User equipment assisted inter-sector interference avoidance

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for reducing inter-sector interference. A method generally includes: in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) mode, sending a first beamformed transmission to a first user equipment (UE) in a first sector using a first beam, and sending a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector using a second beam, wherein the BS is configured to control multiple sectors including the first sector and the second sector; receiving a feedback report from the first UE, the feedback report indicating the inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector due to the second beamformed transmission; and taking one or more actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 16 / 536,130, filed on August 8, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 717,438, filed on August 10, 2018, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application, and their entireties are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to techniques for reducing inter-sector interference. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access systems include 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

[0005] In some examples, a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations (BSs), each of which is capable of simultaneously supporting communication of multiple communication devices (also referred to as user equipment (UE)). In an LTE or LTE-A network, a collection of one or more base stations may define an eNodeB (eNB). In other examples (e.g., in a next generation, new radio (NR) or 5G network), a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes (ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmission reception points (TRPs), etc.) communicating with multiple central units (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs), etc.), wherein a collection of one or more distributed units communicating with a central unit may define an access node (e.g., which may be referred to as a base station, 5G NB, next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), TRP, etc.). A base station or distributed unit may communicate with a group of UEs on a downlink channel (e.g., for transmission from a base station or to a UE) and an uplink channel (e.g., for transmission from a UE to a base station or distributed unit).

[0006] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at a city, country, region, or even global level. New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is an enhancement set of the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. It is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMA with cyclic prefix (CP) on downlink (DL) and uplink (UL). To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0007] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, there is a need for further improvements in NR and LTE technologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the invention

[0008] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, no single aspect of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present disclosure as expressed by the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description of the Invention," it will be understood how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages, including improved communications between base stations and user equipment in a wireless network (such as reduced inter-sector interference from beamformed downlink transmissions).

[0009] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a base station. The method generally includes: in a multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) mode, using a first beam to send a first beamformed transmission to a first user equipment (UE) in a first sector, and using a second beam to send a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector, wherein the BS is configured to control multiple sectors including the first sector and the second sector; receiving a feedback report from the first UE, the feedback report indicating inter-sector interference encountered by the first UE in the first sector due to the second beamformed transmission; and taking one or more actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference encountered by the first UE in the first sector.

[0010] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a user equipment. The method generally includes: receiving a first beamformed transmission sent via a first beam from a base station (BS) in a first sector; receiving an interference beamformed transmission sent via a second beam from the BS in the first sector, the interference beamformed transmission being associated with the second beam and a second sector, wherein the BS is configured to control a plurality of sectors including the first sector and the second sector; generating a feedback report indicating inter-sector interference encountered by a first UE in the first sector due to the interference beamformed transmission; and reporting the feedback report to the BS.

[0011] Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus generally includes: a transmitter configured to send a first beamformed transmission to a first user equipment (UE) in a first sector using a first beam, and to send a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector using a second beam in MU-MIMO mode, wherein the apparatus is configured to control multiple sectors including the first sector and the second sector. The apparatus also includes a receiver configured to receive a feedback report from the first UE, the feedback report indicating inter-sector interference encountered by the first UE in the first sector due to the second beamformed transmission. The apparatus also includes a processing system configured to take one or more actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference encountered by the first UE in the first sector.

[0012] Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus generally includes a receiver configured to receive, in a first sector, a first beamformed transmission sent via a first beam from a base station (BS), and, in the first sector, receive, from the BS, an interference beamformed transmission sent via a second beam, the interference beamformed transmission being associated with a second beam and a second sector, wherein the BS is configured to control a plurality of sectors including the first sector and the second sector. The apparatus also includes a processing system configured to generate a feedback report indicating inter-sector interference encountered by the apparatus in the first sector due to the interference beamformed transmission. The apparatus also includes a transmitter configured to send the feedback report to the BS.

[0013] Aspects of the present disclosure also provide various apparatuses, components, and computer program products corresponding to the above methods and operations.

[0014] To achieve the aforementioned and related purposes, one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are only indicative of several of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects can be employed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to be able to understand in detail the manner in which the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure are achieved, a more specific description briefly outlined above may be obtained with reference to various aspects (some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings). It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the description may allow for other equally effective aspects.

[0016] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example telecommunications system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating designs of example base stations (BSs) and user equipment (UEs) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for reducing inter-sector interference in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating example operations for reducing inter-sector interference in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 5A An example coverage cell is shown in which a UE is experiencing inter-sector interference in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 5B Example coverage cells are shown in which various actions are taken to reduce inter-sector interference in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 6 A communication device according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown, which may include various components configured to perform operations of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0023] Figure 7 A communication device according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown, which may include various components configured to perform operations of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0024] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized in other aspects without specific recitation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for reducing inter-sector interference experienced by a UE based on feedback provided by the UE. For example, a UE in a first sector may monitor an interference beamformed transmission from a BS to another UE located in a second sector. The UE in the first sector may provide feedback to the BS regarding inter-sector interference (such as the interference beamformed transmission), and the BS may take one or more actions to reduce the inter-sector interference based on the feedback received from the UE, as further described herein.

[0026] The following description provides examples and does not limit the scope, applicability or examples set forth in the claims. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed. Various examples may appropriately omit, replace or add various processes or components. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from the order described, and various steps may be added, omitted or combined. Moreover, the features described in some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functions, or structures and functions other than the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "used as an example, instance or illustration". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein is not necessarily to be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

[0027] The technology described herein can be used for various wireless communication technologies, such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are generally used interchangeably. A CDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network can implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

[0028] New Radio (NR) is an emerging wireless communication technology developed in collaboration with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Advanced LTE (LTE-A) are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The technology described herein can be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, although terms commonly associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies may be used herein to describe various aspects, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to communication systems based on other generations, such as 5G and beyond, including NR technology.

[0029] New Radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology) can support various wireless communication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) for wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or higher), millimeter wave (mmW) for high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or higher), massive machine type communication MTC (mMTC) for non-backward compatible MTC technology, and / or mission critical ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). These services may include latency and reliability requirements. These services may also have different transmission time intervals (TTIs) to meet corresponding quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition, these services can coexist in the same subframe.

[0030] Example Wireless Communication System

[0031] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 is shown in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. The wireless communication network 100 may be a new radio (NR) or 5G network that provides UE-assisted inter-sector interference reduction. For example, UE 120a may provide feedback to BS 110a regarding inter-sector interference encountered by UE 120a. In certain aspects, the inter-sector interference encountered by UE 120a may come from beamformed transmissions from BS 110a to UE 120b. BS 110a may take one or more actions as further described herein based on the feedback from UE 120a to reduce the inter-sector interference. For example, BS 110a may identify a beam causing interference and adjust parameters associated with the beam (e.g., the transmit power of the beam) to reduce the inter-sector interference.

[0032] like Figure 1As shown in , the wireless network 100 may include multiple base stations (BS) 110 and other network entities. A BS may be a station that communicates with a user equipment (UE). Each BS 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​a Node B (NB) and / or a Node B subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In the NR system, the term "cell" and the next generation NodeB (gNB), new radio base station (NR BS), 5G NB, access point (AP) or transmission reception point (TRP) may be interchangeable. In some examples, the cell may not necessarily be fixed, and the geographical area of ​​the cell may move according to the location of the mobile BS. In some examples, the base station may be interconnected to each other and / or to one or more other base stations or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, etc.) using any suitable transmission network.

[0033] Generally, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. RAT can also be referred to as radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency can also be referred to as carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, tone, subband, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks can be deployed.

[0034] A base station (BS) may provide communication coverage for macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, and / or other types of cells. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access to UEs with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access to UEs with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access to UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs of users in a home, etc.). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In Figure 1In the illustrated example, BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be macro BSs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. BS 110x may be a pico BS for pico cell 102x. BSs 110y and 110z may be femto BSs for femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS may support one or more (e.g., three) cells.

[0035] The wireless communication network 100 may also include a relay station. A relay station is a station that receives transmissions of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or UE) and sends transmissions of data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or BS). A relay station may also be a UE that relays transmissions for other UEs. Figure 1 In the illustrated example, a relay station 110r may communicate with the BS 110a and the UE 120r to facilitate communication between the BS 110a and the UE 120r. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay, or the like.

[0036] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relays, etc.). These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 20 watts), while a pico BS, a femto BS, and a relay may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 1 watt).

[0037] The wireless communication network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operation.

[0038] A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may also communicate with each other (eg, directly or indirectly) via a wireless or wired backhaul.

[0039] UE 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be fixed or mobile. UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, terminal, access terminal, subscriber unit, station, customer premises equipment (CPE), cellular phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, tablet computer, camera, gaming device, netbook, smartbook, ultrabook, appliance, medical device or medical equipment, biosensor / device, wearable device (such as smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart bracelet, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet, etc.)), entertainment device (e.g., music device, video device, satellite radio, etc.), vehicle-mounted component or sensor, smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. For example, MTC and eMTC UEs include robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc. that can communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. For example, a wireless node can provide connectivity to or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0040] Some wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Typically, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing between subcarriers can be 15kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (called a "resource block" (RB)) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal fast Fourier transfer (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (ie, 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0041] Although aspects of the examples described herein may be associated with LTE technology, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication systems, such as NR. NR may utilize OFDM with a cyclic prefix (CP) on both the uplink and downlink, and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. Beamforming may be supported, and the beam direction may be dynamically configured. MIMO transmissions with precoding may also be supported. MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas (multi-layer DL transmissions with up to 8 streams) and up to 2 streams per UE. Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported with up to 8 serving cells.

[0042] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled, where a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources for communications between some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, allocating, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communications, the subordinate entity utilizes resources allocated by the scheduling entity. The base station is not the only entity that can be used as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE may be used as a scheduling entity, and resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs) may be scheduled, and other UEs may utilize the resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communications. In some examples, a UE may be used as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or a mesh network. In a mesh network example, in addition to communicating with a scheduling entity, UEs may also communicate directly with each other.

[0043] exist Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , a solid line with double arrows indicates desired transmissions between a UE and a serving BS, which is a BS designated to serve the UE on a downlink and / or uplink. A thin dashed line with double arrows indicates interfering transmissions between a UE and a BS.

[0044] Figure 2 BS 110 and UE 120 (eg, Figure 1 For example, antenna 252, processors 266, 258, 264, and / or controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or antenna 234, processors 220, 230, 238, and / or controller / processor 240 of BS 110 may be used to perform various techniques and methods described herein (such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 120). For example, UE 120 may provide feedback to BS 110 regarding inter-sector interference encountered by UE 120. In some aspects, the inter-sector interference encountered by UE 120 may result from a beamformed transmission from BS 110 to another UE located in a different sector than UE 120. BS 110 may take one or more actions as further described herein based on the feedback from UE 120 to reduce the inter-sector interference. For example, BS 110 may identify the beam causing the interference and adjust parameters associated with the beam (e.g., the transmit power of the beam) to reduce the inter-sector interference.

[0045] At BS 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 and control information from a controller / processor 240. The control information may be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and the control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 220 may also generate reference symbols, such as for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a cell-specific reference signal (CRS). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols (if applicable), and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232a to 232t. Each modulator 232 can process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator can further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from modulators 232a to 232t can be transmitted via antennas 234a to 234t, respectively.

[0046] At the UE 120, antennas 252a to 252r can receive downlink signals from the base station 110 and can provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 254a to 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 can adjust (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator can further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 can obtain received symbols from all demodulators 254a to 254r, perform MIMO on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 can process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to the controller / processor 280.

[0047] On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 (e.g., for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from a controller / processor 280 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., for a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 (if applicable), further processed by a demodulator in the transceivers 254a through 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the BS 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modulator 232, detected by the MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide decoded data to a data sink 239 and decoded control information to a controller / processor 240 .

[0048] Controllers / processors 240 and 280 may direct operations at base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. Processor 240 and / or other processors and modules at BS 110 may perform or direct the execution of processes for the techniques described herein. Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110 and UE 120, respectively. Scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0049] Example User Equipment Assisted Inter-Sector Interference Avoidance

[0050] In some wireless communication systems (e.g., NR / millimeter wave networks), analog beamforming is used to improve the performance of transmissions (e.g., millimeter transmissions). The BS and UE can use directional beams to establish a link (e.g., a millimeter wave link). As an example, the BS can use a large antenna array that enables the BS to focus a tight / narrow analog beam directed toward the UE. If the BS transmits to multiple UEs at the same time, the cellular network can increase the network DL capacity. Communicating with multiple UEs at the same time is called multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). MU-MIMO enables the BS to perform DL transmissions simultaneously on different directional beams. In NR, using analog beamforming, MU-MIMO uses "orthogonal" resources in the air domain. With multiple simultaneous DL transmissions in the network, the UE may encounter increased interference, such as inter-sector interference, intra-sector interference, or inter-cell interference. The present disclosure describes a technique for using feedback from a UE to at least reduce the inter-sector interference encountered by the UE.

[0051] Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 300 that may be performed, for example, by a base station (eg, BS 110) to reduce downlink inter-sector interference, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0052] Operations 300 may begin at 302, where a BS transmits a first beamformed transmission to a first user equipment (UE) in a first sector using a first beam and transmits a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector using a second beam in a multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) mode, wherein the BS is configured to control a plurality of sectors including the first sector and the second sector. At 304, the BS receives a feedback report from the first UE indicating inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector due to the second beamformed transmission. At 306, the BS takes one or more actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector.

[0053] Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 400 that may be performed, for example, by a user equipment (eg, UE 120) to reduce inter-sector interference, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0054] Operations 400 may begin at 402, where a UE receives, in a first sector, a first beamformed transmission sent via a first beam from a base station (BS). At 404, the UE receives, in the first sector, an interfering beamformed transmission sent via a second beam from the BS, the interfering beamformed transmission being associated with a second beam and a second sector, wherein the BS is configured to control a plurality of sectors including the first sector and the second sector. At 406, the UE generates a feedback report indicating inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector due to the interfering beamformed transmission. At 408, the UE reports the feedback report to the BS.

[0055] In certain aspects, each beamformed transmission may provide or indicate a beam index associated with the beam and / or a sector index associated with the sector. The beam index may be a unique identifier of a beam linked to one of the transmissions used for beamforming, and the sector index may be a unique identifier of a sector from which the beamformed transmission is sent. In various aspects, the beam index and the sector index may be indicated explicitly or implicitly in the beamformed transmission. For example, control signaling information (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC) message, a media access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) message, or a downlink control information (DCI) message) may be encoded with the beam index and the sector index in the beamformed transmission. As another example, the beam index and / or the sector index may be implicitly indicated based on a phase or frequency change of a signal used to send the beamformed transmission.

[0056] In certain aspects, the BS may indicate to a UE (e.g., the first UE of operation 300) a beamformed transmission (e.g., the second beamformed transmission of operation 300) that is sent simultaneously with a transmission to the UE. For example, the indication of the beamformed transmission may be provided by a scheduling control message via a DCI message, a MAC-CE message, or an RRC message. For example, the BS may send a scheduling control message to the UE indicating a beam index associated with each beamformed transmission and a sector index associated with each beamformed transmission. As another example, at 302, the BS may send a first beamformed transmission to the first UE together with a scheduling control message indicating a first beam index associated with the first beam, a first sector index associated with the first sector and the first beam, a second beam index associated with the second beam, and a second sector index associated with the second sector and the second beam.

[0057] Beamformed transmissions may include various types of transmissions. As an example, beamformed transmissions may include beam training transmissions, beam management transmissions, control transmissions, scheduling transmissions, or data transmissions. That is, beamformed transmissions may come from beam training operations, beam management operations, or data links. Beamformed transmissions may also include various types of synchronization signals or reference signals, such as channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) or demodulation reference signals (DM-RS). In various aspects, sector antennas may be arranged at different azimuth orientations (e.g., 120° spacing). For example, a first beamformed transmission at 402 may be sent via a first sector antenna, which is arranged at an azimuth orientation different from a second sector antenna used to send an interference beamformed transmission.

[0058] The feedback report may provide information about downlink inter-sector interference encountered by the UE. The UE may determine the beam to be included in the feedback report at 406 based on the scheduling control message received at 402 and / or the interfering beamformed transmission received at 404. For example, the feedback report may provide one or more received signal powers of the interfering beamformed transmission, a beam index associated with each received signal power, and / or a sector index associated with each received signal power. The received signal power may be an indication of the signal power of the interfering beamformed transmission measured by the UE, such as a received signal strength indication (RSSI) or a reference signal received power (RSRP). The UE may identify the beam index and / or the sector index from the index included in the beamformed transmission as described herein. In various aspects, the one or more received signal powers may be a measure of the signal power (e.g., RSSI or RSRP) of the interfering beamformed transmission received by the UE based on the beam index and / or the sector index. In certain aspects, the UE may also generate a unique identifier for the beam index and / or the sector index. The feedback report may be sent via various types of messages, including an acknowledgement (ACK) message, a negative ACK (NACK) message, a channel state information (CSI) report, a random access channel (RACH) message, an interference measurement report, or a beam management report.

[0059] Upon receiving the feedback report, the BS may perform various actions to reduce the downlink inter-sector interference encountered by the UE. The BS may identify the beam causing the interference and adjust the parameters associated with the beam to reduce the inter-sector interference. For example, the BS may adjust the transmit power of the beam identified in the feedback report, select a different UE for transmission, switch to single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) mode, or switch to another beam different from the interfering beam. In SU-MIMO mode, the BS may communicate with only a single UE on a specific frequency resource (e.g., a frequency band or subband) at a time, while in MU-MIMO mode, the BS may communicate with multiple UEs simultaneously on the same frequency resource. If the received signal power of the interfering transmission is greater than or equal to a threshold, the BS may perform one or more actions. As an example, the BS may reduce the transmit power of the interfering beamformed transmission with a reporting signal power greater than a threshold. This may reduce the signal strength of the interfering transmission encountered by the UE. As another example, the BS may switch to SU-MIMO to communicate with a UE that encounters inter-sector interference. The BS may take any combination of the actions described herein to reduce the inter-sector interference encountered by the UE.

[0060] In various aspects, the BS may select a UE different from the UE associated with the interfering transmission to send a transmission. The BS may schedule the interfering transmission for a time slot different from the time slot used by the UE experiencing the inter-sector interference, and may also replace the transmission to the interfering UE with a transmission to a possible non-interfering UE. This may eliminate the inter-sector interference associated with the interfering transmission and also allow the BS to remain in MU-MIMO mode. For example, the BS may select a third UE in the second sector of operation 300. The BS may send a first beamformed transmission to a first UE in a first time period using a first beam in MU-MIMO mode, and send a third beamformed transmission to a third UE in a second sector using a third beam. Then, the BS may send a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector using a second beam in MU-MIMO mode in a second time period different from the first time period.

[0061] In various aspects, the BS may identify that, in addition to the beam causing the inter-sector interference, there are other beams available for communicating with the interfering UE. The BS may send a beamformed transmission using a beam different from the beam causing the inter-sector interference. For example, the BS may switch to a lower quality secondary beam instead of a higher quality primary beam to serve the UE. As used herein, a primary beam may be a beam having a higher signal quality than another beam, and a secondary beam may be a beam having a lower signal quality than another beam. The BS may select a secondary beam if the beam has a quality greater than or equal to a threshold quality value. As another example, the BS may transmit to a second UE of operation 300 using a beam different from the second beam used for the second beamformed transmission.

[0062] Figure 5A An example coverage cell of a base station according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown, where a UE is experiencing inter-sector interference. As shown, BS 510 has a coverage cell 502 divided into three sectors, with the coverage cell 502 having a first sector 504, a second sector 506, and a third sector 508. The sectors 504, 506, 508 can be linked to antennas arranged in different azimuth orientations (e.g., 120° spacing).

[0063] In this example, the cell 502 provides links to UEs including a first UE 520a, a second UE 520b, a third UE 520c, a fourth UE 520d, and a fifth UE 520e. The first UE 520a can receive a beamformed downlink transmission on a first beam 530a in a first sector 504, and an interference beamformed downlink transmission on a second beam 530b and a third beam 530c for communicating with the second UE 520b and the third UE 520c, respectively. As shown, the second and third beams 530b, 530c can be directed to the second and third UEs 520b, 520c in the second and third sectors 506, 508, respectively, but the interference beamformed transmissions on these beams may be reflected into the first sector 504, causing inter-sector interference of the first UE 520a. The first UE 520a may generate a feedback report indicating the inter-sector interference encountered by the first UE 520a due to the interference beamformed transmissions in the first sector 504. The BS 510 may take further actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference encountered by the first UE 520a in the first sector 504.

[0064] Figure 5B An example coverage cell of a base station according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown, in which various actions are taken to reduce the inter-sector interference encountered by the UE. The BS 510 may reduce the transmit power of the beamformed transmission on the third beam 530c. As another example, the BS 510 may choose to transmit to the fourth and / or fifth UE 520d, 520e on the beams 530d, 530e directed away from the first UE 520a during the same time period as used to transmit to the first UE 520a. Since the beams 530d and 530e are directed away from the first UE 520a, the first UE 520a may not encounter inter-sector interference from such beams. The BS 510 may also select a different beam such as an auxiliary beam 532c to transmit to the second UE 520c. In this example, the auxiliary beam 532c may have a lower quality than the main beam 530c.

[0065] Figure 6 A communication device 600 (eg, BS 110) is shown, which may include devices configured to perform operations of the techniques disclosed herein (eg, Figure 3600 includes various components (e.g., components corresponding to means plus functions) for the operations shown in . The communication device 600 includes a processing system 602 coupled to a transceiver 608. The transceiver 608 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver) is configured to transmit and / or receive signals for the communication device 600 via an antenna 610, such as the various signals described herein. The processing system 602 can be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 600, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 600.

[0066] The processing system 602 includes a processor 604 coupled to a computer readable medium / memory 612 via a bus 606. In some aspects, the computer readable medium / memory 612 is configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor 604, cause the processor 604 to perform Figure 3 The operations shown in , or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed in this article.

[0067] In some aspects, the processing system 602 may also include a Figure 3 In addition, the processing system 602 may include a sending component 614 for performing the operations shown in FIG. Figure 3 6. In addition, the processing system 602 may include a receiving component 616 for performing the operations shown in FIG. Figure 3 618. In addition, the processing system 602 may include a component for performing Figure 3 6. The sending component 614, receiving component 616, taking action component 618, and control component 620 can be coupled to the processor 604 via bus 606. In some aspects, the sending component 614, receiving component 616, taking action component 618, and control component 620 can be hardware circuits. In some aspects, the sending component 614, receiving component 616, taking action component 618, and control component 620 can be software components that are executed and run on the processor 604.

[0068] Figure 7 A communication device 700 (eg, UE 120) is shown, which may include devices configured to perform operations of the techniques disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 700 and 706. The communication device 700 includes a processing system 702 coupled to a transceiver 708. The transceiver 708 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver) is configured to transmit and / or receive signals for the communication device 700, such as the various signals described herein, via an antenna 710. The processing system 702 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 700, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 700.

[0069] The processing system 702 includes a processor 704 coupled to a computer readable medium / memory 712 via a bus 706. In some aspects, the computer readable medium / memory 712 is configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor 704, cause the processor 704 to perform Figure 4 The operations shown in , or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed in this article.

[0070] In some aspects, the processing system 702 may also include a Figure 4 In addition, the processing system 702 may include a sending component 714 for performing the operations shown in FIG. Figure 4 716 for receiving the operations shown in . In addition, the processing system 702 may include a Figure 4 718. In addition, the processing system 702 may include a component for performing Figure 4 706. The sending component 714, the receiving component 716, the generating component 718, and the reporting component 720 can be coupled to the processor 704 via the bus 706. In some aspects, the sending component 714, the receiving component 716, the generating component 718, and the reporting component 720 can be hardware circuits. In some aspects, the sending component 714, the receiving component 716, the generating component 718, and the reporting component 720 can be software components that are executed and run on the processor 704.

[0071] The method disclosed herein includes one or more steps or actions for implementing the method. Without departing from the scope of the claims, the method steps and / or actions can be interchangeable with each other. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions can be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0072] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiple of the same elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other order of a, b, and c).

[0073] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include estimating, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc. Also, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0074] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but should be given a full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein the reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" (unless so explicitly stated), but "one or more". Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure known or to be known by a person of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference, and are intended to be covered by the claims. Moreover, whether or not the content disclosed herein is expressly recorded in the claims, it is not intended to be contributed to the public. According to the provisions of 35 USC § 112 (f), no claim element is interpreted unless the element is expressly recorded using the phrase "parts for...", or in the case of a method claim, the element is recorded using the phrase "step for...".

[0075] The various operations of the above method can be performed by any suitable component capable of performing the corresponding function. The component may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors. Generally, where operations are shown in the accompanying drawings, those operations may have components with corresponding paired components plus functions.

[0076] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0077] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. The bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system. The bus may link together various circuits including a processor, a machine-readable medium, and a bus interface. The bus interface may be used, in particular, to connect a network adapter to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the user equipment 120 (see Figure 1 ), a user interface (e.g., a keypad, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and will not be described in detail. The processor may be implemented with one or more general and / or special purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuits that can execute software. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the functionality described for the processing system depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the entire system.

[0078] If implemented in software, the function may be stored or sent as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, which include any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and conventional processing, including executing software modules stored on a machine-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor. For example, the machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated by data, and / or a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon separated from a wireless node, all of which may be accessed by the processor through a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium or any part thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as in a cache and / or a general register file. Examples of machine-readable storage media may include, for example, RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage media or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be embodied in a computer program product.

[0079] A software module may include a single instruction or multiple instructions, and may be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media. A computer-readable medium may include multiple software modules. A software module includes instructions that, when executed by a device such as a processor, cause a processing system to perform various functions. A software module may include a transmission module and a reception module. Each software module may reside in a single storage device, or may be distributed across multiple storage devices. For example, when a triggering event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard drive into a RAM. During the execution of a software module, a processor may load some instructions into a cache to increase access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into a general register file for execution by the processor. When referring to the functions of the following software modules, it will be understood that such functions are implemented by the processor when executing instructions from the software module.

[0080] Additionally, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared (IR), radio and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Optical disks, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, and optical disks reproduce data optically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects, computer readable media may include non-transitory computer readable media (e.g., tangible media). Additionally, for other aspects, computer readable media may include transitory computer readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

[0081] Thus, certain aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having instructions stored (and / or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein, for example, for performing the operations described herein and in Figure 3 and Figure 4 The operations are shown in the instructions.

[0082] In addition, it should be understood that the modules and / or other appropriate components for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the user terminal and / or base station when applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of components for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage component (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or a floppy disk, etc.), so that the user terminal and / or base station can obtain the various methods after the storage component is coupled or provided to the device. Moreover, any other suitable technology for providing the methods and techniques described herein to the device can be utilized.

[0083] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components shown above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for a base station BS to perform wireless communication, comprising: In a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) mode, sending a first beamformed transmission to a first user equipment (UE) in a first sector using a first beam, and sending a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector using a second beam, wherein the BS is configured to control a plurality of sectors including the first sector and the second sector; receiving a feedback report from the first UE indicating inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector due to the second beamformed transmission; as well as taking one or more actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector; Taking one or more actions includes: selecting a third UE in the second sector; In MU-MIMO mode, sending the first beamformed transmission to a first UE in the first sector using the first beam in a first time period and sending a third beamformed transmission to a third UE in the second sector using a third beam; and In MU-MIMO mode, in a second time period different from the first time period, the second beamformed transmission is sent to a second UE in the second sector using the second beam, wherein the first beamformed transmission is sent via a first sector antenna, and the first sector antenna is arranged in an azimuth orientation different from the second sector antenna used to send the second beamformed transmission.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first beamforming transmissions indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam and a first sector index associated with the first sector, and wherein each of the second beamforming transmissions indicates a second beam index associated with the second beam and a second sector index associated with the second sector.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first beamformed transmission comprises a scheduling control message indicating a first beam index associated with the first beam, a first sector index associated with the first sector and the first beam, a second beam index associated with the second beam, and a second sector index associated with the second sector and the second beam.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the first and second beamformed transmissions comprises at least one of a beam training transmission, a beam management transmission, a data transmission, a synchronization signal, or a reference signal; and The reference signal includes at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS).

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feedback report provides one or more received signal powers of the second beamformed transmission, a beam index associated with each of the one or more received signal powers, and a sector index associated with each of the one or more received signal powers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the feedback report comprises: The feedback report is received via at least one of an acknowledgement (ACK) message, a negative ACK (NACK) message, a channel state information (CSI) report, an interference measurement report, or a beam management report.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein taking one or more actions comprises at least one of: adjusting a transmit power for the second beamformed transmission sent on the second beam based on the second sector being identified in the feedback report; transmitting to the second UE using a beam different from a second beam used for the second beamformed transmission; or The system transmits to the first UE in single-user MIMO mode.

8. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit a first beamformed transmission to a first user equipment UE in a first sector using a first beam and to transmit a second beamformed transmission to a second UE in a second sector using a second beam in a multi-user multiple input multiple output MU-MIMO mode, wherein the apparatus is configured to control a plurality of sectors including the first sector and the second sector; a receiver configured to receive a feedback report from the first UE, the feedback report indicating inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector due to the second beamformed transmission; as well as a processing system configured to take one or more actions based on the feedback report to reduce the inter-sector interference experienced by the first UE in the first sector; Taking one or more actions includes: selecting a third UE in the second sector; In MU-MIMO mode, sending the first beamformed transmission to a first UE in the first sector using the first beam in a first time period and sending a third beamformed transmission to a third UE in the second sector using a third beam; and In MU-MIMO mode, in a second time period different from the first time period, the second beamformed transmission is sent to a second UE in the second sector using the second beam, wherein the first beamformed transmission is sent via a first sector antenna, and the first sector antenna is arranged in an azimuth orientation different from the second sector antenna used to send the second beamformed transmission.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each of the first beamforming transmissions indicates a first beam index associated with the first beam and a first sector index associated with the first sector, and wherein each of the second beamforming transmissions indicates a second beam index associated with the second beam and a second sector index associated with the second sector.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first beamformed transmission comprises a scheduling control message indicating a first beam index associated with the first beam, a first sector index associated with the first sector and the first beam, a second beam index associated with the second beam, and a second sector index associated with the second sector and the second beam.

11. The device according to claim 8, wherein: Each of the first and second beamformed transmissions comprises at least one of a beam training transmission, a beam management transmission, a data transmission, a synchronization signal, or a reference signal; and The reference signal includes at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS).

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the feedback report provides one or more received signal powers of the second beamformed transmission, a beam index associated with each of the one or more received signal powers, and a sector index associated with each of the one or more received signal powers.

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