Method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communication

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus may receive a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams. The set of beams may be associated with multi-beam communication between the apparatus and a base station. The apparatus may select a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam in the set of beams. The apparatus may report an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application filed on December 29, 2017, entitled “Methods, Apparatus and Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Medium for Wireless Communications” and application number 201780084511.8. Technical Field

[0002] Generally speaking, aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques and apparatus for multi-link New Radio (NR) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) beam selection and reporting based at least in part on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) reference signal. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a collection of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0004] A wireless communication network may include multiple base stations (BSs) that can support communications for multiple user equipment (UEs). UEs can communicate with a BS via downlinks and uplinks. A downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from a BS to a UE, while an uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from a UE to a BS. As will be described in more detail herein, a BS may be referred to as a Node B, gNB, access point (AP), radio head, transmit receive point (TRP), new radio (NR) BS, 5G Node B, etc.

[0005] The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless communication devices to communicate at the city level, national level, regional level, and even global level. New Radio (NR), also known as 5G, is a collection of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard published by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR is designed to better support mobile broadband internet access by using OFDM with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL), CP-OFDM and / or SC-FDM (e.g., also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL), and supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation to improve spectral efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements to LTE and NR technologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that use them. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In aspects of the present disclosure, a method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided.

[0007] In some aspects, the method may include: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams, wherein the set of beams may be associated with multi-beam communication between the UE and a base station; selecting, by the UE, a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam in the set of beams; and reporting, by the UE, an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

[0008] In some aspects, the apparatus may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams, wherein the set of beams may be associated with multi-beam communication between a UE and a base station, select a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam in the set of beams, and report an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

[0009] In some aspects, the apparatus may include: a unit for receiving a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams, wherein the set of beams may be associated with multi-beam communication between a UE and a base station; a unit for selecting a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam in the set of beams; and a unit for reporting an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

[0010] In some aspects, the computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code. The code may include code for: receiving a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams, wherein the set of beams may be associated with multi-beam communication between a UE and a base station; selecting a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam in the set of beams; and reporting an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

[0011] In some aspects, the method may include: sending, by a base station, downlink data to the UE using a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between the base station and the UE; receiving, by the base station, uplink data, the uplink data including an indication that at least one beam in the set of beams is a selected beam for transmitting beam-related information; and identifying, by the base station, the at least one beam as the selected beam based at least in part on the uplink data.

[0012] In some aspects, the apparatus may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to send downlink data to a UE using a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between the apparatus and the UE, receive uplink data including an indication that at least one beam in the set of beams is a selected beam for transmitting beam-related information, and identify the at least one beam as the selected beam based at least in part on the uplink data.

[0013] In some aspects, the apparatus may include: a unit for sending downlink data to the UE using a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between the apparatus and the UE; a unit for receiving uplink data, the uplink data including an indication that at least one beam in the set of beams is a selected beam for transmitting beam-related information; and a unit for identifying the at least one beam as the selected beam based at least in part on the uplink data.

[0014] In some aspects, the computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code. The code may include code for: transmitting downlink data to a UE using a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between a base station and the UE; receiving uplink data including an indication that at least one beam in the set of beams is a selected beam for transmitting beam-related information; and identifying the at least one beam as the selected beam based at least in part on the uplink data.

[0015] Generally speaking, aspects include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, wireless communication devices, and processing systems as generally described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying figures.

[0016] The foregoing has outlined the features and technical advantages of the examples according to the present disclosure in a fairly broad manner so that the subsequent detailed description can be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed concepts and specific examples can be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for performing the same purpose as the present disclosure. Such equivalent structures do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein (both their organization and method of operation) together with the associated advantages will be better understood from the following description. Each figure in the accompanying drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be a definition of limitations to the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network.

[0018] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station in communication with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network.

[0019] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure in a wireless communication network.

[0020] Figure 4 is a diagram showing two example subframe formats with a normal cyclic prefix.

[0021] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example logical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN).

[0022] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example physical architecture of a distributed RAN.

[0023] Figure 7: is a diagram showing an example of a wireless communication structure centered on a downlink (DL).

[0024] Figure 8 : is a diagram showing an example of a wireless communication structure centered on an uplink (UL).

[0025] Figure 9A and 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of performing multi-link NR PUCCH beam selection and reporting based at least in part on a PDCCH or PDSCH reference signal.

[0026] Figure 10 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication.

[0027] Figure 11 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the flow of data between different modules / units / components in an example apparatus.

[0028] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus using a processing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent configurations by which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0030] Several aspects of telecommunications systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and methods. These apparatuses and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "units"). These units may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such units are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0031] By way of example, a unit or any part of a unit or any combination of units can be implemented using a "processing system" comprising one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, processes, functions, etc., regardless of whether they are referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or other terms.

[0032] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described can be implemented with hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented with software, the functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium or encoded as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disc ROM (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, a combination of the aforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0033] An access point ("AP") may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as, a Node B, a radio network controller ("RNC"), an evolved Node B (eNB), a base station controller ("BSC"), a base transceiver station ("BTS"), a base station ("BS"), a transceiver function ("TF"), a radio router, a radio transceiver, a basic service set ("BSS"), an extended service set ("ESS"), a radio base station ("RBS"), a Node B (NB), a gNB, a 5G NB, a NR BS, a transmit reception point (TRP), or some other terminology.

[0034] An access terminal ("AT") may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as, an access terminal, a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station, a wireless node, or some other terminology. In some aspects, an access terminal may include a cellular phone, a smartphone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol ("SIP") phone, a wireless local loop ("WLL") station, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), a tablet, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, a station ("STA"), or some other suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Thus, one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone, a smartphone), a computer (e.g., a desktop computer), a portable communication device, a portable computing device (e.g., a laptop, a personal data assistant, a tablet device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook), a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, smart glasses, a smart bracelet, a smart wristband, a smart ring, smart clothing, etc.), a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor / device, an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio device, a gaming device, etc.), an in-vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing device, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. In some aspects, the node is a wireless node. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity to or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered machine type communication (MTC) UEs, which may include remote devices that can communicate with a base station, another remote device, or some other entity. Machine-type communication (MTC) may refer to communications involving at least one remote device at at least one end of the communication, and may include forms of data communication involving one or more entities that do not necessarily require human interaction. An MTC UE may include a UE capable of MTC communications with an MTC server and / or other MTC devices, for example, via a public land mobile network (PLMN). Examples of MTC devices include sensors, meters, location tags, monitors, drones, robots / robotic devices, and the like. MTC UEs, as well as other types of UEs, may be implemented as NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) devices.

[0035] It is noted that although aspects may be described herein using terminology generally associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in communication systems based on other generations, such as 5G and beyond, including NR technology.

[0036] Figure 1is a diagram illustrating a network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. The network 100 may be an LTE network or some other wireless network (such as a 5G or NR network). The wireless network 100 may include multiple BSs 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with a user equipment (UE) and may also be referred to as a base station, NR BS, Node B, gNB, 5G NB, access point, TRP, etc. Each BS may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to a coverage area of ​​a BS and / or a BS subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0037] A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In Figure 1 In the example shown in FIG, BS 110a may be a macro BS for macrocell 102a, BS 110b may be a pico BS for picocell 102b, and BS 110c may be a femto BS for femtocell 102c. A BS may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. The terms "eNB," "base station," "NR BS," "gNB," "TRP," "AP," "Node B," "5G NB," and "cell" may be used interchangeably herein.

[0038] In some examples, the cells may not necessarily be fixed, and the geographical area of ​​the cells may move according to the location of the mobile BS. In some examples, the BSs may be interconnected to each other and / or one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in access network 100 using any suitable transport network through various types of backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, etc.).

[0039] The wireless network 100 may also include a relay station. A relay station is an entity that can receive transmissions of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send transmissions of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. Figure 1 In the example shown in , a relay station 110d may communicate with a macro BS 110a and a UE 120d to facilitate communication between the BS 110a and the UE 120d. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay base station, a relay, etc.

[0040] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, etc.). These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts), while a pico BS, a femto BS, and a relay BS may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

[0041] The network controller 130 may be coupled to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with each other, for example, directly or indirectly, via a wireless or wired backhaul.

[0042] UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be fixed or mobile. UEs may also be referred to as access terminals, terminals, mobile stations, subscriber units, stations, etc. UEs may be cellular phones (e.g., smartphones), personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, tablet devices, cameras, gaming devices, netbooks, smartbooks, ultrabooks, medical devices or equipment, biometric sensors / devices, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristbands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart rings, smart wristbands)), entertainment devices (e.g., music or video devices or satellite radios), in-vehicle components or sensors, smart meters / sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media. Some UEs may be considered evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices (such as sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc.) that can communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide connectivity to or from a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via, for example, a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs can be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Some UEs can be considered customer premises equipment (CPE).

[0043] exist Figure 1 In FIG, a solid line with double arrows indicates desired transmissions between a UE and a serving BS, which is a BS designated to serve the UE on the downlink and / or uplink. A dashed line with double arrows indicates potentially interfering transmissions between the UE and the BS.

[0044] In general, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network can support a specific RAT and can operate on one or more frequencies. RAT can also be referred to as radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency can also be referred to as carrier, frequency channel, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks can be deployed.

[0045] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled, wherein a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources for communication among some or all devices and equipment within a service area or cell of the scheduling entity. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below, the scheduling entity can be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more dependent entities. That is, for scheduled communications, the dependent entities use resources allocated by the scheduling entity.

[0046] A base station is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity that schedules resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs). In this example, the UE is acting as a scheduling entity, and other UEs communicate wirelessly using the resources scheduled by the UE. A UE can act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or in a mesh network. In the mesh network example, in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity, UEs can optionally communicate directly with each other.

[0047] Thus, in a wireless communication network having scheduled access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2P configuration, and a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one or more slave entities may communicate using the scheduled resources.

[0048] As indicated above, Figure 1 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 1 The content described is different.

[0049] Figure 2 Shows that it can be Figure 1 Block diagram 200 shows a design of base station 110 and UE 120 for one of the base stations and one of the UEs. Base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a through 234t, and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a through 252r, where in general T ≥ 1 and R ≥ 1.

[0050] At the base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. The transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., CRS) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process the output sample stream (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively. According to certain aspects described in greater detail below, synchronization signals may be generated with positional encoding for conveying additional information.

[0051] At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink signals from base station 110 and / or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide detected symbols. A receive (RX) processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller / processor 280. A channel processor may determine RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.

[0052] On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 and control information from a controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 (if applicable), further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the base station 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 and other UEs may be received by the antennas 234, processed by the demodulators 232, detected by the MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information to a controller / processor 240. The base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and transmit to the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292.

[0053] Controllers / processors 240 and 280 and / or Figure 2 Any other components in may direct operation at the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively, to perform multi-link NR PUCCH beam selection and reporting based at least in part on the PDCCH or PDSCH reference signal. For example, the controller / processor 280 and / or other processors and modules at the base station 110 may perform or direct operation of the UE 120 to perform multi-link NR PUCCH beam selection and reporting based at least in part on the PDCCH or PDSCH reference signal. For example, the controller / processor 280 and / or other controllers / processors and modules at the BS 110 may perform or direct operation of the UE 120 to perform multi-link NR PUCCH beam selection and reporting based at least in part on the PDCCH or PDSCH reference signal. Figure 10 In some aspects, Figure 2 One or more of the components shown in FIG. 1 may be used to perform Figure 10 The example method 1000 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein may be described. Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110 and UE 120, respectively. Scheduler 246 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0054] As indicated above, Figure 2 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 2 The content described is different.

[0055] Figure 3 An example frame structure 300 for FDD in a telecommunications system (e.g., LTE) is shown. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)) and may be divided into 10 subframes with indices from 0 to 9. Each subframe may include two slots. Each radio frame may thus include 20 slots with indices from 0 to 19. Each slot may include L symbol periods, e.g., seven symbol periods corresponding to a normal cyclic prefix (e.g., in the 19th embodiment). Figure 3 ) or the six symbol periods corresponding to the extended cyclic prefix. The 2L symbol periods in each subframe may be assigned indices from 0 to 2L-1.

[0056] Although some techniques are described herein with reference to frames, subframes, time slots, etc., these techniques may be equally applicable to other types of wireless communication structures, which may be referred to in 5G NR using terms other than "frame," "subframe," "time slot," etc. In some aspects, a wireless communication structure may refer to a periodic, time-limited unit of communication defined by a wireless communication standard and / or protocol.

[0057] In some telecommunications (e.g., LTE), a BS may send a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) on the downlink at the center of the system bandwidth for each cell supported by the BS. Figure 3 As shown in , the PSS and SSS may be sent in symbol periods 6 and 5, respectively, in subframes 0 and 5 of each radio frame with a normal cyclic prefix. The PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell search and acquisition. The BS may send a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) across the system bandwidth of each cell supported by the BS. The CRS may be sent in certain symbol periods of each subframe and may be used by the UE to perform channel estimation, channel quality measurement, and / or other functions. The BS may also send a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) in symbol periods 0 to 3 in slot 1 of certain radio frames. The PBCH may carry some system information. The BS may send other system information (such as system information blocks (SIBs)) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes. The BS may send control information / data on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the first B symbol periods of a subframe, where B may be configurable for each subframe. The BS may send service data and / or other data on the PDSCH in the remaining symbol periods of each subframe.

[0058] In other systems (e.g., such as NR or 5G systems), the Node B may transmit these or other signals in these locations or in different locations of the subframe.

[0059] As indicated above, Figure 3 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 3 The content described is different.

[0060] Figure 4 Two example subframe formats 410 and 420 with a normal cyclic prefix are shown. The available time-frequency resources can be divided into resource blocks. Each resource block can cover 12 subcarriers in a time slot and can include multiple resource elements. Each resource element can cover one subcarrier in a symbol period and can be used to transmit one modulation symbol, which can be real or complex valued.

[0061] Subframe format 410 may be used for two antennas. CRS may be transmitted from antennas 0 and 1 in symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11. A reference signal is a signal known a priori by the transmitter and receiver and may also be referred to as a pilot. A CRS is a reference signal specific to a cell (e.g., generated based at least in part on a cell identity (ID)). Figure 4 , for a given resource element with label Ra, a modulation symbol may be sent from antenna a on that resource element, and no modulation symbol may be sent from other antennas on that resource element. Subframe format 420 may be used for four antennas. CRS may be sent from antennas 0 and 1 in symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11, and from antennas 2 and 3 in symbol periods 1 and 8. For both subframe formats 410 and 420, CRS may be sent on equally spaced subcarriers, which may be determined at least in part based on the cell ID. Depending on their cell IDs, CRS may be sent on the same or different subcarriers. For both subframe formats 410 and 420, resource elements not used for CRS may be used to send data (e.g., traffic data, control data, and / or other data).

[0062] The PSS, SSS, CRS, and PBCH in LTE are described in 3GPP TS 36.211, publicly available, titled "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation."

[0063] An interlace structure may be used for each of the downlink and uplink of FDD in certain telecommunication systems (e.g., LTE). For example, Q interlaces may be defined with indices ranging from 0 to Q–1, where Q may be equal to 4, 6, 8, 10, or some other value. Each interlace may include subframes separated by Q frames. Specifically, interlace q may include subframes q, q+Q, q+2Q, and so on, where q∈{0,…,Q-1}.

[0064] Wireless networks can support hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for data transmission on the downlink and uplink. With HARQ, a transmitter (e.g., a base station) can send one or more transmissions of a packet until the packet is correctly decoded by a receiver (e.g., a user equipment terminal) or some other termination condition is encountered. With synchronous HARQ, all transmissions of a packet can be sent in subframes of a single interlace. With asynchronous HARQ, each transmission of a packet can be sent in any subframe.

[0065] A UE may be located within the coverage of multiple BSs. One of these BSs may be selected to serve the UE. The serving BS may be selected based at least in part on various criteria, such as received signal strength, received signal quality, path loss, etc. Received signal quality may be quantified by signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) or some other metric. The UE may operate in a dominant interference scenario where the UE may observe high interference from one or more interfering BSs.

[0066] Although aspects of the examples described herein may be associated with LTE technology, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication systems, such as NR or 5G technology.

[0067] New Radio (NR) may refer to a radio configured to operate according to a new air interface (e.g., other than an air interface based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)) or a fixed transport layer (e.g., other than Internet Protocol (IP)). In one aspect, NR may use OFDM with CP (referred to herein as cyclic prefix OFDM or CP-OFDM) and / or SC-FDM on the uplink, may use CP-OFDM on the downlink, and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. In one aspect, NR may, for example, use OFDM with CP (referred to herein as CP-OFDM) and / or Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) on the uplink, may use CP-OFDM on the downlink, and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. NR may include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 megahertz (MHz) and above), millimeter wave (mmW) targeting high carrier frequencies (e.g., 60 gigahertz (GHz)), massive MTC (mMTC) targeting non-backward-compatible MTC technologies, and / or mission-critical ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services targeting.

[0068] A single component carrier bandwidth of 100 MHz can be supported. A NR resource block can span 12 subcarriers with a subcarrier bandwidth of 75 kHz in a duration of 0.1 ms. Each radio frame can include 50 subframes with a length of 10 ms. Therefore, each subframe can have a length of 0.2 ms. Each subframe can indicate the link direction of data transmission (e.g., DL or UL), and the link direction of each subframe can be switched dynamically. Each subframe can include DL / UL data and DL / UL control data. The UL and DL subframes of NR can be as follows: Figure 7 and 8 Described in more detail.

[0069] Beamforming can be supported, and the beam direction can be dynamically configured. MIMO transmission with precoding can also be supported. MIMO configuration in DL can support up to 8 transmit antennas, 8 transmit antennas with up to 8 streams and multi-layer DL transmission of up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmission with up to 2 streams per UE can be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells with up to 8 serving cells can be supported. Alternatively, NR can support a different air interface than the OFDM-based interface. The NR network can include entities such as a central unit or distributed units.

[0070] The RAN may include a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU). An NR BS (e.g., gNB, 5G Node B, Node B, Transmit Receipt Point (TRP), Access Point (AP)) may correspond to one or more BSs. An NR cell may be configured as an access cell (A cell) or a data-only cell (D cell). For example, the RAN (e.g., the Central Unit or the Distributed Unit) may configure the cell. A D cell may be a cell used for carrier aggregation or dual connectivity but not used for initial access, cell selection / reselection, or handover. In some cases, a D cell may not transmit a synchronization signal; in some cases, a D cell may transmit an SS. The NR BS may send a downlink signal to the UE indicating the cell type. Based at least in part on the cell type indication, the UE may communicate with the NR BS. For example, based at least in part on the indicated cell type, the UE may determine that the NR BS will be considered for cell selection, access, handover, and / or measurement.

[0071] As indicated above, Figure 4 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 4 The description is different.

[0072] Figure 5 An example logical architecture of a distributed RAN 500 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. A 5G access node 506 may include an access node controller (ANC) 502. The ANC may be a central unit (CU) of the distributed RAN 500. The backhaul interface to the next generation core network (NG-CN) 504 may terminate at the ANC. The backhaul interface to the adjacent next generation access node (NG-AN) may terminate at the ANC. The ANC may include one or more TRPs 508 (which may also be referred to as a BS, NRBS, Node B, 5G NB, AP, gNB, or some other terminology). As described above, TRP may be used interchangeably with "cell."

[0073] The TRP 508 may be a distributed unit (DU). The TRP may be connected to one ANC (ANC 502) or more than one ANC (not shown). For example, for shared RAN as a service (RaaS) and service-specific RAN deployments, the TRP may be connected to more than one ANC. The TRP may include one or more antenna ports. The TRP may be configured to provide services to the UE individually (e.g., dynamically selected) or jointly (e.g., joint transmission).

[0074] The local architecture of RAN 500 can be used to illustrate the fronthaul definition. The architecture can be defined to support fronthaul solutions across different deployment types. For example, the architecture can be based at least in part on the transmitting network capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and / or jitter).

[0075] The architecture may share features and / or components with LTE. According to aspects, the Next Generation AN (NG-AN) 510 may support dual connectivity with NR. The NG-AN may share a common fronthaul for LTE and NR.

[0076] The architecture may enable collaboration between and among TRPs 508. For example, collaboration may be provisioned within a TRP and / or across TRPs via ANC 502. According to aspects, no inter-TRP interface may be required / present.

[0077] According to aspects, dynamic configuration of split logical functions may occur within the architecture of the RAN 500. PDCP, RLC, MAC protocols may be adaptively placed at the ANC or TRP.

[0078] According to certain aspects, a BS may include a central unit (CU) (eg, ANC 502) and / or one or more distributed units (eg, one or more TRPs 508).

[0079] As indicated above, Figure 5 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 5 The description is different.

[0080] Figure 6 An example physical architecture of a distributed RAN 600 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 602 may host core network functions. The C-CU may be centrally deployed. C-CU functions may be offloaded (e.g., to an improved wireless service (AWS)) to attempt to handle peak capacity.

[0081] The centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 604 can host one or more ANC functions. Optionally, the C-RU can host core network functions locally. The C-RU can have a distributed deployment. The C-RU can be closer to the network edge.

[0082] A distributed unit (DU) 606 may host one or more TRPs. The DU may be located at the edge of the network with radio frequency (RF) capabilities.

[0083] As indicated above, Figure 6 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 6 The description is different.

[0084] Figure 7 FIG700 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DL-centric subframe or wireless communication structure. The DL-centric subframe may include a control portion 702. The control portion 702 may be present in an initial or beginning portion of the DL-centric subframe. The control portion 702 may include various scheduling information and / or control information corresponding to various portions of the DL-centric subframe. In some configurations, such as in Figure 7 As indicated in , the control portion 702 may be a physical DL control channel (PDCCH).

[0085] The DL-centric subframe may also include a DL data portion 704. The DL data portion 704 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the DL-centric subframe. The DL data portion 704 may include communication resources used to transmit DL data from a scheduling entity (e.g., a UE or a BS) to a subordinate entity (e.g., a UE). In some configurations, the DL data portion 704 may be a physical DL shared channel (PDSCH).

[0086] The DL-centric subframe may also include a UL short burst portion 706. The UL short burst portion 706 may sometimes be referred to as a UL burst, a UL burst portion, a common UL burst, a short burst, a UL short burst, a common UL short burst, a common UL short burst portion, and / or various other suitable terms. In some aspects, the UL short burst portion 706 may include one or more reference signals. Additionally or alternatively, the UL short burst portion 706 may include feedback information corresponding to various other portions of the DL-centric subframe. For example, the UL short burst portion 706 may include feedback information corresponding to the control portion 702 and / or the data portion 704. Non-limiting examples of information that may be included in the UL short burst portion 706 include ACK signals (e.g., PUCCH ACK, PUSCH ACK, immediate ACK), NACK signals (e.g., PUCCH NACK, PUSCH NACK, immediate NACK), scheduling requests (SRs), buffer status reports (BSRs), HARQ indicators, channel state indicators (CSIs), channel quality indicators (CQIs), sounding reference signals (SRSs), demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), PUSCH data, and / or various other suitable types of information. The UL short burst portion 706 may include additional or alternative information, such as information related to a random access channel (RACH) procedure, scheduling requests, and various other suitable types of information.

[0087] As in Figure 7As shown in FIG, the end of the DL data portion 704 can be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time interval may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and / or various other suitable terms. This interval provides time for switching from DL communication (e.g., reception by a slave entity (e.g., a UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by a slave entity (e.g., a UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures with similar features may exist without necessarily departing from the aspects described herein.

[0088] As indicated above, Figure 7 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 7 The description is different.

[0089] Figure 8 800 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UL-centric subframe or wireless communication structure. The UL-centric subframe may include a control portion 802. The control portion 802 may be present in an initial or beginning portion of the UL-centric subframe. Figure 8 The control section 802 may be the same as that in the above reference Figure 7 The control portion 702 described is similar. In some configurations, the control portion 802 may be a physical DL control channel (PDCCH).

[0090] The UL-centric subframe may also include a UL long burst portion 804. The UL long burst portion 804 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the UL-centric subframe. The UL portion may refer to communication resources used to transmit UL data from a dependent entity (e.g., a UE) to a scheduling entity (e.g., a UE or a BS).

[0091] As in Figure 8 As shown in FIG, the end of the control portion 802 can be separated in time from the beginning of the UL long burst portion 804. This time interval may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and / or various other suitable terms. This interval provides time for switching from DL communication (e.g., reception by the scheduling entity) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the scheduling entity).

[0092] The UL-centric subframe may also include a UL short burst portion 806 . Figure 8 The UL short burst portion 806 may be the same as that referenced above. Figure 7 The UL short burst portion 706 is similar to that described above and may include Figure 7The foregoing is merely one example of a UL-centric wireless communication architecture, and alternative architectures having similar features may exist without necessarily departing from the aspects described herein.

[0093] In some cases, two or more slave entities (e.g., UEs) can communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-world applications of such sidelink communications may include public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relaying, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoT communications, mission-critical grids, and / or various other suitable applications. In general, a sidelink signal may refer to a signal that is transmitted from one slave entity (e.g., UE1) to another slave entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying the communication through a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS) even though the scheduling entity may be used for scheduling and / or control purposes. In some examples, the sidelink signal may be transmitted using a licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks that typically use unlicensed spectrum).

[0094] In one example, a wireless communication structure (such as a frame) may include both UL-centric subframes and DL-centric subframes. In this example, the ratio of UL-centric subframes to DL-centric subframes in a frame may be dynamically adjusted based at least in part on the amount of UL data and the amount of DL data being transmitted. For example, if there is more UL data, the ratio of UL-centric subframes to DL-centric subframes may be increased. Conversely, if there is more DL data, the ratio of UL-centric subframes to DL-centric subframes may be decreased.

[0095] As indicated above, Figure 8 are provided as examples only. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 8 The description is different.

[0096] Wireless communication standards (such as NR) may allow multi-link communication between one or more base stations and a UE. In such a case, one or more base stations may be capable of sending different information (e.g., PDCCH data, PDSCH data, etc.) to the UE via multiple links. Here, each link may be associated with a different RF beam (hereinafter referred to as a beam, and therefore referred to as multi-beam communication), and one or more base stations may use different beams to send different information (e.g., a first PDCCH data may be sent using a first beam, a second PDCCH data may be sent using a second beam, a third beam may be used to send PDSCH data, etc.).

[0097] However, the use of such multi-beam communication affects the operation of the UE in terms of beam measurements associated with multiple beams (e.g., beam strength), reporting beam-related information to the base station (e.g., including information associated with beam measurements), and selecting beams for transmitting PUCCH data in the uplink (e.g., from the UE to the base station). For example, the UE may need to report beam-related information indicating whether a specific beam is blocked, indicating that a specific (e.g., the strongest) beam should be used for future transmissions (e.g., future PDSCH transmissions), etc.

[0098] The techniques and apparatus described herein allow a UE to receive a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams associated with multi-beam communications between the UE and a base station; select a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam, and report an indication that the beam is the selected beam (e.g., so that the selected beam can be used by the base station for future downlink transmissions).

[0099] Figure 9A and 9B is a diagram illustrating an example 900 of performing multi-link NR PUCCH beam selection and reporting based at least in part on a PDCCH or PDSCH reference signal.

[0100] As in Figure 9A As shown in FIG. 1 and by reference numerals 905, 910, and 915, a base station (eg, BS 110) may transmit a first beam (at Figure 9A The first PDCCH transmission is sent using the second beam (identified as PDCCH beam 1 in Figure 9A ) sends a PDSCH transmission and uses a third beam (identified as a PDSCH beam in Figure 9AIn some aspects, as described below, the first PDCCH transmission, the PDSCH transmission and / or the second PDCCH transmission may include a reference signal corresponding to the beam (e.g., RS, DMRS, CRS, SRS, etc.) and / or a reference signal co-located with the beam (e.g., SS of the beam QCL associated with the transmission, CSI-RS of the beam QCL associated with the transmission, etc.), as described below, and the UE may select a specific beam to report beam-related information based at least in part on these reference signals. In aspects where the reference signal is beam QCL, the UE may identify the spatial QCL relationship associated with the QCL reference signal based on default information stored by the UE, based on information signaled to the UE (e.g., via downlink control information (DCI), via radio resource control (RRC) messaging, via a MAC control element (MAC-CE)), etc.

[0101] As shown by reference numeral 920, the UE may be in a first set of time slots (e.g., as in Figure 9A 2 and time slots n+2). As shown by reference numeral 925, the UE may receive a PDSCH transmission associated with the second beam in a first set of time slots (i.e., the first PDCCH transmission and PDSCH information may be received in the same set of time slots). As shown by reference numeral 930, the UE may receive a PDSCH transmission associated with the second beam in a second set of time slots (e.g., as shown in FIG. Figure 9A A second PDCCH transmission associated with a third beam is received in time slots n+1 and n+3 shown in FIG.

[0102] Significantly, despite Figure 9A A set of three beams is shown (e.g., each associated with one of a first PDCCH transmission, a PDSCH transmission, or a second PDCCH transmission), but in some aspects the set of beams can include a different total number of beams and / or differently associated beams (e.g., a different number of beams associated with a different number of PDCCH transmissions, a different number of beams associated with a different number of PDSCH transmissions, etc.).

[0103] In some aspects, a UE may select a particular beam from a set of beams associated with a transmission from a base station to report beam-related information associated with the set of beams. Figure 9BAs shown by reference numeral 935 in FIG, the UE may select a second beam associated with PDSCH transmission to report beam-related information associated with a set of beams (eg, a first beam, a second beam, and a third beam).

[0104] In some aspects, selection of a beam by the UE may indicate that the selected beam is a preferred beam for future downlink transmissions (e.g., future PDCCH transmissions, future PDSCH transmissions, etc.). For example, selection of a beam may indicate that the beam is a preferred beam among a set of beams (e.g., the strongest beam, the beam with the greatest efficacy, the beam with the lowest interference, etc.) for receiving the future downlink transmission.

[0105] In some aspects, the UE may select a beam based at least in part on a set of reference signals corresponding to a set of beams. For example, as described above, the first PDCCH transmission, the PDSCH transmission, and / or the second PDCCH transmission may each include one or more reference signals (e.g., RS, DMRS, CRS, SRS, SS with beam QCL, CSI-RS with beam QCL, etc.). Here, the UE may determine a metric associated with a given beam (e.g., beam strength, beam power, amount of interference, etc.) based at least in part on one or more reference signals associated with the given beam. In some aspects, the UE may determine such information for each beam in the set of beams and may select a beam based at least in part on the metric associated with each beam. For example, the UE may select a beam with the best metric (e.g., the highest beam strength, the lowest amount of interference, etc.), a beam with a metric that meets a threshold (e.g., a beam with an intensity equal to or greater than a threshold value, a beam with an amount of interference less than or equal to a threshold value), etc. In some aspects, a UE may select multiple beams to report beam-related information (e.g., when metrics associated with two or more beams meet a threshold).

[0106] In some aspects, the UE may determine a metric associated with a beam based at least in part on information received in one or more time slots (e.g., one or more reference signals received in one or more time slots). Figure 9AAs described, the UE receives a first PDCCH transmission and a PDSCH transmission in time slots n and n+2, and receives a second PDCCH transmission in time slots n+1 and n+3. Here, the UE may determine the metrics associated with the first beam and the second beam based at least in part on the corresponding reference signals received in time slot n+2 (i.e., the previous time slot). Alternatively, the UE may determine the metrics associated with the first beam and the second beam based at least in part on the corresponding reference signals received in time slot n and time slot n+2. Here, the UE may determine the metrics based at least in part on an average (e.g., a weighted average) of the metrics associated with time slot n and time slot n+2. As another example, the UE may determine the metrics associated with the third beam based at least in part on one or more reference signals received in time slot n+3 (i.e., the current time slot). In some aspects, the UE may determine the metrics based at least in part on information received in a number of time slots different from the number of time slots described in the example above. For example, in some aspects, the UE may determine the metrics based at least in part on information received in three or more time slots.

[0107] In some aspects, the manner in which the UE determines the metric (i.e., information identifying one or more time slots to be used to determine the metric) may be based at least in part on a configuration provided by the base station. In some aspects, the manner in which the UE determines the metric may be based at least in part on a radio resource control message from the base station. Additionally or alternatively, the manner in which the UE determines the metric may be based at least in part on the capabilities of the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the manner in which the UE determines the metric may be based at least in part on whether the grant is an uplink grant or a downlink grant.

[0108] In some aspects, the UE may report an indication that a particular beam is the selected beam. Figure 9B As shown by reference numeral 940 in FIG, the UE may report (eg, in a PUCCH transmission) that the second beam (eg, the beam associated with the PDSCH transmission) is the selected beam.

[0109] In some aspects, the UE may report an indication in an uplink transmission that the beam is the selected beam. Figure 9B As shown in , the UE may report the indication in a PUCCH transmission in slot n+3.

[0110] In some aspects, the UE may report an indication using an uplink resource from a set of uplink resources (e.g., one or more symbols in time slot n+3), wherein each uplink resource in the set of uplink resources is mapped to a different beam from a set of beams, and wherein the uplink resource is associated with the beam. For example, with respect to example 900, the set of uplink resources may include a first uplink resource mapped to a first beam, a second uplink resource mapped to a second beam, and a third uplink resource mapped to a third beam. Here, as described above, the UE may select a second beam and may report an indication that the second beam is the selected beam using the second uplink resource by transmitting beam-related information associated with the set of beams. The base station may receive a transmission using the second uplink resource and determine that the second beam is the selected beam based at least in part on the beam-related information being received in the second uplink resource (e.g., implicitly identifying the second beam because the second uplink resource is mapped to the second beam). In some aspects, the UE may identify uplink resources mapped to a beam (i.e., uplink resources to be used for uplink transmission) based at least in part on information provided by the base station.

[0111] In some aspects, the set of uplink resources may be time-division multiplexed resources, or may be the same resource (eg, in spectrum and time) associated with a set of different ports.

[0112] Additionally or alternatively, the UE may report the indication using any uplink resource in the uplink transmission (e.g., the first uplink resource, the second uplink resource, the third uplink resource, etc.). For example, the UE may use one or more uplink resources (e.g., in the payload of a PUCCH transmission) to transmit an identifier associated with the selected beam (e.g., rather than using an uplink resource mapped to the selected beam). Here, the base station may receive the uplink transmission and determine that the second beam is the selected beam based at least in part on the beam identifier included in any uplink resource (e.g., because the second beam is explicitly identified). In this example, the beam-related information may be included in one or more other uplink resources associated with the uplink transmission.

[0113] As indicated above, Figure 9A and 9B are provided as examples. Other examples are possible and may be compared with Figure 9A and 9B The description is different.

[0114] Figure 101 is a flow chart of a method 1000 for wireless communication. The method may be performed by a user device (e.g., Figure 1 UE 120, device 1102 / 1102', etc.) is executed.

[0115] At 1010, a UE may receive a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between the UE and a base station. For example, as described above with respect to example 900, the UE may receive a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams transmitted by a base station, wherein the set of beams is associated with multi-beam communication between the UE and the base station.

[0116] In some aspects, the set of beams may include at least one of a beam associated with a PDCCH transmission or a beam associated with a PDSCH transmission, or any combination thereof.

[0117] At 1020, the UE may select a beam from the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam from the set of beams. For example, as described above with respect to example 900, the UE may select a beam from the set of beams associated with transmissions from the base station to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam.

[0118] In some aspects, a beam can be selected based at least in part on a reference signal corresponding to the beam or a reference signal to the beam QCL.

[0119] In some aspects, a beam is selected based at least in part on a metric associated with the beam, where the metric is determined at least in part based on a configuration provided by a base station.

[0120] At 1030, the UE may report an indication that the beam is the selected beam. For example, as described above with respect to example 900, the UE may report an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

[0121] In some aspects, an indication that a beam is the selected beam may be reported in a transmission using uplink resources from a set of uplink resources, wherein each uplink resource in the set of uplink resources may be mapped to a different beam in the set of beams, and wherein the uplink resources may be associated with the beam. In some aspects, the set of uplink resources may be time-division multiplexed resources or may be the same frequency and time resources associated with a group of ports. In some aspects, identification information identifying the set of uplink resources is received from a base station.

[0122] In some aspects, the indication that the beam is the selected beam includes an identifier for identifying the beam.

[0123] In some aspects, reporting may include sending an indication that the beam is the selected beam in a payload of a physical uplink control channel transmission.

[0124] In some aspects, the reporting may include sending an indication in the one or more first time slots that the beam is the selected beam based at least in part on one or more measurements associated with the one or more second time slots. In some aspects, at least one of the one or more second time slots may occur before the one or more first time slots. In some aspects, the UE may receive information identifying the one or more second time slots in a radio resource control message from the base station. In some aspects, the information identifying the one or more second time slots may be based at least in part on the capabilities of the UE. In some aspects, the information identifying the one or more second time slots may be based at least in part on whether the grant is an uplink grant or a downlink grant. In some aspects, the one or more second time slots may include a time slot associated with a PDCCH transmission using a first beam in the set of beams or a time slot associated with a PDSCH transmission using a second beam in the set of beams.

[0125] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication may include sending, by a base station, downlink data to a user equipment using a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between the base station and the UE; receiving, by the base station, uplink data, the uplink data including an indication that at least one beam in the set of beams is a selected beam for transmitting beam-related information; and identifying, by the base station, at least one beam as a selected beam based at least in part on the uplink data.

[0126] although Figure 10 Example blocks of a method of wireless communication are shown, but in some aspects the method may include Figure 10 Additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently than those shown in FIG. Additionally or alternatively, the operations may be performed in parallel. Figure 10 Two or more blocks shown in .

[0127] Figure 11 110 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1100 illustrating the data flow between different modules / units / components in an example apparatus 1102. The apparatus 1102 may be a UE. In some aspects, the apparatus 1102 includes a receiving module 1104, a selecting module 1106, a reporting module 1108, and / or a sending module 1110.

[0128] The receiving module 1104 may receive data 1112 from the base station 1150 (such as data associated with a set of downlink transmissions sent by the base station 1150 using a set of beams). In some aspects, the receiving module 1104 may provide the data 1114 to the selecting module 1106. In some aspects, the data 1114 may indicate that the selecting module 1106 is to select a beam from the set of beams for reporting beam-related information associated with the set of beams. As described above, the selecting module 1106 may select a beam for reporting beam-related information.

[0129] The selection module 1106 may provide data 1116 to the reporting module 1108. In some aspects, the data 1116 may indicate that the reporting module 1108 is to report an indication that the beam is the selected beam. As described above, the reporting module 1108 may report an indication that the beam is the selected beam.

[0130] The reporting module 1108 may provide data 1118 to the transmitting module 1110. For example, the reporting module 1108 may provide data 1118 including an indication that the beam is a selected beam to the transmitting module 1110. The transmitting module 1110 may transmit data 1120 including the indication to the base station 1150.

[0131] The apparatus may include a device for performing the aforementioned Figure 10 Each block of the algorithm in the flowchart is an additional module. Therefore, the aforementioned Figure 10 Each block in the flowchart of can be performed by a module, and the apparatus can include one or more of those modules. A module can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the stated process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0132] Figure 11 The number and arrangement of modules shown in FIG are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Figure 11 Modules than those shown in the additional modules, fewer modules, different modules or modules that are arranged differently. Figure 11 Two or more modules shown in the figure may be implemented in a single module, or Figure 11 The single module shown in can be implemented as multiple distributed modules. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 11 The set of modules shown in FIG. 1 (eg, one or more modules) may perform the operations described as being Figure 11 Another module shown in the collection performs one or more functions.

[0133] Figure 12is a diagram 1200 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1102' using a processing system 1202. The apparatus 1102' may be a UE.

[0134] The processing system 1202 may be implemented using a bus architecture, generally represented by bus 1204. Bus 1204 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1202. Bus 1204 links together various circuits including one or more processors represented by processor 1206 and / or hardware modules, modules 1104, 1106, 1108, 1110, and computer-readable media / memory 1208. Bus 1204 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described in any further detail.

[0135] Processing system 1202 may be coupled to a transceiver 1210. Transceiver 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1212. Transceiver 1210 provides a means for communicating with various other devices via a transmission medium. Transceiver 1210 receives signals from one or more antennas 1212, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to processing system 1202 (specifically, to receive module 1104). In addition, transceiver 1210 receives information from processing system 1202 (specifically, from transmit module 1110) and generates signals to be applied to one or more antennas 1212 based at least in part on the received information. Processing system 1202 includes a processor 1206 coupled to computer-readable media / memory 1208. Processor 1206 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on computer-readable media / memory 1208. When executed by processor 1206, the software enables processing system 1202 to perform the various functions described above for any particular device. The computer-readable medium / memory 1208 may also be used to store data that is manipulated by the processor 1206 when executing software. The processing system also includes at least one of modules 1104, 1106, 1108, and 1110. A module may be a software module that executes in the processor 1206, resides in / is stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1208, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 1206, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1202 may be a component of the UE 120 and may include the memory 282 and / or at least one of the following: the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and / or the controller / processor 280.

[0136] In some aspects, an apparatus 1102 / 1102′ for wireless communication includes: means for receiving a downlink transmission from at least one beam in a set of beams associated with multi-beam communication between the apparatus 1102 / 1102′ and a base station; means for selecting a beam in the set of beams to report beam-related information associated with the at least one beam in the set of beams; and means for reporting an indication that the beam is the selected beam. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned modules of the processing system 1202 of the apparatus 1102 and / or apparatus 1102′ configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As previously described, the processing system 1202 may include the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and / or the controller / processor 280. Thus, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and / or the controller / processor 280 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0137] Figure 12 are provided as examples. Other examples are possible and can be combined with Figure 12 The description is different.

[0138] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the disclosed process / flowcharts is illustrative of example methods. Based on design preferences, it should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the process / flowcharts may be rearranged. Furthermore, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present the elements of the various blocks in a sample order and are not intended to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0139] The foregoing description is provided so that any person skilled in the art can practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but will conform to the entire scope consistent with the content expressed by the claims, wherein, unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one", but rather "one or more". The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any aspect described as "exemplary" in this article is not necessarily interpreted as preferred or having advantages over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B, or multiple C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" can be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combination can include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure that are known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. No claim element should be construed as a functional unit unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "units for..."

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: Receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a downlink transmission of a plurality of beams associated with multi-beam communication; determining, by the UE, a metric for each of the plurality of beams, the metric for each of the plurality of beams being based on beam measurements; performing, at the UE, beam selection among the plurality of beams based at least in part on the metric associated with each beam, the beam selection reporting beam-related information associated with at least one beam of the plurality of beams; as well as The UE reports the beam-related information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The beam measurement is based on one or more reference signals received in the first time slot and the second time slot.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The beam measurement is based on one or more of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission received in one or more of the first time slot or the second time slot.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The plurality of beams include a first beam, a second beam, and a third beam.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The metric is determined further based on information associated with a third time slot.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The metric is further determined based on a configuration provided by the base station.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: At least one of the first time slot and the second time slot is identified based at least in part on the configuration provided by the base station.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The metric is further determined based on a radio resource control message from the base station.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein The metric is further determined based on the capabilities of the UE.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein The metric is further determined based on whether the grant is an uplink grant or a downlink grant.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein The beam-related information is reported in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission.

12. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: Memory; as well as One or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to: receiving a downlink transmission of a plurality of beams associated with multi-beam communication; determining a metric for each of the plurality of beams, the metric for each of the plurality of beams being based on beam measurements; performing beam selection among the plurality of beams based at least in part on the metric associated with each beam, the beam selection reporting beam-related information associated with at least one beam among the plurality of beams; as well as Reports information about the beam.

13. The UE according to claim 12, wherein: The metric is further determined based on a configuration provided by the base station.

14. The UE according to claim 13, wherein: At least one of the first time slot and the second time slot is identified based at least in part on the configuration provided by the base station.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication, the one or more instructions comprising: One or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, cause the one or more processors to: receiving a downlink transmission of a plurality of beams associated with multi-beam communication; determining a metric for each of the plurality of beams, the metric for each of the plurality of beams being based on beam measurements; performing beam selection among the plurality of beams based at least in part on the metric associated with each beam, the beam selection reporting beam-related information associated with at least one beam among the plurality of beams; as well as Reports information about the beam.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein: The metric is further determined based on a configuration provided by the base station.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein: At least one of the first time slot and the second time slot is identified based at least in part on the configuration provided by the base station.

18. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving downlink transmissions of a plurality of beams associated with multi-beam communication; means for determining a metric for each of the plurality of beams, the metric for each of the plurality of beams being based on beam measurements; means for performing beam selection among the plurality of beams based at least in part on the metric associated with each beam, the beam selection reporting beam-related information associated with at least one beam among the plurality of beams; as well as A unit for reporting the beam-related information.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein The metric is further determined based on a configuration provided by the base station.

20. The device according to claim 19, wherein At least one of the first time slot and the second time slot is identified based at least in part on the configuration provided by the base station.

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