

21. A method comprising: During a sidelink transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols, receiving a first portion of the symbols at the beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device performing the sidelink transmission beam scanning, the first portion including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control; setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during the reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first portion of the time slot; detecting at least one second portion from two or more second portions after the first portion in the sidelink transmission time slot; performing a measurement on a reference signal in the detected second portion according to the detected second portion; as well as Based on the measurement, a message indicating at least the best second part is sent to the sending device.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: receiving, prior to receiving the one sidelink transmission time slot, information from the transmitting device indicating a power gain between transmission powers of the first portion and the second portion of each second portion; as well as Said information is used when determining at least said optimal second portion.

23. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for at least one of a first function or a second function, for performing the corresponding function: The first function at least includes: performing sidelink transmission beam scanning by, during a sidelink transmission time slot comprising a plurality of symbols, transmitting at the beginning of the time slot a first portion of the symbols using a wide beam at a first transmission power, and, after the first portion, transmitting two or more second portions of the symbols using two or more narrow beams at a second transmission power, one second portion per narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal per second portion; as well as The second function at least includes: In response to receiving, during a sidelink transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols, a first portion of the symbols at a beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device performing sidelink transmission beam scanning, the first portion including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control, setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during the reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first portion of the time slot; detecting at least one second portion from two or more second portions after the first portion in the sidelink transmission time slot; performing a measurement on a reference signal in the detected second portion based on the detected second portion; and Based on the measurement, a message indicating at least the best second part is sent to the sending device.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein the computer readable medium is a non-transitory computer readable medium.

25. An apparatus comprising components for: Sidelink transmission beam scanning is performed by, during a sidelink transmission time slot comprising a plurality of symbols, sending a first portion of the symbols at a first transmission power using a wide beam at the beginning of the time slot, and sending two or more second portions of the symbols at a second transmission power using two or more narrow beams after the first portion, one second portion for each narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal for each second portion.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the reference signal is a reference signal for channel state information.

27. The apparatus according to claim 25 or 26, further comprising: Means for determining the gain difference based on the number of the narrow beams, and / or based on the relative angle between the wide beam and the narrow beam, and / or based on the beam shapes of the wide beam and the narrow beam.

28. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 27, further comprising: Means for selecting a transmission beam for transmission to a receiving device upon receiving from the receiving device information indicative of a reception quality of at least one or more narrow beams.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising: means for updating said indicated reception quality based on the indicated reception quality of the narrow beam to account for said transmission gain difference; as well as wherein the means for selecting is configured to select the transmission beam based on the updated reception quality.

30. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 29, further comprising: means for sending a message requesting channel state information to at least one of the one or more receiving devices before performing the sidelink transmission beam scanning, the message comprising at least a measurement report instruction for the two or more narrow beams.

31. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 30, further comprising: Means for exchanging at least information regarding sidelink beam alignment capabilities during an exchange of radio resource control configuration information for sidelink communications between the device and a receiving device of the one or more receiving devices.

32. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 31 further includes a plurality of panels, wherein the component is further configured to perform the side link transmission beam scanning by sending the first part panel by panel using the wide beam on the panel and sending the two or more second parts using the narrow beam on the panel.

33. The device according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 31 further includes a plurality of panels, wherein the component is further configured to perform the sidelink transmission beam scanning by at least partially and simultaneously using a wide beam to send the first part on at least two of the plurality of panels with a first transmission power during the one time slot, and using a narrow beam to send the two or more second parts using one of the at least two panels at a time.

34. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, during a sidelink transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and comprising a plurality of symbols, a first portion of the symbols at the beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device performing sidelink transmission beam scanning, the first portion comprising at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control; means for setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during said reception of said time slot based on said one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in said first portion of said time slot; means for detecting at least one second portion from two or more second portions after the first portion in the sidelink transmission time slot; means for performing a measurement of a reference signal in the detected second portion based on the detected second portion; as well as Means for sending a message to the sending device indicating at least an optimal second portion based on the measurement.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising: means for receiving, prior to receiving said one sidelink transmission time slot, from said transmitting device, information indicating a power gain between the transmission powers of said first portion and said second portion of each second portion; as well as Means for using said information to determine at least said optimal second portion.

36. A computer program comprising instructions for at least one of a first function or a second function, said instructions, when executed by a device, causing said device to perform at least said first function or said second function, The first function at least includes: performing sidelink transmission beam scanning by, during a sidelink transmission time slot comprising a plurality of symbols, transmitting at the beginning of the time slot a first portion of the symbols using a wide beam at a first transmission power and, after the first portion, transmitting two or more second portions of the symbols using two or more narrow beams at a second transmission power, one second portion per narrow beam, the second transmission power being determined based on a gain difference between the wide beam and the narrow beam, wherein the first portion comprises at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control in one or more receiving devices, and the second portion comprises at least a reference signal, one reference signal per second portion; as well as The second function at least includes: In response to receiving, during a sidelink transmission time slot for transmission beam scanning and including a plurality of symbols, a first portion of the symbols at a beginning of the time slot from a transmitting device performing sidelink transmission beam scanning, the first portion including at least one or more symbols for automatic gain control, setting an analog-to-digital converter gain to be used during the reception of the time slot based on the one or more symbols for automatic gain control received in the first portion of the time slot; detecting at least one second portion from two or more second portions after the first portion in the sidelink transmission time slot; performing a measurement on a reference signal in the detected second portion based on the detected second portion; and Based on the measurement, a message indicating at least the best second part is sent to the sending device.

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