RACH design for beamforming communications

Abstract

In mmW networks, UEs and base stations may use RACH procedures to establish a link. Because mmW and other band communications may rely on accurate beamforming to overcome link attenuation, the UE may need to provide beam information feedback to the base station. Specifically, the UE may receive a beamformed message from the base station during a RACH procedure. The UE may determine beam information based on the beamformed message received during the RACH procedure. The UE may transmit a message to the base station during the RACH procedure, and the message may include the determined beam information.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with an international application date of May 12, 2017, an international application number of PCT / US2017 / 032469, a Chinese national application date of May 12, 2017, an application number of 201780035322.1, and an invention name of “RACH design for beamforming communication”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 348,797, filed on June 10, 2016, entitled “RACH DESIGN FOR MILLIMETER-WAVE COMMUNICATIONS,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 433,738, filed on February 15, 2017, entitled “RACH DESIGN FOR BEAMFORMED COMMUNICATIONS,” both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0004] background

[0005] field

[0006] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to random access channel (RACH) design for beamformed communications, such as millimeter wave (mmW) communications and other communications. Background Art

[0007] 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.

[0008] 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 Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE is an enhancement set of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE is designed to support mobile broadband access by using OFDMA on the downlink, SC-FDMA on the uplink, and using multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology to improve spectrum efficiency, reduce costs, and improve services. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements in LTE technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0009] In mmW networks, user equipment and base stations may use RACH procedures to establish links. Because mmW communications and other beamformed communications may rely on accurate beamforming to overcome link attenuation, there is a need to improve the link between user equipment and base stations by enabling feedback of control information during RACH procedures.

[0010] Overview

[0011] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of these 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 only purpose is to give some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be given later.

[0012] In an LTE contention-based RACH procedure for uplink time synchronization, a user equipment sends a first message and listens for a second message from a base station. In response to the received second message, the user equipment sends a third message to the base station. Unlike LTE communications, mmW and other beamformed communications may rely on precise beamforming to overcome link attenuation. Thus, in mmW networks, a second message from a base station for a contention-based RACH procedure may be transmitted using beamforming. There is a need to improve the link between a user equipment and a base station by enabling feedback during a RACH procedure, such as during the transmission of a third message from the user equipment to the base station.

[0013] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a user equipment. The apparatus may receive a beamformed message from a base station during a RACH procedure. The apparatus may determine beam information based on the beamformed message received during the RACH procedure. The apparatus may transmit a message to the base station during the RACH procedure, the message including the determined beam information.

[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

[0015] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0016] Figure 2A , 2B , 2C, and 2D are diagrams of LTE examples illustrating a DL frame structure, a DL channel within the DL frame structure, a UL frame structure, and a UL channel within the UL frame structure, respectively.

[0017] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evolved Node B (eNB) and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0018] Figure 4 A diagram illustrating a mmW network is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 5 is a diagram of a modified RACH procedure for mmW communications.

[0020] Fig. 6A is a diagram of messages transmitted during a RACH procedure.

[0021] Figure 6B is a diagram of resource blocks allocated during a RACH procedure.

[0022] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method.

[0023] Figure 8 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the flow of data between different devices / components in an exemplary apparatus.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a device employing a processing system. Detailed Description

[0025] 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.

[0026] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus 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 may 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.

[0027] 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 chips (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.

[0028] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the described functions 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 can be used to store computer-accessible instructions or data structure forms of computer executable code.

[0029] 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, and an evolved packet core (EPC) 160. 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). The macro cell includes an eNB. The small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0030] The base stations 102 (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) interface with the EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following functions, among other 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. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160) over a backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0031] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective 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 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 MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. These communication links may be over one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20 MHz) 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).

[0032] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine whether the channel is available prior to communication.

[0033] 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 LTE and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U), Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MuLTEfire.

[0034] 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 (PSS), 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.

[0035] A base station may also be referred to as 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), or some other suitable term. Base station 102 provides an access point to EPC 160 for 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, or any other similar functional device. 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 term.

[0036] Reference again Figure 1In certain aspects, UE 104 may be configured to provide beam information feedback (198) during a RACH procedure.

[0037] Figure 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a DL frame structure in LTE. Figure 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of channels within a DL frame structure in LTE. Figure 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a UL frame structure in LTE. Figure 2D 280 is an example of illustrating channels within the UL frame structure in LTE. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. In LTE, a frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes. Each subframe may include two consecutive time slots. A resource grid may be used to represent the two time slots, each time slot including one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)). The resource grid is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). In LTE, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB includes 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain (OFDM symbols for DL; SC-FDMA symbols for UL), for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB includes 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0038] like Figure 2A As explained in , some REs carry DL reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The DL-RS may include a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) (sometimes also referred to as a common RS), a UE-specific reference signal (UE-RS), and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). Figure 2A The CRS for antenna ports 0, 1, 2, and 3 (indicated as R 0 , R 1 , R 2 and R 3 ), UE-RS for antenna port 5 (indicated as R 5 ), and the CSI-RS for antenna port 15 (indicated as R). Figure 2B An example of various channels within a DL subframe of an illustrated frame. The Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) is within symbol 0 of slot 0 and carries an indication of whether the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) occupies 1, 2, or 3 symbols ( Figure 2BThe PDCCH occupies 3 symbols). The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI) in 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 UE can be configured with a UE-specific enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH) that also carries DCI. The ePDCCH can have 2, 4, or 8 RB pairs ( Figure 2B 2 RB pairs are shown, with each subset including 1 RB pair). A physical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH) is also within symbol 0 of slot 0 and carries a HARQ indicator (HI) that indicates HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) / negative ACK (NACK) feedback based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). A primary synchronization channel (PSCH) is within symbol 6 of slot 0 within subframes 0 and 5 of a frame and carries a primary synchronization signal (PSS) used by the UE to determine subframe timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization channel (SSCH) is within symbol 5 of slot 0 within subframes 0 and 5 of a frame and carries a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) used by the UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the above-mentioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) is in symbols 0, 1, 2, 3 of slot 1 of subframe 0 of a frame and carries a master information block (MIB). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the DL system bandwidth, the PHICH configuration, and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH (such as the system information block (SIB)), and paging messages.

[0039] like Figure 2C As explained in , some REs carry demodulation reference signals (DM-RS) for channel estimation at the eNB. The UE may additionally transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the last symbol of the subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the teeth of the comb. The SRS may be used by the eNB for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL. Figure 2DExamples of various channels within the UL subframe of a frame are illustrated. The Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) may be within one or more subframes of a frame based on the PRACH configuration. The PRACH may include 6 consecutive RB pairs within a subframe. The PRACH allows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve UL synchronization. The Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) may be located at the edge of the UL system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSRs), power headroom reports (PHRs), and / or UCI.

[0040] Figure 3 310 and UE 350 in communication in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from EPC 160 may be provided to controller / processor 375. Controller / processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes 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.

[0041] 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 transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission 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 codewords can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time domain 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 codeword stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate 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 reference signals 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.

[0042] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its respective 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 may 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 may 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 eNB 310. These soft decisions may be based on 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 eNB 310. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359 which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0043] 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.

[0044] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the eNB 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 (ciphering, cipher decoding, 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, 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 TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0045] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the eNB 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.

[0046] UL transmissions are processed at the eNB 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] Figure 4 Diagrams 400, 450 of mmW networks are illustrated. In diagram 400, for example, the mmW network includes a mmW base station 410 and several UEs 420, 430. The base station 410 may include hardware for performing analog and / or digital beamforming. If the base station 410 is equipped with analog beamforming, the base station 410 may transmit or receive signals in only one direction at any one time. If the base station 410 is equipped with digital beamforming, the base station 410 may transmit multiple signals in multiple directions concurrently or may receive multiple signals in multiple directions concurrently. In addition, for example, the UE 420 may include hardware for performing analog and / or digital beamforming. If the UE 420 is equipped with analog beamforming, the UE 420 may transmit or receive signals in only one direction at any one time. If the UE 420 is equipped with digital beamforming, the UE 420 may transmit multiple signals in multiple directions concurrently or may receive multiple signals in multiple directions concurrently.

[0049] 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. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz and a wavelength of 100 mm (the super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also known as centimeter waves). Although the present disclosure refers to mmW herein, it should be understood that the present disclosure also applies to near mmW. In addition, although the present disclosure refers to mmW base stations herein, it should be understood that the present disclosure also applies to near mmW base stations.

[0050] In order to build a useful communication network in the millimeter wavelength spectrum, beamforming technology can be used to compensate for path loss. Beamforming technology focuses RF energy into a narrow direction to allow the RF beam to propagate farther in that direction. Using beamforming technology, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) RF communications in the millimeter wavelength spectrum can rely on reflection and / or diffraction of the beam to reach the UE. If the direction is blocked due to UE movement or environmental changes (e.g., obstacles, humidity, rain, etc.), the beam may not reach the UE. Therefore, in order to ensure that the UE has continuous seamless coverage, multiple beams in as many different directions as possible can be obtained. On the one hand, beamforming technology may require mmW base stations and UEs to transmit and receive in directions that allow most RF energy to be collected.

[0051] In a mmW network, a UE may perform beam sweeping with a mmW base station within range. Beam sweeping may be performed as illustrated in diagram 400 and / or diagram 450. Referring to diagram 400, in beam sweeping, a mmW base station 410 may transmit m beams in multiple different spatial directions. A UE 420 listens / scans for beam transmissions from the mmW base station 410 in n different receiving spatial directions. While listening / scanning for beam transmissions, the UE 420 may listen / scan for beam sweeping transmissions from the mmW base station 410 up to m times (a total of m*n scans) in each of the n different receiving spatial directions. In another configuration, referring to diagram 450, in beam sweeping, a UE 420 may transmit n beams in multiple different spatial directions. A mmW base station 410 listens / scans for beam transmissions from the UE 420 in m different receiving spatial directions. When listening / scanning beam transmissions, the mmW base station 410 may listen / scan for beam swept transmissions from the UE 420 up to n times (a total of m*n scans) in each of m different receiving spatial directions.

[0052] Based on the beam sweeping performed, the UE and / or the mmW base station determines the channel quality associated with the beam sweeping performed. For example, if the beam sweeping process in diagram 400 is performed, the UE 420 may determine the channel quality associated with the beam sweeping performed. However, if the beam sweeping process in diagram 450 is performed, the mmW base station 410 may determine the channel quality associated with the beam sweeping performed. If the UE 420 determines the channel quality associated with the beam sweeping performed, in one aspect, the UE 420 may send channel quality information (also referred to as beam sweeping result information) to the anchor node 415. The anchor node 415 may be another mmW base station, an eNB, or another type of base station. The UE 420 may send the beam sweeping result information directly to the anchor node 415 if the anchor node 415 is within range, or may send the beam sweeping result information to the serving mmW base station (e.g., mmW base station 410), which forwards the beam sweeping result information to the anchor node 415. If the mmW base station 410 determines a channel quality associated with the performed beam sweeping, the mmW base station 410 sends the beam sweeping result information to the anchor node 415. On the other hand, the UE 420 may send the beam sweeping result information to the mmW base station 410. On the one hand, the channel quality may be affected by various factors. These factors include movement of the UE 420 along a path or due to rotation (e.g., a user holds and rotates the UE 420), along a path behind an obstacle, or within a specific environmental condition (e.g., obstacles, rain, humidity). The UE 420, the mmW base station 410, and the anchor node 415 may also exchange other information (such as configuration information) for beamforming (e.g., analog or digital beamforming capabilities, beamforming type, timing information, etc.). Based on the received information, the anchor node 415 may provide beamforming configuration information (e.g., mmW network access configuration information, information for adjusting beam sweep periodicity, information about overlapping coverage for predicting switching to another base station (such as a mmW base station)) to the mmW base station 410 and / or the UE 420.

[0053] In an LTE network, a UE may initiate a RACH procedure for initial network access. Because the UE may not be connected to the network, the UE may not have been allocated resources that can be used to notify the network of its intention to connect. Alternatively, the UE may send a request on a shared medium, the RACH. Other UEs that are also not connected to the network may also wish to send a request on the RACH for initial network access. In the case where multiple UEs transmit on shared resources, there is a possibility that different requests may conflict. Such random access procedures may be referred to as contention-based RACH procedures. In another scenario, the network may instruct the UE to use a unique identity to prevent its request from conflicting with requests from other UEs. This scenario may be referred to as a contention-free RACH procedure.

[0054] In a contention-based RACH procedure, a UE may send a RACH transmission to an eNB and listen for a RACH response (RAR) message. The UE may send a message including a common control channel (CCCH) payload on an uplink shared channel (UL SCH) resource identified in the RAR message in response to the RAR message. However, in the LTE contention-based RACH procedure, the UE does not send UCI in response to the RAR message. In one aspect, the UCI may include CQI, PMI, RI, ACK and NACK, among other information. However, because mmW communications rely on precise beamforming to overcome link attenuation, the reliability of the RACH procedure and the entire link may be improved if the message transmitted by the UE in response to the RAR message (which may be beamformed for the UE) includes beam information. For example, the beam information may include the identity and / or strength of the strongest downlink beam received at the UE from the mmW base station.

[0055] Figure 5 5 is a diagram of a modified RACH procedure for mmW communications. If the UE's uplink transmission timing is synchronized, it can be scheduled for uplink transmission. For unsynchronized UEs, RACH can be used for initial network access to achieve uplink timing synchronization for UEs that have not yet acquired or have lost their uplink synchronization. On the other hand, if an uplink synchronized UE has no other uplink resources allocated to send a scheduling request (SR), the UE may be allowed to use RACH to send an SR.

[0056] Reference Figure 5, UE 502 may conduct a contention-based RACH procedure with a base station 504 (e.g., a mmW base station). The RACH procedure may include a message exchange involving four messages, a first message 506, a second message 508, a third message 510, and a fourth message 512. In one aspect, UE 502 may select an available physical RACH (PRACH) signature (or RACH preamble) based on contention. The signature may be one of 64 different patterns, and if multiple UEs have the same signature, a conflict may occur. In one aspect, a subset of the 64 signatures / preambles may be reserved for contention-free RACH procedures. UE 502 may select a signature based on the size of the transmission resources required to transmit the third message 510. UE 502 may determine the size of the transmission resources based on the path loss and the transmission power required for the third message 510. The selected signature (or preamble) may be transmitted by UE 502 to base station 504 in a first message 506. In one aspect, the first message 506 may include a random access radio network temporary identity (RA-RNTI). The RA-RNTI may identify the time slot number in which the preamble is transmitted and may also be used as an identifier for the UE 502 .

[0057] In response to receiving the first message 506, the base station 504 may transmit a second message 508 to the UE 502. The second message 508 may be a RAR message sent via the PDSCH. The second message 508 may provide the identity of the detected preamble, a timing alignment instruction (e.g., a timing advance to compensate for the round-trip delay caused by the distance between the UE 502 and the base station 504) to enable the UE 502 to synchronize subsequent uplink transmissions, and an initial uplink resource grant (e.g., a PUSCH or PUCCH resource grant) for the UE 502 to transmit a third message 510 (e.g., via the PUSCH). In one aspect, the second message 508 may include an assignment of a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). In another aspect, the second message 508 may indicate the RA-RNTI included in the first message 506. In another aspect, the second message 508 may also include a backoff indicator, which the base station 504 may use to instruct the UE 502 to back off for a period of time before retrying the random access attempt.

[0058] In one aspect, base station 504 may use beamforming techniques such as Figure 4) to transmit a second message 508 to the UE 502. When the UE 502 receives the beamformed first message 506, the UE 502 may initiate a beam information reporting procedure. The UE 502 may determine beam information associated with the second message 508. For example, the second message 508 may represent a beam information request, and the UE 502 may measure the signal strengths of various downlink beams from the base station 504 and identify the strongest downlink beam. The UE 502 may determine one or more antenna indexes associated with the strongest downlink beam at the base station 504. For example, the UE 502 may identify n beams with the strongest beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and report beam information about these n beams. The UE 502 may also determine other beamforming related information (or beam state information). On the other hand, the second message 508 may indicate a request for the number of beam information reports (e.g., 2 bits, where '00' indicates a request for 1 report, '01' indicates a request for 2 reports, '10' indicates a request for 4 reports, and '11' indicates no report is requested).

[0059] After determining the beam information, the UE 502 may transmit the beam information as a report (such as a beam state information report) in a third message 510. The third message 510 may be a layer 2 / layer 3 message, or an RRC connection request message transmitted on the PUSCH. The beam state information report may also be transmitted in the PUCCH. The third message 510 may also include a UE identifier (e.g., a random value or a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI)) that identifies the UE 502, an RRC connection request, a tracking area update, and / or a scheduling request. The third message may be addressed to the temporary C-RNTI indicated in the second message 508, or include a permanent C-RNTI (if the UE 502 was previously connected to the base station 504).

[0060] After receiving the third message 510, the base station 504 may adjust one or more transmission parameters for beamforming based on the beam information contained in the third message 510. For example, the base station 504 may select one or more antennas, determine the transmit power on the selected antennas, and / or select an MCS for subsequent transmissions to the UE 502.

[0061] The base station 504 may transmit a fourth message 512 to the UE 502. The fourth message 512 may be a contention resolution message (e.g., if multiple UEs use the same selected signature to initiate a RACH procedure). In an aspect, the fourth message 512 may be transmitted using beamforming based on parameters adjusted according to the received beam information. The fourth message 512 may be addressed to a permanent C-RNTI, or a temporary C-RNTI indicated in the third message 510. If the third message 510 includes a temporary C-RNTI, the fourth message 512 may echo the UE identifier indicated in the third message 510. If there is a conflict, only the UE identified in the fourth message 512 may transmit HARQ feedback to the base station 504. Other UEs may understand that there is a conflict and may not transmit any HARQ feedback to the base station 504.

[0062] Fig. 6A 600 is a diagram of a message (e.g., the third message 510 or an RRC connection request message) transmitted during a RACH procedure. The message may include a MAC header, one or more MAC control elements (MAC CEs) (such as a first MAC CE 604 and a second MAC CE 606), and a payload 608. In one aspect, the message may correspond to Figure 5 The third message 510 may be included in various parts of the message.

[0063] In the first configuration, the beam information may be carried in the first MAC CE 604 (or any other MAC CE). For example, the first MAC CE 604 may be defined to include one or more fields dedicated to beam information (eg, index field, signal strength field, etc.).

[0064] In a second configuration, beam information may be added to the payload 608 (e.g., CCCH payload). In LTE, the network (e.g., base station 504) may echo back the payload 608 in the fourth message 512. However, echoing back the beam information in the fourth message 512 may not provide any additional benefit in contention resolution. The base station 504 may omit the beam information from the fourth message 512, or provide other control information in the fourth message 512. In this configuration, the beam information may be represented as one or more bits. These bits may be concatenated with any existing bits to be transmitted in the payload 608 (e.g., tracking area update, TMSI, etc.). The combined bits may be encoded by mapping the combined bits onto modulation symbols (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, QAM modulation) for resource elements (such as 4Q modulation) within one or more resource blocks. Figure 2A The transmission is performed on resource elements (those shown in ).

[0065] In a third configuration, beam information may be carried in the message as UCI, similar to CQI reports, buffer status information (BSI) reports, and basic rate information (BRI) reports. UCI may be multiplexed with payload 608. Current RACH procedures do not allow multiplexing of UCI with UL-SCH payload in the third message 510. However, such signaling may be invoked for mmW communications to improve beamforming performance. In one aspect, the UE 502 may be assigned based on the second message 508 such as Figure 6B 6 (or any other number of resource blocks) to transmit the third message 510. The payload bits may be encoded by mapping the payload bits onto the first set of modulation symbols. The bits corresponding to the beam information may be separately encoded onto the second set of modulation symbols. To determine how many resource elements in resource block 650 to use for transmitting the beam information (relative to the payload), UE 502 may determine a β offset value β 偏移 , which may correspond to a ratio of resource elements that may be used to transmit beam information relative to resource elements that may be used to transmit payload (or vice versa). By indicating a ratio of resource elements used to report beam information, the β offset value may represent a request for beam information (or beam state information) reporting. Figure 6B , using the β offset value, the UE 502 can determine a first resource set 652 for transmitting a first modulation codeword set corresponding to the payload 608 and a second resource set 654 for transmitting a second modulation codeword set corresponding to the beam information, so that the payload 608 and the UCI are multiplexed together within the resource block 650. Figure 6B One configuration for multiplexing UCI with payload is shown; specifically, one or more OFDM symbols are allocated for UCI, and other OFDM symbols are allocated for payload. Other configurations may also be used. For example, within an OFDM symbol, some subcarriers or tones may be allocated for transmitting UCI, while other subcarriers within the same OFDM symbol may be allocated for transmitting payload.

[0066] UE 502 may determine the beta offset value in several different ways. In one aspect, the beta offset value may be a default fixed value used by all UEs when the UE has beam information to transmit. In another aspect, the beta offset value may be a function of one or more parameters transmitted in the PBCH (e.g., system frame number, number of transmit antennas used by base station 504, system bandwidth, etc.). For example, in another aspect, the beta offset value may be received from the network or from base station 504 within the second message 508. In this aspect, the beta offset value may be optional within the second message 508. A missing beta offset value may indicate that UE 502 will use a default value, or may indicate that UE 502 will not transmit any beam information.

[0067] On the other hand, in a contention-free RACH procedure, if the base station 504 (via a message transmitted in the PDCCH) commands the UE 502 to perform uplink timing synchronization, the UE 502 may already be RRC connected to the base station 504 and therefore may already have a β offset value. On the other hand, during a handover from a source base station to a target base station, a handover message from the UE 502 to the target base station (or vice versa) may signal the β offset value. On the other hand, during a handover, the UE 504 may use an existing β offset value prior to the handover, and the source base station may signal the β offset value to the target base station.

[0068] Figure 7 700 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method. The method may be performed by a UE (eg, UE 502, device 802 / 802').

[0069] At 702, the UE may receive a beamformed message from a base station during a RACH procedure. Figure 5 , the UE may be UE 502, and the base station may be base station 504. UE 502 may receive a second message 508 (beamformed message) from base station 504 during a RACH procedure. As previously mentioned, the second message 508 may also be a beam state information request, requesting UE 502 to obtain beam state information.

[0070] At 704, the UE may determine beam information based on the beamformed message received during the RACH procedure. Figure 5 , UE 502 may determine beam information based on second message 508 received from base station 504. UE 502 may measure received signal strengths of various downlink beams from base station 504. UE 502 may identify the beam with the strongest signal strength received from base station 504 (e.g., identify the transmit antenna index). The beam information may include an index identifying the strongest received beam (e.g., the index may correspond to an antenna at base station 504) and a signal strength of the strongest received beam.

[0071] In one configuration, at 706, the UE 502 may multiplex the determined beam information as UCI with a payload for transmission during the RACH procedure. The UE 502 may multiplex the determined beam information by determining an offset value for multiplexing the determined beam information with the payload at 708. The offset value may indicate a ratio of UCI modulation symbols to payload modulation symbols. At 710, the UE 502 may multiplex the determined beam information based on the determined offset value. For example, referring to Figure 5 , 6A6B, the UE 502 may determine the offset value by receiving the offset value from the base station 504 in the second message 508. The UE 504 may multiplex the beam information with the payload 608 data for transmission in the third message 510 based on the β offset value.

[0072] At 712, the UE may transmit a message to the base station during the RACH procedure, the message including the determined beam information. Figure 5 , the UE 502 may transmit a third message 510 to the base station 504 during a RACH procedure, and the third message 510 may include the determined beam information. In one example, the beam information may be multiplexed with a payload 608 of the third message 510, as described at 706, 708, and 710. In another example, the beam information may be included in the first MAC CE 604 of the third message 510. In yet another example, the beam information may be encoded using the payload 608 of the third message 510.

[0073] Figure 8 800 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flow between different devices / components in an exemplary device 802. The device can be a UE. The device includes a receiving component 804, a detecting component 806, an encoding component 808, and a transmitting component 810. The receiving component 804 can be configured to receive a beamformed message from a base station 850 during a RACH procedure. The detecting component 806 can be configured to determine beam information based on the beamformed message received during the RACH procedure. The transmitting component 810 can be configured to transmit a message to the base station 850 during the RACH procedure, the message including the determined beam information. In one aspect, the beam information may include an index identifying the strongest beam received at the device or the signal strength of the strongest beam received at the device. On the other hand, the determined beam information may be included in a MAC-CE of the message. On the other hand, the determined beam information may be included in the payload of the message. In one configuration, the encoding component 808 may be configured to multiplex the determined beam information as UCI with a payload of a message for transmission during a RACH procedure. The encoding component 808 may be configured to multiplex by determining an offset value for multiplexing the determined beam information with the payload, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of UCI modulation symbols to payload modulation symbols to be transmitted in the message, and multiplexing the determined beam information based on the determined offset value. In one aspect, the offset value may be a default value, based on a physical broadcast channel parameter, or received from a network. In another aspect, the offset value may be received from the base station 850 in a RACH response message based on a PRACH transmission of the UE.

[0074] The apparatus may include executing Figure 7 The additional components of each box of the algorithm in the preceding flowchart. Thus, Figure 7 Each block in the aforementioned flow chart of can be performed by a component and the device may include one or more of these components. These components can be one or more hardware components specially configured to implement the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0075] Fig. 9 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a device 802' employing a processing system 914. The processing system 914 may be implemented with a bus architecture generally represented by a bus 924. Depending on the specific application of the processing system 914 and the overall design constraints, the bus 924 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus 924 links various circuits together, including one or more processors and / or hardware components (represented by the processor 904, components 804, 806, 808, and computer readable medium / memory 906). The bus 924 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further.

[0076] The processing system 914 may be coupled to the transceiver 910. The transceiver 910 is coupled to one or more antennas 920. The transceiver 910 provides a means for communicating with various other devices through a transmission medium. The transceiver 910 receives signals from one or more antennas 920, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 914 (specifically, the receiving component 804). In addition, the transceiver 910 receives information from the processing system 914 (specifically, the transmission component 810) and generates signals to be applied to one or more antennas 920 based on the received information. The processing system 914 includes a processor 904 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 906. The processor 904 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory 906. The software, when executed by the processor 904, causes the processing system 914 to perform various functions described above for any specific device. The computer-readable medium / memory 906 can also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 904 when executing the software. The processing system 914 further includes at least one of the components 804, 806, 808. These components may be software components running in the processor 904, software components resident / stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 906, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 904, or some combination thereof. The processing system 914 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and / or include at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359.

[0077] In one configuration, a device 802 / 802' for wireless communication includes a device for receiving a beamformed message from a base station during a RACH procedure. The device may include a device for determining beam information based on the beamformed message received during the RACH procedure. The device may include a device for transmitting a message to a base station during the RACH procedure, the message including the determined beam information. In one aspect, the beam information may include an index identifying the strongest beam received at the device or the signal strength of the strongest beam received at the device. On the other hand, the determined beam information is included in a MAC-CE of the message. On the other hand, the determined beam information may be included in a payload of the message. In one configuration, the device may include a device for multiplexing the determined beam information as UCI with the payload of the message for transmission during the RACH procedure. In one aspect, the device for multiplexing may be configured to determine an offset value for multiplexing the determined beam information with the payload, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of UCI modulation symbols to be transmitted in the message to the payload modulation symbols, and multiplex the determined beam information based on the determined offset value. In one aspect, the offset value may be a default value, based on a physical broadcast channel parameter, or received from a network. In another aspect, the offset value may be received from a base station in a RACH response message based on a PRACH transmission of a UE. The aforementioned device may be one or more components in the aforementioned component of the device 802 and / or the processing system 914 of the device 802' configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned device. As described above, the processing system 914 may include a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the aforementioned device may be a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned device.

[0078] The teachings, methods, techniques and principles described herein are not limited to mmW networks and communications, but may also be applicable to other communication networks utilizing beamforming.

[0079] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an exemplary 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.

[0080] 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. Therefore, 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 in this article to represent "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" 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 contributed to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited 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 recited using the phrase "means for..."

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a base station, an uplink resource grant including an offset value; determining resource elements in a resource block for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) in an uplink data channel based on the offset value, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of resource elements in the resource block for transmitting the UCI to resource elements in the resource block for transmitting a data payload of an uplink message in the uplink data channel, and wherein the UCI includes beam information associated with a downlink beam; and The UCI is transmitted on the resource elements in the uplink data channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The UCI is multiplexed with the data payload of the uplink message for transmission in the uplink data channel based on the offset value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the UCI further comprises at least one of: a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), an acknowledgement (ACK) feedback, and a negative ACK (NACK) feedback.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the beam information comprises an index identifying a strongest beam received at the UE or a signal strength of the strongest beam received at the UE, and a downlink message is received in a beamformed manner on the strongest beam received at the UE.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the uplink resource grant is received in the downlink message.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the downlink message is a RACH response message received in response to a physical RACH (PRACH) transmission of the UE.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the UCI is transmitted in response to the RACH response message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink resource grant is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource grant and the uplink data channel is the PUSCH.

9. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: receiving, from a base station, an uplink resource grant including an offset value; determining resource elements in a resource block for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) in an uplink data channel based on the offset value, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of resource elements in the resource block for transmitting the UCI to resource elements in the resource block for transmitting a data payload of an uplink message in the uplink data channel, and wherein the UCI includes beam information associated with a downlink beam; and The UCI is transmitted on the resource elements in the uplink data channel.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to multiplex the UCI with the data payload of the uplink message for transmission in the uplink data channel based on the offset value.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the UCI further comprises at least one of: a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), an acknowledgement (ACK) feedback, a negative ACK (NACK) feedback.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the beam information includes an index identifying the strongest beam received at a user equipment (UE) or a signal strength of the strongest beam received at the UE, and a downlink message is received in a beamformed manner on the strongest beam received at the UE.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the uplink resource grant is received in the downlink message.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the downlink message is a physical RACH (PRACH) response message received in response to a RACH transmission of the UE.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the UCI is transmitted in response to the RACH response message.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the uplink resource grant is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource grant and the uplink data channel is the PUSCH.

17. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the uplink resource grant comprises a beamformed signal.

18. A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: means for receiving, from a base station, an uplink resource grant including an offset value; means for determining resource elements in a resource block for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) in an uplink data channel based on the offset value, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of resource elements in the resource block for transmitting the UCI to resource elements in the resource block for transmitting a data payload of an uplink message in the uplink data channel, and wherein the UCI comprises beam information associated with a downlink beam; as well as Means for transmitting the UCI on the resource elements in the uplink data channel.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the uplink resource grant comprises a beamformed signal.

20. A method for wireless communication by a base station, comprising: transmitting an uplink resource grant including an offset value in a beamformed signal to a user equipment (UE); Uplink control information (UCI) is received from the UE in an uplink data channel, wherein the UCI is multiplexed with a data payload in the uplink data channel based on the offset value, the UCI including beam information.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the beam information comprises an index identifying the beam received at the UE or a signal strength of the beam received at the UE.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting an additional message to the UE using beamforming based on the beam information.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein transmitting the uplink resource grant comprises transmitting the uplink resource grant in a downlink message.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving a physical random access channel (RACH) transmission from the UE, wherein the downlink message is a RACH response message transmitted in response to the physical RACH transmission.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the UCI is received in response to the RACH response message.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the uplink resource grant is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource grant and the uplink data channel is the PUSCH.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the UCI further comprises at least one of: a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), an acknowledgement (ACK) feedback, or a negative ACK (NACK) feedback.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of UCI modulation symbols to payload modulation symbols.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: transmitting an uplink resource grant including an offset value in a beamformed signal to a user equipment (UE); Uplink control information (UCI) is received from the UE in an uplink data channel, wherein the UCI is multiplexed with a data payload based on the offset value, the UCI including beam information.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the beam information comprises an index identifying the beam received at the UE or a signal strength of the beam received at the UE.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit an additional message to the UE using beamforming based on the beam information.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein transmitting the uplink resource grant comprises transmitting the uplink resource grant in a downlink message.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a physical random access channel (RACH) transmission from the UE, wherein the downlink message is a RACH response message transmitted in response to the physical RACH transmission.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the UCI is received in response to the RACH response message.

35. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the uplink resource grant is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource grant and the uplink data channel is the PUSCH.

36. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the UCI further comprises at least one of: a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), an acknowledgement (ACK) feedback, or a negative ACK (NACK) feedback.

37. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the offset value indicates a ratio of UCI modulation symbols to payload modulation symbols.

38. An apparatus for communicating by a base station, the apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, in a beamformed signal to a user equipment (UE), an uplink resource grant including an offset value; as well as Means for receiving uplink control information (UCI) from the UE in an uplink data channel, wherein the UCI is multiplexed with a data payload based on the offset value, the UCI comprising beam information.

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