Panel activation / deactivation method for uplink MIMO transmission

Abstract

The present invention discloses systems, methods and devices for panel activation and / or deactivation for uplink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission. A device such as a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) may have one or more antenna panels. Each panel may have an identification (ID). Based on feedback of a report including measurement information, one or more panels may be activated or deactivated. In some embodiments, the gNB may determine whether to activate or deactivate the panel. In other embodiments, the WTRU may determine to activate or deactivate the panel.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 886,182, filed on August 13, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 932,269, filed on November 7, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] In a wireless communication system, there may be a device with one or more antenna panels that can be used to communicate wirelessly with other wireless devices. As technology develops, there is a need to solve problems related to the number of panels and managing these panels. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention discloses systems, methods and devices for panel activation and / or deactivation for uplink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission. A device such as a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) may have one or more antenna panels. Each panel may have an identification (ID). Based on feedback of a report including measurement information, one or more panels may be activated or deactivated. In some embodiments, a gNodeB (gNB) may determine whether to activate or deactivate a panel. In other embodiments, a WTRU may determine to activate or deactivate a panel.

[0005] In some embodiments, the WTRU may request panel selection, receive an indication of measurements for each panel in a first set of panels, report feedback for each panel in the first set of panels, and receive an indication of selecting one or more panels. In other embodiments, the WTRU receives a signal reporting to the gNB, transmits to the gNB the WTRU's panel configuration and an indication of a hot plate switch, wherein the hot plate is an activated panel for transmission, and switches to a new hot plate based on the indication. In yet other embodiments, the WTRU receives a signal reporting to the gNB, transmits to the gNB the WTRU's panel configuration and an indication of a panel modification, wherein the panel configuration is based on one or more factors, and modifies the panel configuration based on the indication. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] A more detailed understanding may be obtained from the following description given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like elements, and in which:

[0007] Figure 1A is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0008] Figure 1B It is shown that according to one embodiment, Figure 1AA system diagram of an exemplary wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) for use within the communication system shown;

[0009] Figure 1C It is shown that according to one embodiment, Figure 1A A system diagram of an exemplary radio access network (RAN) and an exemplary core network (CN) used within the illustrated communication system;

[0010] Figure 1D It is shown that according to one embodiment, Figure 1A A system diagram of another exemplary RAN and another exemplary CN used in the communication system shown;

[0011] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary WTRU multi-panel configuration according to one embodiment;

[0012] Figure 3A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary multi-panel WTRU according to an embodiment, wherein all panels are activated;

[0013] Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary multi-panel WTRU according to an embodiment, wherein four panels are activated;

[0014] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary gNB-driven panel selection process according to one embodiment;

[0015] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating WTRU driven panel activation / deactivation (PAD) operation according to one embodiment;

[0016] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary New Radio (NR) Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) framework according to one embodiment;

[0017] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an exemplary CSI-RS framework with a panel status list for a PAD according to one embodiment;

[0018] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary CSI-RS framework with enhanced reporting and resource settings for PAD according to one embodiment;

[0019] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a CSI-RS framework for a PAD according to one embodiment;

[0020] Fig.10is a diagram showing an exemplary 2D rectangular antenna array modeled by a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) vector according to one embodiment; and

[0021] Fig.11A , Fig. 11B , Fig. 11C and Fig.11D is a collection of graphs showing performance comparisons of codebook subset restriction (CBSR) according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Figure 1A 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communication system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc. to multiple wireless users. The communication system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through sharing of system resources (including wireless bandwidth). For example, the communication system 100 may employ one or more channel access methods such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero tail unique word discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S-OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block filtered OFDM, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), etc.

[0023] like Figure 1AAs shown, the communication system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (CN) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110 and other networks 112, but it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d (any of which may be referred to as a station (STA)) may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or automated process chain environment), a consumer electronic device, a device operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0024] The communication system 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device that is configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a Home NodeB, a Home evolved NodeB, a next generation NodeB such as a gNodeB (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. Although the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it should be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0025] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), a relay node, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in a licensed spectrum, an unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrums. A cell may provide coverage of wireless services to a specific geographic area, which may be relatively fixed or may change over time. The cell may be further divided into cell sectors. For example, a cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Therefore, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one transceiver for each sector of the cell. In one embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in a desired spatial direction.

[0026] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0027] More specifically, as noted above, the communication system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, etc. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may use Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) to establish the air interface 116. WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High Speed ​​Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High Speed ​​Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0028] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or Advanced LTE (LTE-A) and / or Advanced LTE Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0029] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR radio access, which may establish the air interface 116 using NR.

[0030] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for example using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., eNBs and gNBs).

[0031] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM Enhanced Data Rates for Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), etc.

[0032] Figure 1AThe base station 114b in the may be, for example, a wireless router, a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or an access point, and may utilize any suitable RAT to facilitate wireless connectivity in a local area, such as a business location, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a road, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish a picocell or a femtocell. As Figure 1A As shown, the base station 114 b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Therefore, the base station 114 b may not need to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106.

[0033] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have different quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as different throughput requirements, delay requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, etc. The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not described in detail in the specification, the CN 106 may be configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. Figure 1A Although not shown in the figure, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 and / or the CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may utilize NR radio technology, the CN 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) that employs GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0034] The CN 106 may also act as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include a circuit-switched telephone network that provides plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and / or the Internet Protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP Internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0035] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communication system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks via different wireless links). Figure 1A The illustrated WTRU 102c may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0036] Figure 1B is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary WTRU 102. Figure 1B As shown, the WTRU 102 may include, among other things, a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any subcombination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0037] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, etc. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functions that enable the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. Although Figure 1B The processor 118 and the transceiver 120 are depicted as separate components, but it is understood that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0038] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to or receive signals from a base station (e.g., base station 114a) via an air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be a transmitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive, for example, IR, UV, or visible light signals. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive RF and light signals. It should be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0039] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is Figure 1B 1 as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0040] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate signals to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate signals received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers to enable the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11.

[0041] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, and / or a display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display unit) and may receive user input data therefrom. The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in any type of suitable memory, such as a non-removable memory 130 and / or a removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in a memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0042] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control power to other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, etc.

[0043] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to or in lieu of the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) over the air interface 116 and / or determine its location based on the timing of signals received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0044] The processor 118 may also be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software modules and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an electronic compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photos and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, Module, FM radio unit, digital music player, media player, video game player module, Internet browser, virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, activity tracker, etc. Peripheral device 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensor may be one or more of the following: gyroscope, accelerometer, Hall effect sensor, magnetometer, orientation sensor, proximity sensor, temperature sensor, time sensor; geographic location sensor, altimeter, light sensor, touch sensor, magnetometer, barometer, gesture sensor, biometric sensor, humidity sensor, etc.

[0045] The WTRU 102 may include a full-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all signals (e.g., associated with specific subframes for UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception)) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full-duplex radio may include an interference management unit for reducing and / or substantially eliminating self-interference via hardware (e.g., choke) or via signal processing performed by a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via the processor 118). In one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all signals (e.g., associated with specific subframes for UL (e.g., for transmission) or DL ​​(e.g., for reception)) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous.

[0046] Figure 1C 1 is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to one embodiment. As described above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0047] The RAN 104 may include evolved Node-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of evolved Node-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The evolved Node-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the evolved Node-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the evolved Node-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a.

[0048] Each of the evolved Node Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in UL and / or DL, etc. Figure 1C As shown, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with each other via an X2 interface.

[0049] Figure 1C The illustrated CN 106 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. Although the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0050] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the evolved Node-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, etc. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0051] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the evolved Node-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring the user plane during inter-evolved Node-B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing the context of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0052] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0053] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may be in communication with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0054] Although the WTRU Figures 1A to 1D Although described as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments, such a terminal may (eg, temporarily or permanently) use a wired communications interface with a communications network.

[0055] In a representative embodiment, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0056] A WLAN in infrastructure basic service set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for a BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic to and / or carries traffic away from the BSS. Traffic originating from outside the BSS and leading to the STA may be reached by the AP and may be delivered to the STA. Traffic originating from the STA and leading to a destination outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to the corresponding destination. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent by the AP, for example, wherein the source STA may send traffic to the AP, and the AP may deliver traffic to the destination STA. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be considered and / or referred to as point-to-point traffic. Point-to-point traffic may be sent between the source and destination STAs (e.g., directly between them) using a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use 802.11e DLS or 802.11z tunnel DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and STAs (eg, all STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS communication mode may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" communication mode.

[0057] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure operating mode or a similar operating mode, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel (such as a primary channel). The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., a 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width. The primary channel may be an operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STA to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example, in an 802.11 system. For CSMA / CA, a STA (e.g., each STA) (including the AP) may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0058] High throughput (HT) STAs may communicate using a 40 MHz wide channel, for example, via a combination of a primary 20 MHz channel and adjacent or non-adjacent 20 MHz channels to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0059] Very high throughput (VHT) STA can support 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and / or 160MHz wide channels. 40MHz and / or 80MHz channels can be formed by combining continuous 20MHz channels. A 160MHz channel can be formed by combining 8 continuous 20MHz channels, or by combining two non-continuous 80MHz channels (this can be called 80+80 configuration). For the 80+80 configuration, after channel coding, the data can pass through a segment parser that can divide the data into two streams. Each stream can be processed by inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) and time domain processing separately. These streams can be mapped to two 80MHz channels, and data can be transmitted by transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above-mentioned operation for the 80+80 configuration can be reversed, and the combined data can be sent to the medium access control (MAC).

[0060] 802.11af and 802.11ah support operating modes below 1GHz. Channel operating bandwidths and carriers are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5MHz, 10MHz, and 20MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1MHz, 2MHz, 4MHz, 8MHz, and 16MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support meter type control / machine type communication (MTC), such as MTC devices in macro coverage areas. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, such as limited capabilities, including support for (e.g., only support for) certain bandwidths and / or limited bandwidths. MTC devices may include batteries with battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain very long battery life).

[0061] WLAN systems that can support multiple channels and channel bandwidths such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah include channels that can be designated as primary channels. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the maximum common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA (which supports the minimum bandwidth operating mode) from all STAs operating in the BSS. In the example of 802.11ah, for STAs (e.g., MTC-type devices) that support (e.g., only support) 1MHz mode, the primary channel may be 1MHz wide, even if the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2MHz, 4MHz, 8MHz, 16MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the state of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, because a STA (supporting only the 1MHz operating mode) is transmitting to the AP, all available frequency bands may be considered busy even if most of the available frequency bands remain idle.

[0062] In the United States, the available frequency band for 802.11ah is 902MHz to 928MHz. In South Korea, the available frequency band is 917.5MHz to 923.5MHz. In Japan, the available frequency band is 916.5MHz to 927.5MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6MHz to 26MHz, depending on the country code.

[0063] Figure 1D1 is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to one embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0064] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, the gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a may, for example, use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation techniques. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum, while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement coordinated multi-point (CoMP) techniques. For example, the WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0065] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with scalable parameter sets. For example, OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframes or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of varying or scalable lengths (e.g., containing different numbers of OFDM symbols and / or continuously varying absolute time lengths).

[0066] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also not accessing other RANs (e.g., such as the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c). In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may use one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as mobility anchor points. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate or connect with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating or connecting with other RANs, such as the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement the DC principle to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more evolved Node-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In a non-standalone configuration, the evolved Node-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as mobility anchors for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for serving the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0067] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a specific cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, interworking between DC, NR, and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards a user plane function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards an access and mobility management function (AMF) 182a, 182b, etc. Figure 1D As shown, gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may communicate with each other via an Xn interface.

[0068] Figure 1DThe CN 106 shown may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one session management function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possible data networks (DNs) 185a, 185b. Although the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0069] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c via the N2 interface in the RAN 104 and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c, support of network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a specific SMF 183a, 183b, management of registration areas, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, etc. The AMF 182a, 182b may use network slicing in order to customize CN support for the WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c based on the type of services used by the WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases, such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, etc. The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies, such as WiFi.

[0070] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to the AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via the N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to the UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via the N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b, and configure traffic routing through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions such as managing and allocating UE IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, etc. The PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP-based, Ethernet-based, etc.

[0071] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via the N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, etc.

[0072] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include or may communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to the DNs 185a, 185b via the UPFs 184a, 184b via the N3 interfaces to the UPFs 184a, 184b and the N6 interfaces between the UPFs 184a, 184b and the local DNs 185a, 185b.

[0073] Given that Figures 1A to 1D as well as Figures 1A to 1D Corresponding to the description of the present invention, one or more or all of the functions described herein with reference to one or more of the following may be performed by one or more simulation devices (not shown): WTRU102a-d, base station 114a-b, evolved Node B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b and / or any other device described herein. The simulation device may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more or all of the functions described herein. For example, the simulation device may be used to test other devices and / or simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0074] The simulation device may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a laboratory environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more simulation devices may perform one or more or all functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more simulation devices may perform one or more functions or all functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The simulation device may be directly coupled to another device for testing purposes and / or perform testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0075] The one or more simulation devices may perform one or more (including all) functions without being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the simulation device may be used in a test scenario in a test lab and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more simulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communication via RF circuits (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the simulation device to transmit and / or receive data.

[0076] like Figure 2 As shown, the WTRU 202 may be constructed with multiple antenna panels 210, 220, where each panel 210, 220 has multiple antenna elements. Each panel 210, 220 may be placed on a different side of the WTRU 202 to achieve better reception and transmission by increasing diversity and avoiding potential blocking. While the enhanced transmission by employing multiple panels is beneficial, it may not always be necessary to activate all panels.

[0077] The main benefits of panel activation / deactivation (PAD) include fast selection of the best beam and / or panel for uplink transmission and power savings.

[0078] Additionally, PAD can address issues related to maximum permissible emission (MPE). Power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) can address MPE requirements, but in a multi-panel WTRU, when the power allocated to a panel is affected by P-MPR, the suitability of that panel for uplink transmission may be reduced. Therefore, fast panel switching through PAD can provide better transmission through panels that are not affected by P-MPR.

[0079] In multi-panel operation in NR, there may be three categories of multi-panel WTRUs (MPWTRUs): (1) MPWTRU-Assumption1, where multiple panels are implemented on the WTRU and only one panel can be activated at a time, where the panel switching / activation delay is X ms; (2) MPWTRU-Assumption2, where multiple panels are implemented on the WTRU, multiple panels can be activated at a time, and one or more panels can be used for transmission; and / or (3) MPWTRU-Assumption3, where multiple panels are implemented on the WTRU, multiple panels can be activated at a time, but only one panel can be used for transmission.

[0080] The WTRU may be provided with a configuration for PUCCH transmission with a link recovery request (LRR) via an RRC configuration element schedulingRequestIDForBFR. The WTRU may transmit at least one MAC control element (CE) in a first PUSCH providing at least one index for at least one corresponding SCell having a radio link quality worse than a threshold (e.g., Qout, LR). The higher layers may provide the WTRU with an index q_“new” for a periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) configuration or for a signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block (if any). The WTRU may assume that the antenna port quasi-colocation parameters for PDCCH reception on the SCell are the same as the antenna port quasi-colocation parameters associated with the corresponding index q_“new” (if any) when a PUSCH transmission with the same number of HARQ processes as the transmission of the first PUSCH is scheduled K symbols after the last symbol of a PDCCH reception with a DCI format and with a flipped NDI field value. Typically, when the WTRU determines that all CSI-RS measurements are below a configured threshold for a configurable period of time, the WTRU may trigger LRR to indicate a beam failure to the network. The WTRU may then transmit a MAC CE including at least one cell ID and a CSI-RS that is not part of the set used to evaluate whether to trigger LRR.

[0081] Figure 3A is a diagram of an exemplary MPWTRU architecture 300a in which all panels are active panels 310 and can be used for transmission and reception.

[0082] Figure 3B 3 is a diagram of an exemplary MPWTRU architecture 300b in which only four panels are active panels 310 and the remaining panels are deactivated panels 320. Only one of the active panels 310 transmits and may be referred to as a hot panel 330.

[0083] One or more of the embodiments discussed herein may involve one or more of: overall operation of the PAD and how the WTRU evaluates and manages the PAD in WTRU-driven and / or gNB-driven operation; enhancements to the CSI-RS framework for PAD and solutions with and without panel IDs; synchronization of the PAD between the WTRU and the gNB (e.g., explicit or implicit); and / or reduction of power consumption based on WTRU activity.

[0084] Usually, if Figure 3B As shown, in the operation of the PAD, three different panel groups can be considered: activated panels 310, deactivated panels 320, and hot plates 330. Activated panels can be panels that are turned on and can be used for reception. Deactivated panels 320 can be panels that are turned off. Hot plates 330 can be activated panels that can be used for transmission.

[0085] WTRU PAD operation can be implemented in different ways. In some embodiments, PAD operation may affect gNB transmission / reception. More specifically, two approaches can be considered for panel selection: gNB driven and WTRU driven.

[0086] Figure 4 An exemplary gNB-driven panel selection process 400 is shown according to one embodiment. In process 400, the gNB may manage the activation and deactivation of one or more WTRU panels. At 401, the WTRU 420 may request panel selection. In some embodiments, the gNB may periodically or aperiodically wake up the WTRU panel to perform beam or CSI measurements to select the best subset of the panel. Additionally or alternatively, the WTRU may request the panel selection process based on an event and / or one or more measurement results. The event may include, but is not limited to, antenna blocking, human proximity, or handset rotation. The one or more measurement results may include, but are not limited to, RSRP, SINR, CQI, and rank.

[0087] At 402, the gNB 480 configures measurements for each panel in the first set of panels. In some embodiments, the measurements may be pre-configured so that the WTRU may be triggered to start the measurements and reporting via downlink control information (DCI) or MAC elements. The measurements and reporting for each panel may be sequential in multiple reports, at a time, or a combination thereof.

[0088] At 403, the WTRU 420 may report feedback for each panel in the first set of panels.

[0089] At 404, the gNB 480 may indicate one or more selected panels. In some embodiments, the gNB may indicate the panel selection via an SRS Resource Indicator (SRI), CRI, or panel ID. Additionally or alternatively, the gNB may indicate the panel selection via an index linked to the timing reported by the WTRU.

[0090] The WTRU may be configured with CSI-RS resources. In some embodiments, one or more of the CSI-RS resources may be used for a deactivated panel. When a panel is deactivated, such CSI-RS resources may be considered dormant.

[0091] Upon the occurrence of a configurable event, the WTRU may begin monitoring CSI-RS resources by temporarily activating one or more deactivated panels for measurement. The events that trigger the WTRU monitoring of the deactivated panels may include at least one of the following: measurements (e.g., CQI, RSRP, etc.) on one or more activated panels falling below a threshold; receiving one or more indications from the gNB to begin performing measurements on the CSI-RS of a set of deactivated panels (e.g., such indications may provide a list of deactivated panels to perform measurements on all dormant CSI-RS resources, or may apply to all dormant CSI-RS resources); time, where the WTRU may routinely or periodically perform measurements on otherwise dormant CSI-RS resources; and / or HARQ ACK / NACK status, where the WTRU may begin monitoring dormant CSI-RS based on the HARQ ACK status (e.g., in the case of multiple NACKs, the WTRU may determine that the currently activated panel does not provide functional performance).

[0092] The WTRU may report to the gNB one or more selected panels from the panels that are temporarily activated for measurement (e.g., based on measurements performed on otherwise dormant CSI-RS resources). In some embodiments, the WTRU may send a request to the gNB to transmit otherwise dormant CSI-RS resources. Such a request may use the same triggers as listed above.

[0093] When selecting a new panel group, the WTRU may feed back one or more selected panels. In some embodiments, the feedback transmission may be performed on a hot plate from the first set of activated panels. The selection of one or more panels may also trigger the WTRU to transmit an SRS on one or more of the currently deactivated selected panels. The SRS may use previously dormant SRS resources. This may enable the network to identify a new hot plate from the one or more selected panels.

[0094] Figure 5is a diagram illustrating a WTRU driven PAD process 505 according to one embodiment, where the WTRU autonomously selects the best panel for transmission.

[0095] In some embodiments, there may be an explicit approach, for example where the WTRU may receive signaling that may instruct the WTRU to report to the gNB. WTRU driven panel switching may be a purely event driven (i.e. WTRU rotation, MPE) or condition driven (i.e. power saving) mechanism where the WTRU selects a new panel and / or beam completely independently.

[0096] In some embodiments using an explicit approach, the WTRU may quickly and independently decide to turn panels on or off for transmission to save power and / or select the best beam and / or panel for transmission. This may address flexible spatial relationships where the WTRU may autonomously update its TX beams without the gNB updating the spatial relationship.

[0097] The WTRU may send the current panel configuration as a report to the gNB. In some embodiments, the WTRU indicates the panel switch to the gNB before the actual switch. For example, the WTRU may signal the gNB that it is about to activate / deactivate the WTRU panel.

[0098] In some embodiments, there may be SRS based reporting for the gNB, for example where the SRS resources indicate the panel configuration of the WTRU. The WTRU may be configured with a set of SRS resources, where each resource may be allocated to a specific subset of the panel. Upon selecting a new hot plate 530, the WTRU may transmit an SRS to the network.

[0099] The WTRU may be configured with SRS resources for each of the panels 510 that it activates. In some embodiments, the WTRU may transmit SRS on a hot plate. When the WTRU autonomously switches to a new hot plate 530, it may start transmitting SRS on the resources of the new hot plate 530. In order to reduce reception complexity at the network, there may be restrictions on when the WTRU can effectively activate dormant SRS resources. For example, in some embodiments, there may be a subset of all SRS opportunities for a panel that can be used by the WTRU to indicate a hot plate switch.

[0100] In some embodiments, when it is desired to switch hot plates, the WTRU may reuse the same SRS resources for any panel. The WTRU may provide an indication when an SRS transmission is for a new panel compared to a previous SRS transmission. In some embodiments, the indication may be explicit and may be transmitted in addition to the SRS. In other embodiments, the indication may be implicit and may affect the selection of one of the parameters of the SRS. The implicit indication may include selecting a sequence for the SRS, which may depend on whether the panel transmitting the current SRS is the same panel used for the previous SRS transmission.

[0101] The SRS resource may be any aspect of the SRS configuration of the WTRU and / or any aspect of the SRS transmission. In some embodiments, the SRS resource may include a resource set for SRS transmission, as described above. Additionally or alternatively, the WTRU may be configured with multiple sequences for SRS transmission, where a particular (e.g., first or second) sequence indicates a particular panel configuration (e.g., first and second, respectively).

[0102] In some embodiments, the WTRU may perform PAD based on radio link monitoring (RLM), where the WTRU is configured with multiple RLM procedures for each panel. The monitoring timing and periodicity may be different based on whether the panel is activated or deactivated. The WTRU may declare RLF and initiate re-establishment only after all T310 timers associated with each configured panel expire.

[0103] In other embodiments, the WTRU may monitor only the RLM resources in the activated panels. Upon detecting a physical layer problem with the SpCell (i.e., upon receiving N310 continuous out-of-sync (OOS) indications), the WTRU may start monitoring the deactivated panels while one or more of the T310 timers associated with each configured panel are active.

[0104] In some embodiments, if the activated panel is OOS and another configured deactivated panel is in-sync (IS), the WTRU recovers the link to the other panel instead of declaring RLF and re-establishing.

[0105] In some embodiments, the WTRU may further transmit to the network the reason for the panel switch and the identity of the new activated panel.

[0106] In some embodiments, the WTRU may perform PAD based on beam failure detection / recovery. The WTRU may be configured to monitor reference signals for beam failure detection. For this purpose, it may be configured with one or more RSs, or the activated TCI state of the PDCCH for beam failure detection may be used by counting the number of consecutive failure instances. In some embodiments, the WTRU may be configured with multiple beam failure detection procedures for multiple configured panels. For example, the WTRU may be configured with an association between RSs and panels, or measure the same RS from different panels. In the event of a beam failure detection in one panel, the WTRU may recover the beam in another activated panel. In some embodiments, the WTRU may be configured with a list of candidate beams for beam failure recovery for each configured panel.

[0107] To indicate the newly activated panel to the network, the WTRU may be further configured with an association between a preamble and / or a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource and a panel ID for a beam failure recovery request and may be configured to indicate a preferred panel to the network.

[0108] In some embodiments, there may be a CSI-RS framework for PAD as discussed herein. In NR, the time and frequency resources that may be used by the WTRU to report CSI may be controlled by the gNB. The CSI may include a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a SS / PBCH block resource indicator (SSBRI), a layer indicator (LI), a rank indicator (RI), and / or L1-RSRP.

[0109] In an embodiment, the WTRU may be configured to modify its panel configuration based on one or more factors. Modifying the panel configuration may include activating and / or deactivating a panel.

[0110] In some embodiments, one factor may be resource allocation, where the WTRU may modify its panel configuration based on the identity of the currently active bandwidth part (BWP). For example, the WTRU may be configured to apply a first panel configuration when it operates in a first BWP, and to apply a second configuration when it operates in a second BWP. For a WTRU configured with multiple simultaneously active BWPs (e.g., through carrier aggregation), the BWP configured by the control panel may correspond to the BWP of the PCell for a given MAC instance. For a WTRU configured with multiple cell groups and / or MAC instances (e.g., through dual connectivity), if the WTRU is configured to operate using a single panel, the BWP configured by the control panel may correspond to the BWP of the PCell of the MCG. This may be useful for the NW to implicitly control the WTRU power consumption associated with the WTRU's panel configuration based on the currently active BWP.

[0111] In some embodiments, a factor may be one or more time-based measurements, where the WTRU may modify its panel configuration based on timer-based operations. For example, when the timing alignment timer (TAT) is running, the WTRU may apply a first panel configuration, and in addition it may apply a second panel configuration. For example, the WTRU may be configured with a timer (e.g., panelDefaultConfig-Timer). When the WTRU applies the first panel configuration, it may start the timer. The WTRU may restart the timer at specific events, and / or the WTRU may apply the second panel configuration, such as when the timer expires and / or when the timer is not running. Events for restarting the timer may include receiving specific scheduling information (e.g., specific DCI format, indication, transmission parameters), receiving a MAC CE that restarts the timer, and / or a change in the activation state (e.g., activation) of one or more cells associated with the relevant panel for a given MAC instance. If the WTRU detects a radio link problem with at least one cell associated with the relevant panel, and / or if it determines that the measurement results meet a specific threshold (e.g., when the WTRU is in a deteriorating radio condition and / or is closer to the cell edge), the WTRU may stop the timer, or the WTRU may consider the timer to be expired. If the WTRU determines that the timing alignment timer (TAT) has expired, the WTRU may stop the timer, or the WTRU may consider the timer to have expired. This may be useful for the NW to implicitly control the WTRU power consumption associated with the WTRU's panel configuration according to the WTRU's scheduling activity.

[0112] In some embodiments, a factor may be a power saving algorithm, where the WTRU may modify its panel configuration based on discontinuous reception (DRX) status and / or activity. For example, when the WTRU determines that it is in DRX active time, the WTRU may apply a first panel configuration, and otherwise it may apply a second panel configuration. For example, in some embodiments, when the WTRU determines that DRX is operating according to a short DRX cycle, the WTRU may apply a first panel configuration, and otherwise it may apply a second panel configuration. In other embodiments, when the WTRU determines that it is in a duration period of DRX, the WTRU may apply a first panel configuration, and otherwise it may apply a second panel configuration. This may be useful for the NW to implicitly control the WTRU power consumption associated with the WTRU's panel configuration based on the WTRU's DRX mechanism.

[0113] In some embodiments, a factor may be power saving signaling, where the WTRU may modify its panel configuration based on received signaling, such as a wake-up signal (WUS). For example, the WTRU may receive such a WUS and may modify its operation on one or more control channels, such as increasing the amount of blind decoding attempts. As another example, the WTRU may receive such a WUS and may modify the current DRX state or an aspect thereof. When the WTRU determines that it has received a WUS signal while operating using a second panel configuration, the WTRU may apply the first panel configuration. This may be useful for the NW to implicitly control the WTRU power consumption associated with the WTRU's panel configuration based on the WTRU's power control mechanism.

[0114] In some embodiments, one factor may be PRACH resource selection, where the WTRU may modify its panel configuration based on initiating a RACH procedure and / or initiating the transmission of a preamble. For example, when the WTRU initiates the transmission of a preamble in order to obtain uplink timing alignment, the WTRU may apply a first panel configuration, in which case the WTRU has previously applied a second panel configuration. In the case where the WTRU applies the second panel configuration, when the WTRU receives a DCI (e.g., a PDCCH command) on the PDCCH indicating that a random access procedure should be initiated, the WTRU may apply the first panel configuration. In some embodiments, the WTRU may select a first resource to indicate the first panel configuration, and may select a second resource to indicate the second panel configuration. In other embodiments, the WTRU may use a default panel configuration. This may be used to implicitly control the WTRU power consumption associated with the WTRU's panel configuration based on inactivity periods of data transmission interruptions initiated by the WTRU (e.g., UL data arrival) or initiated by the NW (e.g., DL data arrival), respectively.

[0115] In some embodiments, one factor may be beam management and failure monitoring, where the WTRU may modify its panel configuration based on CSI-RS measurement results. For example, if the WTRU determines that all CSI-RS measurements applicable to the current panel configuration may be below a configured threshold over a configurable period of time, the WTRU may modify its panel configuration. For example, if the WTRU determines that it should initiate an LRR procedure to indicate a beam failure to the network, the WTRU may modify its panel configuration.

[0116] Panel configuration may include activation / deactivation of one or more panels and / or applying a different configuration (eg, a default panel configuration).

[0117] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a CSI-RS framework in NR 600. The framework 600 may operate based on three configuration objects: CSI-ReportConfig 610, CSI-ResourceConfig 620, and one or more lists of trigger states 630. The CSI-ReportConfig 610 may include N≥1 report settings, which capture details related to the measurement reporting mechanism. The CSI-ResourceConfig 620 may include M≥1 different resource settings that may be coupled with at least one of the N report settings.

[0118] In some embodiments, the one or more lists of trigger states may include: CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList and CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList. Each list may include at least one trigger state associated with a defined CSI-ReportConfigs setting.

[0119] For a WTRU with PAD capability, where panels can be dynamically activated and deactivated, CSI-RS measurements can be configured independently for each group of panels. In some embodiments, to avoid reconfiguration after dynamic activation / deactivation of panels, a panel ID can be used to link the CSI-RS configuration to a specific panel group.

[0120] Figure 7710 . The framework 700 may further include a panel status list 740 in addition to one or more lists of CSI-ReportConfig 710, CSI-ResourceConfig 720, and trigger status 730. The panel status list 740 may include CSI-PanelListConfig. In some embodiments, the WTRU may determine the CSI-RS configuration for each panel through a link provided in CSI-PanelListConfig. Thus, the WTRU may use the same CSI-RS configuration settings for more than one panel or use independent reporting and resource settings for each panel. In other embodiments, the CSI-PanelListConfig may mainly contain panel ID information of activated panels that may require configuration according to CSI-ReportConfig710. Alternatively, it may contain panel ID information of all panels and their activation status (e.g., deactivated, activated, hot). Therefore, the WTRU may maintain CSI-RS configurations for all panels and determine the CSI-RS configuration of each panel when the activation status of each panel changes.

[0121] The Panel ID may be required as part of the panel activation / deactivation process. When discussing PADs, Panel ID, Antenna Group ID or Antenna Port Group ID are used interchangeably. Generally, it can be defined as a unit identified by such ID with independent control of the transmit beam, power and timing.

[0122] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an enhanced CSI-RS framework for PAD operation 800. The framework 800 may include one or more lists of CSI-ReportConfig 810, CSI-ResourceConfig 820, and trigger states 830. In some embodiments, an index panel ID 840 may be introduced as part of the CSI-ReportConfig 810 and / or CSI-ResourceConfig 820 configuration.

[0123] In some embodiments, the Panel ID parameter 840 may be introduced only in the CSI-ResourceConfig 820 configuration. Thus, each panel may be assigned a different CSI resource setting. The WTRU may determine the CSI-RS configuration for each panel through the link provided in the CSI-ResourceConfig 820. The WTRU may use the same CSI-RS configuration reporting settings for more than one panel or use independent reporting and resource settings for each panel. In some embodiments, the number of settings in the CSI-ResourceConfig 820 may need to be increased to M`>M to maintain flexibility.

[0124] In some embodiments, the Panel ID parameter 840 may be introduced only in the CSI-ReportConfig 810 configuration. Thus, each panel may be assigned a different CSI reporting setting. The WTRU may determine the CSI-RS configuration for each panel through each setting for each panel provided in the CSI-ReportConfig 810. The WTRU may use the same CSI-RS configuration resource settings for more than one panel or use independent reporting and resource settings for each panel. In some embodiments, the number of settings in the CSI-ReportConfig 810 may need to be increased to N`>N to maintain flexibility.

[0125] In some embodiments, a panel ID parameter 840 may be introduced in both the CSI-ReportConfig 810 and CSI-ResourceConfig 820 configurations. Thus, each panel may be assigned different CSI reports and resource settings. The WTRU may determine the CSI-RS configuration for each panel through each setting of each panel provided in the CSI-ReportConfig 810. The WTRU may use the same CSI-RS configuration report and / or resource settings for more than one panel or use independent reports and resource settings for each panel. In some embodiments, the number of settings in the CSI-ReportConfig 810 and CSI-ResourceConfig 820 may need to be increased to N`>N and M`>M, respectively, to maintain flexibility.

[0126] In some embodiments, instead of including the panel ID parameter 820 as part of the CSI-ReportConfig 810 and / or CSI-ResourceConfig 820 configuration, a configuration object CSI-PanelListConfig may be used. By coupling the CSI-PanelListConfig object with the CSI-ReportConfig 810 and / or CSI-ResourceConfig 840 configuration objects, at least one of the CSI-RS configuration reports or resource settings may be directly linked to the state of each panel.

[0127] In some embodiments, the panel ID may not be used. Fig. 9 900. The framework 900 may include a plurality of CSI reporting configurations 901 in which CSI resource configurations are defined. The WTRU may be configured with a CSI resource configuration 910 for a CM, a CSI resource configuration 911 for an IM, and a CSI resource configuration 912 for an IM based on NZP CSI-RS. The WTRU may be further configured with an additional CSI resource configuration 920 including one or more CSI resource sets 930, each CSI resource set 930 including a plurality of CSI resources 931 for WTRU panel measurements. The WTRU performs measurements by associating the reporting configuration with the one or more CSI resource sets 930.

[0128] In some embodiments, the association may be explicitly indicated by using a panel ID in the CSI configuration to indicate which resources are to be monitored by what panel. The indication may be made in one of the following: a CSI resource set configuration, where each NZP-CSI-RS resource set, CSI-IM resource set, and / or CSI-SSB resource set may be configured with a panel ID corresponding to the panel on which the measurement should be performed; a CSI-resource configuration, where the panel ID for each resource may be indicated; a CSI trigger state list, which associates a reporting configuration with a resource set and a given panel ID; and / or a CSI reporting configuration, where the panel ID may be indicated together with the UL PUCCH or PUSCH resource for CSI feedback, and where the WTRU may determine which panel ID to use for CSI evaluation based on the panel ID of the reporting configuration.

[0129] In some embodiments, the association may be explicitly indicated by a panel ID within the configuration of resources / reports as described above, or the association may be indicated by an association of time instances of transmission of the CSI-RS. In some embodiments, the time domain characteristics of the CSI-RS transmissions for the PAD may be associated with a panel that the WTRU may use for CSI evaluation. In addition, for periodic CSI-RS transmissions that occur every Nth time slot (e.g., N is in the range of 4 to 640), the WTRU may cycle between different panels to evaluate the CSI. For example, the WTRU may consider the first Nth time slot to be evaluated by panel 1, the second Nth time slot to be evaluated by panel 2, and so on.

[0130] In some embodiments, the frequency domain characteristics of the CSI-RS transmissions for the PAD may be associated with the panel of the WTRU used for CSI evaluation. For example, when the WTRU is configured with a density of CSI-RS transmissions (i.e., CSI-RS transmissions occur per RB), and where the WTRU has 4 activated panels, the WTRU may apply a density of 1 / 4 to each of the configured panels.

[0131] In some embodiments, PAD may be based on measurement reporting events. In one embodiment, the PAD event may be a layer 1 measurement reporting event. As disclosed herein, the WTRU may be configured with a set of DL resources for measurement time instances associated with different panels. The WTRU may be configured to measure resources but report them only under some standard events. For example, the WTRU may be configured to measure CSI resources to be measured in different panels while the configured periodic / aperiodic / semi-persistent reporting behavior remains for the activated panel. The WTRU may trigger a report only when a set of conditions are met on a deactivated panel or on both activated and deactivated panels.

[0132] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the device may need to make measurements without any corresponding reporting to the network (eg, measurements for receiver-side downlink beamforming). These measurements may also be used to trigger measurement reports.

[0133] One or more conditions triggering such an event may include, but are not limited to: the CSI amount (e.g., L1-RSRP, CQI) of the CSI resources in the deactivated panel is higher than a threshold of the L1-RSRP of the CSI resources in the activated panel; the CSI amount of the CSI resources in the activated panel is lower than a threshold, while the CSI amount of the same CSI resources in the deactivated panel is higher than a threshold; and / or the CSI amount of the CSI resources in the deactivated panel is better than a threshold.

[0134] In some embodiments, PAD is based on layer 3 measurement reporting events. The WTRU may be configured with a new set of measurement reporting events for multi-panel aware mobility via RRC. These measurements may be based on one or more quantities of SINR, RSRP, RSRQ and may be filtered over a longer period of time than layer 1 measurements.

[0135] Additional measurement events in the serving cell may be introduced for panel activation and / or deactivation. The above-mentioned measurement triggering events may be used for this purpose.

[0136] The WTRU may be configured to measure beams and derive the cell quality of neighboring cells from different panels for mobility purposes. This may allow the WTRU to activate the best panel at the time of a handover event.

[0137] Additionally, measurement events for mobility purposes can also be performed, and the measurement results of multiple panels can be traced back in the RRC measurement report.

[0138] There may be one or more such measurement events, including but not limited to: the cell quality of the neighboring cell measured from panel x is a threshold better than the cell quality of the serving cell measured from panel y; the average cell quality in the neighboring cells measured by the N best panels is a threshold better than the average cell quality in the serving cell measured by the N best panels; the measurement report may include the identities of the N best beams measured at each panel, their measured qualities (e.g., SINR, RSRP, RSRQ); and the measurement report may include the identity of the best panel where the WTRU has measured the highest number of configured beams.

[0139] In some embodiments, there may be a QCL determination for a CSI-RS configuration. A transmission configuration indication (TCI) state may include at least one downlink reference signal (e.g., SS / PBCH block, CSI-RS, etc.) and its associated QCL type (e.g., QCL type A, B, C, D). In a multi-panel WTRU, since the panels may be placed at different angular orientations, one or more TCI states may be configured or used.

[0140] In some embodiments, a WTRU with M activated panels may be configured with one or more TCI states, where each TCI state may be linked to one or more subsets of the panel. In some embodiments, if the WTRU is configured with CSI-RS measurements, the WTRU may determine the QCL of each CSI-RS setting based on the configured TCI state of the panel.

[0141] In some embodiments, the TCI states may be grouped and indexed based on the panel ID. The WTRU may determine the configured TCI state for each panel based on the panel ID.

[0142] In embodiments with more than one hot plate, the WTRU may be configured with one or more TCI states, where each TCI state may be linked to one or more subsets of the panel. In embodiments where the WTRU is configured with CSI-RS measurements, the WTRU may determine the QCL for each CSI-RS setting based on the configured TCI state of the panel.

[0143] Fig.10 is a diagram of an exemplary 2D rectangular antenna array modeled by a DFT vector 1000.

[0144] The 2D-DFT precoding codebook database is derived as the Kronecker product (KP) of two DFT vectors, which is proven to be the best projection of the main eigenvectors in the 3D channel. In 3D beamforming MU-MIMO, a 2D co-polarized uniform rectangular antenna array can be used. To add more granularity to the beamforming rotation, a spatial oversampling ratio can be introduced in each dimension, denoted as (O1, O2).

[0145] Codebook subset restriction (CBSR) can suppress interference from neighboring cells by imposing restrictions on the strength of some spatial beams. Therefore, some beams can be completely turned off or at least their power can be reduced to mitigate or reduce the potential impact on reception.

[0146] Fig.10 An exemplary embodiment of antenna arrays of size (N1, N2) = (4, 2) 1010, 111 and (O1, O2) = (4, 4) 1020, 1021 is shown. In some embodiments, CBSR can be supported to mitigate inter-cell interference, wherein Type II CBSR is applied to up to four antenna groups 1030 of size N1N2 to mitigate inter-cell interference by limiting their WB and subsequently limiting the SB amplitude. Type II CBSR can include a codebook for codebook subset restriction to limit the power of each beam. In some embodiments, the maximum allowed amplitude coefficient of the restricted beam is selected from

[0147] In some embodiments, the WB amplitude for each beam may not be reported. Furthermore, the reported coefficients may be a transformation of the subband information and do not directly represent them. Therefore, imposing amplitude restrictions on the reported coefficients may not achieve the desired CBSR. Therefore, the desired CBSR requires a minimum degree of opportunity to calculate CSI feedback while being consistent with the baseline.

[0148] In the first embodiment, the precoding codebook may be defined as Formula 1.

[0149] W=W1W2 Formula 1

[0150] In Formula 1, W1 defines the WB spatial beam and W2 defines the linear combination coefficients.

[0151] In the second embodiment, the precoding codebook can be defined as Formula 2.

[0152]

[0153] In Formula 2, W r is a FD-compressed matrix and is the matrix of compression coefficients.

[0154] The CBSR in the first embodiment can be unambiguous because the coefficients are accurately reported in W2. In the second embodiment, the CBSR can be obtained by Reports compressed and transformed versions of the coefficients.

[0155] In some embodiments, the WTRU may perform one or more steps in conjunction with The restriction coefficients are calculated in parallel. The maximum allowed WB amplitude of the CBSR of the restricted beam (l * ): To calculate the limiting threshold. In the restricted beam l * For each subband, the amplitude can be calculated by formula 3.

[0156] |W2(l * ,n)|,n∈{1,N3} Formula 3

[0157] If the amplitude is above the threshold, the overload ratio is calculated by Equation 4.

[0158]

[0159] The avoidance vector (Equation 5) can be calculated for all subbands, whose task is to limit the SB amplitude to the limit of the threshold.

[0160]

[0161] Then you can use W with W2 f The avoidance vector is compressed in the same way as it is compressed, producing Then by The coefficients of the restricted beam are calculated by subtracting the restriction coefficients from

[0162] As shown in Equation 6.

[0163]

[0164] Finally, the WTRU may report the coefficients including the restricted beams.

[0165] Fig.11A , Fig. 11B , Fig. 11C and Fig.11D 1101, 1102, 1103, and 1104 show performance evaluations of the disclosed embodiments (ID avoidance 1120) compared to the baseline 1110 and the Alt2 scheme 1130. Specifically, the probability mass functions (PMFs) of the DFT transform coefficients are shown in Graphs 1101, 1102, 1103, and 1104. Four dual-polarized beams can be assumed, where Equation 7 is satisfied.

[0166] N SB =13, N3=R×N SB , R∈{1,2}, p=1 / 4, and β=1 / 4 Formula 7

[0167] The number of FD subset selections per layer can be described using Formula 8.

[0168]

[0169] It is possible to consider reporting two first frequency indices and two last frequency indices. For CBSR, consider For example, in Figure 1100 ( Fig.11A ) and Figure 1103( Fig. 11C ), consider CBSR and in Figure 1102 ( Fig. 11B ) and Figure 1104( Fig.11D ), consider CBSR.

[0170] In graphs 1101 and 1102 , the rate (R) of increasing the CSI feedback granularity in the frequency domain is considered to be 1. In graphs 1103 and 1104 , the rate (R) of increasing the CSI feedback granularity in the frequency domain is considered to be 2.

[0171] The relative difference of each scheme compared to the baseline 1110 is also provided. The relative difference of each scheme compared to the baseline 1110 can be calculated using Equation 9 for the reported subbands.

[0172]

[0173] It can be seen that the embodiments disclosed herein meet the baseline 1110 with a relative difference equal to zero. In contrast, the Alt2 scheme 1130 can cause severe differences in the reported coefficients compared to the baseline 1110. On average and compared to the baseline 1110, for values ​​equal to The H3CBSR limit, Alt2 scheme 1130, imposes an 8% relative difference on the reported coefficients, as shown in Figure 1101 ( Fig.11A ) and Figure 1103( Fig. 11C ). On average and compared to the baseline 1110, for CBSR limit, the Alt2 scheme 1130 may impose an 18% relative difference on the reported coefficients, as shown in graph 1102 ( Fig. 11B ) and Figure 1104( Fig.11D ) as shown in the figure.

[0174] Although features and elements are described above in specific combinations, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that each feature or element may be used alone or in any combination with other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted via a wired or wireless connection) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media (such as built-in hard disks and removable disks), magneto-optical media, and optical media (such as CD-ROM disks and digital versatile disks (DVDs)). A processor associated with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving information related to a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) configuration for a first panel and a second panel; measuring a CSI-RS using one or more of the first panels; as well as In response to a triggering event: sending a request to a base station to transmit CSI-RS associated with one or more of the second panels; activating the one or more panels in the second panel; measuring the CSI-RS associated with the one or more panels of the second panel; as well as Panels having CSI-RS measurements greater than a threshold are identified and the identified panels are reported to a base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a channel quality indicator (CQI) of one or more of the first panels being measured below a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more of the first panels being measured below a threshold. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the triggering event corresponds to a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of one or more of the first panels being measured below a threshold. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first panel is an activated panel. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least prior to the activating, the second panel is a deactivated panel. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is used to determine whether to activate or deactivate a panel.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering event is receiving downlink control information (DC), wherein the base station is a next generation Node B (gNB).

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information related to the CSI-RS configuration comprises one or more of the following: a CSI report configuration (CSI-ReportConfig), a CSI resource configuration (CSI-ResourceConfig), or a trigger status list.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the first and second panels are associated with each other, and each of the first and second panels is identified by the WTRU via a panel identification (panel ID).

11. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), comprising: a transceiver configured to receive information related to a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) configuration for a first panel and a second panel; circuitry configured to measure a CSI-RS using one or more of the first panels; as well as responding to a triggering event; The transceiver is configured to send a request to a base station to transmit CSI-RS associated with one or more of the second panels; The circuit is configured to activate the one or more of the second panels; The circuitry is configured to measure the CSI-RS associated with the one or more of the second panels; The circuit is configured to identify a panel having a CSI-RS measurement greater than a threshold; as well as The transceiver is configured to transmit a report indicating the identified panel to the base station.

12. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a channel quality indicator (CQI) of one or more of the first panels being measured below a threshold.

13. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more of the first panels being measured below a threshold.

14. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of one or more of the first panels being measured below a threshold.

15. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the first panel is an activated panel.

16. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein at least prior to the activation, the second panel is a deactivated panel.

17. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the WTRU is configured to determine whether to activate or deactivate a panel.

18. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the triggering event is receiving downlink control information (DC), wherein the base station is a next generation Node B (gNB).

19. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the information related to the CSI-RS configuration comprises one or more of: a CSI report configuration (CSI-ReportConfig), a CSI resource configuration (CSI-ResourceConfig), or a trigger status list.

20. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein at least some of the first and second panels are associated with each other, and each of the first and second panels is identified by the WTRU via a panel identification (panel ID).

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