SR processing for analog beamforming

Abstract

A method for a base station (gNB) to communicate with a plurality of user entities (UE1, UE2) via antennas according to a time division duplex (TDD) access scheme, the base station being further adapted to receive a scheduling request (SR) from the UE, the SR indicating a request to schedule uplink transmissions from the UE. The base station communicates via a plurality of antennas associated with respective wide beams (WB1-WBn) and narrow beams (NB), the plurality of wide beams (WB, WB1-WBn) covering respective areas, whereby for each wide beam (WB1-WBn), at least one narrow beam (NB) forms a joint area with the wide beam (WB, WB1-WBn). The TDD scheme involves at least a physical uplink scheduling control channel (PUSCH) (102) and includes periodically occurring SR opportunities (300), the base station being adapted to receive and decode transmissions from the UE and to determine whether an SR from at least one UE is received in the periodic opportunity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for processing a scheduling request in a radio system based on analog beamforming (ABF). In particular, the present invention relates to a 5G radio system based on time division duplex (TDD) of ABF. Background Art

[0002] A brief overview of the physical layer in 5G New Radio systems has been given in “5G New Radio: Unveiling the Essentials of the Next Generation Wireless Access Technology”, Xingqin Lin et al., Ericsson, June 2018.

[0003] exist Figure 1 , the concept of 3 / 1 mode TDD when used with ABF is shown. Slot n, slot n+1, ... slot n+7 are shown.

[0004] The following channels are shown:

[0005] PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel)

[0006] PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) for DL ​​(downlink)

[0007] PDCCH for UL (uplink)

[0008] PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel)

[0009] PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel)

[0010] Slot n represents a downlink (DL) slot. In this downlink (DL) slot, when a UE decodes PDCCH 100, it will receive DL data in PDSCH 101, and the UE will report feedback (ACK or NACK) of the decoding result in PUCCH 103. Field 105 indicates that the PDCCH will include a field indicating where the PDSCH data will be received, and field 106 indicates that the PDCCH will include a second field that controls when PUCCH 103 is transmitted. Slots n, n+1, n+2, n+4, n+5, and n+6 represent DL slots, and slots n+3 and n+7 represent uplink (UL) slots. The PDCCH in slot n+3 includes a PDCCH indicating an UL slot transmission. The PDCCH will include a delay field 107 that indicates when PUSCH 102 transmission begins in slot n+7.

[0011] For ABF, phased array antennas are used to define multiple semi-static beams. In this application, we focus on ABF systems using semi-static wide beams and semi-static narrow beams. Multiple narrow beams are arranged within each corresponding wide beam, allowing the wide beam to serve a larger geographic area than the narrow beam. Narrow beams have greater antenna gain than wide beams. Semi-static refers to the fact that the beams (wide and narrow) are typically fixed after the antenna is installed and adjusted.

[0012] Regarding analog beamforming (ABF), it can be seen that in slot n, the beam will be pointed in a specific direction toward the UE targeted by PDCCH 100 and PDSCH 101, while in slot n+1, the beam may be in the same direction or another direction, depending on which UE data is targeted in that particular slot, and similarly for slot n+2. In slot n+3, the beam will first be set up for the UE that may be sending UL data in PUSCH 102, and then the direction may be switched to a portion of slot n+3 to receive data from the UE scheduled for transmission in that slot (not shown in the figure). Furthermore, in the PUCCH symbols denoted as "0," "1," and "2," the beam will be set up to receive PUCCH data from slots n, n+1, and n+2. If these slots represent data from different UEs, the beam will change between PUCCH symbols.

[0013] Regarding the Scheduling Request SR, Chapter 9.2.4 of 3GPP 28.213 V15.7.0 (2019-09) stipulates:

[0014] "The UE is configured with a set of configurations for SR transmission in PUCCH using PUCCH format 0 or PUCCH format 1 by the higher layer parameter SchedulingRequestResourceConfig."

[0015] The scheduling request may be sent in the PUCCH 103 response, since when the UE reports its ACK or NACK, the UE may also include SR=1 or 0 in the message (case a).

[0016] Chapter 9.2 of 3GPP 38.213 V15.7.0 (2019-09) states:

[0017] "UCI bits include HARQ-ACK information bits (if any), SR information bits (if any), and CSI bits (if any).

[0018] The UE shall append the SR bit in the ACK / NACK message instead of sending the SR bit in the periodic SR (1).”

[0019] More precisely, the above quote specifies:

[0020] “If the UE is to send PUCCH with O_ACK HARQ-ACK information bits in resources using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 or PUCCH format 4 in a slot as described in section 9.2.3, then [log2(K+1)] bits representing the negative or positive SR are appended to the HARQ-ACK information bits in ascending order of the schedulingRequestResourceld value and the UE sends a combined O_UCI = O_ACK + [log2(K+1)] UCI bits in PUCCH using resources of PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 or PUCCH format 4 determined by the UE as described in sections 9.2.1 and 9.2.3. An all-zero value of [log2(K+1)] bits indicates a negative SR value for all K SRs.”

[0021] The prerequisite for (case a) to occur (which can be expressed as [preReq]) is that (case b) occurs at the same time.

[0022] Therefore, if SR=0, the UE will never send the SR bit in the periodic SR, but if case a and case b occur, the UE will be forced to send the SR content regardless of the value of 0 or 1.

[0023] The above prerequisites [preReq] are specified in the above-referenced 3GPP 38.213.

[0024] Chapter 9.2.5.1 states:

[0025] "UE procedure for multiplexing HARQ-ACK or CSI and SR in PUCCH.

[0026] In the following, the UE is configured to transmit K PUCCHs determined by a set of schedulingRequestResourceId for corresponding K SRs in a time slot, where the SR transmission opportunity overlaps with PUCCH transmission with HARQ-ACK information from the UE in the time slot or PUCCH transmission with CSI report from the UE in the time slot. "

[0027] For example, assume that the configured periodic SR occurs every 40 slots. If the gNB now sends downlink data to the UE such that the ACK or NACK will be sent in the same slot as the periodic SR, and such that the periodic SR-PUCCH overlaps with the ACK-NACK PUCCH start symbol, the SR (0 or 1) will be incorporated into the ACK-NACK message.

[0028] As an alternative, a Buffer Status Report (BSR) can be sent in a PUSCH (102) transmission. Since a BSR contains a better representation of the amount of data to be sent by the UE, its performance is better than the single-bit representation that a Scheduling Request can achieve, and when a BSR is sent, an SR does not need to be sent (case c).

[0029] Chapter 6.2.1 in 3GPP 38.321 V15.7.0 (2019-09) shows whether the PDU format of the BSR is a short BSR or a long BSR.

[0030] It is also described in the referenced application that a scheduling request can also be sent in a random access opportunity. More precisely, if no periodic SR opportunity is configured, the UE will use this random access opportunity (case d).

[0031] PDCCH can be of different types. See 3GPP 38.212 V15.7.0 (2019-09), Chapter 7.3.1.

[0032] For PUSCH data transmission, PDCCH format 0_1 ​​is used. In this format, as described in the 3GPP UL-SCH indicator (1 bit), the following are present. A value of "1" indicates that the UL-SCH should be transmitted on the PUSCH, and a value of "0" indicates that the UL-SCH should not be transmitted on the PUSCH. The UE does not expect to receive DCI format 0_1 ​​with a UL-SCH indicator of "0" and a CSI request of all zeros.

[0033] The above-mentioned “UL-SCH indicator” allows the transmission of CSI data, which can be considered as a form of Layer 1 control information. When the flag is set to “0”, the gNB will not expect to receive any UL-SCH data.

[0034] The HARQ protocol is used between the gNB and the UE. Details are specified in 3GPP TS 38.321, Section 5.3.2. The purpose of the HARQ protocol is to recover from bidirectional PDU decoding failures by sending feedback (ACK / NACK) from the receiver to the transmitter to allow retransmission. Summary of the Invention

[0035] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for a base station (gNB) to communicate with multiple user entities (UEs) (UE1, UE2) via antennas according to a time division duplex (TDD) access scheme. The base station is further adapted to receive a scheduling request (SR) from the UE, the SR indicating a request to schedule uplink transmissions from the UE. The base station communicates via multiple antennas associated with respective wide beams (WB1-WBn) and narrow beams, the multiple wide beams covering respective areas, whereby for each wide beam, at least one narrow beam forms a joint area with the wide beam. The TDD scheme involves at least a physical uplink scheduling control channel (PUSCH), and the TDD scheme also includes periodically occurring SR opportunities. The base station is adapted to receive and decode transmissions from the UEs and determine whether an SR has been received from at least one UE during a periodic opportunity.

[0036] According to another aspect, the periodically occurring SR opportunities are distributed in such a way that they reappear at least in the same slot number and / or symbol position of the frame in a repeated frame sequence, in other words, the periodically occurring opportunities are vertically aligned in the TDD scheme.

[0037] The base station may be a 5G base station gNodeB, and each periodically occurring SR opportunity may be a periodic SRPUCCH.

[0038] According to one aspect of the present invention, a base station is adapted to use a wide beam to receive at least one SR from a UE during a periodically occurring SR opportunity and decode the SR. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 A known 5G TDD transmission scheme is shown.

[0040] Figure 2 An exemplary apparatus for implementing an embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein a base station is configured with multiple wide beams WB and narrow beams NB.

[0041] Figure 3 Another exemplary apparatus comprising a base station gNB and a user entity UE for implementing an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0042] Figure 4 shows a TDD scheme according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

[0043] Figure 5 shows a physical resource block PRB according to an embodiment of the present invention,

[0044] Figure 6 A first aspect of a first embodiment of a method for selecting an antenna beam for decoding a scheduling request SR from a UE according to the present invention is shown,

[0045] Figure 7 The second aspect of the first embodiment of the method for updating the registration of a UE falling within the beam coverage of a wide beam of the present invention is shown.

[0046] Figure 8 and Figure 9 The third aspect of the first embodiment of the method for updating the registration of a UE falling within the beam coverage of a wide beam of the present invention is shown, and

[0047] Figure 10 Another embodiment of the present invention is shown, and

[0048] Figure 11 Aspects of the present invention are shown implemented in a virtualized environment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 A periodic SR 300 is provided on the PUSCH channel 102 as shown.

[0050] exist Figure 2 , an arrangement of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the base station may be a 5G base station gNB. The base station communicates with the UE via multiple wide beam antennas WB1-WBn and narrow beam antennas NB (for clarity, only a single narrow beam is indicated). The wide beam antennas may be arranged in continuous, substantially non-overlapping areas. In addition, each wide beam may be further subdivided into multiple narrow beam areas. The UE may appear under any of these areas and processors, see Figure 3 , PCU_A is provided in the base station and is used to track the appearance of the UE under the corresponding area.

[0051] exist Figure 3 In FIG, a user equipment UE device according to the present invention is shown.

[0052] The UE comprises a processor PCU_UE, an interface IF_UE and a memory MEM_UE, in which memory instructions for executing the above method steps are stored. The UE communicates via the interface IF_UE. The IF_UE comprises an external interface for communicating with a transmitter and a receiver, and an internal interface (not shown).

[0053] A base station (e.g., gNB) is also shown, which includes a processor PCU_A, an interface IF_A, and a memory MEM_A. Instructions are stored in the memory for execution by the processor, thereby performing the above-described method steps and transmitting signaling over the interface.

[0054] The above-mentioned devices / entities are adapted to communicate through known external telecommunication interfaces or via an application programming interface API, as the case may be.

[0055] exist Figure 4 , a TDD pattern 310 according to the present invention is shown. The TDD pattern comprises seven rows identical to the first row, and we return to the first row after the last row and repeat the pattern.

[0056] Now it is possible to configure a periodic SR (e.g. 1) symbol 300 (cf. Figure 1 ).

[0057] Periodic SRs are frequency-multiplexed with existing content. If SRs are multiplexed, ABF becomes problematic because a beam needs to serve a UE at one location in the cell and provide a periodic SR to another UE at another location in the cell. This can be considered a "best effort" solution—the gNB may be able to decode the SR.

[0058] If SR replaces symbols, then serving more than one UE can become problematic if periodic SRs for multiple UEs overlap in time due to the limitations of narrow beams. Note that with ABF, only one beam can be steered in one direction per symbol.

[0059] exist Figure 4 In

[0045] , periodic SR 300 occurs twice per row (periodicity = 4 time slots) and 14 opportunities. Note that 3GPP requires periodic SR to occur with a specific periodicity. The periodicity can be increased by introducing more uplink time slots.

[0060] When decoding symbols representing the periodic SR 300, a wide beam is used to enable reception from an expanded number of UEs over the corresponding geographic area of ​​the wide beam.

[0061] According to an embodiment of the present invention, multiple UEs can be configured within one and the same periodic SR symbol. The UEs will be configured with separate physical resource blocks (PRBs) and separate cyclic shifts. In a 100MHz bandwidth, this means that 66*12 different UEs can be allocated, such as Figure 5 Further shown.

[0062] In an embodiment, a wide beam is used each time a periodic SR occurs. In the example embodiment, a maximum number of SR opportunities (i.e., 14) is provided. We also assume that in this example we use a total of 7 wide beams, which are denoted as WB1, WB2, etc.

[0063] In another embodiment, an adaptive wide beam switching scheme is applied to use only those wide beams that serve the UE. For example, if we assume that only WB1, WB2, and WB6 cover the UE, then the periodic SR 300 is only used for WB1, WB2, and WB6, i.e., the wide beam period is shortened, thereby reducing the delay when the gNB decodes the SR from the UE.

[0064] Note that the UE will not know whether the gNB decodes the SR sent by the UE. For example, Figure 4 The UE in the range 0 to 100 can send periodic SR 300 up to 7 times until the gNB uses the correct wide beam and decodes the SR.

[0065] exist Figure 6 In FIG. 4 , a first aspect of a first embodiment of a method for selecting an antenna beam for decoding a scheduling request SR from a UE according to the present invention is shown.

[0066] In 602, it is determined whether a periodic SR PUCCH occurs. If not, the method waits for such an SR, and if so, the method further determines in 603 whether the SR is multiplexed on a HARQ-ACK message.

[0067] In 603, if yes, the method proceeds to 609, in which the HARQ-ACK PUCCH is decoded using the narrow beam, and if no, proceeds to 604, in which a wide beam is selected from the used wide beams.

[0068] From 609, the method proceeds to 602. From 604, the method proceeds to 607, where it is determined whether the single UE falls within the coverage of the wide beam.

[0069] In 607 , if yes, proceed to 611 , in which the SR-PUCCH is decoded using the selected wide beam, and if no, proceed to 613 , in which the SR-PUCCH is decoded using the narrow beam.

[0070] In one embodiment, all UE_IDs exist in the active wide beam list (ACTIVE WIDEBEAM LIST) corresponding to the wide beam (step 303).

[0071] Figure 7 、 Figure 8 and Figure 9 Aspects of a method for updating a given UE that appears within the coverage of a wide beam over time are shown.

[0072] exist Figure 7In the process, in step 201, it is determined whether the start of the time slot has been reached; if not, the start is waited for. If so, the process proceeds to step 202, in which the wide beam list is updated with the new UE ID. In addition, the wide beam list ID is updated with the released UE 203. The method then returns to step 201.

[0073] exist Figure 8 In the example, counter X is started at a value of 1 in 301. The method proceeds to 302 where it is determined whether a new UE_ID exists within the coverage of wide beam index X. If so, the new UE_ID for wide beam X is stored in the active wide beam list associated with wide beam X that lists the UE_ID 303. If no new UE_ID is encountered in 302, index X is incremented 305 until a maximum value corresponding to the number of wide beams is reached 306.

[0074] exist Figure 9 , there is shown a process of removing ( 402 ) UEs that are not present under the wide beam of index X. Step 404 corresponds to step 304 , 405 corresponds to 305 , and 406 corresponds to 306 .

[0075] In this way, a corresponding updated list of UEs present is tracked for each wide beam.

[0076] The list will indicate whether a single UE is present within the corresponding wide beam. Figure 6 The issue was resolved in 607.

[0077] exist Figure 10 Another aspect of the present invention is shown in FIG. In step 701 , it is determined whether a new PUSCH is decoded. In step 702 , if yes to 701 , it is determined whether a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) on the PUSCH is lower than a threshold.

[0078] If yes to 702, the UE specified by its UE_ID is included (703) in the UE list to be used for wide beam (USE_WB_LIST) and removed (704) from the UE list to be used for narrow beam (USE_NB_LIST).

[0079] If no to 702, the UE specified by its UE_ID is included (705) in the list of UEs to be used for narrow beam (USE_NB_LIST) and removed (706) from the list of UEs to be used for wide beam (USE_WB_LIST).

[0080] The effect of the above aspects of the embodiments of the present invention is that the narrow beam reaches UEs below the SIR threshold, while UEs with SIR above the threshold are served by the wide beam without the wide beam overload effect. Note that for the expression in 702, the less than sign or the equal to sign can be selected.

[0081] Note that the features of the methods described above and below may be implemented in software and executed on a data processing device or other processing means caused by the execution of program code means such as computer-executable instructions. Here and hereinafter, the term processing means includes any circuit and / or device suitable for performing the above-mentioned functions.

[0082] Specifically, the above terms include general or special programmable microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), dedicated electronic circuits or combinations thereof, etc.

[0083] For example, program code means may be loaded into a memory such as RAM (random access memory) from a storage medium such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory) or from another device via a suitable data interface, and the described features may be implemented by hard-wired circuitry instead of software or in combination with software.

[0084] A computer program or a computer program product is provided for performing the method steps defined above.

[0085] The method discussed above may alternatively be implemented by a device based on network function virtualization. Figure 11Other embodiments of the present invention are implemented using a network function virtualization system (NFVS) implemented, for example, on general-purpose servers, standard storage devices, and switches. The NFVS can be arranged along the lines described in ETSI GS NFV 002 V.1.1.1 (2013-10) and include the following elements: an NFV management and coordination system, including an orchestrator (ORCH), a VNF manager (VNF_MGR), and a virtualized infrastructure manager (VIRT_INFRA_MGR). Furthermore, the NFVS includes an operations / business support system (OP / BUSS_SUPP_SYST); multiple virtual network function instances (VNFs), through which the aforementioned method steps are instantiated; and a virtualized infrastructure (VIRT_INFRA). VIRT_INFRA includes virtual computing (VIRTCOMP), virtual networking (VIRT_NETW), virtual memory (VIRT_MEM), a virtualization layer (VIRT_LAYER) (e.g., a hypervisor), and shared hardware resources (SHARED_HARDW_RES), including computing devices (COMP), network devices (NETW) (including, for example, standard switches and other network devices), and standard data storage devices (MEW).

[0086] In summary, according to the present invention, there is provided:

[0087] A method for a base station gNB to communicate with multiple user entities UE1, UE2 via antennas according to a time division duplex (TDD) access scheme, wherein the base station is further adapted to receive a scheduling request (SR) from a UE, the SR indicating a request to schedule uplink transmissions from the UE. The base station communicates via multiple antennas associated with respective wide beams WB1-WBn and narrow beams NB, wherein the plurality of wide beams WB1-WBn cover respective areas, whereby for each wide beam WB1-WBn, at least one narrow beam NB forms a joint area with the wide beams WB1-WBn. The TDD scheme involves at least a physical uplink scheduling control channel (PUSCH) 102. The TDD scheme includes periodically occurring SR opportunities 300, and the base station is adapted to receive and decode transmissions from the UEs and determine whether an SR has been received from at least one UE during the periodic opportunities.

[0088] The periodically occurring SR opportunities may be distributed in such a way that they reappear at least in the same slot number and / or symbol position of the frame in a repeated frame sequence, in other words such that the periodically occurring opportunities are vertically aligned in the TDD scheme.

[0089] The base station may be a 5G base station gNodeB (gNB), and each periodically occurring SR opportunity 300 is a periodic SRPUCCH 602 .

[0090] The base station may also be adapted to:

[0091] A wide beam WB is used 611 to receive and decode at least one SR from a UE at a periodically occurring SR opportunity 300 .

[0092] Furthermore, the base station may be adapted to:

[0093] - determining 607 whether at least one UE is present under a wide beam,

[0094] as well as

[0095] If a single UE appears under a wide beam,

[0096] - Using 613 a narrow beam NB within the wide beam for receiving and decoding at least one periodic SR received from a UE under the wide beam.

[0097] In addition, if a single UE does not appear under the wide beam, that is, there are multiple UEs under the wide beam, the base station can:

[0098] - Use wide beam to decode SR-PUCCH.

[0099] Furthermore, multiple UEs (UEs) may be configured within one and the same periodic SR symbol 300 .

[0100] A method is also provided, the method further comprising:

[0101] - determining 603 whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement HARQ-ACK PUCCH message 602,

[0102] If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH is yes, then decoding the HARQ-ACK PUCCH 609,

[0103] If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCC is multiplexed on the HHARQ-ACK PUCCH is no, a wide beam is selected 604 from among the used wide beams.

[0104] A base station gNB is also provided, comprising a processor PCU_A, an interface IF_A and a memory MEM_A, adapted to communicate with a plurality of user entities UE (UE1, UE2) via antennas according to a time division duplex TDD access scheme, the base station being further adapted to receive a scheduling request SR from the UE, the SR indicating a request for scheduling uplink transmission from the UE.

[0105] The base station communicates via multiple antennas associated with respective wide beams WB1-WBn and narrow beams NB, wherein the multiple wide beams WB1-WBn cover corresponding areas, whereby for each wide beam WB1-WBn, at least one narrow beam NB forms a joint area with the wide beams WB1-WBn. The TDD scheme involves at least a physical uplink scheduling control channel PUSCH 102, wherein the TDD scheme includes periodically occurring SR opportunities 300, and the base station is adapted to receive and decode transmissions from UEs and determine whether an SR is received from at least one UE during the periodic opportunity.

[0106] The periodically occurring SR opportunities may be distributed in such a way that they reappear at least in the same slot number and / or symbol position of the frame in a repeated frame sequence, in other words such that the periodically occurring opportunities are vertically aligned in the TDD scheme.

[0107] The base station may be a 5G base station gNodeB (gNB), and each periodically occurring SR opportunity 300 is a periodic SRPUCCH 602 .

[0108] The base station may be adapted to:

[0109] - Using 611 wide beams WB for receiving at least one SR from the UE at periodically occurring SR opportunities 300 and decoding the at least one SR.

[0110] The base station is also suitable for:

[0111] - determining 607 whether at least one UE is present under a wide beam,

[0112] as well as

[0113] If a single UE appears under a wide beam,

[0114] - Using 613 a narrow beam NB within the wide beam for receiving and decoding at least one periodic SR received from a UE under the wide beam.

[0115] The base station may be adapted to: If a single UE does not appear under a wide beam, i.e., there are multiple UEs under a wide beam,

[0116] - Use wide beam to decode SR-PUCCH.

[0117] The base station may also be adapted to handle multiple UEs (UEs) that are configured within one and the same periodic SR symbol 300 .

[0118] The base station may also include:

[0119] - determining 603 whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement HARQ-ACK PUCCH message 602,

[0120] If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH is yes, then decoding the HARQ-ACK PUCCH 609,

[0121] If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCC is multiplexed on the HHARQ-ACK PUCCH is no, a wide beam is selected 604 from among the used wide beams.

Claims

1. A method for a base station (gNB) communicating with a plurality of user entities UE (UE1, UE2) via antennas according to a time division duplex (TDD) access scheme, the base station being further adapted to receive a scheduling request SR from the UE, the SR indicating a request for scheduling uplink transmissions from the UE, The base station communicates via a plurality of antennas associated with respective wide beams (WB1-WBn) and narrow beams (NB), the plurality of wide beams (WB, WB1-WBn) covering respective areas, whereby for each wide beam (WB1-WBn), at least one narrow beam (NB) forms a junction area with the wide beams (WB, WB1-WBn), The TDD access scheme involves at least a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH (102), The TDD access scheme includes periodically occurring SR opportunities (300), the base station being adapted to receive and decode transmissions from UEs and to determine whether an SR is received from at least one UE in a periodic opportunity, The method is also applicable to: - determining (607) whether at least one UE is present under a wide beam, as well as If a single UE appears under the wide beam, - using (613) a narrow beam (NB) within the wide beam for receiving at least one periodic SR received from the UE under the wide beam and decoding the at least one periodic SR.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The periodically occurring SR opportunities (300) are distributed in such a way that they reappear in a repeated sequence of frames at least in the same time slot number and / or symbol position of the frame.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base station is a 5G base station gNodeB (gNB), and each periodically occurring SR opportunity (300) is a periodic SR-PUCCH (602).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The base station is adapted to: - using (611) a wide beam (WB) for receiving at least one SR from a UE on the periodically occurring SR opportunity (300) and decoding the at least one SR.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein If a single UE does not appear under the wide beam, that is, if multiple UEs appear under the wide beam, - Use wide beam to decode SR-PUCCH.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein Multiple UEs (UEs) may be configured within one and the same periodic SR symbol (300).

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising: - determining (603) whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement HARQ-ACK PUCCH message (602), If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH is yes, decoding the HARQ-ACK PUCCH (609), If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCC is multiplexed on the HHARQ-ACK PUCCH is no, selecting (604) a wide beam from the used wide beams.

8. A base station (gNB), comprising a processor (PCU_A), an interface (IF_A) and a memory (MEM_A), adapted to communicate with a plurality of user entities UE (UE1, UE2) via antennas according to a time division duplex (TDD) access scheme, the base station being further adapted to receive a scheduling request SR from the UE, the SR indicating a request for scheduling an uplink transmission from the UE, The base station communicates via a plurality of antennas associated with respective wide beams (WB1-WBn) and narrow beams (NB), the plurality of wide beams (WB, WB1-WBn) covering respective areas, whereby for each wide beam (WB1-WBn), at least one narrow beam (NB) forms a junction area with the wide beams (WB, WB1-WBn), The TDD access scheme involves at least a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH (102), The TDD access scheme includes periodically occurring SR opportunities (300), the base station being adapted to receive and decode transmissions from UEs and to determine whether an SR is received from at least one UE in a periodic opportunity, The base station is also suitable for: - determining (607) whether at least one UE is present under a wide beam, as well as If a single UE appears under the wide beam, - using (613) a narrow beam (NB) within the wide beam for receiving at least one periodic SR received from the UE under the wide beam and decoding the at least one periodic SR.

9. The base station according to claim 8, wherein: The periodically occurring SR opportunities are distributed in such a way that they reappear in a repeated frame sequence at least in the same time slot number and / or symbol position of the frame.

10. The base station according to claim 8 or 9, the base station being a 5G base station gNodeB (gNB), and each periodically occurring SR opportunity (300) is a periodic SR-PUCCH (602).

11. The base station according to claim 8, wherein: The base station is adapted to: - using (611) a wide beam (WB) for receiving at least one SR from a UE on the periodically occurring SR opportunity (300) and decoding the at least one SR.

12. The base station according to claim 8, wherein If a single UE does not appear under the wide beam, that is, if multiple UEs appear under the wide beam, - Use wide beam to decode SR-PUCCH.

13. The base station according to claim 8, wherein A plurality of UEs (UEs) are configured within one and the same periodic SR symbol (300).

14. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 13, further comprising: - determining (603) whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement HARQ-ACK PUCCH message (602), If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCCH is multiplexed on the HARQ-ACK PUCCH is yes, decoding the HARQ-ACK PUCCH (609), If the result of determining whether the periodic SR-PUCC is multiplexed on the HHARQ-ACK PUCCH is no, selecting (604) a wide beam from the used wide beams.

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