Common analog beam steering for a band group

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and methods for a wireless device and a cellular base station to support common analog beam steering for frequency band groups. The wireless device may provide the cellular base station with an indication of the wireless device's analog beam steering capabilities. For example, the wireless device may support a limited number of analog beams for each of one or more frequency band groups. The cellular base station may select beam configuration information for the wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the wireless device's analog beam steering capabilities. This may include selecting a common beam for multiple component carriers of the wireless device based on the wireless device's analog beam steering capabilities. The cellular base station may provide the beam configuration information to the wireless device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless devices and includes apparatus, systems, and methods for wireless devices and cellular base stations to support common analog beam steering for a group of frequency bands. Background Art

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from only voice communication to also include the transmission of data such as the Internet and multimedia content. In addition, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH, etc. TM wait.

[0003] In many instances, a wireless device may be able to communicate using multiple carriers, or even multiple such technologies in a coordinated manner, depending on the wireless communication technology. However, determining how to best utilize multiple carriers and / or wireless communication technologies together in a complementary manner within a wireless device can be a complex task. Therefore, improvements in the art are desirable. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments relate to apparatus, systems, and methods for wireless devices and cellular base stations to support common analog beam steering for a group of frequency bands.

[0005] The techniques described herein may include various possible methods to report the beam steering capabilities of a wireless device to a cellular network. Specifically, reporting of whether a wireless device can support independent beam steering for various possible frequency band combinations and / or frequency band groups may be supported.

[0006] The cellular network can use this information to determine whether to configure common beams for multiple component carriers of a wireless device. For example, if these component carriers are within a band group for which the wireless device does not have independent beam steering capabilities, the cellular network can configure the wireless device with common beams for the multiple component carriers. This can help avoid scenarios where the wireless device might be configured to use independent beams for different component carriers when the wireless device cannot support independent beams for these component carriers.

[0007] Additionally, this document describes techniques for potentially reducing beam configuration signaling overhead in scenarios where a common beam is configured for multiple component carriers, and for potentially handling specific scenarios where a cellular network provides beam configuration information to a wireless device that violates the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device.

[0008] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0009] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, accompanying drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0011] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0012] Figure 2 shows a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram illustrating a UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of cellular communication circuitry according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 6A shows an example of connections between an EPC network, an LTE base station (eNB), and a 5G NR base station (gNB) according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 6B shows examples of protocol stacks for eNB and gNB according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 7is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for a wireless device and a cellular base station to use an assistance information framework to implement fast carrier aggregation and dual connectivity configuration according to some embodiments; and

[0019] Figure 8 illustrates exemplary aspects of a possible scenario according to some embodiments, wherein a wireless device includes analog beam steering hardware capable of supporting independent beam steering for two frequency band groups;

[0020] Figures 9 to 11 is a table illustrating exemplary aspects of various possible methods for indicating beam steering capabilities of a wireless device according to some embodiments; and

[0021] Figure 12 Exemplary aspects of a possible scenario are shown where an inhibit timer is used to govern how frequently a wireless device may perform beam steering capability reporting.

[0022] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] the term

[0024] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0025] Storage media—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system that executes the program, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0026] Carrier medium - Storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as buses, networks and / or other physical transmission media that transmit signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals or digital signals).

[0027] Programmable hardware components - Includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic elements or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic elements."

[0028] Computer system Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0029] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") Any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM, based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), personal digital assistants, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easy for a user to carry and capable of wireless communication.

[0030] Wireless devices Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed in place. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0031] Communication equipment Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication can be wired or wireless. A communication device can be portable (or mobile), or stationary or fixed in place. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A user equipment (UE) is another example of a communication device.

[0032] base station - The term "base station" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0033] Processing element (or processor) —refers to various elements or combinations of elements capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. A processing element may include, for example, a processor and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0034] Channel—A medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0035] frequency band - The term "frequency band" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0036] automatic — refers to the performance of an action or operation by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without requiring the action or operation to be directly specified or executed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to manual performance or specification of an action by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without requiring any user input to specify the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke the automatic filling of a form without participating in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields, but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0037] About"approximately" refers to a value that is close to the correct or exact value. For example, "approximately" may refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of the exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the desires or requirements of a particular application.

[0038] concurrent — refers to parallel execution or implementation, in which tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, in which tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," in which tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0039] Configured as Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” can be a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” to carry out one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuitry.

[0040] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to." Representing a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks expressly intends that the component not be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. §112(f).

[0041] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications system

[0042] Figure 1 1 shows a simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0043] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A that communicates with one or more user devices 106A, 106B, 106N, etc. via a transmission medium. Each user device may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Therefore, user device 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0044] Base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site (cellular base station) and may include hardware to enable wireless communications with UEs 106A through 106N.

[0045] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0046] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0047] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs 106A-106N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0048] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1106N, each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-102N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any other variety of granularities of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-102B shown in FIG may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0049] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB." In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to a new radio communications core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, UEs capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. As another possibility, base station 102A may be an LTE base station or "eNB." In some embodiments, the eNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network.

[0050] It should be noted that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee - Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0051] Figure 2A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A-106N) is shown in accordance with some embodiments in communication with base station 102. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0052] The UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0053] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0054] In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0055] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0056] Figure 3 1 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. Depending on the embodiment, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (such as a laptop, notebook or portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices, in addition to other devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components can be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 can be implemented as a separate component or group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 can be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0057] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; output devices such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0058] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336, as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338, as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 335 and 336, in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0059] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuitry 330 can include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 can include a single transmit chain that can switch between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio can be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio, such as a second radio that can be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with both the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0060] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0061] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345 .

[0062] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (the MMU 340 may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, the short-range wireless communication circuit 229, the cellular communication circuit 330, the connector I / F 320, and / or the display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0063] As described above, the communication device 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. The communication device 106 can be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT and to transmit an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining substantially concurrent connections with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT (or also operating according to the first RAT). The wireless device can also be configured to transmit a request to attach to the second network node. The request can include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining substantially concurrent connections with the first and second network nodes. In addition, the wireless device can be configured to receive an indication that dual connectivity has been established with the first network node and the second network node.

[0064] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing features for supporting common analog beam steering for a frequency band group, as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 335, 336, 337, 338, 340, 345, 350, 360.

[0065] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform one or more functions of processor 302.

[0066] Furthermore, as described herein, both cellular communication circuitry 330 and short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in cellular communication circuitry 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in short-range wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry 330. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry 230. Similarly, short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of short-range wireless communication circuitry 329. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of short-range wireless communication circuitry 329.

[0067] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0068] Figure 4 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 The base station 102 is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0069] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0070] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0071] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB." In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, UEs capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0072] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. Radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, and the like.

[0073] The base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, the base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable the base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5G NR. In this case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0074] As further described later herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting a specific implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, and 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0075] Furthermore, as described herein, one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0076] Furthermore, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0077] Figure 5 —Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0078] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuitry, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, is also possible. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above herein. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or station, a wireless device or station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a wearable device, a tablet, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0079] The cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-335b and 336 as shown. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured to communicate according to a first RAT (such as LTE or LTE-A), and modem 520 may be configured to communicate according to a second RAT (such as 5G NR).

[0080] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 and transmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335a.

[0081] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry 544. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 542 may communicate with a DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0082] In some embodiments, the switch 570 can couple the transmit circuitry 534 to the uplink (UL) front end 572. Furthermore, the switch 570 can couple the transmit circuitry 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 can include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 534 and the UL front end 572), the switch 570 can be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 544 and the UL front end 572), the switch 570 can be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0083] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 can be configured to transmit, via the first modem, a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT when the switch is in the first state, and to transmit, via the first modem, an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining substantially concurrent connections with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT when the switch is in the first state. The wireless device can also be configured to transmit, via the second radio component, a request to attach to the second network node when the switch is in the second state. The request can include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining substantially concurrent connections with the first and second network nodes. Additionally, the wireless device can be configured to receive, via the first radio component, an indication that dual connectivity has been established with the first and second network nodes.

[0084] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing features for supporting common analog beam steering for a frequency band group, as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0085] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0086] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing features for supporting common analog beam steering for a frequency band group, as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0087] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 522. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 522.

[0088] Figures 6A to 6B -5GNR Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture with LTE

[0089] In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communications will initially be deployed concurrently with current wireless communication standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivity between LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part of the initial deployment of NR. Figures 6A to 6B As shown, the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network 600 can continue to communicate with the current LTE base station (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, the eNB 602 can communicate with the 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), and data can be transferred between the core network 600 and the gNB 604. Thus, the EPC network 600 can be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 can serve as additional capacity for user equipment, for example, to provide increased downlink throughput for the UE. In other words, LTE can be used for control plane signaling, and NR can be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE can be used to establish a connection to the network, and NR can be used for data services.

[0090] Figure 6B The proposed protocol stacks for eNB 602 and gNB 604 are shown. As shown, eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632 that interfaces with radio link control (RLC) layers 622a-622b. RLC layer 622a may also interface with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer 612a, and RLC layer 622b may interface with PDCP layer 612b. Similar to dual connectivity specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12, PDCP layer 612a may interface with EPC network 600 via a master cell group (MCG) bearer, while PDCP layer 612b may interface with EPC network 600 via a separate bearer.

[0091] In addition, as shown, the gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 that interfaces with RLC layers 624a-624b. The RLC layer 624a may interface with the PDCP layer 612b of the eNB 602 via an X2 interface for information exchange and / or coordination (e.g., UE scheduling) between the eNB 602 and gNB 604. Furthermore, the RLC layer 624b may interface with the PDCP layer 614. Similar to the dual connectivity specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12, the PDCP layer 614 may interface with the EPC network 600 via a secondary cell group (SCG) bearer. Thus, the eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB), while the gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In some cases, a UE may be required to maintain connectivity with both the MeNB and the SgNB. In such a scenario, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the EPC, while the SgNB may be used for capacity (e.g., additional downlink and / or uplink throughput).

[0092] therefore, Figures 6A to 6B may represent aspects of one possible cellular communication system implementing dual connectivity. However, it should be noted that many other dual (or more generally multiple) connectivity configurations are possible, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented as any of a variety of such configurations. Some other examples may include configurations in which the gNB may be configured as a primary node and the eNB may be configured as a secondary node, or configurations in which both the primary node and the secondary node operate according to the same RAT (e.g., both operate according to NR, both operate according to LTE, etc.), as well as various other possible configurations. In some instances, a configuration in which multiple cells (e.g., a primary cell or primary cell (PCELL) and one or more secondary cells (SCELLS)) are provided according to the same RAT may also be referred to as a carrier aggregation configuration.

[0093] Figure 7 - Common analog beam steering for a band group

[0094] As wireless communications become more common and are used for an increasing range of use cases, the number of frequency bands and frequency ranges in which wireless communications can be performed has expanded. Furthermore, at many frequencies that can be used for wireless communications, beamforming techniques can often be employed (e.g., to increase the effective communication range based on propagation characteristics at certain frequencies). Therefore, to support operation over a wide frequency range and / or within a variety of frequency ranges, it may be the case that a wireless device is designed to include one or more sets of analog beam steering hardware that can each be used to steer an analog beam within a specific frequency range.

[0095] Such wireless device design characteristics may affect the capabilities of the wireless device, for example, regarding how many independent beams the wireless device can utilize in conjunction with each of various frequency ranges. However, the number of sets of analog beam steering hardware and / or the frequency ranges associated with each set of analog beam steering hardware may vary from device to device.

[0096] For example, consider a wireless device that includes only one set of analog beam steering hardware that can be used to steer analog beams within a specific frequency range that includes two frequency bands. The wireless device may not be able to support independent beams for component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme deployed in the two frequency bands. In contrast, consider a wireless device that includes a set of analog beam steering hardware that can be used to steer analog beams within a specific frequency range that includes one of the two frequency bands, and also includes a set of analog beam steering hardware that can be used to steer analog beams within a specific frequency range that includes the other of the two frequency bands. This wireless device may be able to support independent beams for component carriers of a carrier aggregation scheme deployed in the two frequency bands.

[0097] Thus, different wireless devices may have different beam steering capabilities, which may in turn affect which beam configurations are possible for different wireless devices. Therefore, it may be useful to provide a framework for reporting wireless device beam steering capabilities to a cellular network, and for the cellular network to consider the beam steering capabilities of a wireless device when performing beam configuration for the wireless device (e.g., staying within the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device).

[0098] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for a wireless device and a cellular base station to support reporting of wireless device beam steering capabilities and common analog beam steering for a frequency band group, according to some embodiments. Figure 7Aspects of the methods of the present invention may be implemented by wireless devices and cellular base stations (such as UE 106 and BS 102 shown in various figures herein), or more generally, may be implemented therein in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements, or components shown in the above figures, as desired. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the method elements shown and / or other method elements.

[0099] In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed simultaneously in a different order than that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed. As shown, the method may be operated as follows.

[0100] In 702, the wireless device may provide an indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device to the cellular base station. The indication may be provided in conjunction with other wireless device capability information or independently, and may be signaled using radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, and / or in any of a variety of other manners.

[0101] The indication may include any of a variety of possible information indicating the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device. As one possibility, the wireless device may provide capability information indicating one or more frequency band combinations supported by the wireless device, and for each such frequency band combination, the wireless device may include an indication (e.g., a 1-bit flag or any of a variety of other possible indications) of whether the wireless device supports independent beam steering for the frequency band combination. Thus, if the wireless device supports performing cellular communications using a particular frequency band combination, but those frequency bands are supported by the same set of analog beam steering hardware within the wireless device, the wireless device may report that the wireless device does not support independent beam steering for the frequency band combination. Conversely, if the wireless device supports performing cellular communications using a particular frequency band combination, and those frequency bands are supported by different sets of analog beam steering hardware within the wireless device, the wireless device may report that the wireless device does support independent beam steering for the frequency band combination.

[0102] As another possibility, the wireless device may provide capability information indicating one or more frequency band groups for which the wireless device has analog beam steering capability. Each frequency band group for which the wireless device has analog beam steering capability may be defined or specified in any of a variety of ways. As one possible mechanism, the indication may specify one or more frequency bands included in each of the one or more frequency band groups, for example by listing a band index value associated with each frequency band included in each of the frequency band groups. As another possible mechanism, the indication may specify a frequency range associated with each of the one or more frequency band groups, for example by indicating a lower limit frequency and an upper limit frequency for each of the frequency band groups. Note that such an approach may be able to support more accurate reporting of beam steering capability, for example, where one or more sets of beam steering hardware of the wireless device supports beam steering for a frequency range that includes a portion of the one or more frequency bands.

[0103] Additionally, in some cases, if the wireless device reports one or more frequency band groups for which the wireless device has analog beam steering capability, the wireless device may further indicate how many independent simultaneous analog beams the wireless device supports for each of the one or more frequency band groups. Support for reporting such information may be useful in at least some cases, for example, where the wireless device includes multiple sets of beam steering hardware for specific (e.g., commonly used) frequency ranges.

[0104] In some cases, support may additionally or alternatively be provided for a wireless device to provide a temporary capability indication of the wireless device's analog beam steering capability. For example, at least according to some embodiments, providing support for the wireless device to temporarily modify its analog beam steering capability (as understood by the network) may provide the wireless device with additional flexibility to manage thermal conditions, power consumption, and / or other considerations. If desired, an inhibit timer may be implemented in conjunction with such a temporary capability indication, e.g., such an inhibit timer may be initiated when a temporary capability indication of the analog beam steering capability is provided by the wireless device, and the wireless device may be expected to wait until the inhibit timer expires to provide another temporary capability indication of the analog beam steering capability, and / or the cellular network may not accept another temporary capability indication of the analog beam steering capability from the wireless device until the inhibit timer expires. Thus, in such a case, if the wireless device provides a temporary capability indication of the wireless device's analog beam steering capability to the cellular base station, the wireless device waits at least until the inhibit timer expires to provide another temporary capability indication of the wireless device's analog beam steering capability to the cellular base station, e.g., based at least in part on the inhibit timer.

[0105] At 704, the cellular base station may provide beam configuration information to the wireless device. The beam configuration information may be selected based at least in part on an indication of beam steering capability provided by the wireless device. For example, at least in some cases, the indication of analog beam steering capability of the wireless device may include information indicating that the wireless device supports a limited number of analog beams for each of one or more frequency band groups. In this case, the cellular base station may select a beam configuration that does not exceed the number of analog beams supported by the wireless device for each of the one or more frequency band groups.

[0106] According to at least some embodiments, this may include providing a common beam configuration for multiple component carriers configured by the cellular base station for the wireless device. For example, if multiple component carriers are configured that are all within a frequency band group for which the wireless device can only support one beam, the cellular base station may configure a common beam for these component carriers based at least in part on the beam steering capability indication provided by the wireless device.

[0107] Additionally, at least in some cases, if multiple component carriers are configured with the same beam configuration, it may be possible that the base station can reduce signaling overhead in one or more ways in conjunction with providing beam configuration information. For example, as one possibility, the base station can provide beam configuration information for multiple control channels in the same signaling indication, for example, by indicating a band group identifier, a control channel group identifier, or a list of applicable control channel identifiers for applying a specific beam configuration when indicating the beam configuration. As another possibility, the base station can provide downlink control information for each of multiple component carriers within the same band group, and the downlink control information for one of the component carriers can include beam configuration information, while the beam configuration information can be omitted from the downlink control information for the other component carriers. In this case, the wireless device may be able to use the beam configuration information from the other component carriers within the same band group to determine the beam to use. As still another possibility, the base station may be able to provide downlink control information that triggers the communication of multiple aperiodic reference signals in different component carriers within the same band group that use the same beam configuration. Variations of these signaling overhead reduction techniques and / or other signaling overhead reduction techniques are also possible.

[0108] According to at least some embodiments, it may be further beneficial to provide one or more processing techniques for scenarios where a cellular base station provides beam configuration information in violation of the indicated simulated beam steering capabilities of a wireless device. For example, in the event that the cellular base station provides beam configuration information that configures more independent beams than the wireless device can support for a given frequency band group, the wireless device may select a subset of the configured beams that is within the simulated beam steering capabilities of the wireless device and may attempt to communicate (e.g., perform uplink or downlink communication) using the selected subset of the configured beams.

[0109] In such cases, the wireless device may use specific priority rules and / or other default selection criteria to select which of the beams configured by the cellular base station to use. For example, where the wireless device is selecting between beams configured for different types of physical layer channels, a specific priority order for the different types of physical layer channels may be predetermined, and the priority order may be used such that the beam associated with the highest priority physical layer channel among the selected beams is selected first. As another example, where the wireless device is selecting between beams configured for the same type of physical layer channel, specific default selection criteria may be defined to facilitate selection of one or more default beams. For example, the default selection criteria may include preferentially selecting the beam with the lowest index or identifier value for one or more characteristics of the beam (e.g., component carrier index, control resource set identifier, etc.).

[0110] Thus, according to at least some embodiments, by providing a framework for reporting beam steering capability information and providing common beam steering for a specified group of frequency bands as described herein, wireless devices with various hardware designs may be better supported for operation over a wide frequency range.

[0111] Figures 8-12 and additional information

[0112] Figures 8-12 and the following additional information are provided as examples of various considerations and that may be implemented Figure 7 The present disclosure is provided for the purpose of providing details of possible systems of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the entire disclosure. Various changes and alternatives to the details provided below are possible and should be considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0113] In at least some cases, it may be the case that a wireless device is designed to include analog beam steering hardware that can be used to steer analog beams over a relatively wide frequency range. A wireless device may potentially have multiple such analog beam steering hardware groups, for example, to support wireless communications in multiple frequency ranges, such as low, mid, and high frequency ranges, each of which may include multiple frequency bands, such as in conjunction with the frequency bands included in 3GPP NR Frequency Range 2 (FR2). In this case, it may be the case that each band group may include multiple frequency bands, and due to the hardware configuration of the wireless device, all transmissions / receptions within each band group at any given time may have to be performed with the same analog beam. Different wireless devices may include different designs, different RF components, etc., such that analog beam steering capabilities may differ between different wireless devices.

[0114] According to 3GPP carrier aggregation communication technology, it is currently possible to configure beams independently for each component carrier, for example, via downlink control information (DCI) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), aperiodic channel state information reference signal (A-CSI-RS), or aperiodic sounding reference signal (A-SRS) communication, or via medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communication. Therefore, in the absence of a framework that supports indicating and taking into account any simulated beam steering limitations of the wireless device (e.g., hardware-based or other), it is possible for a cellular base station to provide a beam configuration to a wireless device that the wireless device cannot support.

[0115] Therefore, it may be beneficial, at least in some cases, to provide such a framework for supporting indication and consideration of analog beam steering capabilities of wireless devices in cellular communication systems. As an example, Figure 8 Aspects of such a scenario according to some embodiments are illustrated, wherein the wireless device includes analog beam steering hardware capable of supporting independent beam steering for two frequency band groups, and wherein multiple component carriers are configured in one of the frequency band groups. As shown in the figure, in the illustrated case, the wireless device can have independent RF analog beam steering capabilities for each of the low-band group and the high-band group. The low-band group can include at least two frequency bands ("band X" and "band Y"), and the high-band group can include at least one additional frequency band ("band Z"). In the illustrated case, the wireless device can be configured with four component carriers, including two in band X, one in band Y, and one in band Z.

[0116] There may be multiple possible approaches to signal the beam steering capability of a wireless device to the cellular base station providing the primary / serving cell to the wireless device. According to one possible approach, a flag may be used to indicate whether the UE supports independent beam steering in conjunction with each band combination supported by the UE. Figure 9 is to show how such a simulation beam steering capability reporting method can be combined Figure 8 A table of aspects of an exemplary scenario implementation.

[0117] As shown, according to this analog beam steering capability reporting method, a UE may report that independent beam steering is not supported for the band combination [Band X, Band Y], for example, because both bands fall into the low band group. For the band combinations [Band X, Band Z] and [Band Y, Band Z], the UE may report that independent beam steering is supported, for example, because one band in each of these band combinations falls into the low band group and one band falls into the high band group. For the band combination [Band X, Band Y, Band Z], the UE may report that independent beam steering is supported because, for this band combination, at least one band falls into the low band group and at least one band falls into the high band group. It should be noted that for such large band combinations (e.g., including more than two bands), it may be possible that the independent beam steering capability indication for a subset of the large band combination may be considered to override the independent beam steering capability indication for the large band combination, for example, to overcome any potential conflicts or ambiguities in such beam steering capability reporting methods.

[0118] As another possible approach, the UE may report its beam steering capability by indicating one or more frequency band groups for which the UE includes beam steering capability. In some cases, the UE may indicate which frequency bands are included in each frequency band group. Figure 10 is to show how such a simulation beam steering capability reporting method can be combined Figure 8 As shown in the figure, according to this analog beam steering capability reporting method, the UE can report that the UE has analog beam steering capability for two frequency band groups, where the first frequency band group includes frequency band X and frequency band Y, and the second frequency band group includes frequency band Z.

[0119] Alternatively, the UE may indicate the lower and upper limits of the frequency range associated with each band group (eg, using Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers (ARFCNs) or any of a variety of other possible mechanisms). Figure 11 is to show how such a simulation beam steering capability reporting method can be combined Figure 8As shown in the table, according to this analog beam steering capability reporting method, the UE can report that the UE has analog beam steering capability for two frequency band groups, wherein the first frequency band group includes any frequency band from a first lower limit ARFCN ("ARFCN_{L, 1}") to a first upper limit ARFCN ("ARFCN_{H, 1}"), such as frequency band X and frequency band Y, and the second frequency band group includes any frequency band from a second lower limit ARFCN ("ARFCN_{L, 2}") to a second upper limit ARFCN ("ARFCN_{H, 2}"), such as frequency band Z.

[0120] According to some embodiments, it may be the case that one or more band groups for which the UE reports that the UE includes beam steering capabilities are considered to specify that within the same band group, all component carriers must use the same beam, and across different band groups, different component carriers may use independently configured beams. Alternatively, the UE may specifically report how many independent simulated beams can be used simultaneously for each band group. This approach may provide more flexibility, for example, in the case where the UE has hardware capabilities for supporting simulated beam steering of multiple independent beams for one or more band groups.

[0121] In accordance with some embodiments, support may be provided for the UE to signal a temporary capability indication, for example, to temporarily change its beam steering capability. For example, support for such reporting may be used to allow the UE to choose to report a beam steering capability that is less than the beam steering capability supported by the UE's hardware configuration, for example, to help the UE manage its thermal control, perform power consumption optimization and / or for various other reasons. At least in some cases, the network may not be obligated to accept such temporary capability signaling (for example, it may be able to reject or accept it), and the network may inform the UE as to whether the temporary capability signaling is accepted or rejected by the network. Among the various signaling possibilities, the network may notify the UE of its decision via RRC, MAC CE or DCI. Additionally, if desired, the network may configure a prohibit timer in conjunction with such temporary capability signaling. For example, such a prohibit timer may be started when the UE provides temporary capability signaling regarding its beam steering capability, and the network may not accept any further temporary capability signaling regarding the UE's beam steering capability until the prohibit timer expires.

[0122] Figure 12Exemplary aspects of possible scenarios are shown in which such an inhibit timer is used to manage how frequently a wireless device may perform temporary beam steering capability reporting. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, a UE may initially indicate that it has independent beam steering capability for two band groups, a first of which may include Band X and Band Y, and a second of which may include Band Z. Based on providing such an indication, an inhibit timer may be started. After expiration of the inhibit timer, the UE may provide a temporary beam steering capability indication for the UE, which may indicate that it has independent beam steering capability for only one band group that may include Band X, Band Y, and Band Z. Thus, the UE may use the temporary beam steering capability indication to attempt to avoid being configured with multiple beams, which may help the UE avoid thermal conditions, reduce power consumption, and / or otherwise impact UE operation in one or more ways that may be desirable in at least some circumstances. The UE may similarly provide an updated temporary beam steering capability indication later (e.g., after expiration of another instance of the inhibit timer), e.g., to again indicate that it has independent beam steering capability for both band groups, if desired, e.g., to improve data throughput and / or for any of a variety of other possible reasons.

[0123] In addition to providing a framework for a UE to report its simulated beam steering capabilities, it may be useful to consider how to handle scenarios in which the network configures the UE to violate its beam steering capabilities, for example if the network configures different beams on different component carriers that the UE has indicated it cannot support. As one possibility, the UE behavior may be left unspecified in such cases, for example, such that the network should not expect any specific behavior or performance from the UE when the network configuration violates the reported UE beam steering capabilities. As another possibility, specific default or fallback rules or behaviors (e.g., in accordance with 3GPP cellular communication standards) may be specified for the UE to follow when the network configuration violates the reported UE beam steering capabilities.

[0124] For example, in a case where the network configuration violates the UE beam steering capability such that two different beams are configured on two component carriers when the UE only supports one beam for the two component carriers for different physical layer channels, the UE may follow specific priority rules regarding the relative priorities of different physical layer channels. As one possible priority order, the downlink physical layer channels may be prioritized in the following order: PDCCH>A-CSI-RS>SSB>PDSCH>P / SP CSI-RS. Similarly, the uplink physical layer channels may be prioritized in the following order: PUCCH>A-SRS>SSB>PUSCH>P / SP SRS. Note that these priority orders are provided by way of example only, and any of various other priority orders are possible. In this case, the UE may use the beam with the highest priority among the conflicting beams.

[0125] For another example, in a case where the network configuration violates the UE beam steering capability such that two different beams are configured on two component carriers when the UE only supports one beam for the two component carriers for the same physical layer channel, the UE may follow a specific priority rule or default beam selection criteria to select which beam(s) to use. As one possibility, for PDSCH, the beam with the lowest TCI may be considered the default beam. Alternatively, the beam with the lowest control resource set (CORESET) ID, the beam with the lowest component carrier index, and / or any of a variety of other characteristics may be considered to determine which beam is considered the default beam. Similarly, for PDCCH, the default beam may be defined as the beam with the lowest CORESET ID, the beam with the lowest component carrier index, or in any of a variety of other possible ways. In this case, the UE may use the beam that is considered the default beam among the conflicting beams.

[0126] Given that such a UE beam steering capability reporting framework may, at least in some cases, result in a common beam being configured for use with multiple component carriers (possibly including for reception or transmission), the potential for reducing beam configuration overhead may be further enhanced based on such a framework.

[0127] For example, it may be possible to support the use of the same MAC CE to configure beams together for multiple control channels (e.g., PUCCH / PDCCH). As one such possibility, a band group ID may be given in the MAC CE to update all control beams in the band group. As another possibility for a finer level of configuration granularity, a control channel group may be defined by indicating which control channels are in the control channel group, and the control channel group ID may be given in the MAC CE to update all control beams in the control channel group. As a still further possibility, if necessary, a list of PUCCH / PDCCH IDs may be given in the MAC CE to update all indicated control beams. It should be noted that such an approach may have greater overhead and / or may require the addition of a new MAC CE or the updating of an existing MAC CE format to take into account the possibility of indicating multiple PUCCH / PDCCH IDs when providing a MAC CE for control channel beam configuration.

[0128] As another possibility, in the case of multiple component carriers within the same frequency band group configured for a UE, DCI configured with or without TCI / SRI can be provided to reduce the overhead with or without cross-carrier scheduling. For example, when a UE receives DCI without TCI or SRI for one component carrier and also receives DCI containing TCI or SRI for another component carrier, the UE can follow the DCI containing TCI or SRI within the same frequency band group to decide which beam to use.

[0129] As a further possibility, for A-CSI-RS or A-SRS triggering, a DCI may be provided that triggers multiple A-CSI-RS or A-SRS in different component carriers with the same beam. For example, such DCI may indicate one TCI / SRI and may include a list of A-CSI-RS or A-SRS configurations for each component carrier. Alternatively, a DCI may be provided that triggers A-CSI-RS or A-SRS without providing a TCI or SRI, as long as the UE has a beam configuration for another component carrier within the same band group, as the UE may be able to use that beam for A-CSI-RS or A-SRS.

[0130] In the following, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0131] One set of embodiments may include an apparatus for operating a wireless device, comprising: a processor configured to cause the wireless device to: provide an indication of the wireless device's analog beam steering capabilities to a cellular base station; and receive beam configuration information from the cellular base station, wherein the beam configuration information configures one or more beams between the cellular base station and the wireless device within the analog beam steering capabilities of the wireless device.

[0132] According to some embodiments, the indication of analog beam steering capabilities of the wireless device comprises an indication of whether the wireless device supports independent beam steering for each of one or more band combinations.

[0133] According to some embodiments, the indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device comprises an indication of one or more frequency band groups for which the wireless device has analog beam steering capability.

[0134] According to some embodiments, the indication specifies one or more frequency bands included in each of the one or more frequency band groups.

[0135] According to some embodiments, the indication specifies a frequency range associated with each of the one or more frequency band groups.

[0136] According to some embodiments, the indication is as to how many independent simultaneous simulated beams a specified wireless device supports for each of one or more frequency band groups.

[0137] In some embodiments, the indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes a temporary capability indication, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the wireless device to: start a prohibit timer based at least in part on providing the temporary capability indication; and wait at least until the prohibit timer expires to provide another temporary capability indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device to the cellular base station based at least in part on the prohibit timer.

[0138] Another set of embodiments may include a wireless device comprising: an antenna; a radio component coupled to the antenna; and a processing element coupled to the radio component; wherein the wireless device is configured to: provide an indication of the simulated beam steering capability of the wireless device to a cellular base station; and receive beam configuration information from the cellular base station.

[0139] According to some embodiments, the indication of analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes an indication that the wireless device does not support independent analog beam steering within at least a first frequency band group, wherein beam configuration information configures a common beam for multiple control channels within the first frequency band group.

[0140] In accordance with some embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to: receive downlink control information for a first component carrier and for a second component carrier, wherein the first component carrier and the second component carrier are within a first frequency band group, wherein the downlink control information includes beam configuration information for the first component carrier and does not include beam configuration information for the second component carrier; and determine a beam for the second component carrier based at least in part on the beam configuration information received for the first component carrier.

[0141] According to some embodiments, the indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes an indication that the wireless device does not support independent analog beam steering within at least a first frequency band group, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: receive downlink control information that triggers multiple non-periodic reference signal communications in different component carriers within the first frequency band group using the same beam configuration.

[0142] According to some embodiments, if the beam configuration information violates the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device, the wireless device is further configured to: select one or more beams configured by the beam configuration information within the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device, wherein the selected one or more beams include fewer beams than the number of beams configured by the beam configuration information; and attempt to communicate with a cellular base station using the selected one or more beams.

[0143] According to some embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to: configure a greater number of beams than supported by the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device based at least in part on the beam configuration information, and determine that the beam configuration information violates the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device.

[0144] In some embodiments, the greater number of beams than supported by the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes at least two beams configured for different types of physical layer channels, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: select the number of beams within the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device configured by the beam configuration information based at least in part on a predetermined priority order of the different types of physical layer channels.

[0145] In some embodiments, the greater number of beams than supported by the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes at least two beams configured for the same type of physical layer channels, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: select the number of beams within the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device configured by the beam configuration information based at least in part on a predetermined priority order of one or more characteristics of the beams.

[0146] Another set of embodiments may include a cellular base station comprising: an antenna; a radio component coupled to the antenna; and a processing element coupled to the radio component; wherein the cellular base station is configured to: receive an indication of analog beam steering capability of a wireless device; select beam configuration information for the wireless device based at least in part on the indication of analog beam steering capability of the wireless device; and provide beam configuration information to the wireless device.

[0147] According to some embodiments, the indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes information indicating that the wireless device supports a limited number of analog beams for each of one or more frequency band groups, wherein in order to select beam configuration information for the wireless device, the cellular base station is further configured to: select a beam configuration that does not exceed the number of analog beams supported by the wireless device for each of the one or more frequency band groups.

[0148] According to some embodiments, the indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes an indication that the wireless device does not support independent analog beam steering within at least a first frequency band group, wherein the cellular base station is further configured to: select beam configuration information for configuring a common beam for multiple component carriers within the first frequency band group based at least in part on the wireless device not supporting independent analog beam steering within the first frequency band group.

[0149] According to some embodiments, the cellular base station is further configured to provide downlink control information for a first component carrier and a second component carrier, wherein the first component carrier and the second component carrier are within the first frequency band group, wherein the downlink control information includes beam configuration information for the first component carrier and does not include beam configuration information for the second component carrier.

[0150] According to some embodiments, the indication of the analog beam steering capability of the wireless device includes an indication that the wireless device does not support independent analog beam steering within at least a first band group, wherein the cellular base station is further configured to: use the same beam configuration to provide downlink control information that triggers multiple non-periodic reference signal communications in different component carriers within the first band group.

[0151] Another set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause the device to perform any or all of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0152] Yet another example embodiment may include a method comprising: performing, by a device, any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0153] Another example embodiment may include a wireless device comprising: an antenna; a radio coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operably coupled to the radio, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0154] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium including program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0155] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all of any of the foregoing examples.

[0156] Yet another set of exemplary embodiments may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0157] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0158] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0159] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0160] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0161] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: A processor configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, perform operations comprising: providing an indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device to a cellular base station, wherein the beam steering capabilities indicate whether beam steering is independent for the frequency band combination or whether beam steering is common for frequency bands in the frequency band combination; Communications are performed within the frequency band combination according to the indicated beam steering capabilities.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein beam steering being independent for a band combination is associated with an ability of the wireless device to independently configure a corresponding beam for each frequency band in the band combination, wherein beam steering being common for frequency bands in a band combination is associated with an ability of the wireless device to commonly configure beams across frequency bands in the band combination, and wherein the indication of the beam steering capability of the wireless device comprises: An indication of one or more frequency band groups for which the wireless device has beam steering capability.

3. The device according to claim 2, The indication specifies one or more frequency bands included in each of the one or more frequency band groups.

4. The device according to claim 2, Wherein the indication specifies a frequency range associated with each of the one or more frequency band groups.

5. The device according to claim 1, in, The beam steering capability is associated with one or more sets of beam steering hardware for steering one or more beams within one or more frequency ranges, wherein the indication of the beam steering capability of the wireless device indicates one or more beam configurations that the wireless device is capable of supporting, and wherein the indication specifies how many independent simultaneous beams the wireless device supports for each of one or more band groups, band combinations, or frequency ranges.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the indication of the beam steering capability of the wireless device comprises a temporary capability indication, wherein the operations further comprise: initiating an inhibit timer based at least in part on providing the temporary capability indication; as well as Waiting at least until the inhibit timer expires to provide another temporary capability indication of the beam steering capability of the wireless device to the cellular base station based at least in part on the inhibit timer.

7. A method for wireless communication, comprising: providing an indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device to a cellular base station, wherein the beam steering capabilities indicate whether beam steering is independent for the frequency band combination or whether beam steering is common for frequency bands in the frequency band combination; as well as Communications are performed within the frequency band combination according to the indicated beam steering capabilities.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device comprises an indication that the wireless device does not support independent analog beam steering within at least a first set of frequency bands, The communicating includes using a common beam for a plurality of physical channels within the first frequency band group.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: receiving downlink control information for a first component carrier and for a second component carrier, wherein the first component carrier and the second component carrier are within the first frequency band group, wherein the downlink control information includes beam configuration information for the first component carrier and does not include beam configuration information for the second component carrier; and A beam for the second component carrier is determined based at least in part on the beam configuration information received for the first component carrier.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device comprises an indication that the wireless device does not support independent analog beam steering within at least a first frequency band group, wherein the method further comprises: Downlink control information is received that triggers communication of a plurality of aperiodic reference signals in different component carriers within the first frequency band group using the same beam configuration.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving beam configuration information from the cellular base station, wherein if the beam configuration information violates the beam steering capability of the wireless device, the method further comprises: selecting one or more beams configured by the beam configuration information that are within the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device, wherein the selected one or more beams include fewer beams than the number of beams configured by the beam configuration information; as well as Communication with the cellular base station is attempted using the selected one or more beams.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: Based at least in part on the beam configuration information configuring a greater number of beams than supported by the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device, it is determined that the beam configuration information violates the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the greater number of beams than supported by the beam steering capability of the wireless device includes at least two beams configured for different types of physical layer channels, wherein the method further comprises: A number of beams configured by the beam configuration information that is within the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device is selected based at least in part on a predetermined priority order of the different types of physical layer channels.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the greater number of beams than supported by the beam steering capability of the wireless device includes at least two beams configured for physical layer channels of the same type, wherein the method further comprises: A number of beams configured by the beam configuration information that is within the beam steering capabilities of the wireless device is selected based at least in part on a predetermined order of priority of one or more characteristics of the at least two beams.

15. A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving an indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device, wherein the beam steering capabilities indicate whether beam steering is independent for the frequency band combination or whether beam steering is common for frequency bands in the frequency band combination; as well as Communications are received from the wireless device in the frequency band combination based on the indication of the beam steering capability.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the indication of the beam steering capability of the wireless device comprises information indicating that the wireless device supports a limited number of beams for each of one or more frequency band groups, In order to select beam configuration information for the wireless device, the method further comprises: A beam configuration is selected that does not exceed a number of beams supported by the wireless device for each of the one or more band groups.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device comprises an indication that the wireless device does not support independent beam steering within at least a first frequency band group, wherein the method further comprises: Based at least in part on the wireless device not supporting independent beam steering within the first frequency band group, beam configuration information is selected to configure a common beam for multiple component carriers within the first frequency band group.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: Downlink control information is provided for a first component carrier and for a second component carrier, wherein the first component carrier and the second component carrier are within the first frequency band group, wherein the downlink control information includes beam configuration information for the first component carrier and does not include beam configuration information for the second component carrier.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the indication of beam steering capabilities of the wireless device comprises an indication that the wireless device does not support independent beam steering within at least a first frequency band group, wherein the method further comprises: Downlink control information is provided to trigger communication of a plurality of aperiodic reference signals in different component carriers within the first frequency band group using the same beam configuration.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein beam steering being independent of a band combination is associated with the ability of the wireless device to independently configure a corresponding beam for each band in the band combination, and wherein beam steering being common to a band combination is associated with the ability of the wireless device to commonly configure beams across the bands in the band combination.

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