Control of multi-panel UE activation / deactivation

Abstract

Control of activation of a multi-panel user equipment (MPUE) may be performed by both the MPUE and a base station. The MPUE may have at least a first panel and a second panel. The MPUE may send a request to the base station to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. The base station may transmit a response indicating whether the request has been approved. The MPUE may change the activation state of the panel based on the response. Conversely, the MPUE may receive a command from the base station to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. The MPUE may determine whether to follow the command or overwrite the command. The MPUE may transmit a response indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or overwritten the command.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 841,640, filed on May 1, 2019, entitled “CONTROL FOR MULTI-PANEL UE ACTIVATION / DEACTIVATION,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 863,353, filed on April 30, 2020, entitled “CONTROL FOR MULTI-PANEL UE ACTIVATION / DEACTIVATION,” which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. background Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to user equipment (UE) having multiple panels.

[0005] introduction

[0006] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0007] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is a part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)) and other requirements. 5GNR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards. There is a need for further improvements to 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0008] Overview

[0009] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a first method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for performing the first method, and an apparatus (device) (e.g., a base station) configured to perform the first method are provided. The first method may include: receiving a request to change the activation state of at least one panel of a multi-panel UE (MPUE) at a base station. The first method may include determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on: an event triggering the request, a channel measurement, a capability of the UE, a predefined rule, or a combination thereof. The first method may include transmitting a response indicating the determination to the MPUE. The apparatus may include a memory storing computer-executable instructions, and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute instructions to perform the first method. Moreover, the device may include a device for performing the first method.

[0011] On the other hand, a second method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for performing the second method, and an apparatus (device) (e.g., a base station) configured to perform the second method are provided. The second method may include determining at the base station that the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE is to be changed. The second method may include sending a command to the MPUE to change the activation state of the at least one panel. The second method may include receiving a response from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed or overwritten the command. The apparatus may include a memory storing computer executable instructions, and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute instructions to perform the second method. Moreover, the device may include a device for performing the second method.

[0012] On the other hand, a third method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for performing the third method, and an apparatus (device) (e.g., MPUE) configured to perform the third method are provided. The third method may include sending a request to a base station at the MPUE to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. The third method may include receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been approved. The event triggering the request may be associated with a priority, and the MPUE may expect the request to be approved when the priority meets a threshold. The third method may include changing the activation state of the panel according to the response. The device may include a memory storing computer executable instructions, and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute instructions to perform the third method. Moreover, the device may include a device for performing the third method.

[0013] On the other hand, a fourth method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for performing the fourth method, and an apparatus (device) (e.g., MPUE) configured to perform the fourth method are provided. The fourth method may include receiving a command from a base station at the MPUE to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. The fourth method may include determining whether to follow the request or overwrite the command. The fourth method may include transmitting a response indicating whether the MPUE has followed the request or overwritten the request. The apparatus may include a memory storing computer executable instructions, and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute instructions to perform the fourth method. Moreover, the device may include means for performing the fourth method.

[0014] To achieve the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of several of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0017] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first 5G / NR frame.

[0018] Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G / NR subframe.

[0019] Figure 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second 5G / NR frame.

[0020] Figure 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of a 5G / NR subframe.

[0021] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0022] Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram of a first example multi-panel UE.

[0023] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram of a second example multi-panel UE.

[0024] Figure 6 is a message diagram illustrating example messages for activating and deactivating one or more panels of a multi-panel UE.

[0025] Figure 7 is a message diagram illustrating an alternative order of example messages for activating and deactivating one or more panels of a multi-panel UE.

[0026] Figure 8 is a flow chart of an example method for a base station to grant wireless communications of changes to panel activation states.

[0027] Fig. 9 is a flow chart of an example method for a base station to initiate wireless communication of a request to change a panel activation state.

[0028] Fig.10 is a flow chart of an example method for a UE to initiate wireless communication of a request to change a panel activation state.

[0029] Fig.11 is a flow chart of an example method for wireless communications in which a UE responds to a request to change a panel activation state.

[0030] Fig.12 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of example components of a UE.

[0031] Fig.13 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of example components of a base station.

[0032] Detailed Description

[0033] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid diluting such concepts.

[0034] A multi-panel UE (MPUE) may be a UE that includes multiple panels. Examples of MPUEs may include a folding device that includes physical panels that are folded relative to each other. However, from a wireless communication perspective, the concept of an MPUE may be broader and may include any device with multiple antenna groups configured as panels. That is, an MPUE may not be limited to a specific form factor.

[0035] The MPUE may provide flexibility in selecting antennas for wireless communications. In particular, the concept of panels may be used to activate or deactivate certain antennas to improve performance or save battery power. In general, multiple panels may be activated simultaneously, but the UE need not activate multiple panels. In one aspect, while multiple panels may be active, one panel may be selected for uplink transmission using a single beam. In other aspects, multiple beams may be transmitted from multiple panels.

[0036] In one aspect, the UE may control activation and / or deactivation of panels. For example, the UE may activate or deactivate panels based on power consumption and / or maximum permitted exposure (MPE). It may be desirable to improve signaling between the MPUE and the base station to coordinate activation and deactivation of panels and select transmission attributes corresponding to active panels.

[0037] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a priority in the case where both the base station and the UE determine whether to activate or deactivate a panel. In a first implementation, the MPUE may send a request to the base station to change the activation state of one or more panels. The base station may evaluate the request, for example, based on the priority of the request and the current status. The base station may transmit a response indicating whether the request is granted. In a second implementation, the base station may send a request to the MPUE to change the activation state of one or more panels. The MPUE may determine whether to follow the request or to overwrite the request. For example, the MPUE may overwrite the request based on the priority of the request and the status detected by the MPUE. The first implementation and the second implementation may also be combined so that the base station or the MPUE can make an initial request. In either implementation, once a decision is made, both the base station and the MPUE may suppress additional requests for a period of time.

[0038] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and methods. These devices and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0039] As an example, an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include: microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether it is described in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or other terms.

[0040] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, these functions may be stored or encoded on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the above types, or any other medium that may be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0041] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and a 5G core (5GC) 190. The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) and / or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). A macro cell includes a base station. A small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0042] One or more UEs 104 may be MPUEs including at least a first panel and a second panel and a panel control component 140. The panel control component 140 may control activation and deactivation of the panel and perform activation and deactivation of the panel by the following operations: receiving and / or transmitting an activation state change request, and determining whether to overwrite the received request. For example, the panel control component 140 may include a request component 142, a response component 144, an overwrite component 146, and / or an activation-deactivation component 148. In a first implementation, the request component 142 may send a request for changing the activation state of at least one panel of the UE 104. The response component 144 may receive a response indicating whether the request has been approved. In a second implementation, the request component 142 may receive a request for changing the activation state of at least one panel from a base station. The overwrite component 146 may determine whether to follow the request or overwrite the request. The activation-deactivation component 148 may change the activation state of the panel according to the response in the first implementation or the overwrite decision in the second implementation.

[0043] The base station 102 in communication with the UE 104 may include a multi-panel component 198 that communicates with the panel control component 140 to activate and deactivate the panels. Fig.13 , the multi-panel component 198 may include a request component 1342, a response component 1344, an evaluation component 1346, and a capability component 1348. The request component 1342 may receive a request from the UE 104 to change the activation state of at least one panel of the UE 104. The response component 1344 may transmit a response indicating whether the requested change to the activation state has been granted. The evaluation component 1346 may determine whether to grant the requested change to the activation state. The capability component 1348 may receive capabilities of the UE 104 indicating the capabilities of one or more of the panels. Further details of the multi-panel component 198 are described below.

[0044] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) can interface with the EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) can interface with the 5GC 190 via a backhaul link 184. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: delivery of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC 160 or 5GC 190) over a backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). Backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0045] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved B node (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). A communication link 120 between a base station 102 and a UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming and / or transmit diversity. These communication links may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth for each carrier allocated in the carrier aggregation for a total of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL compared to UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0046] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0047] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 communicating with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0048] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0049] Whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include an eNB, a gB node (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended down to 3 GHz frequencies with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands (e.g., 3 GHz–300 GHz) have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.

[0050] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction of base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmit direction and receive direction of UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

[0051] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area that broadcasts a specific service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related charging information.

[0052] 5GC 190 may include access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMF 193, session management function (SMF) 194, and user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may be in communication with unified data management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and 5GC 190. In general, AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 is connected to IP service 197. IP service 197 may include the Internet, intranet, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0053] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmission reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or the 5GC 190 for the UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet device, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a health care device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similar functional device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0054] Figure 2A 200 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G / NR frame structure. Figure 2B FIG230 is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G / NR subframe. Figure 2C FIG250 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G / NR frame structure. Figure 2D 280 is a diagram illustrating an example of an UL channel within a 5G / NR subframe. The 5G / NR frame structure may be FDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that subcarrier set are dedicated to either DL or UL, or TDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that subcarrier set are dedicated to both DL and UL. Figure 2A , 2CIn the example provided, the 5G / NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL) and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly UL), where D is DL, U is UL, and X is for flexible use between DL / UL. Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are full DL and full UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mixture of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G / NR frame structure for TDD.

[0055] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and parameter design. For slot configuration 0, different parameter designs μ0 to 5 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter designs 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter design μ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2 per subframe. μ time slots. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration vary depending on parameter design. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2 μ *15kHz, where μ is parameter design 0 to 5. Thus, parameter design μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, while parameter design μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figure 2A-2D An example of slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter design μ=0 is provided, with 1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz and the symbol duration is about 66.7 μs.

[0056] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a number of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0057] like Figure 2A As explained in the illustration, some REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for UEs. RSs may include demodulation RSs (DM-RSs) for channel estimation at the UE (indicated as R for a particular configuration). x , where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a beam refinement RS (BRRS), and a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0058] Figure 2B An example of various DL channels within a subframe of an explanation frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE includes 9 RE groups (REGs), and each REG includes 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth, as well as the system frame number (SFN). The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH (such as System Information Blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0059] As in Figure 2CAs illustrated in FIG, some REs carry DM-RSs for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit DM-RSs for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RSs for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first or first two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and on the specific PUCCH format used. Although not shown, the UE may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0060] Figure 2D An example of various UL channels within a subframe of an illustration frame. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0061] Figure 33 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with a UE 350 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a media access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration of UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, cipher decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0062] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0063] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 350. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 350, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions can be based on the channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator 358. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 310. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359 which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0064] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher interpretation, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0065] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0066] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by a TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0067] UL transmissions are processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

[0068] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0069] At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 The panel control assembly 140 combines various aspects.

[0070] At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 The multi-panel assembly 198 combines various aspects.

[0071] Go to Figure 4 , conceptual diagram 400 includes an example multi-panel UE (MPUE) 404. MPUE 404 may include multiple panels, such as a first panel 410, a second panel 412, an optional third panel 414, and additional optional panels (not shown). In general, a panel may be a UE component including an antenna group, which includes one or more antennas. The antenna may include one or more antennas, antenna elements, and / or antenna arrays. Each panel may operate independently to a certain extent. For example, each panel may be individually activated or deactivated. An activated panel may be used for transmission and / or reception. A deactivated panel may not be used for transmission and / or reception. For example, a deactivated panel may be in a power-saving sleep mode. In one aspect, a deactivated panel may be in a light sleep mode or a deep sleep mode. Each panel may be configured with a different panel identifier (panel ID). In one aspect, a panel may be associated with an antenna group. For example, panel 410 may be associated with antenna group 430, panel 412 may be associated with antenna group 432, and panel 414 may be associated with antenna group 434.

[0072] In one aspect, a panel may be a unit of an antenna group that independently controls beams. For example, within a panel, a beam may be selected and used for UL transmission. For example, one of beams 440a, 440b may be selected for panel 410. In one aspect, a UE may be limited to a single panel for UL transmission. In another aspect, multiple panels may be used for UL transmission, and across different panels, multiple beams (each beam is selected per panel) may be used for UL transmission. For example, one of beams 442a, 442b may be selected for panel 412, and one of beams 444a, 444b may be selected for panel 414. A limited number of beams are explained for simplicity, but it should be understood that a panel may select from a larger number of beams, for example, depending on the frequency range of the transmission.

[0073] In one aspect, the panel can be a unit of an antenna group that controls the transmit power of the antenna group. For example, all antennas or antenna elements within the antenna group can use the same transmit power.

[0074] In one aspect, the panel may be a unit of an antenna group with common UL timing. For example, all antennas or antenna elements within an antenna group may be configured to have the same timing advance.

[0075] In one aspect, the panels of MPUE 404 can be based on the hardware structure of MPUE 404. For example, MPUE 404 can include hinge 420 between panel 410 and panel 412 so that panel 410 and panel 412 can be oriented at an angle to each other. Similarly, hinge 422 can be located between panel 412 and panel 414. In one aspect, panels 410, 412, 414 can be physically reconfigured (e.g., by folding MPUE 404 at hinges 420, 422) to change the orientation of each panel. When panels 410, 412, 414 are physically reconfigured, the direction of the beam associated with each panel can also change.

[0076] In another aspect, the panels of the MPUE 404 can be dynamically defined, for example by selecting a subset of the total antennas or antenna elements as a panel. Figure 5An example MPUE 504 that does not necessarily include a hinge is illustrated. The MPUE 504 may include multiple antenna groups 520, 522, 524, 526. The MPUE 504 may configure the antenna groups 520, 522, 524, 526 into multiple panels. For example, panel 510 may include antenna groups 520 and 522, while panel 512 may include antenna groups 524 and 526. When panel 510 is active, one of beams 540a, 540b, 540c, 540d may be selected for uplink transmission. When panel 512 is active, one of beams 542a, 542b, 542c, or 542d may be selected for uplink transmission. In one aspect, the MPUE 504 may dynamically configure panels that include different combinations of antenna groups 520, 522, 524, 526.

[0077] Go to Figure 6 , the example message diagram 600 includes signaling messages that may be used to activate and / or deactivate one or more panels of the example MPUE 404.

[0078] The MPUE 404 may transmit UE capabilities 605, which may indicate that the MPUE 404 includes multiple panels. The UE capabilities 605 may be carried in an RRC configuration message. The UE capabilities 605 may indicate, for example, the number of panels or the number of panels that may be activated simultaneously.

[0079] MPUE 404 may perform a detection condition process 610 that triggers a panel change request 615. For example, MPUE 404 may detect a condition based on one or more of the following: maximum permitted exposure (MPE) limit, power saving, panel reconfiguration, UE capability, downlink measurement, or predefined rules. For example, an MPE limit may reduce the transmit power available for a panel, so MPUE 404 may determine to deactivate the panel. Power saving may include any condition detected by the MPUE in which power can be saved by switching or deactivating a panel. Battery status or power level may be a factor affecting power saving. Panel reconfiguration may refer to a physical reconfiguration of MPUE 404. For example, folding a panel into an overlapping configuration may result in redundant or interfering beams, so MPUE 404 may determine to deactivate the panel. Conversely, unfolding panels 410, 412 may provide an opportunity for new beams or increased diversity, so MPUE 404 may determine to activate the panel. UE capabilities may indicate whether a potential activation state change is allowed. For example, UE capabilities can configure MPUE 404 to have a maximum number of active panels, even if MPUE 404 includes a larger number of panels. Downlink measurements of signal quality and / or beam quality can be used to determine whether a change in panel activation state is likely to be beneficial. For example, MPUE 404 can compare one or more measured qualities to each other, to a threshold, or to a previously measured quality of another panel to determine whether activating or deactivating a panel is likely to improve quality. MPUE 404 can use predefined rules to determine trigger events. For example, predefined rules can only allow MPUE 404 to change the activation state of a panel when the measured channel quality meets the predefined rules. For example, predefined rules can allow MPUE 404 to activate a new panel and deactivate the activated panel when the measured received signal strength of the new panel is 10 dB better than the measured received signal strength of the activated panel for a predefined time period. Predefined rules can also prohibit UE from making any determination to change the panel state within a specific time period (e.g., a predefined time from sending a previous request to change the panel activation state).

[0080] In one aspect, the priority can be associated with one or more conditions detected by the MPUE 404. For example, in one implementation, a set of mandatory conditions can be defined, for example, in a standard or regulation. A mandatory condition can be a condition in which the MPUE 404 and the base station 102 approve a change to the activation state based on the detection of the condition. An event detected based on a mandatory condition can be referred to as a mandatory event. Other conditions can be optional, and the MPUE 404 and / or the base station 102 can reject or overwrite a request based on an optional condition (e.g., based on different conditions detected at other nodes). On the other hand, a priority ranking can be assigned to each detected condition. For example, a standard or regulation can define a priority ranking for a specific condition or event. As another example, the MPUE 404 can determine a priority ranking based on one or more factors used to determine the condition. Accordingly, the priority ranking can be the relative importance of a change in panel configuration for the MPUE 404.

[0081] MPUE 404 may transmit panel change request 615. Panel change request 615 may include a request made by MPUE 404 based on different conditions to activate one or more panels, deactivate one or more panels, or perform a combination of activation and deactivation. Panel change request 615 may indicate, for example, one or more panel IDs whose activation state of the panel is to be changed (e.g., activated or deactivated). Panel change request 615 may optionally include a change direction (e.g., activated or deactivated) for each panel ID. In one aspect, panel change request 615 may include an indication of a condition or event that triggers panel change request 615, or an indication of the priority of panel change request 615.

[0082] The base station 102 may perform a grant determination 620 to determine whether to grant the panel change request 615. In one aspect, the grant determination 620 may be based on one or more of a priority of the panel change request 615 and a priority of a condition detected at the base station 102. The condition detected at the base station 102 may be based on channel measurements, capabilities of the UE, or predefined rules. For example, the base station 102 may determine whether the panel change request 615 is associated with a mandatory condition based on the indicated priority, and automatically grant the request based on the mandatory condition. As another example, when a condition detected at the base station 102 conflicts with the panel change request 615, the base station 102 may determine whether to grant the request based on the relative priority of the panel change request 615 and the detected condition.

[0083] Base station 102 may transmit a panel change response 625 indicating whether panel change request 615 has been granted. In one aspect, MPUE 404 may abide by the decision made by base station 102 in response to the request. That is, when MPUE 404 has made a request, but base station 102 has not granted the request, MPUE 404 may not be able to override the decision.

[0084] In one aspect, the MPUE 404 and the base station 102 may observe a suppression period 630 following the panel change response 625. The suppression period 630 may be a time period during which the MPUE 404 and / or the base station 102 refrain from transmitting a panel change request or command. For example, even if the base station 102 detects a condition during the suppression period 630, the base station 102 may wait until after the suppression period 630 before initiating a panel change command 640. The suppression period 630 may reduce signaling overhead regarding panel activation and deactivation. The suppression period 630 may prevent frequent changes to the panel activation state, for example, due to conflicting conditions of similar priority. The suppression period 630 may be measured from the receipt of the panel change response 625. For example, the base station 102 may begin the suppression period 630 when the MPUE 404 acknowledges a packet including the panel change response 625.

[0085] In one aspect, the base station 102 may initiate a panel state change. The panel state change may include the base station 102 requesting or commanding the MPUE 404 to activate one or more panels, deactivate one or more panels, or perform a combination of activation and deactivation based on different conditions. For example, the base station may perform a detect condition process 635. For example, the base station 102 may measure the channel quality and / or beam quality of UL transmissions from the MPUE 404. In particular, in the absence of beam correspondence between UL and DL, the MPUE 404 may not be able to determine the best beam or panel for UL transmission, so such conditions may preferably be detected by the base station 102.

[0086] In one aspect, the priority may be associated with one or more conditions detected by the base station 102. For example, the priority may be based on one or more of the following: channel measurements, UE capabilities, or predefined rules. As with the priority of the conditions detected by the MPUE 404, in one implementation, a set of mandatory conditions that may be detected by the base station 102 may be defined, for example, in a standard or regulation. On the other hand, a priority ranking may be assigned to each detected condition. For example, a standard or regulation may define a priority ranking for a particular condition or event. As another example, the base station 102 may determine a priority ranking based on one or more factors used to determine the condition. Accordingly, the priority ranking may be the relative importance of a change in panel configuration to the base station 102.

[0087] The base station 102 may transmit a panel change command 640. The panel change command 640 may indicate, for example, one or more panel IDs to be changed. The panel change command 640 may optionally include a change direction (e.g., activate or deactivate) for each panel ID. In one aspect, the panel change command 640 may include an indication of the condition that triggered the panel change command 640, or indicate a priority of the panel change command 640.

[0088] The MPUE 404 may perform an overwrite determination 645 regarding the panel change command 640. The overwrite determination 645 may be based on the priority of the panel change command 640 and the priority of the situation at the MPUE 404. For example, when the situation is inconsistent with the panel change command 640 and the priority of the situation is greater than the priority of the panel change command 640, the MPUE 404 may determine to overwrite the panel change command 640. Conversely, when the panel change command 640 is consistent with the situation or the priority of the panel change command 640 is greater than the priority of the situation, the MPUE 404 may determine to follow the panel change command 640.

[0089] MPUE 404 may transmit an override response 650. Overwrite response 650 may indicate whether panel change command 640 has been followed or overwritten. Overwrite response 650 may allow base station 102 to track the activation status of panels 410, 412. For example, base station 102 may perform scheduling and measurements based on the activation status of panels 410, 412.

[0090] MPUE 404 may perform a panel state change 655. Panel state change 655 may be in response to panel change response 625 or overwrite determination 645. Panel state change 655 may include an activation process for activating the panel from sleep mode. The activation process may include one or more of: providing power to the panel, receiving a reference signal, determining a channel estimate, selecting a beam, determining a transmit power level, and / or transmitting a reference signal. Panel state change 655 may include a deactivation process. The deactivation process may include placing the indicated panel in sleep mode. When a panel is deactivated, the panel may not be used for transmission or reception.

[0091] Go to Figure 7 , the example message diagram 700 includes Figure 6404. The signaling order in the message diagram 700 may be different. In particular, the base station 102 may perform the detect condition procedure 635 before the MPUE 404 performs the detect condition procedure 610. Accordingly, the base station 102 may initiate the panel change procedure. In addition, the MPUE 404 and the base station 102 may implement the suppression period 630 in response to the overwrite response 650. Accordingly, if the detect condition procedure 610 occurs during the suppression period 630, the MPUE 404 may wait until after the suppression period 630 before transmitting the panel change request 615.

[0092] Figure 8 8 is a flow diagram of an example method 800 for wireless communication. The method 800 may be performed by a base station, such as base station 102, which may include memory 376 and may be the entire base station 102 or a component of base station 102, such as multi-panel assembly 198, TX processor 316, RX processor 370, or controller / processor 375. The method 800 may be performed in communication with MPUE 404, which includes at least a first panel (e.g., panel 410) and a second panel (e.g., panel 412). Optional blocks are shown with dashed lines.

[0093] At block 810, method 800 may optionally include receiving capabilities of the MPUE from the MPUE. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or capability component 1348 to receive capabilities of the MPUE 404 from the MPUE 404. The capabilities of the MPUE may be received as information elements of an RRC message. The capabilities of the MPUE may be capabilities of at least one panel of the MPUE 404. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or capability component 1348 may provide means for receiving the capabilities of the MPUE from the MPUE.

[0094] At block 820, method 800 may include receiving a request from the MPUE to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or request component 1342 to receive, at base station 102, panel change request 615 from MPUE 404 to change an activation state of at least one panel of MPUE 404. In an implementation, panel change request 615 may include an indication of a condition triggering the panel change request, or a priority of panel change request 615. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or request component 1342 may provide means for receiving a request from the MPUE to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE.

[0095] At block 830, the method 800 may include determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on one or more of the following: an event that triggers the request, a channel measurement, a capability of the UE, a predefined rule, or some combination thereof. In one aspect, for example, the base station 102, the controller / processor 375, and / or the RX processor 370 may execute the multi-panel component 198 and / or the evaluation component 1346 to determine whether to grant the panel change request 615 based at least in part on one or more of the following: an event that triggers the request, a channel measurement, a capability of the UE, a predefined rule, or some combination thereof. For example, at sub-block 832, the evaluation component 1346 may determine to grant the panel change request 615 in response to determining that the event that triggers the panel change request 615 indicates that granting the panel change request 615 is mandatory. For example, the event that triggers the state change condition may be a mandatory condition that is satisfied as defined by a standard or regulation. As another example, at sub-block 834, the evaluation component 1346 may determine the priority of the event that triggers the panel change request 615. For example, the priority may be included in the panel change request 615 or determined based on the event. In sub-block 836, the evaluation component 1346 may determine the priority of the condition based on one or more of the following: channel measurement, MPUE capabilities, or predefined rules. For example, the evaluation component 1346 may perform the detection condition process 635. In sub-block 838, when the condition is consistent with the request or the priority of the event triggering the request is greater than the priority of the condition, the evaluation component 1346 may determine to grant the request. Accordingly, the base station 102, the controller / processor 375, and / or the RX processor 370 executing the multi-panel component 198 and / or the evaluation component 1346 may provide a device for determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on one or more of the following: the event triggering the request, channel measurement, the MPUE capabilities, predefined rules, or a combination thereof.

[0096] At block 840, method 800 may include transmitting a response indicating the determination to the MPUE. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or TX processor 316 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or response component 1344 to transmit panel change response 625 indicating the determination to MPUE 404. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or TX processor 316 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or response component 1344 may provide means for transmitting a response indicating the determination to the MPUE.

[0097] At block 850, method 800 may optionally include refraining from transmitting a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time after transmitting the response. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or TX processor 316 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or request component 1342 to refrain from transmitting a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time after transmitting panel change response 625. The period of time may be measured from receipt of panel change response 625 by MPUE 404. For example, in response to receiving an acknowledgment of a packet carrying panel change response 625 from the MPUE. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or TX processor 316 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or request component 1342 may provide means for refraining from transmitting a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time after transmitting the response.

[0098] Fig. 9 800. The method 900 may be performed by a base station, such as base station 102, which may include memory 376 and may be the entire base station 102 or a component of base station 102, such as multi-panel assembly 198, TX processor 316, RX processor 370, or controller / processor 375. The method 900 may be performed in communication with MPUE 404, which includes at least a first panel (e.g., panel 410) and a second panel (e.g., panel 412). In one aspect, the method 900 may be performed in conjunction with the method 800. For example, the method 900 may be performed before or after the method 800. Optional blocks are shown with dashed lines.

[0099] At block 910, method 900 may include determining that an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE is to be changed. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or evaluation component 1346 to determine that an activation state of at least one panel (e.g., panel 410) of MPUE 404 is to be changed. For example, evaluation component 1346 may execute detection condition process 635. In one implementation, determining that an activation state of the at least one panel is to be changed is based on a condition detected at least in part based on: a UE report, a channel measurement, a predefined rule, a capability of MPUE 404, or some combination thereof. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or evaluation component 1346 may provide means for determining that an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE is to be changed.

[0100] At block 920, method 900 may include sending a command to the MPUE to change the activation state of the at least one panel. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or TX processor 316 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or request component 1342 to send a panel change command 640 to MPUE 404 to change the activation state of at least one panel 410. In one implementation, the request to change the activation state may indicate a detected condition. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or TX processor 316 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or request component 1342 may provide means for sending a command to the UE to change the activation state of the at least one panel.

[0101] At block 930, method 900 may include receiving a response from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed or overridden the command. In one aspect, for example, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 may execute multi-panel component 198 and / or response component 1344 to receive an overwrite response 650 from MPUE 404 indicating whether MPUE 404 has followed or overridden the panel change command 640. In an implementation, when the condition is a mandatory condition, overwrite response 650 may indicate that MPUE 404 has followed the panel change command 640. Accordingly, base station 102, controller / processor 375, and / or RX processor 370 executing multi-panel component 198 and / or response component 1344 may provide means for receiving a response from the UE indicating whether the UE has followed or overridden the command.

[0102] At block 940, the method 900 may optionally include determining a time period during which the UE will not change the activation state of the at least one panel based on the response. In one aspect, for example, the base station 102, the controller / processor 375, and / or the RX processor 370 may execute the multi-panel component 198 to determine a time period (e.g., the inhibition period 630) during which the MPUE 404 will not change the activation state of the at least one panel based on the overwrite response 650. For example, the length of the inhibition period 630 may depend on whether the panel change command 640 is overwritten. For example, the inhibition period 630 may be longer when the panel change command 640 is overwritten to prevent frequent overwriting. Accordingly, the base station 102, the controller / processor 375, and / or the RX processor 370 executing the multi-panel component 198 may provide a means for determining a time period during which the MPUE will not change the activation state of the at least one panel based on the response.

[0103] Fig.10 1 is a flow chart of an example method 1000 of wireless communication. The method 1000 may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, which may include memory 360 and may be the entire UE 104 or a component of UE 104 (such as panel control component 140, TX processor 368, RX processor 356, or controller / processor 359), or MPUE 404, 504 (which may also include panel control component 140)). A UE performing method 1000 may include at least a first panel (e.g., panel 410) and a second panel (e.g., panel 412). Optional blocks are shown with dashed lines.

[0104] At block 1010, method 1000 may optionally include transmitting capabilities of the MPUE 404 indicating capabilities of at least one panel. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or capability component 149 to transmit UE capabilities 605 indicating capabilities of at least one panel (e.g., panel 410). Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or capability component 149 may provide means for transmitting the capabilities of the MPUE indicating capabilities of the at least one panel.

[0105] At block 1020, the method 1000 may optionally include determining an event that triggers the request based at least in part on: MPE limitation, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, capabilities of the MPUE, downlink measurement, or a combination thereof. In one aspect, for example, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute the panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 to determine an event that triggers the request based at least in part on one or more of: MPE limitation, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, UE capabilities, or downlink measurement. Accordingly, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing the panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 may provide a means for determining an event that triggers the request based at least in part on: MPE limitation, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, capabilities of the MPUE, downlink measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0106] At block 1030, method 1000 may include sending a request to a base station to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 to send a panel change request 615 to base station 102 to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE 404. In one implementation, panel change request 615 includes an indication of an event that triggers the request. Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 may provide a means for sending a request to a base station to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE.

[0107] At block 1040, method 1000 may include receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been approved. The event that triggers the request may be associated with a priority, and the UE may expect the request to be approved when the priority meets a threshold. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, RX processor 356 and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or response component 144 to receive panel change response 625 indicating whether the request has been approved from base station 102. The event that triggers panel change request 615 may be associated with a priority. When the priority meets a threshold (e.g., it is a mandatory event), MPUE 404 may expect panel change request 615 to be approved. Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, RX processor 356 and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or response component 144 may provide a means for receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been approved.

[0108] At block 1050, method 1000 may include changing an activation state of the panel based on the response. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or activation-deactivation component 148 to change the activation state of the panel based on panel change response 625. Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or activation-deactivation component 148 may provide means for changing the activation state of the panel based on the response.

[0109] At block 1060, method 1000 may optionally include refraining from transmitting a second request to change the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time from sending the request or receiving the response. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 to refrain from transmitting a second request to change the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time from sending the panel change request 615 or receiving the panel change response 625. Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 may provide means for refraining from transmitting a second request to change the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time from sending the request or receiving the response.

[0110] At block 1070, method 1000 may optionally include determining that the base station will not transmit a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period after the response. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or response component 144 to determine that base station 102 will not transmit a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period after the panel change response 625. Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or response component 144 may provide means for determining that the base station will not transmit a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period after the response.

[0111] Fig.11 1 is a flow chart of an example method 1100 of wireless communication. Method 1100 may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, which may include memory 360 and may be the entire UE 104 or a component of UE 104 (such as panel control component 140, TX processor 368, RX processor 356, or controller / processor 359), or MPUE 404, 504 (which may also include panel control component 140)). The UE performing method 1100 may include at least a first panel (e.g., panel 410) and a second panel (e.g., panel 412). In one aspect, method 1100 may be performed in conjunction with method 1000. For example, method 1100 may be performed before or after method 1000. Optional boxes are shown with dashed lines.

[0112] At block 1110, the method 1100 may optionally include transmitting the capabilities of the MPUE indicating the capabilities of the at least one panel. In one aspect, for example, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute the panel control component 140 and / or the capability component 149 to transmit the UE capabilities 605 indicating the capabilities of the at least one panel. Accordingly, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing the panel control component 140 and / or the response component 144 may provide means for transmitting the capabilities of the MPUE indicating the capabilities of the at least one panel.

[0113] At block 1120, method 1100 may include receiving a command from a base station to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, RX processor 356, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or request component 142 to receive a panel change command 640 from base station 102 to change an activation state of at least one panel (e.g., panel 410) of MPUE 404. Accordingly, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, RX processor 356, and / or controller / processor 359 executing panel control component 140 and / or response component 144 may provide a means for receiving a command from a base station to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE at a UE including at least a first panel and a second panel.

[0114] At block 1130, method 1100 may include determining whether to follow the command or to overwrite the command. In one aspect, for example, UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368 and / or controller / processor 359 may execute panel control component 140 and / or overwrite component 146 to determine whether to follow the request or to overwrite the request. In one implementation, at sub-block 1132, block 1130 may optionally include determining the priority of the command. For example, request component 142 may determine the priority of panel change command 640. For example, panel change command 640 may include a priority, may indicate a condition associated with the priority, or both. At sub-block 1134, block 1130 may optionally include determining the priority of the condition at the MPUE. For example, overwrite component 146 may determine the condition at the MPUE based at least in part on: increasing the amount of permitted illumination, power saving, panel reconfiguration, the capability of the MPUE, downlink measurement, or a combination thereof. At sub-block 1136, block 1130 may optionally include: when the condition is inconsistent with the command and the priority of the condition is greater than the priority of the command, determining to overwrite the command. For example, when the condition is inconsistent with the panel change command 640 and the priority of the condition is greater than the priority of the panel change command 640, the overwrite component 146 may determine to overwrite the panel change command 640. At sub-block 1138, block 1130 may optionally include: when the command is consistent with the condition or the priority of the command is greater than the priority of the condition, determining to follow the command. For example, when the panel change command 640 is consistent with the condition or the priority of the panel change command 640 is greater than the priority of the condition, the overwrite component 146 may determine to follow the panel change command 640. Accordingly, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing the panel control component 140 and / or the response component 144 may provide a means for determining whether to follow the command or overwrite the command.

[0115] At block 1140, the method 1100 may include transmitting a response indicating whether the MPUE has followed the request or has overwritten the request. In one aspect, for example, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 may execute the panel control component 140 and / or the response component 144 to transmit an overwrite response 650 indicating whether the MPUE 404 has followed the panel change command 640 or has overwritten the panel change command 640. Accordingly, the UE 104, MPUE 404, 504, TX processor 368, and / or controller / processor 359 executing the panel control component 140 and / or the response component 144 may provide a means for transmitting a response indicating whether the MPUE has followed the request or has overwritten the request.

[0116] Reference Fig.12 , an example of an implementation of UE 104 may include a variety of components, some of which have been described above, but also include components such as one or more processors 1212 and memory 1216 in communication via one or more buses 1244 and transceiver 1202, which can be operated in conjunction with modem 1214 and panel control component 140 to implement one or more functions described herein related to signaling for panel activation. In addition, one or more processors 1212, modem 1214, memory 1216, transceiver 1202, RF front end 1288, and one or more antennas 1265 can be configured to support voice and / or data calls (simultaneous or non-simultaneous) in one or more radio access technologies. Antenna 1265 may include one or more antennas, antenna elements, and / or antenna arrays.

[0117] In one aspect, the one or more processors 1212 may include a modem 1214 using one or more modem processors. Various functions associated with the panel control assembly 140 may be included in the modem 1214 and / or the processor 1212, and may be performed by a single processor in one aspect, while in other aspects, different functions may be performed by a combination of two or more different processors. For example, in one aspect, the one or more processors 1212 may include any one or any combination of the following: a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a transceiver processor associated with the transceiver 1202. In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 1212 and / or the modem 1214 associated with the panel control assembly 140 may be performed by the transceiver 1202.

[0118] In addition, the memory 1216 can be configured to store local versions of the data and / or applications 1275 used herein or one or more of the panel control component 140 and / or its subcomponents executed by the at least one processor 1212. The memory 1216 may include any type of computer-readable medium usable by a computer or the at least one processor 1212, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In one aspect, for example, when the UE 104 is operating the at least one processor 1212 to execute the panel control component 140 and / or one or more of its subcomponents, the memory 1216 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable codes defining the panel control component 140 and / or one or more of its subcomponents and / or data associated therewith.

[0119] The transceiver 1202 may include at least one receiver 1206 and at least one transmitter 1208. The receiver 1206 may include hardware, firmware, and / or software code executable by a processor for receiving data, the code including instructions and stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). The receiver 1206 may be, for example, a radio frequency (RF) receiver. In one aspect, the receiver 1206 may receive signals transmitted by at least one base station 102. Additionally, the receiver 1206 may process such received signals and may also obtain measurements of these signals, such as but not limited to Ec / Io, SNR, RSRP, RSSI, etc. The transmitter 1208 may include hardware, firmware, and / or software code executable by a processor for transmitting data, the code including instructions and stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). Suitable examples of the transmitter 1208 may include, but are not limited to, an RF transmitter.

[0120] Also, in an aspect, the UE 104 may include an RF front end 1288 that may operate in communication with the one or more antennas 1265 and the transceiver 1202 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, such as wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 102 or wireless transmissions transmitted by the UE 104. The RF front end 1288 may be connected to the one or more antennas 1265 and may include one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 1290, one or more switches 1292, one or more power amplifiers (PAs) 1298, and one or more filters 1296 for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

[0121] In one aspect, the LNA 1290 can amplify the received signal to a desired output level. In one aspect, each LNA 1290 can have specified minimum and maximum gain values. In one aspect, the RF front end 1288 can use one or more switches 1292 to select a particular LNA 1290 and a corresponding specified gain value based on the desired gain value for a particular application.

[0122] In addition, for example, one or more PAs 1298 can be used by the RF front end 1288 to amplify the signal to obtain an RF output at a desired output power level. In one aspect, each PA 1298 can have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In one aspect, the RF front end 1288 can use one or more switches 1292 to select a particular PA 1298 and a corresponding specified gain value based on a desired gain value for a particular application.

[0123] In addition, for example, one or more filters 1296 can be used by the RF front end 1288 to filter the received signal to obtain the input RF signal. Similarly, in one aspect, for example, a corresponding filter 1296 can be used to filter the output from the corresponding PA 1298 to produce an output signal for transmission. In one aspect, each filter 1296 can be connected to a specific LNA 1290 and / or PA 1298. In one aspect, the RF front end 1288 can use one or more switches 1292 to select a transmit or receive path using a specified filter 1296, LNA 1290, and / or PA 1298 based on the configuration as specified by the transceiver 1202 and / or the processor 1212.

[0124] As such, the transceiver 1202 may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals via the RF front end 1288 through one or more antennas 1265. In an aspect, the transceiver may be tuned to operate at a specified frequency so that the UE 104 may communicate, for example, with one or more base stations 102 or one or more cells associated with the one or more base stations 102. In an aspect, the modem 1214 may configure the transceiver 1202 to operate at a specified frequency and power level based on, for example, a UE configuration of the UE 104 and a communication protocol used by the modem 1214.

[0125] In one aspect, the modem 1214 may be a multi-band-multi-mode modem that may process digital data and communicate with the transceiver 1202 so that the digital data is sent and received using the transceiver 1202. In one aspect, the modem 1214 may be multi-band and configured to support multiple frequency bands for a specific communication protocol. In one aspect, the modem 1214 may be multi-mode and configured to support multiple operating networks and communication protocols. In one aspect, the modem 1214 may control one or more components (e.g., RF front end 1288, transceiver 1202) of the UE 104 to enable transmission and / or reception of signals from the network based on a specified modem configuration. In one aspect, the modem configuration may be based on the mode of the modem and the frequency band used. In another aspect, the modem configuration may be based on UE configuration information associated with the UE 104, such as provided by the network during cell selection and / or cell reselection.

[0126] Reference Fig.13, an example implementation of the base station 102 may include a variety of components, some of which have been described above, but also include components such as one or more processors 1312 and memory 1316 in communication via one or more buses 1354 and a transceiver 1302, which can operate in conjunction with a modem 1314 and a multi-panel assembly 198 to implement one or more functions described herein related to panel-activated signaling.

[0127] The transceiver 1302, receiver 1306, transmitter 1308, one or more processors 1312, memory 1316, application 1375, bus 1354, RF front end 1388, LNA 1390, switch 1392, filter 1396, PA 1398, and one or more antennas 1365 may be the same or similar to the corresponding components of UE 104 as described above, but are configured or otherwise programmed for base station operation rather than UE operation.

[0128] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an example approach. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in these process / flowcharts can be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some boxes can be combined or omitted. The attached method claims present the elements of various boxes in an exemplary order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0129] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined in this article can be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown in this article, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the claims in language, wherein the singular reference of the elements is not intended to represent "there is and only one", but "one or more", unless otherwise stated. The wording "exemplary" is used herein to mean "used as an example, instance or explanation". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein does not have to be interpreted as being superior to or superior to other aspects. Unless otherwise stated, the term "some / certain" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C" and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B or multiple C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are currently or hereafter known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recorded in the claims. The terms "module," "mechanism," "element," "device," and the like may not be a substitute for the term "means." Thus, no claim element should be interpreted as a means-plus-function unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "means for..."

[0130] Some further example embodiments

[0131] A first example method of wireless communication, the method comprising performing the following operations at a base station: receiving a request from an MPUE to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on: an event triggering the request, a channel measurement, a capability of the UE, a predefined rule, or some combination thereof; and transmitting a response to the UE indicating the determination.

[0132] The first example method above further includes refraining from transmitting a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel within a period of time after transmitting the response.

[0133] The first example method above, wherein the time period is measured from receipt of the response by the MPUE.

[0134] Any of the above first example methods, wherein the request includes an indication of a condition triggering the request, a priority of the request, or both.

[0135] Any of the first example methods above, wherein determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on an event triggering the request further comprises granting the request in response to determining that the event triggering the request indicates that granting the request is mandatory.

[0136] Any of the above first example methods, wherein determining whether to grant the request is based at least in part on an event that triggers the request further includes: determining a priority of the event that triggers the request; determining a priority of the condition based on: channel measurement, the capability of the MPUE, the predefined rule, or a combination thereof; and determining to grant the request when the condition is consistent with the request or the priority of the event that triggers the request is greater than the priority of the condition.

[0137] Any of the above first example methods further includes: receiving capabilities of the MPUE from the MPUE.

[0138] Any of the first example methods above, wherein the capability of the MPUE is a capability of the at least one panel.

[0139] Any of the first example methods above, wherein the channel measurement comprises a measurement of transmission interference to another UE.

[0140] Any of the first example methods above, wherein the channel measurement includes uplink channel state information for the MPUE.

[0141] Any of the above first example methods, wherein the predefined rules include scheduling rules.

[0142] Any of the above first example methods, wherein the request to change the activation state of at least one panel comprises: a request to activate one or more deactivated panels, a request to deactivate one or more activated panels, or a request to activate at least one deactivated panel and deactivate at least one activated panel.

[0143] Any of the above first example methods further includes performing the following operations at the base station: determining that the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE is to be changed; sending a command to the MPUE for changing the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; and receiving a response from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed or overwritten the command.

[0144] A second example method of wireless communication includes performing the following operations at a base station: determining that an activation state of at least one panel of an MPUE is to be changed; sending a command to the UE for changing the activation state of the at least one panel; and receiving a response from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed or overwritten the command.

[0145] The second example method above, wherein determining to change the activation state of the at least one panel is based on a condition detected based at least in part on: UE reports, channel measurements, predefined rules, capabilities of the MPUE, or some combination thereof.

[0146] The second example method above, wherein the command for changing the activation state indicates the condition.

[0147] Any of the above second example methods, wherein the command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel includes: a request to activate one or more deactivated panels, a request to deactivate one or more activated panels, or a request to activate at least one deactivated panel and deactivate at least one activated panel.

[0148] Any of the above second example methods, wherein the condition is a mandatory condition and the response indicates that the UE has complied with the command.

[0149] Any of the above second example methods, wherein the response indicates that the MPUE has overwritten the command, the method further comprising determining a time period during which the MPUE will not change the activation state of the at least one panel based on the response.

[0150] Any of the above second example methods further includes: receiving a request from the MPUE to change the activation state of the at least one panel, the request including an indication of an event that triggers the request; determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on: the event that triggers the request, channel measurements, UE capabilities, predefined rules, or a combination thereof; and transmitting a response indicating the determination to the MPUE.

[0151] An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to execute any one of the above first or second example methods.

[0152] An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for performing any one of the above first or second example methods.

[0153] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform any of the first or second example methods above.

[0154] A third example method of wireless communication includes performing the following operations at an MPUE: sending a request to a base station to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been approved; and changing the activation state of the panel according to the response.

[0155] The third example method above further includes determining an event triggering the request based at least in part on: MPE limitation, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, capabilities of the UE, downlink measurements, or some combination thereof.

[0156] Any of the above third example methods, wherein the request includes an indication of an event that triggered the request.

[0157] Any of the above third example methods, wherein the event triggering the request is associated with a priority, and the MPUE expects the request to be approved when the priority satisfies a threshold.

[0158] Any of the above third example methods further includes transmitting MPUE capabilities indicating capabilities of the at least one panel.

[0159] Any of the above third example methods further includes determining that the base station will not transmit a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period after the response.

[0160] Any of the above third example methods, wherein the time period is measured from receipt of the response by the MPUE.

[0161] Any of the above third example methods further includes: refraining from transmitting a second request to change the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period from sending the request or receiving the response.

[0162] Any of the above third example methods further includes performing the following operations at the MPUE: receiving a command from the base station for changing the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to follow the command or overwrite the command; and transmitting a response indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or overwritten the command.

[0163] A fourth example method of wireless communication, the method comprising performing the following operations at an MPUE: receiving a command from a base station for changing an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to follow the command or overwrite the command; and transmitting a response from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or overwritten the command.

[0164] The fourth example method above, wherein determining whether to follow the command or overwrite the command includes: determining the priority of the command; determining the priority of the condition at the MPUE; and when the condition is inconsistent with the command and the priority of the condition is greater than the priority of the command, determining to overwrite the command.

[0165] Any of the fourth example methods above, wherein the command includes a priority level for the command.

[0166] Any of the above fourth example methods, wherein the priority of the condition at the MPUE is determined based at least in part on: maximum permitted illumination, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, capabilities of the MPUE, downlink measurements, or a combination thereof.

[0167] Any of the fourth example methods above further includes: when the command is consistent with the condition or the priority of the command is greater than the priority of the condition, determining that the command is to be followed.

[0168] Any of the above fourth example methods further includes performing the following operations at the MPUE: sending a request to the base station to change the activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE, the request including an indication of an event that triggers the request; and receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been approved.

[0169] An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to execute any one of the third or fourth example methods above.

[0170] An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing any one of the third or fourth example methods above.

[0171] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform any of the third or fourth example methods above.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising performing the following operations at a base station: receiving, from a multi-panel user equipment (MPUE), a request to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on: an event triggering the request, a channel measurement, a capability of the MPUE, a predefined rule, or some combination thereof; as well as A response indicating the determination is transmitted to the MPUE.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising refraining from transmitting to the MPUE a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time after transmitting the response.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the time period is measured from receipt of the response by the MPUE.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request includes an indication of a condition triggering the request, a priority of the request, or both.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether to grant the request based at least in part on the event that triggered the request further comprises: The request is granted in response to determining that the event triggering the request indicates that granting the request is mandatory.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether to grant the request comprises: determining a priority of the event that triggered the request; Determining the priority of a condition based on one or more of: the channel measurement, the capability of the MPUE, or the predefined rule; as well as When the condition is consistent with the request or the priority of the event triggering the request is greater than the priority of the condition, it is determined that the request is to be granted.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving capabilities of the MPUE from the MPUE. The method of claim 1 , wherein the capabilities of the MPUE include capabilities of the at least one panel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel measurement comprises a measurement of transmission interference to another UE.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel measurement comprises uplink channel state information for the MPUE. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined rules include scheduling rules.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing the following operations at the base station: determining to change the activation state of the at least one panel of the MPUE; sending a command to the MPUE for changing the activation state of the at least one panel of the MPUE; and A response is received from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or has overwritten the command.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein: The request to change the activation state of the at least one panel includes a request to activate one or more deactivated panels, a request to deactivate one or more activated panels, or a request to activate at least one deactivated panel and deactivate at least one activated panel.

14. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory storing computer executable instructions; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory, and the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to perform the following operations at a base station: receiving, from a multi-panel user equipment (MPUE), a request to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to grant the request based on one or more of: an event triggering the request, a channel measurement, a capability of the MPUE, a predefined rule, or some combination thereof; as well as A response indicating the determination is transmitted to the MPUE.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determining a priority of the event that triggered the request; prioritizing conditions based on one or more of: the channel measurements, the capabilities of the MPUE, or the predefined rules; and When the condition is consistent with the request or the priority of the event triggering the request is greater than the priority of the condition, it is determined that the request is to be granted.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the channel measurement comprises: Measurement of transmission interference to another UE, or uplink channel state information for the MPUE.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determining to change the activation state of the at least one panel of the MPUE; sending a command to the MPUE for changing the activation state of the at least one panel of the MPUE; and A response is received from the MPUE indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or has overwritten the command.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to refrain from transmitting a command to the MPUE for changing the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time after transmitting the response.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the time period is measured from receipt of the response by the MPUE.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the request includes an indication of a condition triggering the request, a priority of the request, or both.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine whether to grant the request based at least in part on the event that triggered the request comprises the at least one processor being further configured to: The request is granted in response to determining that the event triggering the request indicates that granting the request is mandatory.

22. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive capabilities of the MPUE from the MPUE.

23. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the capabilities of the MPUE include capabilities of the at least one panel.

24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the predefined rules comprise scheduling rules.

25. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein: The request to change the activation state of the at least one panel includes a request to activate one or more deactivated panels, a request to deactivate one or more activated panels, or a request to activate at least one deactivated panel and deactivate at least one activated panel.

26. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising performing the following operations at a multi-panel user equipment (MPUE): sending a request to a base station to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been granted; as well as The activation state of the at least one panel is changed based on the response.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising determining an event triggering the request based at least in part on: maximum permitted exposure (MPE) limitation, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, capabilities of the MPUE, downlink measurements, predefined rules, or some combination thereof.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the request includes an indication of an event that triggered the request.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the event triggering the request is associated with a priority, and when the priority satisfies a threshold, the MPUE expects the request to be approved.

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising transmitting capabilities of the MPUE, the capabilities of the MPUE indicating capabilities of the at least one panel.

31. The method of claim 26, further comprising determining that the base station will not transmit a command to change the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period after the response.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the time period is measured from receipt of the response by the MPUE.

33. The method of claim 26, further comprising refraining from transmitting a second request to change the activation state of the at least one panel for a period of time from sending the request or receiving the response.

34. The method of claim 26, further comprising performing the following operations at the MPUE: receiving a command from the base station for changing the activation state of the at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to follow the command or to overwrite the command; as well as A response is transmitted indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or has overwritten the command.

35. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory storing computer executable instructions; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory, and the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to perform the following operations at a multi-panel user equipment (MPUE): sending a request to a base station to change an activation state of at least one panel of the MPUE; receiving a response from the base station indicating whether the request has been granted; as well as The activation state of the at least one panel is changed based on the response.

36. An apparatus as described in claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the event that triggers the request based at least in part on: maximum permitted exposure (MPE) limitation, power conservation, panel reconfiguration, capabilities of the MPUE, downlink measurements, predefined rules, or some combination thereof.

37. An apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine that the base station will not transmit a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period after the response, wherein the time period is measured from the receipt of the response by the MPUE.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving, from the base station, a command for changing the activation state of the at least one panel of the MPUE; determining whether to follow the command or to overwrite the command; as well as A response is transmitted indicating whether the MPUE has followed the command or has overwritten the command.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the request includes an indication of an event that triggered the request.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the event triggering the request is associated with a priority, and the MPUE expects the request to be approved when the priority meets a threshold.

41. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit capabilities of the MPUE, the capabilities of the MPUE indicating capabilities of the at least one panel.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to refrain from transmitting a second request to change the activation state of the at least one panel within a time period from sending the request or receiving the response.

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