Systems and methods for reporting signal quality information

Abstract

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for reporting signal quality information. A wireless user equipment (UE) is disclosed that can employ any of a variety of mechanisms to report signal quality measurements to a wireless network. The UE can impose a time delay between measurement and reporting based on a delay parameter K. The UE can average measurements obtained at different measurement instances. When time conflicts occur between different types of reports, the UE can employ any of a variety of schemes to prioritize the transmission of one type of report over another. The UE can employ differential reporting, including a method to indicate a beam unavailability state. The UE can employ a beam index, including a method to indicate an invalid beam state. A base station can receive the signal quality report and determine beam availability, for example, by triggering a report of channel state information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and more specifically, to a mechanism that enables user equipment to report signal quality information such as signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) to a wireless network. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless user equipment (UE) devices may employ (receive and / or transmit) beamforming, for example, to counteract propagation loss, environmental interference and / or noise, and the susceptibility to obstruction by objects such as buildings, trees, hands, heads, or bodies. A wireless base station may send a configuration message instructing the UE to report SINR measurements of the beam. In response to receiving this message, the UE performs the measurement and reports the results to the base station. The base station can use this report to determine whether the beam will be used for communication with the UE. Therefore, there is a substantial need for mechanisms capable of improving the performance of SINR reporting. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In one set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations. The method may include measuring a beam during a first time interval (e.g., a first timeslot) and determining beam quality information based at least on the measurement. The measurement may include, for example, SINR measurements based on channel measurement resources (CMR) and interference measurement resources (IMR) in a downlink signal. The method may also include transmitting the beam quality information to a base station during a second time interval (e.g., a second timeslot). The amount of delay between the first and second time intervals may be controlled by a delay value K.

[0004] In another set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations. The method may include performing N measurements on a beam at N corresponding measurement instances, where N is a positive integer, and transmitting beam information to a base station, wherein the beam information includes quality information derived from these N measurements. (For example, the quality information can be determined by taking the average of these N measurements). In some embodiments, the value of N for performing the N measurements depends on whether measurement constraints have been configured for performing the N measurements, wherein when measurement constraints are configured, the value of N is equal to one, and when measurement constraints are not configured, the value of N is greater than one.

[0005] In another set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations. The method may include performing N signal measurements and M interference measurements on a beam, where N is a positive integer and M is a positive integer. M may be different from N. The N signal measurements may be performed at N corresponding measurement instances; and the M interference measurements may be performed at M corresponding measurement instances. (Instances may correspond to time intervals, such as time slots). Each of the N signal measurements may be based on channel measurement resources (CMR) at a corresponding location in the N measurement instances; and each of the M signal measurements may be based on interference measurement resources (IMR) at a corresponding location in the M measurement instances. The method may also include transmitting beam information to a base station, wherein the beam information includes quality information derived from the N signal measurements and M interference measurements.

[0006] In another set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations: In response to determining that an instruction for a first sounding reference signal (SRS) and a first uplink control channel having first signal quality information is to be used for uplink transmission on a first carrier and during a first time interval, the method may include transmitting the first uplink control channel including the first signal quality information on the first carrier and during the first time interval, without transmitting the first SRS. The action of suppressing the transmission of the SRS may cause the generation of one or more transmission symbols that include the first uplink control channel having a reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).

[0007] In another set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations. The method may include determining that two or more different types of Channel State Information (CSI) from a set of CSI types are to be transmitted during a first time interval (e.g., a first time slot or symbol interval), wherein the first of the two or more different types corresponds to at least signal quality information. The method may further include: selecting one of the two or more different types of CSI for transmission during the first time interval based on a sorting of the CSI types in the set; and during the first time interval, transmitting data corresponding to the selected type of CSI information, wherein one or more different types not selected are not transmitted during the first time interval.

[0008] In another set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations. The method may include transmitting a first differential signal quality report for a first beam. The first differential signal quality report may indicate that a first differential measurement of the signal quality of the first beam relative to a reference beam is less than or equal to a quantization boundary value, and that a first absolute measurement of the signal quality of the first beam is less than an usability threshold.

[0009] In another set of embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include the following operations. The method may include: receiving configuration information indicating a request to report signal quality information for the N strongest beams in a set of available beams, where N is greater than one; and performing a signal quality measurement (e.g., SINR measurement) on this set of available beams. The method may further include: determining, based on the signal quality measurement, that the set of available beams currently includes M usable beams (fewer than N); and sending information indicating that the set of available beams does not include N usable beams. If the signal quality measurement value of a beam is greater than a usability threshold, the beam can be considered usable.

[0010] In another set of embodiments, the method for operating a wireless base station may include the following operations: The base station may receive a SINR report for a given beam from a wireless user equipment (UE). In response to determining that the SINR indicated by the SINR report is greater than an availability threshold, the base station may send configuration information instructing the UE to report channel state information (CSI) for the given beam. In response to receiving the CSI report for the given beam from the UE, the base station may determine, based on the CSI report, whether the given beam has sufficient quality to support communication with the wireless device. In response to determining that the quality of the given beam is sufficient to support communication with the UE, the base station may send a control message instructing the UE to communicate with the base station using the given beam. Attached Figure Description

[0011] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figures 1 to 2 Examples of wireless communication systems according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0013] Figure 3 Examples of base stations communicating with user equipment according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0014] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a user device according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0015] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0016] Figure 6 An exemplary user equipment 600 according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0017] Figure 7 An example of a base station 700 according to some implementation schemes is shown. The base station 700 can be used with... Figure 6 User equipment 600 communication.

[0018] Figure 8 An example of a report 800 of signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) according to some implementation schemes is shown, wherein the SINR to be reported is based on the most recent measurement instance or the average of multiple measurement instances.

[0019] Figure 9 An example of a SINR report 900 according to some implementation schemes is shown, where the time delay between the measurement time and the reporting time is controlled by a delay parameter K.

[0020] Figure 10 This is an example of a method, according to some implementations, for transmitting beam quality information (such as SINR) using a delay value K.

[0021] Figure 11 An example of a SINR report 1100 based on measurements at multiple time instances (or time intervals) according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0022] Figure 12 This is an example of a method according to some implementation schemes, which is used to send beam information derived from measurements taken at multiple measurement instances.

[0023] Figure 13 This is an example of a method for transmitting beam information derived from N signal measurements and M interference measurements, according to some implementation schemes, where N and M are each greater than one.

[0024] Figure 14A This illustrates a scenario according to some implementations, in which the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) reported by SINR collides with the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) (appearing in the same symbol).

[0025] Figure 14B This illustrates a scenario according to some implementations, in which the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) reported by SINR conflicts with the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) (appearing in the same symbol).

[0026] Figure 15 An example of a method for handling anticipated timing conflicts in the uplink control channel for probing reference signals and bearer signal quality information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0027] Figure 16 An example of a method for handling anticipated time conflicts of two or more different types of channel state information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0028] Figure 17An example of a differential SINR report according to some implementations is shown, which has a special status for indicating when a beam is unavailable.

[0029] Figure 18 An example of a method for notifying a base station beam of signal quality that is worse than an availability threshold, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0030] Figure 19 An example of a method, according to some implementations, for indicating to a base station a set of available beams measured by a user equipment, excluding the complete set of available beams.

[0031] Figure 20 An example of a differential SINR report according to some implementations is shown, which has a special condition for indicating the presence of an invalid (or unusable) beam.

[0032] Figure 21 An example of a differential SINR report according to some implementation schemes is shown, which can be sent by the user equipment device when the base station is responsible for determining beam availability.

[0033] Figure 22 Examples of methods for enabling a base station to determine the availability (or suitability) of a beam, according to some implementation schemes, are shown.

[0034] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternatives, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and are described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0035] acronym

[0036] The following acronyms are used in this disclosure:

[0037] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0038] 3GPP2: Third Generation Partnership Project 2

[0039] 5G NR: The Fifth Generation of New Radio Components

[0040] BW: Bandwidth

[0041] BWP: Bandwidth section

[0042] CA: Carrier Aggregation

[0043] CQI: Channel Quality Indicator

[0044] CSI: Channel State Information

[0045] DC: Dual Connection

[0046] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0047] DL: Downlink

[0048] eNB (or eNodeB): Evolved Node B, i.e., a 3GPP LTE base station.

[0049] eUICC: Embedded UICC

[0050] gNB (or gNodeB): Next-generation node B, i.e., 5G NR base station.

[0051] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0052] HARQ: Hybrid ARQ

[0053] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0054] LTE-A: Advanced LTE

[0055] MAC: Media Access Control

[0056] MAC-CE: MAC control element

[0057] NR: New Radio

[0058] NR-DC: NR Dual Connection

[0059] NW: Network

[0060] RACH: Random Access Channel

[0061] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0062] RLC: Radio Link Control

[0063] RLM: Radio Link Monitoring

[0064] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0065] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0066] RS: Reference signal

[0067] SR: Scheduling Request

[0068] SRS: Detection Reference Signal

[0069] SSB: Synchronization Signal Block

[0070] UE: User Equipment

[0071] UL: Uplink

[0072] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0073] the term

[0074] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0075] Memory media—any of various types of memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory media" is intended to include mounting media, such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDORAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of memory, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, memory media may reside in a first computer system executing a program, or may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory media" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations on different computer systems, for example, connected via a network. Memory media may store program instructions (e.g., representing a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0076] Carrier media—memory media as described above, and physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that transmit signals such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals.

[0077] Programmable hardware elements—including a variety of hardware devices comprising multiple programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field-Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable functional blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as “configurable logic units.”

[0078] Computer system—any of all types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, internet-connected appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal communication devices, smartphones, television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations thereof. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0079] A user device (UE) (or “UE equipment”) is any of a variety of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communications. Examples of UE equipment include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhones). TM Based on Android TM Telephones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS) TM PlayStation Portable TM Gameboy Advance TM iPhone TM Wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), laptops, PDAs, portable networking devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices. Generally, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined as any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications equipment (or combination of equipment) that is easily transportable by the user and capable of wireless communication.

[0080] Base station—The term “base station” has the full range of its common meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed in a fixed location and is used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0081] Processing element—refers to any various elements or combinations of elements. Processing elements include, for example, circuits such as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices (such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)), and / or a large portion of a system comprising multiple processors.

[0082] Automatic—refers to actions or operations performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware components, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform the actions or operations. Therefore, the term "automatic" contrasts with actions performed or specified manually by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process can be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, selecting a radio component, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user can invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0083] Figures 1 to 3 -Communication System

[0084] Figure 1 and Figure 2 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is shown. Note that... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The system described is merely an example of some possible systems, and various implementation schemes can be implemented in any of the various ways as needed.

[0085] Figure 1 The wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment (UE) devices 106A, 106B, etc., 106N via a transmission medium. Each of the user equipment devices may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Figure 2 In the wireless communication system, in addition to base station 102A, base station 102B also (e.g., simultaneously or concurrently) communicates with UE devices 106A, 106B, etc., 106N through a transmission medium.

[0086] Base stations 102A and 102B may be transceiver base stations (BTS) or cell sites, and may include hardware to enable wireless communication with user equipment 106A to 106N. Each base station 102 may also be configured to communicate with core network 100 (e.g., base station 102A may be coupled to core network 100A, and base station 102B may be coupled to core network 100B), which may be the core network of a cellular service provider. Each core network 100 may also be coupled to one or more external networks (such as external network 108), which may include the Internet, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or any other network. Therefore, base station 102A may facilitate communication between user equipment and / or between user equipment and network 100A; Figure 2 In the system, base station 102B can facilitate communication between user equipment and / or between user equipment and network 100B.

[0087] Base stations 102A and 102B can be configured to communicate with user equipment using a transmission medium of any of the various radio access technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, LTE-A Advanced, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc.

[0088] For example, base station 102A and core network 100A may operate according to a first cellular communication standard (e.g., LTE), while base station 102B and core network 100B may operate according to a second (e.g., different) cellular communication standard (e.g., GSM, UMTS, and / or one or more CDMA2000 cellular communication standards). The two networks may be controlled by the same network operator (e.g., a cellular service provider or "operator") or different network operators. Furthermore, the two networks may operate independently of each other (e.g., if they operate according to different cellular communication standards), or they may operate in a manner that is either partially coupled or tightly coupled.

[0089] It should also be noted that, although in Figure 2The network configuration shown illustrates the use of two different networks to support two different cellular communication technologies, but other network configurations implementing multiple cellular communication technologies are also possible. As an example, base stations 102A and 102B can operate according to different cellular communication standards but are coupled to the same core network. As another example, a multi-mode base station capable of simultaneously supporting different cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE and CDMA 1xRTT, GSM and UMTS, or any other combination of cellular communication technologies) can be coupled to a core network that also supports different cellular communication technologies. Any other various network deployment scenarios are also possible.

[0090] As an alternative possibility, base stations 102A and 102B may also operate using the same wireless communication technology (or a set of overlapping wireless communication technologies). For example, base station 102A and core network 100A may be operated by a single cellular service provider independently of base station 102B and core network 100B, which may be operated by different (e.g., competing) cellular service providers. Therefore, in this scenario, despite using similar and potentially compatible cellular communication technologies, UE devices 106A-106N can communicate independently with base stations 102A-102B, possibly by utilizing separate user identities to communicate with different operator networks.

[0091] UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE 106 can be configured to communicate using any one or two of the following 3GPP cellular communication standards: such as LTE and / or 3GPP2 cellular communication standards: such as those in the CDMA2000 series. As another example, UE 106 can be configured to communicate using two or more different 3GPP cellular communication standards: such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, or LTE-A. Therefore, as described above, UE 106 can be configured to communicate with base station 102A (and / or other base stations) according to a first cellular communication standard (e.g., LTE) and can also be configured to communicate with base station 102B (and / or other base stations) according to a second cellular communication standard (e.g., one or more CDMA2000 cellular communication standards: UMTS, GSM, etc.).

[0092] Base stations 102A and 102B, operating under the same or different cellular communication standards, and other base stations may therefore be provided as one or more cell networks that can provide continuous or near-continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A-106N and similar devices over a wide geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0093] UE 106 can also be configured, or alternatively configured, to communicate using WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H). Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0094] Figure 3 A user device 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with a base station 102 (e.g., one of base stations 102A or 102B) is shown. UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet, wearable device, or substantially any type of wireless device.

[0095] The UE may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the UE may include programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion thereof.

[0096] UE 106 can be configured to communicate using any of a number of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 can be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, UMTS (W-DCMA, TD-SCDMA, etc.), CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0097] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols. Within UE 106, one or more portions of the receive and / or transmit chain may be shared among multiple wireless communication standards; for example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using a single shared radio component using one or both of GSM or LTE. The shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO or beamforming). MIMO is an acronym for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output.

[0098] Figure 4 -Exemplary block diagram of UE

[0099] Figure 4An exemplary block diagram of UE 106 is shown. As shown, UE 106 may include a System-on-Chip (SOC) 300, which may include components for various purposes. For example, as shown, SOC 300 may include one or more processors 302 capable of executing program instructions for UE 106, and display circuitry 304 capable of performing graphics processing and providing display signals to display 345. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a Memory Management Unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or other circuitry or devices, such as display circuitry 304, radio components 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 345. MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of one or more processors 302.

[0100] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 can be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including flash memory 310), connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to computer systems, docking stations, charging stations, etc.), display 345, and radio components 330.

[0101] Radio component 330 may include one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may include a transmit chain, a receive chain, or both. For example, radio component 330 may include two RF chains to support dual connectivity with two base stations (or two cells). Radio component may be configured to support wireless communication according to one or more of one or more wireless communication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.

[0102] Radio component 330 is coupled to antenna subsystem 335, which includes one or more antennas. For example, antenna subsystem 335 may include multiple antennas to support applications such as dual-connectivity, MIMO, or beamforming. Antenna subsystem 335 transmits and receives radio signals to / from one or more base stations or devices via a radio propagation medium (typically the atmosphere).

[0103] In some implementations, processor 302 may include a baseband processor to generate uplink baseband signals and / or process downlink baseband signals. Processor 302 may be configured to perform data processing according to one or more wireless communication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.

[0104] UE 106 may also include one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include various components such as display 345 (which may be a touch screen display), keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), mouse, microphone and / or speaker, one or more cameras, one or more sensors, one or more buttons, sliders and / or dial pads, and / or any of various other components capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0105] As shown in the figure, UE 106 may also include one or more User Identity Modules (SIMs) 360. Each of the one or more SIMs may be implemented as an embedded SIM (eSIM), in which case the SIM may be implemented in device hardware and / or software. For example, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include an embedded UICC (eUICC), for example, a device built into UE 106 and not removable. The eUICC may be programmable, such that one or more eSIMs may be implemented on the eUICC. In other embodiments, the eSIM may be installed in the UE 106 software, for example, as program instructions stored on a storage medium (such as memory 306 or Flash 310) that executes on a processor (such as processor 302) in UE 106. As an example, SIM 360 may be an application that executes on a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). Alternatively or otherwise, one or more of SIMs 360 may be implemented as removable SIM cards.

[0106] The processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as or include: a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit); or a combination thereof.

[0107] Figure 5 - Example of a base station

[0108] Figure 5 A block diagram of base station 102 is shown. Note that... Figure 5The base station shown is merely one example of a possible base station. As illustrated, base station 102 may include one or more processors 404 capable of executing program instructions specific to base station 102. The one or more processors 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory ROM 450)) or to other circuitry or devices.

[0109] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to a telephone network and provide services (as described above) to multiple devices such as UE device 106. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Access to the telephone network as described in the document.

[0110] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may be further configured, or alternatively configured, to be coupled to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0111] Base station 102 may include radio components 430 having one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may include a transmit chain, a receive chain, or both. (For example, base station 102 may include at least one RF chain for each sector or cell). Radio components 430 are coupled to an antenna subsystem 434 that includes one or more antennas. For example, multiple antennas are required to support applications such as MIMO or beamforming. Antenna subsystem 434 transmits and receives radio signals to and from the UE via a radio propagation medium (typically the atmosphere).

[0112] In some implementations, processor 404 may include a baseband processor to generate downlink baseband signals and / or process uplink baseband signals. Baseband processor 430 may be configured to operate according to one or more wireless telecommunications standards, including but not limited to GSM, LTE, WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc.

[0113] One or more processors 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In some embodiments, processor 404 may include: programmable hardware elements such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); or ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit); or combinations thereof.

[0114] Wireless User Equipment Device 600

[0115] In some implementations, the wireless user equipment (UE) 600 can, as Figure 6 The configuration is shown. UE device 600 may include: a wireless electronic system 605 for performing wireless communication; and a processing element 610 operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system. (UE device 600 may also include any subset of the UE features described above, for example, in combination with...) Figures 1 to 4 ).

[0116] The wireless electronic system 605 may include one or more RF chains, such as those described above. Each RF chain may be configured to receive signals from a radio propagation channel and / or transmit these signals onto the radio propagation channel. Thus, each RF chain may include a transmit chain and / or a receive chain. The wireless electronic system 605 may be coupled to one or more antennas (or antenna arrays) to facilitate signal transmission and reception. Each RF chain (or some RF chains) may be tuned to a desired frequency, thereby allowing the RF chains to receive or transmit at different frequencies at different times.

[0117] The wireless electronic system 605 may be coupled to one or more antenna panels (or antenna arrays), for example, to support beamforming of received downlink signals and / or transmitted uplink signals.

[0118] Processing element 610 may be coupled to the wireless electronic system and may be configured as described above. (For example, the processing element may be implemented by processor 302). The processing element may be configured to control the state of each RF chain in the wireless electronic system.

[0119] In some implementations, the processing element may include one or more baseband processors to (a) generate baseband signals to be transmitted by the wireless electronic system and / or (b) process baseband signals provided by the wireless electronic system.

[0120] In the various embodiments described herein, when the processing elements of a wireless user equipment apparatus are described as transmitting information to and / or receiving information from a wireless base station, it should be understood that such transmission and / or reception are performed using a wireless electronic system such as wireless electronic system 605. Transmission may involve submitting signals and / or data to the wireless electronic system, and reception may involve the act of receiving signals and / or data from the wireless electronic system.

[0121] In some embodiments, the UE device 600 may include beamforming circuitry. The beamforming circuitry may be configured to receive downlink signals from respective antennas of the UE device's antenna array and apply received beamforming to the downlink signals. For example, the beamforming circuitry may apply weights (e.g., complex weights) to the respective downlink signals and then combine the weighted downlink signals to obtain a beam signal, wherein the weights define the received beam. The beamforming circuitry may also be configured to apply weights to respective copies of the uplink signal and transmit the weighted uplink signal via the respective antennas of the UE device's antenna array, wherein the weights define the transmitted beam.

[0122] In some embodiments, the beamforming circuitry may be implemented by (or included therein) the processing element 610. In other embodiments, the beamforming circuitry may be included in the wireless electronic system 605.

[0123] In some implementations, the UE device 600 (e.g., processing element 610) may be configured to receive a configuration message from a base station. The configuration message may instruct the UE device to measure one or more beams and report the measurement results to the base station. The configuration message may request any of the different types of reports, such as periodic, semi-static, aperiodic, etc. The configuration message may indicate any of the different types of measurements, such as signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), various types of channel quality information (CQI), reference signal receiver power (RSRP), etc.

[0124] In some implementations, the wireless electronic system 605 may be configured to transmit and receive in multiple frequency bands (or frequency ranges). One or more of these frequency bands may occur in millimeter-wave mechanisms of the electromagnetic spectrum, where propagation loss and signal blocking effects can be significant. Therefore, beamforming at the UE device 600 (and / or base station) can be used to mitigate such effects. To improve the effectiveness of beamforming, the UE device 600 may provide reports on signal quality, for example, on one or more beams configured by the base station.

[0125] In some implementations, the UE 600 (e.g., a processing element) may support carrier aggregation. Carrier aggregation (CA) involves the cascading of multiple component carriers (CCs), which increases the bandwidth and data rate to and from the UE 600. When carrier aggregation is employed, frame timing can be aligned between the cells participating in the aggregation. Different implementations may support different maximum bandwidths and numbers of component carriers. In some implementations, the UE 600 may cascade component carriers from two or more base stations using the same or different radio access technologies. (For example, in some implementations, the UE may perform carrier aggregation using a 3G LTE eNB and a 5G NR gNB). In some implementations, the UE 600 may support both contiguous and non-contiguous carriers.

[0126] In some implementations, in a dual-connectivity operating mode, the processing element may instruct a first RF chain to communicate with a first base station using a first radio access technology, and instruct a second RF chain to communicate with a second base station using a second radio access technology. For example, the first RF chain may communicate with an LTE eNB, and the second RF chain may communicate with a 5G New Radio (NR) gNB. A link with an LTE eNB may be referred to as an LTE branch. A link with a gNB may be referred to as an NR branch. In some implementations, the processing element may include a first sub-circuit implementing baseband processing relative to the LTE branch and a second sub-circuit implementing baseband processing relative to the NR branch.

[0127] The processing element 610 may be further configured as described in various sections below.

[0128] Wireless base station 700

[0129] In some implementations, the wireless base station 700 of the wireless network (not shown) can be as follows: Figure 7 The configuration is shown. A wireless base station may include: a wireless subsystem 705 for performing wireless communication via a radio propagation channel; and a processing element 710 operatively coupled to the wireless subsystem. (The wireless base station may also include any subset of the base station features described above, for example, those combined with the above description.) Figure 5 The aforementioned features).

[0130] The wireless electronic system 710 may include one or more RF chains. Each RF chain can be tuned to a desired frequency, thereby allowing the RF chain to receive or transmit at different frequencies at different times.

[0131] Processing element 710 may be implemented as described in the various descriptions above. For example, in one embodiment, processing element 710 may be implemented as processor 404. In some embodiments, processing element may include one or more baseband processors to: (a) generate baseband signals to be transmitted by the wireless electronic system, and / or (b) process baseband signals provided by the wireless electronic system.

[0132] In some implementations, base station 700 may include beamforming circuitry. The beamforming circuitry may be configured to receive uplink signals from respective antennas of the base station's antenna array and apply received beamforming to the uplink signals. For example, the beamforming circuitry may apply weights (e.g., complex weights) to the respective uplink signals and then combine the weighted uplink signals to obtain a beam signal, wherein the weights define the received beam. Different received beams may be used to receive from different UE devices. The beamforming circuitry may also be configured to apply weights to corresponding copies of downlink signals and transmit weighted downlink signals via corresponding antennas of the base station's antenna array, wherein the weights define the transmitted beam. Different transmitted beams may be used to transmit to different UE devices.

[0133] In some embodiments, the beamforming circuitry may be implemented by (or included therein) the processing element 710. In other embodiments, the beamforming circuitry may be included in the wireless electronic system 705.

[0134] The processing element 710 can be configured to perform any of the base station method implementations described herein.

[0135] Systems and methods for SINR-based beam reporting

[0136] In some implementations, a user equipment (UE) can report the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of up to N beams in a single beam reporting instance, where N ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4}. For example, the UE can report the N beams identified as the strongest (or highest quality) among the available beams. For N > 1, absolute SINR can be reported for the strongest beam, and differential SINR can be reported for the subsequent N-1 strong beams.

[0137] In some implementations, the number N is configured by the base station (such as the gNB for 5G NR).

[0138] SINR can be measured based on Channel Measurement Resources (CMR) and Interference Measurement Resources (IMR). CMR can be used for channel measurements, and IMR can be used for interference and / or noise measurements. In some implementations, CMR can be implemented using a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) of the downlink signal. In some implementations, IMR can be based on Non-Zero Power (NZP) or Zero Power (ZP).

[0139] The UE can calculate the SINR, for example, based on the ratio of channel measurements to interference and / or noise measurements (or, when considering logarithmic terms, their difference). The UE can determine the SINR for each beam from a set of available devices and rank the available beams according to the SINR values. The weakest beam may be considered not worth reporting to the base station. The N strongest beams may be reported to the base station, for example, as described above.

[0140] In some implementations, the UE can measure and report SINR based on the average of multiple instances of CMR / IMR or based on a single operation of CMR / IMR. For example, as Figure 8 As shown, the SINR report 800 can be based on the average of measurements at instances #1 and #2, or alternatively, based only on measurements at instance #2 (i.e., the most recent instance). The UE can measure CMR1 and IMR1 for CMR / IMR at instance #1, and CMR2 and IMR2 for CMR / IMR at instance #2.

[0141] Report based on a single measurement instance

[0142] In some implementations, for each SINR report, the UE may determine the SINR based on a single measurement, i.e., based on measurements of CMR and / or IMR at a single time instance (or interval). For example, the SINR may be determined from instances of CMR and IMR occurring K time slots prior to the time slot in which the SINR is reported, where K is a non-negative integer. (K = 0 indicates that the SINR is determined based on CMR and IMR occurring in the same time slot as the SINR report.) Figure 9 The case where K=2 is shown. In other words, SINR is calculated based on the CMR and IMR measurements at instance #1, which is two time slots earlier than the time slot where SINR report 900 was sent.

[0143] In some implementations, the SINR can be determined from the most recent instance of CMR and IMR that occurred at least K time slots prior to the time slot in which the SINR is reported, where K is a positive integer.

[0144] In some implementations, parameter K can be configured via higher-layer signaling. Therefore, the base station can be configured to send an indication of parameter K to the UE, and the UE can be configured to receive the indication from the base station. For example, the indication can be included as part of a configuration message instructing the UE to report SINR.

[0145] In some implementations, the parameter K is predefined, for example, in a specification published by a standardization organization. For example, the predefined value could be K=0, or K=1, or K=2, or K=3, or K=4, or some other value.

[0146] In some implementations, parameter K can vary among UEs. Therefore, a UE can report its value of K to the base station, for example, as part of a UE capability report.

[0147] In some implementations, the UE may determine parameter K based on the subcarrier spacing of the downlink bandwidth portion of the received CMR and / or IMR. The base station may encode parameter K according to the subcarrier spacing used to generate the bandwidth portion including the CMR and / or IMR.

[0148] In some implementations, the UE may encode parameter K based on the subcarrier spacing used to generate the uplink bandwidth portion containing the SINR report. The base station may determine parameter K based on this subcarrier spacing.

[0149] In some implementations, the method 1000 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 10 The operations shown are described above. (Method 1000 may also include the above-described operations.) Figures 1 to 9 The above and the following text are combined Figures 11 to 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1000 can be executed by a processing element of the UE device. The processing element can perform the following operations.

[0150] At point 1010, the processing element can perform beam measurements during the first time interval. Beam measurements may include measurements of channel measurement resources (CMR) and / or interference measurement resources (IMR) during the first time interval. The base station (e.g., a gNB for 5G NR) can configure details of the measurement process and report types.

[0151] At 1015, the processing element can determine beam quality information based at least on measurements. For example, beam quality information may include signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), or channel measurements based on CMR, or interference and / or noise measurements based on IMR.

[0152] At 1020, the processing element can send beam quality information to the base station in the second time interval, wherein the delay between the first time interval and the second time interval is controlled by the delay value K.

[0153] In some implementations, the first time interval and the second time interval are time slots, and the delay value K defines the time slot delay.

[0154] In some implementations, prior to the execution of measurement operation 1010, the processing element may receive a configuration message indicating a delay value K. The UE device may determine a second time interval based on the delay value K and the first time interval.

[0155] In some implementations, the processing element can send a signal indicating a delay value K to the base station.

[0156] In some implementations, the delay value K is predefined, for example, as described above.

[0157] In some implementations, the delay value K corresponds to the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth portion of the downlink resources used to perform the measurement.

[0158] In some implementations, the delay value K corresponds to the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth portion used to transmit the beam quality information.

[0159] In some implementations, the beam may be a transmit beam associated with a downlink signal, wherein measurements are performed on measurement resources within the downlink signal. The transmit beam may be a beam generated by the base station and used by the base station to transmit the downlink signal.

[0160] In some implementations, the beam may be a receive beam associated with a downlink signal, wherein measurements are performed on measurement resources in the downlink signal. The receive beam may be a beam applied to the antenna signal by the UE device.

[0161] Report based on N measurement instances and averages

[0162] In some implementations, for each signal quality report (e.g., SINR report), the user equipment (UE) may determine signal quality information based on N measurement procedures, where N is a positive integer. The signal quality information may include the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), or a measurement of channel power, or a measurement of interference and / or noise power, or a combination of the foregoing.

[0163] In some implementations, the digital N can be configured (or determined or adjusted) based on higher-layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling). In one implementation, the UE can determine the digital N at least in part based on whether measurement constraints have been configured for measurement resources. The base station (e.g., a gNB for 5G NR) can configure measurement constraints for Channel Measurement Resources (CMR) or Interference Measurement Resources (IMR), or both CMR and IMR. If measurement constraints have been configured for CMR, the UE can perform signal power measurements based on the latest instance of CMR (e.g., a synchronization block or CSI reference signal). Similarly, if measurement constraints have been configured for IMR, the UE can measure the power of interference and / or noise based on the latest instance of IMR (based on zero power or non-zero power). Therefore, the UE can calculate SINR based on a single measurement of channel power and / or a single measurement of interference and / or noise power. If no measurement limits are configured (i.e., if both CMR and IMR are unrestricted), the UE can measure signal power based on N CMR instances prior to the SINR report and measure interference and / or noise power based on N IMR instances prior to the SINR report.

[0164] In some implementations, the number N can be reported to the base station, for example, as part of the UE capability information.

[0165] In some implementations, the number N is predefined, for example, in a specification published by a standardization organization.

[0166] In some implementations, the UE may calculate the average SINR based on the average SINR (or the ratio of signal power to interference power) across multiple CMR / IMR instances, and then report the average SINR to the base station. Each CMR / IMR instance may include the corresponding CMR and the corresponding IMR. Figure 11 SINR reports 1100 for two instances (Instance #1 and Instance #2) based on CMR / IMR are shown. Instance #1 includes CMR1 and IMR1, and Instance #2 includes CMR2 and IMR2.

[0167] In one implementation, the UE may determine, for example, whether measurement limits have been configured by the base station before calculating the SINR to be reported or before sending the SINR report 1100. The UE may report the average SINR in response to determining that measurement limits have not yet been configured for the beam being measured. If measurement limits have been configured, the UE may report the SINR based on a single measurement.

[0168] In one implementation, the UE can calculate the reported SINR 1100 based on the average of the two instances:

[0169] SignalPower#1 = CMR1 power

[0170] InterferenceAndNoisePower#1 = IMR1 power

[0171] SignalPower#2 = CMR2 power

[0172] InterferenceAndNoisePower#2 = IMR2 power

[0173] SINR1=SignalPower#1 / InterferenceAndNoisePower#1

[0174] SINR2=SignalPower#2 / InterferenceAndNoisePower#2

[0175] Reported_SINR=(SINR1+SINR2) / 2.

[0176] It should be noted that the above set of formulas represents one specific method for calculating the reported SINR. Many other methods are possible and envisioned.

[0177] In another implementation, the UE can calculate the reported SINR1100 based on the following set of formulas:

[0178] SignalPower#1 = CMR1 power

[0179] I&N_Pwr#1 = Power of IMR1

[0180] SignalPower#2 = CMR2 power

[0181] I&N_Pwr#2 = Power of IMR2

[0182] AverageSignalPower=(SignalPower#1+SignalPower#2) / 2

[0183] Avg_I&N_Pwr=(I&N_Pwr#1+I&N_Pwr#2) / 2

[0184] Reported_SINR=AverageSignalPower / Avg_IandN_Pwr.

[0185] In some implementations, the UE can calculate the average signal power based on the average signal power across multiple CMR instances. The average signal power can be reported to the base station or used to calculate the reported SINR.

[0186] In some implementations, the UE may calculate the average power of noise and / or interference based on the average of noise and / or interference power across multiple IMR instances. The average power of noise and / or interference may be reported to the base station or used to calculate the reported SINR.

[0187] In some implementations, if the transmit configuration indication (TCI) of the CMR / IMR is changed (which indicates that the new beam is indicated by the base station), the UE can discard a portion of the average result of the previous beam and start the averaging process of the new beam.

[0188] In some implementations, the method 1200 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 12 The operations shown are described above. (Method 1200 may also include the above-described operations.) Figures 1 to 11 The above and the following text are combined Figures 13 to 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1200 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0189] At 1210, the processing element can perform N measurements on the beam at, for example, N corresponding measurement instances as described above. N is a positive integer. In some embodiments, the value of N for performing the N measurements may depend on whether measurement constraints have been configured for performing the N measurements. For example, in one embodiment, the value of N is equal to one when measurement constraints are configured, but greater than one when measurement constraints are not configured.

[0190] At 1215, the processing element can transmit beam information (beam-related) to the base station. The beam information includes quality information derived from N measurements. For example, the quality information may include the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), or signal power, or interference power, or interference-plus-noise power, or reference signal receiver power (RSRP).

[0191] In some implementations, N is greater than one, and the quality information is based on the average of N measurements. For example, averaging can be performed as described above.

[0192] In some implementations, the processing element may receive a configuration message indicating the value of N before performing N measurements.

[0193] In some implementations, the processing element may send information indicating the value of N to the base station. For example, this information indicating the value of N may be sent as part of the UE capability information.

[0194] In some implementations, the value of N is predefined, for example, in specifications published by standardization organizations.

[0195] In some implementations, quality information includes the beam's signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).

[0196] In some implementations, the method 1300 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 13 The operations shown in the diagram. (Method 1300 may also include the above combined with...) Figures 1 to 12 The above and the following, in conjunction with Figures 14 to 15, are described. Figure 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1300 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0197] At 1310, the processing element can perform N signal measurements and M interference measurements for the beam, where N is a positive integer and M is a positive integer. The integer M may be different from N. The N signal measurements can be performed at N corresponding measurement instances, and the M interference measurements can be performed at M corresponding measurement instances. A measurement instance can be a time interval, such as a time slot, symbol interval, or subframe in a downlink signal transmitted by a base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​5G NR). Each of the N signal measurements can be based on the channel measurement resource (CMR) at a corresponding location in the N measurement instances; and each of the M signal measurements can be based on the interference measurement resource (IMR) at a corresponding location in the M measurement instances.

[0198] At position 1315, the processing element can transmit the beam information to the base station. The beam information may include quality information derived from N signal measurements and M interference measurements.

[0199] In some implementations, the processing element may receive, for example, a configuration message from the base station indicating the values ​​of N and / or M before performing N signal measurements and M interference measurements.

[0200] In some implementations, the processing element may send information to the base station indicating the values ​​of N and / or M. This allows the base station to be informed about the statistical reliability or uncertainty of the quality information.

[0201] In some implementations, the values ​​of N and / or M can be predefined.

[0202] In some implementations, one or more of the N measurement instances are identical to their corresponding counterparts in the M measurement instances. In other words, the intersection of the N and M measurement instances is non-empty when interpreted as a set.

[0203] In some implementations, N measurement instances are periodic in time, while M measurement instances are also periodic in time, but have a different period than the N measurement instances.

[0204] In some implementations, the N measurement instances and the M measurement instances are disjoint sets.

[0205] In some implementations, N is a positive integer multiple of M, and in other implementations, M is a positive integer multiple of N.

[0206] Conflict handling

[0207] In some implementations, L1-SINR may be carried by PUCCH or PUSCH. Therefore, conflicts may occur between the signal and the reported interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and other signals. (L1 is an abbreviation for Layer 1, i.e., physical layer).

[0208] In the first case (Case 1), for example, as Figure 14A As shown, the Physical Uplink Control (PUCCH) including L1 SINR may overlap with the Sound Reference Signal (SRS) in time. Observe the conflicting symbols where the PUCCH with L1 SINR overlaps with the SRS.

[0209] In the second case (Case 2), the PUCCH with L1-SINR overlaps in time with the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) which contains other Channel State Information (CSI). In some implementations, another CQI may include any subset of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), Ranking Indicator (RI), and Layer Indicator (LI).

[0210] In the third case (Case 3), the PUSCH with L1-SINR overlaps temporally with the PUCCH containing other CSIs. In some implementations, the other CSI may include any subset of RSRP, CQI, PMI, RI, and LI.

[0211] In the fourth case (Case 4), the PUSCH with L1-SINR overlaps with the PUCCH containing L1-SINR in time.

[0212] Figure 14BThe overlap of either case 2 or 4 is illustrated in general. Observe the conflict symbols where the PUCCH with L1-SINR overlaps with the PUSCH containing other CSI (case 2) or L1-SINR (case 4).

[0213] In some implementations, it may be desirable to avoid such conflicts, for example, so that the UE can employ any of the various methods to reduce the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of one or more uplink symbols containing L1-SINR.

[0214] In some implementations, when a PUCCH containing SINR conflicts with a periodic SRS, the UE may discard the PUCCH and send the SRS, or alternatively, it may discard the SRS and send the PUCCH.

[0215] In some implementations, when a PUCCH containing SINR conflicts with an aperiodic SRS, the UE may discard the PUCCH and send an aperiodic SRS, or alternatively, it may discard the aperiodic SRS and send the PUCCH.

[0216] In some implementations, when a PUCCH containing SINR conflicts with a semi-static SRS, the UE may discard the PUCCH and send the semi-static SRS, or alternatively, it may discard the semi-static SRS and send the PUCCH.

[0217] In some implementations, the choice of which option to apply in the event of a conflict (discard X and send Y, or discard Y and send X) can be configured via higher-level signaling, or be predefined, or be based on UE capabilities.

[0218] In some implementations, different alternatives can be applied to different types of SINR reports on the PUCCH, such as periodic, semi-permanent, and non-periodic SINR reports. For example, if a PUCCH containing a periodic SINR report conflicts with a non-periodic SRS, the UE can discard the periodic SINR report, and if a PUCCH containing a non-periodic SINR report conflicts with a non-periodic SRS, the UE can discard the non-periodic SRS. Many other examples are possible and envisioned.

[0219] In some implementations, the User Equipment (UE) can be configured as follows: For PUCCH and SRS on the same carrier, when semi-permanent and periodic SRS are configured in the same symbol and the PUCCH carries only CSI reports or only L1-RSRP reports or only L1-SINR reports, the UE can disable SRS transmission. When semi-permanent or periodic SRS is configured or non-periodic SRS is triggered to be transmitted in the same symbol and the PUCCH carries HARQ-ACK and / or SR, the UE can disable SRS transmission. (HARQ is an acronym for "Hybrid ARQ". ARQ is an acronym for "Automatic Repeat Request". ACK is an acronym for "Acknowledgment". SR is an acronym for "Scheduling Request".) In cases where SRS is not transmitted due to overlap with PUCCH, the UE can discard only the SRS symbols that overlap with the PUCCH symbols. When a triggering non-periodic SRS is sent to overlap with a PUCCH that only carries a semi-permanent / periodic CSI report, a semi-permanent / periodic L1-RSRP report, or a semi-permanent / periodic L1-SINR report in the same symbol, PUCCH transmission may be disabled.

[0220] In some implementations, the method 1500 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 15 The operations shown are described above. (Method 1500 may also include the above-described operations.) Figures 1 to 14B The above and the following text are combined Figures 16 to 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1500 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0221] At 1510, in response to determining that an instruction for a first sounding reference signal (SRS) and a first uplink control channel having first signal quality information are to be used for uplink transmission on a first carrier and during a first time interval, the processing element may include transmitting the first uplink control channel including the first signal quality information on the first carrier and during the first time interval, without transmitting the first SRS.

[0222] The action of transmitting the first uplink control channel may include generating a transmit symbol that includes the first uplink control channel but excludes the SRS. (Because the SRS is omitted, the processing element may be able to generate the transmit symbol with a reduced PAPR relative to the assumption that the transmit symbol is required to include both the first uplink control channel and the SRS.) The transmit symbol may be included in the uplink baseband signal to be transmitted using the RF subsystem.

[0223] In some implementations, the first SRS is a semi-permanent SRS or a periodic SRS.

[0224] In some implementations, the first uplink control channel is the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the signal quality information is beam-dependent.

[0225] In some implementations, in response to determining that an indicative aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) and a second uplink control channel having second signal quality information are used for uplink transmission on a first carrier and during a second time interval, the processing element may transmit the aperiodic SRS on the first carrier and during the second time interval without transmitting the second uplink control channel.

[0226] In some implementations, the processing element can measure the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the beam, with the first signal quality information based on the SINR.

[0227] In some implementations, the time interval is a symbol interval. In another implementation, the time interval is a time slot.

[0228] In some implementations, prior to the transmission, the processing element may receive a configuration message instructing it to prohibit periodic SRS transmission in the event of a conflict with an uplink control channel containing signal quality information.

[0229] In some implementations, the UE can employ priority rules to determine which type of CSI information to send in the event of a conflict between different types of Channel State Information (CSI) information. Examples of different priority rules are as follows.

[0230] According to the first priority rule, CSI (excluding RSRP and SINR) has the highest drop priority; RSRP has the middle drop priority; and SINR has the lowest drop priority. This first priority rule can be represented symbolically as follows:

[0231] Except for RSRP / SINR, CSI > RSRP > SINR.

[0232] Note that in the event of a collision, signals with higher discard priority will be dropped. Signals with the lowest discard priority can also be sent.

[0233] According to the second priority rule, CSI (excluding RSRP and SINR) has the highest drop priority; SINR has the middle drop priority; and RSRP has the lowest drop priority. This second priority rule can be represented symbolically as follows:

[0234] Except for RSRP / SINR, CSI > SINR > RSRP.

[0235] According to the third priority rule, SINR has the highest drop priority; CSI, excluding RSRP and SINR, has the middle drop priority; RSRP has the lowest drop priority.

[0236] SINR > CSI other than RSRP / SINR > RSRP

[0237] According to the fourth priority rule, SINR and RSRP together have a lower drop priority than all other CSIs except SINR and RSRP.

[0238] SINR / RSRP < CSI other than SINR / RSRP.

[0239] According to the fifth priority rule, SINR and RSRP together have a higher drop priority than CSI except for SINR and RSRP.

[0240] SINR / RSRP > CSI other than SINR / RSRP.

[0241] When the UE operates according to the fourth priority rule or the fifth priority rule, the UE does not expect to be configured to report SINR and RSRP within a bandwidth segment or in the same time slot across bandwidth segments.

[0242] In some implementations, the user equipment (UE) can be configured as follows. Channel State Information (CSI) reports can be associated with the following priority values.

[0243] Pri iCSI (y,k,c,s)=2N cell M s y+N cells M s k+M s c+s,

[0244] The subscript iCSI can be interpreted as instance i of the CSI report. For non-periodic CSI reports to be carried on the PUSCH, y = 0; for semi-permanent CSI reports to be carried on the PUSCH, y = 1; for semi-permanent CSI reports to be carried on the PUCCH, y = 2; and for periodic CSI reports to be carried on the PUCCH, y = 3. For CSI reports carrying L1-RSRP or L1-SINR, k = 0; for CSI reports not carrying L1-RSRP or L1-SINR, k = 1. c is the serving cell index, N... cellsIt is the value of the high-level parameter maxNrofServingCells; s is reportConfigID, M s This is the value of the higher-layer parameter maxNrofCSI-ReportConfigurations. It is not expected that the UE will be configured (by the base station) to report L1-RSRP and L1-SINR in the same time slot within the bandwidth portion.

[0245] In some implementations, the user equipment (UE) may be configured as follows. CSI reports may be associated with the following priority values.

[0246] Pri iCSI (y,k,c,s)=2N cells M s y+N cell M s k+M s c+s,

[0247] The subscript iCSI can be interpreted as instance i of the CSI report. For a non-periodic CSI report to be carried on the PUSCH, y = 0; for a semi-permanent CSI report to be carried on the PUSCH, y = 1; for a semi-permanent CSI report to be carried on the PUCCH, y = 2; for a periodic CSI report to be carried on the PUCCH, y = 3. For a CSI report carrying L1-SINR, k = -1; for a CSI report carrying L1-RSRP, k = 0; for a CSI report not carrying L1-RSRP or L1-SINR, k = 1. c is the serving cell index, N... cells It is the value of the high-level parameter maxNrofServingCells; s is reportConfigID, M s It is the value of the high-level parameter maxNrofCSI-ReportConfigurations.

[0248] In some implementations, the method 1600 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 16 The operations shown in the diagram. (Method 1600 may also include the above combined with...) Figures 1 to 15 The above and the following text are combined Figures 17 to 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1600 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0249] At 1610, the processing element can determine that two or more different types of Channel State Information (CSI) from a set of CSI types are used for transmission during a first time interval, wherein the first of the two or more different types corresponds to at least signal quality information. The first time interval may be, for example, a symbol interval (or a set of consecutive symbol intervals).

[0250] At 1615, the processing element may select one of the two or more different types of CSIs for transmission during the first time interval, based on the sorting of the CSI types in the group.

[0251] At 1620, during the first time interval, the processing element may transmit data corresponding to the selected type of CSI information, wherein one or more different types not selected by the selection are not transmitted during the first time interval.

[0252] In some implementations, the sorting designates the highest priority to be sent as the first type.

[0253] In some implementations, the sorting designates the lowest priority used for transmission as the first type.

[0254] In some implementations, this set of CSI types includes: a first type corresponding to signal quality information; a second type corresponding to Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP); and a third type corresponding to CSI other than RSRP or signal quality information. In one of these implementations, the sorting designates the highest priority for transmission as the second type, the second highest priority for transmission as the first type, and the third highest priority for transmission as the third type.

[0255] In some implementations, the first type corresponds to signal quality information and reference signal received power (RSRP); this set of CSI types includes the first type and the second type; and the second type corresponds to CSI other than signal quality information and RSRP.

[0256] In some implementations, the signal quality information is the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR); and the sorting is defined by a formula including a linear term with an integer parameter k, where k is set to zero for CSI reports carrying SINR.

[0257] In some implementations, the signal quality information is the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR); and the sorting is defined by a formula including a linear term with an integer parameter k, where for CSI reports carrying SINR, k is set to a negative value.

[0258] In some implementations, a user equipment (UE) may calculate a differential L1-SINR for a given beam from a set of available beams. The differential L1-SINR may be calculated, for example, relative to the highest SINR among these available beams. The differential L1-SINR may be quantized before the report is sent to the base station. Sending the differential SINR allows the UE to reduce reporting overhead. However, when the differential SINR exceeds the quantization range of the quantization process (e.g., due to being less than a minimum quantization threshold), subsequent reports of quantized differential SINR show very little information about whether the beam is usable. The absolute SINR of a beam may be less than the usability threshold and therefore too weak to support quality communication with the base station. For example, referring to the table below, the differences between beam #1 (reference beam) and beam #3, and between beam #1 and beam #4, may both exceed the quantization range of the differential L1-SINR, but the quantized differential SINR reported to the base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​5G NR) will not provide information about whether beam #3 or beam #4 would be a better beam.

[0259]

[0260] In some implementations, the two states reported by the differential L1-SINR can correspond to the differential SINR being out of quantization range, but can be used to distinguish whether the measured SINR is greater than or less than the usability threshold. An example of such a quantization mechanism is... Figure 17 As shown in the diagram. For each reported value of the quantized differential SINR (in the first column), there is a corresponding differential SINR quantization range (in the second column). The reported value DIFFSINR_14 indicates that the differential SINR is less than or equal to the minimum quantization threshold (i.e., -28dB), and the absolute SINR is greater than or equal to the usability threshold. Therefore, the base station will be notified that the beam is usable. Furthermore, the reported value DIFFSINR_15 indicates that the differential SINR is less than or equal to the minimum quantization threshold (i.e., -28dB), and the absolute SINR is less than the usability threshold. Therefore, the base station will be notified that the beam is unusable. (The base station will no longer consider this beam as a potential candidate for communication with the UE, at least in the near future.)

[0261] although Figure 17 The reported values ​​in the quantification table shown have 16 possible states; however, it should be understood that any number of states can be used, for example, as needed or deemed suitable for the target application. Furthermore, although... Figure 17 The third column indicates that the differential SINR is in dB units, but other units may be used as needed or as appropriate in the application under consideration.

[0262] In some implementations, the method 1800 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 18The operations shown are described above. (Method 1800 may also include the above-described operations.) Figures 1 to 17 The above and the following text are combined Figures 19 to 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1800 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0263] At 1810, the processing element can send a first differential signal quality report for the first beam. The first differential signal quality report can indicate that a first differential measurement of the signal quality of the first beam relative to a reference beam is less than or equal to a quantization boundary value, and a first absolute measurement of the signal quality of the first beam is less than an usability threshold. The usability threshold can be selected such that beams with absolute signal quality measurements less than the usability threshold are considered to have insufficient quality to support communication with the base station. Conversely, beams with absolute signal quality measurements greater than the usability threshold can be considered usable, or may be usable.

[0264] In some implementations, the first absolute measure of signal quality is the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), and the first differential measure of signal quality is the differential SINR.

[0265] In some implementations, the processing element may (e.g., at a later time) send a second differential signal quality report for the first beam. The second differential signal quality report may indicate that a second differential measurement of the signal quality of the first beam relative to a reference beam is less than or equal to a quantization boundary value, and that a second absolute measurement of the signal quality of the first beam is greater than or equal to a usability threshold.

[0266] In some implementations, the processing element can send a differential signal quality report for the second beam (B2). The differential signal quality report for the second beam can indicate a differential measurement (ΔSigQuality) of the signal quality of the second beam relative to the reference beam. B2 The signal quality of the second beam is less than or equal to the quantization boundary value, and the absolute measurement of the signal quality (SigQuality) is less than or equal to the quantization boundary value. B2 ()) Greater than or equal to the usability threshold.

[0267] In some implementations, the usability threshold is defined in specifications published by standardization organizations.

[0268] In some implementations, the usability threshold is configured by higher-layer signaling.

[0269] In some implementations, the availability threshold is based on UE capabilities, thus allowing one UE to be changed to another. (Different UEs may have different sets of capabilities).

[0270] In some implementations, if the user equipment (UE) determines that the SINR of a beam is less than an availability threshold, the UE does not report the beam's SINR. Furthermore, if the base station (e.g., gNB or 5G NR) is configured for the UE to report the SINR of N>1 beams, the UE can determine the SINR of each beam in a set of available beams, determine the N maximum SINRs among the available beams, and if one or more of the N maximum SINRs are less than the availability threshold, send an indication to the base station that N available beams cannot be detected. In some implementations, this indication takes the form of a special state of the beam index. This special state indicates that one or more of the requested N beams have not been reported. In other implementations, this indication takes the form of a specific state of differential SINR reporting. This specific state indicates that one or more of the requested N beams have not been reported.

[0271] In some implementations, the method 1900 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 19 The operations shown in the diagram. (Method 1900 may also include the above in combination.) Figures 1 to 18 And the following text combined Figures 20 to 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 1900 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0272] At 1910, the processing element can receive configuration information indicating a request to report signal quality information for the N strongest beams (or the N beams with the highest signal quality) in a set of available beams, where N is greater than one.

[0273] At 1915, the processing element can perform signal quality measurements on the available beams of this group, such as the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) measurement. Measurements can be performed, for example, in different ways as described above.

[0274] At 1920, based on signal quality measurements, the processing element can determine that the group of available beams currently includes M usable beams (i.e., M usable beams, where M is less than N). For example, the processing element can determine that the N highest measurements of signal quality include one or more that are less than the usability threshold.

[0275] At point 1925, the processing element may send information indicating that the group of available beams does not include N usable beams. In some embodiments, the information may include a beam index whose value indicates that the group of available beams does not include N usable beams. In other embodiments, the information may include a differential SINR report whose value indicates that the group of available beams does not include N usable beams.

[0276] In some implementations, the information includes a specific value (or status) of the beam index, wherein the specific value indicates that the group of usable beams does not include N usable beams. (This will be discussed in conjunction with...) Figure 19 Other possible values ​​for the beam index used in different situations may indicate individual beams in the available set, or individual beams known to the base station. The base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​5G NR) may receive a specific value for the beam index and thereby be informed that the UE will not send a whole set of N signal quality reports.

[0277] In some implementations, the information includes a specific value from the differential SINR report, where the specific value indicates that the group of available beams does not include N available beams. (This will be discussed in conjunction with...) Figure 19 Other possible values ​​for the differential SINR report used in different situations can represent the quantized value of the differential SINR of the measured beam.

[0278] In some implementations, the number of usable beams M is positive, so the processing element can send signal quality information for each of the M usable beams.

[0279] In some implementations, the number M is greater than one, so the processing element can: transmit absolute signal quality information of the strongest beam among the M usable beams; and transmit differential signal quality information of the M-1 usable beams other than the strongest usable beam.

[0280] In some implementations, the usability threshold is defined in specifications published by standardization organizations.

[0281] In some implementations, the usability threshold is configured by higher-layer signaling.

[0282] In some implementations, the availability threshold is based on UE capabilities, so one UE can be changed to another.

[0283] In some implementations, differential SINR reporting may have, for example... Figure 20 A set of possible reporting values ​​is shown. One of the possible reporting values ​​(see DIFFSINR_15) is used to signal to the base station that an invalid beam (or to signal that one or more beams are invalid). Other possible reporting values ​​may represent quantized values ​​of the differential SINR measurement of the beam, each quantized value corresponding to a corresponding interval of the differential SINR. Although Figure 20A differential SINR report with 16 possible states is shown, but it should be understood that the report can have any desired number of possible states. Furthermore, although... Figure 20 The unit of differential SINR is dB, but it should be understood that any other unit may be used as needed.

[0284] In some implementations, the usability of a beam's signal quality (e.g., SINR) is determined by the base station (e.g., a gNB in ​​5G NR). Upon receiving the reported SINR of a beam, the base station may trigger a CSI report for the beam to check whether the beam quality is sufficient to support communication with the UE.

[0285] In some implementations, the UE may transmit data with the following characteristics: Figure 21 The differential SINR reports for the possible reported values ​​are shown. Each possible reported value (in the first column) corresponds to a specific interval of differential SINR (in the second column). If differential SINR of a beam occurs within an interval, the UE can send the corresponding reported value to the base station.

[0286] In some implementations, the method 2100 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 21 The operations shown in the figure. (Method 2100 may also include the above in combination.) Figures 1 to 20 And the following text combined Figure 22 Any subset of the described elements, implementations, and features. (For example, such as in combination...) Figure 6 As described in User Equipment 600, the wireless UE device can be configured for various purposes as described above. Method 2100 can be executed by the processing element of the UE device.

[0287] At 2210, the processing element can receive SINR reports for a given beam from the wireless user equipment (UE) device.

[0288] At 2215, in response to determining that the SINR indicated by the SINR report is greater than an availability threshold, the processing element may send configuration information instructing the wireless UE to report channel state information (CSI) for a given beam. In one embodiment, this configuration information may instruct the wireless UE to generate a channel quality report, for example, a channel quality report with higher accuracy or reliability than the SINR report. To obtain a channel quality report, the UE may need to consider factors such as the signal processing gain in the UE receiver and the known precoding gain of the base station transmitter.

[0289] At 2220, in response to receiving a CSI report for a given beam, the processing element can determine, based on the CSI report, whether the quality of the given beam is sufficient to support communication with the wireless device.

[0290] At 2225, in response to determining that the quality of a given beam is sufficient to support communication with a wireless UE device, the processing element may send a control message instructing the wireless UE device to communicate with the base station using the given beam.

[0291] In some implementations, CSI includes signal quality information or differential signal quality information.

[0292] In some implementations, the processing element may transmit downlink signals on the downlink channel, wherein the downlink signals include: a synchronization signal block (SSB) or channel state information (CSI) reference signal for channel measurement; and resources for interference measurement.

[0293] In some implementations, the resources used for interference measurement include zero-power (ZP) based resources.

[0294] In some implementations, the resources used for interference measurement include resources based on non-zero power (NZP).

[0295] Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0296] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system performs a method, such as any method embodiment of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0297] In some implementations, a computer system may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the executable program instructions are to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). A computer system may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, a computer system may be a personal computer (in any of its various implementations), a workstation, a computer on a card, a dedicated computer in a box, a server computer, a client computer, a handheld device, a user device (UE) device, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, etc.

[0298] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0299] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. The present invention is intended to be interpreted in such a way that the following claims encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A baseband processor, including a memory storing instructions, which, when executed, cause the processor to perform the following operations: Measurements are performed on the beam in the first time slot, wherein the measurements are based on channel measurement resources (CMR) and interference measurement resources (IMR). The signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) information is determined at least based on the measurements. The SINR information is transmitted to the base station in the second time slot, wherein the delay between the first time slot and the second time slot is controlled by a delay value K, and wherein the delay value K corresponds to (a) a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth portion carrying downlink resources for performing the measurement, or (b) a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth portion for transmitting beam quality information. in, If a measurement limit is configured for the CMR, the measurement corresponds to the signal power and is based on the latest instance of the CMR; Wherein, if no measurement limit is configured for the CMR, the measurement corresponds to the signal power and is based on one or more instances of the CMR, and is performed no later than the second time slot; Wherein, if measurement limitations are configured for the IMR, the measurement corresponds to at least one of interference and noise, and is based on the latest instance of the IMR; and Wherein, if no measurement constraints are configured for the IMR, the measurement corresponds to at least one of interference and noise, and is performed based on one or more instances of the IMR, and no later than the second time slot.

2. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the operation further includes: Before performing the measurement, a configuration message indicating the delay value K is received.

3. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the operation further includes: The signal indicating the delay value K is sent to the base station.

4. The baseband processor according to claim 1, wherein the delay value K is predefined.

5. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the beam is a transmit beam associated with a downlink signal, and wherein the measurement is performed on measurement resources in the downlink signal.

6. The baseband processor of claim 1, wherein the beam is a receive beam associated with a downlink signal, and wherein the measurement is performed on measurement resources in the downlink signal.

7. A method comprising: Measurements are performed on the beam in the first time slot, wherein the measurements are based on channel measurement resources (CMR) and interference measurement resources (IMR). The signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) information is determined at least based on the measurements. The SINR information is transmitted to the base station in the second time slot, wherein the delay between the first time slot and the second time slot is controlled by a delay value K, and wherein the delay value K corresponds to (a) a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth portion carrying downlink resources for performing the measurement, or (b) a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth portion for transmitting beam quality information. Wherein, if a measurement limit is configured for the CMR, the measurement corresponds to the signal power and is based on the latest instance of the CMR; Wherein, if no measurement limit is configured for the CMR, the measurement corresponds to the signal power and is based on one or more instances of the CMR, and is performed no later than the second time slot; Wherein, if measurement limitations are configured for the IMR, the measurement corresponds to at least one of interference and noise, and is based on the latest instance of the IMR; and Wherein, if no measurement constraints are configured for the IMR, the measurement corresponds to at least one of interference and noise, and is performed based on one or more instances of the IMR, and no later than the second time slot.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises: Before performing the measurement on the beam in the first time slot, a configuration message indicating the delay value K is received.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises: The signal indicating the delay value K is sent to the base station.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the delay value K is predefined.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the beam is a transmit beam associated with a downlink signal, and wherein the CMR and the IMR are in the downlink signal.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the beam is a receive beam associated with a downlink signal, and wherein the CMR and the IMR are in the downlink signal.

13. A method comprising: In the second time slot, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) information is received from the user equipment (UE), wherein the SINR information is based at least on beam measurements in the first time slot, wherein the delay between the first time slot and the second time slot is controlled by a delay value K, wherein the delay value K corresponds to (a) a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth portion of downlink resources used to perform the measurements, or (b) a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth portion used to transmit beam quality information, and wherein the measurements are further based on channel measurement resources (CMR) and interference measurement resources (IMR). Wherein, if a measurement limit is configured for the CMR, the measurement corresponds to the signal power and is based on the latest instance of the CMR; Wherein, if no measurement limit is configured for the CMR, the measurement corresponds to the signal power and is based on one or more instances of the CMR, and also corresponds to being performed no later than the second time slot; Wherein, if measurement limitations are configured for the IMR, the measurement corresponds to at least one of interference and noise, and is based on the latest instance of the IMR; and Wherein, if no measurement constraints are configured for the IMR, the measurement corresponds to at least one of interference and noise, and is based on one or more instances of the IMR, and also corresponds to being performed no later than the second time slot.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: Send a configuration message indicating the delay value K to the UE.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: The UE receives a signal indicating the delay value K.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the delay value K is predefined.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the beam is a transmit beam associated with a downlink signal, and wherein the CMR and the IMR are in the downlink signal.

Images