CSI Reference Signal (RS) Configuration with Cross-Component Carrier Channel State Information (CSI) Prediction Algorithm

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to determining channel state information (CSI) about a component carrier. In an example operation, a device uses a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier (CC) and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second CC. The device receives a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first CC and measures a first CSI about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first CC based on the received CSI-RS. The device uses a prediction algorithm to further predict a second CSI about a second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second CC based on the measured first CSI. The device then generates a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI and sends the CSI report to the base station.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of non-provisional application S / N. 17 / 159,020 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 26, 2021, and provisional application S / N. 62 / 977,064 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on February 14, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The techniques discussed below relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to predicting channel state information about a component carrier when a device is not receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) on the component carrier.

[0004] introduction

[0005] Carrier aggregation is a technique used in wireless communications to increase the data rate per user, whereby multiple frequency blocks called component carriers (CCs) are assigned to the same user. The maximum possible data rate per user increases as more component carriers are assigned to the user. The total data rate of the cell also increases due to better resource utilization. Three types of carrier aggregation are possible, depending on the location of the component carriers in the spectrum. The first type is called intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation, where the component carriers are contiguous in the same frequency band. The second type is called intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation, where the component carriers are in the same frequency band but separated by gaps. The third type is called inter-band carrier aggregation (applied to heterogeneous networks), where the component carriers are located in different frequency bands.

[0006] The channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmitted by the gNB is received by the user equipment (UE) to estimate / measure the channel and report channel quality information (channel state information) back to the gNB. In general, the CSI-RS is transmitted on all component carriers assigned to the UE so that the UE can measure channel state information about each assigned component carrier. Therefore, the total number of CSI-RS transmitted may depend on the total number of component carriers assigned to the UE. In order to improve system efficiency, it may be beneficial to reduce the number of CSI-RS transmitted on the component carrier. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a scheme for predicting the channel state information of a component carrier without transmitting / receiving the CSI-RS on this component carrier so that the CSI-RS overhead can be reduced.

[0007] As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, research and development continues to advance wireless communication technologies to not only meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but also to improve and enhance the user experience with mobile communications.

[0008] A brief overview of some examples

[0009] A brief summary of one or more aspects of the present disclosure is given below to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived features of the present disclosure, and is neither intended to identify the key or decisive elements of all aspects of the present disclosure nor to attempt to define the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be given later.

[0010] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method for determining channel state information about a component carrier at a device. The method includes: using a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, predicting a second CSI about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier using a prediction algorithm based on the measured first CSI, generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI, and sending the CSI report to the base station.

[0011] In another example, a device for determining channel state information about a component carrier is disclosed. The device includes at least one processor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to: use a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, receive a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, measure first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, use a prediction algorithm based on the measured first CSI to predict a second CSI about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, generate a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI, and send the CSI report to the base station.

[0012] In another example, a device for determining channel state information about a component carrier is disclosed. The device includes a device for determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier using a prediction algorithm, a device for receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, a device for measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, a device for predicting a second CSI about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier using a prediction algorithm based on the measured first CSI, a device for generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI, and a device for sending the CSI report to the base station.

[0013] In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for determining channel state information about a component carrier at a device is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium includes code for causing a computer to perform the following operations: using a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, predicting a second CSI about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier using a prediction algorithm based on the measured first CSI, generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI, and sending the CSI report to the base station.

[0014] In one example, a method for receiving channel state information of a component carrier at a base station is disclosed. The method includes: determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to a device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, and receiving a CSI report from the device including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0015] In another example, a base station for receiving channel state information of a component carrier is disclosed. The base station includes at least one processor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to: determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to a device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, and receive a CSI report from the device including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0016] In another example, a base station for receiving channel state information of a component carrier is disclosed. The base station includes: a device for determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, a device for transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to a device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, and a device for receiving from the device a CSI report including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0017] In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for receiving channel state information of a component carrier at a base station is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium includes code for causing a computer to perform the following operations: determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to a device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, and receiving a CSI report from the device including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0018] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be more fully understood after reading the following detailed description. After reading the following description of the specific exemplary aspects of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects and features of the present disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although the features of the present disclosure may be discussed below with respect to certain aspects and drawings, all aspects of the present disclosure may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more aspects may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more such features may also be used according to the various aspects discussed herein. In a similar manner, although the exemplary aspects may be discussed below as aspects of a device, system, or method, it should be understood that such exemplary aspects may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a wireless communication system.

[0021] Figure 2 is a conceptual illustration of an example of a radio access network.

[0022] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication system supporting multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications.

[0023] Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of the organization of radio resources in an air interface utilizing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).

[0024] Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary self-contained time slot according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of an OFDM air interface utilizing scalable parameter sets in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 7

[0013] An example of CSI-RS scheduling on one or more component carriers according to some aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0027] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary UE employing a processing system according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for determining channel state information about a component carrier at a device in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Fig.10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary base station employing a processing system according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Fig.11 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for receiving channel state information for component carriers at a base station in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Detailed Description

[0032] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid diluting such concepts.

[0033] Although various aspects are described in this application by explanation of some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that additional implementations and use cases can be generated in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovation described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, various aspects and / or use can be generated via integrated chip aspects and other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication equipment, computing equipment, industrial equipment, retail / shopping equipment, medical equipment, AI-enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not be specifically for each use case or application, the wide applicability of the described innovation may occur. The scope of each implementation can range from chip-level or module components to non-module, non-chip-level implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovation. In some practical environments, the equipment incorporating the various aspects and features described may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described aspects. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include several components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components, including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.). The innovations described herein are intended to be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc., of various sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0034] The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a wide variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. Figure 1, various aspects of the present disclosure are explained with reference to a wireless communication system 100 as an illustrative example and not as a limitation. The wireless communication system 100 includes three interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. By means of the wireless communication system 100, the UE 106 may be enabled to perform data communications with an external data network 110, such as, but not limited to, the Internet.

[0035] The RAN 104 may implement any suitable one or more wireless communication technologies to provide radio access to the UE 106. As an example, the RAN 104 may operate in accordance with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specifications, commonly referred to as 5G. As another example, the RAN 104 may operate under a mix of 5G NR and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards, commonly referred to as LTE. 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as the Next Generation RAN, or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples may be utilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0036] As illustrated, the RAN 104 includes a plurality of base stations 108. In a broad sense, a base station is a network element in a radio access network that is responsible for radio transmission and reception to or from a UE in one or more cells. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, a base station may be referred to differently by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), or some other suitable terminology.

[0037] The radio access network 104 is further illustrated as supporting wireless communications for multiple mobile devices. A mobile device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) in the 3GPP standard, but may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology by those skilled in the art. A UE may be a device that provides a user with access to network services.

[0038] Within this document, a "mobile" device does not necessarily need to have mobile capabilities, and may be stationary. The term mobile device or mobile equipment refers broadly to a wide variety of devices and technologies. A UE may include several hardware structural components sized, shaped, and arranged to facilitate communication; such components may include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers, one or more processors, and the like electrically coupled to each other. For example, some non-limiting examples of mobile devices include mobile devices, cellular (cell) phones, smart phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks, tablet devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and a wide variety of embedded systems, for example, corresponding to the "Internet of Things" (IoT). Additionally, the mobile device may be a car or other transportation vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot or robotic device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, a drone, a multicopter, a quadcopter, a remote control device, a consumer and / or wearable device (such as glasses), a wearable camera, a virtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc. Additionally, the mobile device may be a digital home or smart home device, such as home audio, video and / or multimedia equipment, an appliance, a vending machine, a smart lighting device, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. The mobile device may further be a smart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, a municipal infrastructure device (e.g., a smart grid) that controls electricity, lighting, water, etc.; industrial automation and enterprise equipment; logistics controllers; agricultural equipment; military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weapons, etc. Still further, the mobile device may provide networked medical or telemedicine support, such as health care at a distance. Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devices and telehealth supervisory devices, whose communications may be given priority or prioritized access over other types of information, for example in the form of prioritized access for critical service data transmission and / or associated QoS for critical service data transmission.

[0039] Wireless communication between RAN 104 and UE 106 may be described as utilizing an air interface. Transmissions over the air interface from a base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE 106) may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term downlink may refer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating at a scheduling entity (further described below; e.g., base station 108). Another way to describe this scheme may be to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station (e.g., base station 108) may be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. According to further aspects of the present disclosure, the term uplink may refer to a point-to-point transmission originating at a scheduled entity (further described below; e.g., UE 106).

[0040] In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, wherein a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station 108) allocates resources for communication among some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below, a scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities. That is, for scheduled communications, a UE 106 (which may be a scheduled entity) may utilize resources allocated by a base station / scheduling entity 108.

[0041] Base station 108 is not the only entity that may function as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduled entities (eg, one or more other UEs).

[0042] like Figure 1 , a base station 108 may broadcast downlink traffic 112 to one or more UEs 106. Broadly speaking, a base station 108 is a node or device responsible for scheduling traffic in a wireless communication network, including downlink traffic 112 and, in some examples, uplink traffic 116 from one or more UEs 106 to the base station 108. On the other hand, a UE 106 is a node or device that receives downlink control information 114 (including, but not limited to, scheduling information (e.g., grants), synchronization or timing information), or other control information from another entity in the wireless communication network, such as a base station 108.

[0043] Generally speaking, base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface for communicating with a backhaul portion 120 of a wireless communication system. Backhaul 120 may provide a link between base stations 108 and core network 102. Additionally, in some examples, a backhaul network may provide interconnections between respective base stations 108. Various types of backhaul interfaces may be employed, such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, and the like, using any suitable transport network.

[0044] The core network 102 may be part of the wireless communication system 100 and may be independent of the radio access technology used in the RAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 may be configured according to a 5G standard (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the core network 102 may be configured according to a 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC), or any other suitable standard or configuration.

[0045] Now refer to Figure 2 , a schematic illustration of RAN 200 is provided by way of example and not limitation. In some examples, RAN 200 may be similar to that described above and in Figure 1 The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be divided into cellular regions (cells) that may be uniquely identified by a user equipment (UE) based on an identity broadcast from an access point or base station. Figure 2 Macro cells 202, 204, and 206 and small cells 208 are illustrated, each of which may include one or more sectors (not shown). A sector is a sub-area of ​​a cell. All sectors within one cell are served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector may be identified by a single logical identification belonging to the sector. In a cell divided into sectors, multiple sectors within a cell may be formed by antenna groups, where each antenna is responsible for communication with UEs in a portion of the cell.

[0046] exist Figure 2 , two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in the cellular cells 202 and 204; and a third base station 214 is shown as controlling a remote radio head (RRH) 216 in the cellular cell 206. That is, the base station may have an integrated antenna, or may be connected to the antenna or RRH by a feeder cable. In the illustrated example, the cellular cells 202, 204, and 126 may be referred to as macro cells because the base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells with large sizes. In addition, the base station 218 is shown in a small cell 208 (e.g., a micro cell, a micro cell, a femto cell, a home base station, a home node B, a home evolved node B, etc.), which may overlap with one or more macro cells. In this example, the cellular cell 208 may be referred to as a small cell because the base station 218 supports a cell with a relatively small size. The cell size setting may be done according to the system design and component constraints.

[0047] It is to be understood that the radio access network 200 may include any number of wireless base stations and cellular cells. In addition, relay nodes may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of ​​a given cellular cell. Base stations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to the core network for any number of mobile devices. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, 214, and / or 218 may be similar to those described above and in Figure 1 The same as the base station / scheduling entity 108 illustrated in FIG.

[0048] Figure 2 Further included is a quadcopter or drone 220 that can be configured to act as a base station. That is, in some examples, the cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cell may move depending on the location of a mobile base station (such as a quadcopter 220).

[0049] Within the RAN 200, cells may include UEs that may be in communication with one or more sectors of each cell. In addition, each base station 210, 212, 214, 218, and 220 may be configured to provide a core network 102 (see FIG. 1 ) for all UEs in the corresponding cell. Figure 1 ) access point. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may be in communication with base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may be in communication with base station 212; UEs 230 and 232 may be in communication with base station 214 via RRH 216; UE 234 may be in communication with base station 218; and UE 236 may be in communication with mobile base station 220. In some examples, UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240, and / or 242 may be in communication with the mobile base station 220 described above and in Figure 1 The UE / scheduled entity 106 is the same as illustrated in FIG.

[0050] In some examples, a mobile network node (eg, quadcopter 220) can be configured to function as a UE. For example, quadcopter 220 can operate within cell 202 by communicating with base station 210.

[0051] In a further aspect of RAN 200, sidelink signals may be used between UEs without having to rely on scheduling or control information from a base station. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UE 226 and 228) may communicate with each other using peer-to-peer (P2P) or sidelink signals 227 without relaying the communication through a base station (e.g., base station 212). In a further example, UE 238 is illustrated as communicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, UE 238 may be used as a scheduling entity or a primary sidelink device, and UEs 240 and 242 may be used as scheduled entities or non-primary (e.g., secondary) sidelink devices. In yet another example, a UE may be used as a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P), or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and / or a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs 240 and 242 may optionally communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with scheduling entity 238. Thus, in a wireless communication system having scheduled access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2P configuration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one or more scheduled entities may communicate using the scheduled resources.

[0052] In the radio access network 200, the ability of a UE to communicate independently of its location while moving is called mobility. The various physical channels between the UE and the radio access network are generally managed by an access and mobility management function (AMF, not illustrated, Figure 1 The AMF is established, maintained and released under the control of the core network 102 in the core network, which may include a security context management function (SCMF) that manages the security context of both the control plane and the user plane functionalities and a security anchor function (SEAF) that performs authentication.

[0053] In various aspects of the present disclosure, the radio access network 200 may utilize DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to implement mobility and handover (i.e., the transfer of a UE's connection from one radio channel to another). In a network configured for DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity, or at any other time, the UE may monitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell and various parameters of neighboring cells. Depending on the quality of these parameters, the UE may maintain communication with one or more neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cell to another, or if the signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds the signal quality from the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UE may perform a handover or handover from the serving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, a UE 224 (illustrated as a vehicle, but any suitable form of UE may be used) may move from a geographic area corresponding to its serving cell 202 to a geographic area corresponding to a neighboring cell 206. When the signal strength or quality from a neighbor cell 206 exceeds the signal strength or quality of its serving cell 202 for a given amount of time, the UE 224 may transmit a report message indicating this condition to its serving base station 210. In response, the UE 224 may receive a handover command, and the UE may undergo a handover to the cell 206.

[0054] In a network configured for UL-based mobility, the UL reference signal from each UE may be used by the network to select a serving cell for each UE. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 may broadcast unified synchronization signals (e.g., unified primary synchronization signal (PSS), unified secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and unified physical broadcast channel (PBCH)). UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 may receive the unified synchronization signals, derive carrier frequency and slot timing from these synchronization signals, and transmit uplink pilots or reference signals in response to the derived timing. The uplink pilot signal transmitted by a UE (e.g., UE 224) may be received concurrently by two or more cells (e.g., base stations 210 and 214 / 216) within the radio access network 200. Each of these cells may measure the strength of the pilot signal, and the radio access network (e.g., one or more of base stations 210 and 214 / 216 and / or a central node within a core network) may determine a serving cell for UE 224. As UE 224 moves in radio access network 200, the network may continue to monitor uplink pilot signals transmitted by UE 224. When the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by a neighboring cell exceeds the signal strength or quality measured by the serving cell, network 200 may handover UE 224 from the serving cell to the neighboring cell with or without notifying UE 224.

[0055] Although the synchronization signal transmitted by base stations 210, 212 and 214 / 216 may be uniform, the synchronization signal may not identify a specific cell, but may identify a zone including multiple cells operating on the same frequency and / or having the same timing. The use of zones in a 5G network or other next generation communication network implements an uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network because the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network can be reduced.

[0056] In various implementations, the air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize a licensed spectrum, an unlicensed spectrum, or a shared spectrum. A licensed spectrum generally provides exclusive use of a portion of the spectrum by a mobile network operator purchasing a license from a government regulator. An unlicensed spectrum provides shared use of a portion of the spectrum without a government-granted license. Although some technical rules generally still need to be followed to access the unlicensed spectrum, any operator or device can obtain access. A shared spectrum may fall between licensed and unlicensed spectrum, where technical rules or restrictions may be required to access the spectrum, but the spectrum may still be shared by multiple operators and / or multiple RATs. For example, a license holder of a portion of a licensed spectrum may provide licensed shared access (LSA) to share the spectrum with other parties, for example, using conditions determined by the appropriate license holder to obtain access.

[0057] In some examples, the scheduled entities (such as the first UE 106 and the second UE 122) may utilize side link signals for direct D2D communication. The side link signals may include side link traffic 124 and side link control 126. The side link control information 126 may include request signals, such as request to send (RTS), source transmit signal (STS), and / or direction selection signal (DSS) in some examples. The request signal may be used by UE 106 to request a time duration to keep the side link channel available for the side link signal. The side link control information 126 may further include a response signal, such as clear to send (CTS) and / or a destination receive signal (DRS). The response signal may be used by UE 106 to indicate the availability of the side link channel, for example, within the requested time duration. The exchange of request and response signals (e.g., handshake) may enable different scheduled entities performing side link communication to negotiate the availability of the side link channel before the communication of the side link traffic information 124.

[0058] The air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize one or more duplex algorithms. Duplex refers to a point-to-point communication link in which both endpoints can communicate with each other in two directions. Full-duplex means that both endpoints can communicate with each other at the same time. Half-duplex means that only one endpoint can send information to the other endpoint at a time. In a wireless link, a full-duplex channel generally relies on the physical isolation of the transmitter and the receiver, and suitable interference cancellation techniques. Full-duplex simulation is usually implemented for a wireless link by utilizing frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD). In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at different carrier frequencies. In TDD, transmissions in different directions on a given channel are separated from each other using time division multiplexing. That is, at some times, the channel is dedicated to transmissions in one direction, and at other times, the channel is dedicated to transmissions in another direction, where the direction can change very quickly, for example, several times per time slot.

[0059] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the base station / scheduling entity and / or the UE / scheduled entity may be configured for beamforming and / or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques. Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system 300 supporting MIMO is illustrated. In a MIMO system, a transmitter 302 includes multiple transmit antennas 304 (e.g., N transmit antennas), and a receiver 306 includes multiple receive antennas 308 (e.g., M receive antennas). Thus, there are N×M signal paths 310 from the transmit antennas 304 to the receive antennas 308. Each of the transmitter 302 and the receiver 306 may be implemented, for example, in a base station / scheduling entity 108, a UE / scheduled entity 106, or any other suitable wireless communication device.

[0060] The use of such multi-antenna technology enables wireless communication systems to exploit the spatial domain to support spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and transmit diversity. Spatial multiplexing can be used to transmit different data streams (also referred to as layers) simultaneously on the same time-frequency resources. These data streams can be transmitted to a single UE to increase the data rate or to multiple UEs to increase the total system capacity, the latter of which is called multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). This is achieved by spatially precoding each data stream (i.e., multiplying the data streams by different weights and phase shifts) and then transmitting each spatially precoded stream through multiple transmit antennas on the downlink. The spatially precoded data streams arrive at the UE with different spatial signatures, and these different spatial signatures enable each UE to recover one or more data streams intended for the UE. On the uplink, each UE transmits a spatially precoded data stream, which enables the base station to identify the source of each spatially precoded data stream.

[0061] The number of data streams or layers corresponds to the rank of the transmission. In general, the rank of the MIMO system 300 is limited to the lower of the number of transmit or receive antennas 304 or 308. In addition, the channel conditions at the UE and other considerations (such as the available resources at the base station) may also affect the transmission rank. For example, the rank (and therefore, the number of data streams) assigned to a specific UE on the downlink can be determined based on a rank indicator (RI) transmitted from the UE to the base station. The RI can be determined based on the antenna configuration (e.g., the number of transmit and receive antennas) and the measured signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) on each receive antenna. The RI can indicate, for example, the number of layers that can be supported under the current channel conditions. The base station can use the RI together with resource information (e.g., available resources and the amount of data to be scheduled for the UE) to assign a transmission rank to the UE.

[0062] In a time division duplex (TDD) system, UL and DL are reciprocal, each using different time slots of the same frequency bandwidth. Therefore, in a TDD system, the base station may assign a rank for DL ​​MIMO transmission based on UL SINR measurements (e.g., based on a sounding reference signal (SRS) or other pilot signal transmitted from the UE). Based on the assigned rank, the base station may then transmit a CSI-RS using a separate C-RS sequence for each layer to provide multi-layer channel estimation. Based on the CSI-RS, the UE may measure the channel quality across layers and resource blocks and feed back CQI and RI values ​​to the base station for use in updating the rank and assigning REs for future downlink transmissions.

[0063] In the simplest case, Figure 3 , a rank 2 spatial multiplexing transmission on a 2x2 MIMO antenna configuration will transmit one data stream from each transmit antenna 304. Each data stream arrives at each receive antenna 308 along a different signal path 310. The receiver 306 can then reconstruct the data streams using the signals received from each receive antenna 308.

[0064] In order to obtain a low block error rate (BLER) for transmissions over the radio access network 200 while still achieving very high data rates, channel coding may be used. That is, wireless communications may generally utilize suitable error-correcting block codes. In a typical block code, an information message or sequence is split into code blocks (CBs), and an encoder (e.g., CODEC) at the transmitting device then mathematically adds redundancy to the information message. Utilizing this redundancy in the encoded information message may improve the reliability of the message, thereby enabling correction of any bit errors that may occur due to noise.

[0065] In earlier 5G NR specifications, user data is encoded using quasi-cyclic low-density parity check (LDPC) with two different basemaps: one basemap is used for large code blocks and / or high code rates, and the other basemap is used for other cases. Control information and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) are encoded using polar coding based on nested sequences. For these channels, puncturing, shortening, and repetition are used for rate matching.

[0066] However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented using any suitable channel code. Various implementations of the base station (e.g., scheduling entity) 108 and the UE (e.g., scheduled entity) 106 may include suitable hardware and capabilities (e.g., encoders, decoders, and / or CODECs) to utilize one or more of these channel codes for wireless communication.

[0067] The air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize one or more multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneous communication of various devices. For example, the 5G NR specification utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) to provide multiple access for UL transmissions from UE 222 and 224 to base station 210, and multiplexing for DL ​​transmissions from base station 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224. In addition, for UL transmissions, the 5G NR specification provides support for discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with CP (also known as single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within the scope of the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access are not limited to the above schemes, and may be provided using time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access (SCMA), resource extension multiple access (RSMA), or other appropriate multiple access schemes. In addition, multiplexing of DL transmissions from base station 210 to UEs 222 and 224 may be provided using time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM), or other suitable multiplexing schemes.

[0068] Will refer to Figure 4 Various aspects of the present disclosure are described using an OFDM waveform schematically illustrated in FIG. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to DFT-s-OFDMA waveforms in substantially the same manner as described below. That is, while some examples of the present disclosure may focus on OFDM links for clarity, it should be understood that the same principles can also be applied to DFT-s-OFDMA waveforms.

[0069] In this disclosure, a frame refers to a 10 ms duration used for wireless transmission, where each frame includes 10 subframes of 1 ms each. On a given carrier, there may be one set of frames in the UL and another set of frames in the DL. Now referring to Figure 4 , illustrates an expanded view of an exemplary DL subframe 402 showing an OFDM resource grid 404. However, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the PHY transmission structure for any particular application may differ from the examples described herein depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in the horizontal direction in units of OFDM symbols; and frequency is in the vertical direction in units of subcarriers or tones.

[0070] Resource grid 404 can be used to schematically represent the time-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in a MIMO implementation with multiple antenna ports available, there may be corresponding multiple resource grids 404 available for communication. Resource grid 404 is divided into multiple resource elements (REs) 406. RE (which is 1 subcarrier × 1 symbol) is the smallest discrete part of the time-frequency grid and contains a single complex value representing data from a physical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation utilized in a particular implementation, each RE may represent one or more information bits. In some examples, a block of REs may be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB) or more simply a resource block (RB) 408, which contains any suitable number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In one example, an RB may include 12 subcarriers, which number is independent of the parameter design used. In some examples, depending on the parameter design, an RB may include any suitable number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain. Within the present disclosure, it is assumed that a single RB (such as RB408) corresponds entirely to a single communication direction (transmission or reception for a given device).

[0071] A UE typically utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 404. An RB may be the smallest resource unit that may be allocated to a UE. Thus, the more RBs are scheduled for a UE and the higher the modulation scheme chosen for the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE.

[0072] In this illustration, RB 408 is shown as occupying less than the entire bandwidth of subframe 402, with some subcarriers illustrated above and below RB 408. In a given implementation, subframe 402 may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 408. Furthermore, in this illustration, RB 408 is shown as occupying less than the entire duration of subframe 402, but this is merely one possible example.

[0073] Each 1 ms subframe 402 may include one or more adjacent time slots. Figure 4 In the example shown in , a subframe 402 includes four time slots 410. In some examples, a time slot may be defined according to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, with a nominal CP, a time slot may include 7 or 14 OFDM symbols. Additional examples may include mini-slots with shorter durations (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). In some cases, these mini-slots may occupy resources scheduled for ongoing time slot transmissions for the same or different UEs for transmission.

[0074] An expanded view of one of the time slots 410 illustrates that the time slot 410 includes a control region 412 and a data region 414. In general, the control region 412 may carry a control channel (e.g., PDCCH), while the data region 414 may carry a data channel (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH). Of course, a time slot may contain full DL, full UL, or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. Figure 4 The simple structure illustrated in is merely exemplary in nature and different slot structures may be utilized and may include one or more of each of the control region and the data region.

[0075] Although not in Figure 4 408, but each RE 406 within the RB 408 may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, including a control channel, a shared channel, a data channel, etc. Other REs 406 within the RB 408 may also carry pilot or reference signals, including but not limited to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a control reference signal (CRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). These pilot or reference signals may be used by a receiving device to perform channel estimation on the corresponding channel, which may enable coherent demodulation / detection of the control and / or data channels within the RB 408.

[0076] In a DL transmission, a transmitting device (e.g., a base station 108) may allocate one or more REs 406 (e.g., within a control region 412) to carry DL control information 114 to one or more UEs 106, the DL control information 114 including one or more DL control channels that generally carry information originating from higher layers, such as a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), etc. In addition, each DL RE may be allocated to carry a DL physical signal, which generally does not carry information originating from a higher layer. These DL physical signals may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS); a secondary synchronization signal (SSS); a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS); a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS); a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.

[0077] The synchronization signals PSS and SSS (collectively referred to as SS), and in some examples, the PBCH, may be transmitted in an SS block that includes 4 consecutive OFDM symbols numbered in increasing order from 0 to 3 via a time index. In the frequency domain, the SS block may be spread over 240 contiguous subcarriers, where the subcarriers are numbered in increasing order from 0 to 239 via a frequency index. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this particular SS block configuration. Other non-limiting examples within the scope of the present disclosure may utilize more or less than two synchronization signals; may include one or more supplemental channels in addition to the PBCH; may omit the PBCH; and / or may use non-consecutive symbols for the SS block.

[0078] The PDCCH may carry downlink control information (DCI) for one or more UEs in a cell, including but not limited to power control commands, scheduling information, grants, and / or RE assignments for DL ​​and UL transmissions.

[0079] In UL transmission, a transmitting device (e.g., UE 106) may utilize one or more REs 406 to carry UL control information 118 originating from a higher layer via one or more UL control channels (such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), etc.) to a base station 108. In addition, each UL RE may carry UL physical signals (which generally do not carry information originating from a higher layer), such as a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), etc. In some examples, the control information 118 may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., a request for the base station 108 to schedule an uplink transmission. Here, in response to the SR transmitted on the control channel 118, the base station 108 may transmit downlink control information 114, which may schedule resources for uplink packet transmission. The UL control information may also include hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback (such as an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK)), channel state information (CSI), or any other suitable UL control information. HARQ is a well-known technology to those skilled in the art, wherein for accuracy, the integrity of packet transmission may be checked at the receiving side using, for example, any suitable integrity check mechanism such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrity of the transmission is confirmed, an ACK may be transmitted, and if not, a NACK may be transmitted. In response to a NACK, the transmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may enable catch-up combining, incremental redundancy, and the like.

[0080] In addition to control information, one or more REs 406 (e.g., within the data region 414) may also be allocated for user data or traffic data. Such traffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for DL ​​transmissions or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for UL transmissions.

[0081] In order for a UE to gain initial access to a cell, the RAN may provide system information (SI) that characterizes the cell. The system information may be provided using minimum system information (MSI) and other system information (OSI). The MSI may be broadcast periodically on the cell to provide the minimum information required for initial cell access and to obtain any OSI that may be broadcast periodically or sent on demand. In some examples, the MSI may be provided on two different downlink channels. For example, the PBCH may carry a master information block (MIB) and the PDSCH may carry a system information block type 1 (SIB1). In the art, SIB1 may be referred to as remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

[0082] The OSI may include any SI that is not broadcast in the MSI. In some examples, the PDSCH may carry multiple SIBs, not limited to SIB1 discussed above. Here, the OSI may be provided in these SIBs (eg, SIB2 and above).

[0083] Described above and in Figure 1 and 4 The channels or carriers illustrated in are not necessarily all channels or carriers that may be utilized between the base station 108 and the UE 106, and one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels or carriers may be utilized in addition to those illustrated, such as other traffic, control, and feedback channels.

[0084] These physical channels are generally multiplexed and mapped to transport channels for handling by the medium access control (MAC) layer. The transport channels carry information blocks, which are called transport blocks (TBs). The transport block size (TBS), which may correspond to the number of information bits, may be a controlled parameter based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of RBs in a given transmission.

[0085] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, one or more time slots may be constructed as self-contained time slots. For example, Figure 5 Two example structures of self-contained time slots 500 and 550 are illustrated. In some examples, self-contained time slots 500 and / or 550 may be used instead of the above description and in Figure 4 Time slot 410 is explained in detail.

[0086] In the illustrated example, DL-centric time slot 500 may be a time slot scheduled by a transmitter. The nomenclature DL-centric generally refers to a structure in which more resources are allocated for transmission in the DL direction (e.g., transmission from a base station 108 to a UE 106). Similarly, UL-centric time slot 550 may be a time slot scheduled by a receiver in which more resources are allocated for transmission in the UL direction (e.g., transmission from a UE 106 to a base station 108).

[0087] Each time slot, such as the self-contained time slots 500 and 550, may include a transmit (Tx) portion and a receive (Rx) portion. For example, in a DL centric time slot 500, the base station 108 first has an opportunity to transmit control information, such as on the PDCCH in the DL control region 502, and then has an opportunity to transmit DL user data or traffic, such as on the PDSCH in the DL data region 504. After a guard period (GP) region 506 of appropriate duration, the base station 108 has an opportunity to use the carrier to receive UL data and / or UL feedback from other entities in an UL burst 508, including any UL scheduling request, CSF, HARQ ACK / NACK, etc. Here, when all data carried in the data region 504 is scheduled in the control region 502 of the same time slot, and further when all data carried in the data region 504 is acknowledged (or at least has an opportunity to be acknowledged) in the UL burst 508 of the same time slot, the time slot, such as the DL centric time slot 500, may be referred to as a self-contained time slot. In this way, each self-contained time slot can be considered a self-contained entity that does not necessarily require any other time slot to complete the scheduling-transmission-acknowledgement cycle for any given packet.

[0088] The GP region 506 may be included to accommodate variability in UL and DL timing. For example, latency due to a radio frequency (RF) antenna direction switch (e.g., from DL to UL) and transmission path latency may cause the UE 106 to transmit early on the UL to match the DL timing. Such early transmissions may interfere with symbols received from the base station 108. Accordingly, the GP region 506 may allow an amount of time after the DL data region 504 to prevent interference, wherein the GP region 506 provides an appropriate amount of time for the base station 108 to switch its RF antenna direction, an appropriate amount of time for over-the-air (OTA) transmissions, and an appropriate amount of time for the UE to perform ACK processing.

[0089] Similarly, the UL central time slot 550 may be configured as a self-contained time slot. The UL central time slot 550 is substantially similar to the DL central time slot 500 , and includes a guard period 554 , a UL data region 556 , and a UL burst region 558 .

[0090] The slot structure illustrated in slots 500 and 550 is merely one example of a self-contained slot. Other examples may include a common DL portion at the beginning of each slot, and a common UL portion at the end of each slot, with various differences in the slot structure between these respective portions. Still other examples may be provided within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0091] In OFDM, in order to maintain the orthogonality of subcarriers or frequency modulation, the subcarrier spacing may be equal to the inverse of the symbol period. The parameter set of an OFDM waveform refers to its specific subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) overhead. The scalable parameter set refers to the ability of the network to select different subcarrier spacings and correspondingly select the corresponding symbol duration (including CP length) for each spacing. With the scalable parameter set, the nominal subcarrier spacing (SCS) can be scaled up or down by integer multiples. In this way, regardless of the CP overhead and the selected SCS, the symbol boundaries can be aligned at certain common multiples of the symbols (for example, aligned at the boundaries of each 1ms subframe). The range of SCS may include any suitable SCS. For example, a scalable parameter set may support an SCS ranging from 15kHz to 480kHz.

[0092] To explain this concept of scalable parameter sets, Figure 6 A first RB 602 having a nominal parameter set and a second RB 604 having a scaled parameter set are shown. As an example, the first RB 602 may have a 'nominal' subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 30 kHz. n ) and a 'nominal' symbol duration of 333 μs n Here, in the second RB 604, the scaled parameter set includes twice the nominal SCS or 2×SCS n =60kHz scaled SCS. Because this provides twice the bandwidth per symbol, this results in a shortened symbol duration to carry the same information. Thus, in the second RB 604, the scaled parameter set includes half of the nominal symbol duration, or (symbol duration n )÷2=scaled symbol duration of 167μs.

[0093] Carrier aggregation is used in wireless communications to increase the per-user data rate, whereby multiple frequency blocks (component carriers or CCs) are assigned to the same UE. The maximum possible data rate per user increases as more component carriers are assigned to the user. The total data rate of the cell also increases due to better resource utilization. Three types of carrier aggregation include: 1) intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation, where the component carriers are contiguous in the same frequency band; 2) intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation, where the component carriers are in the same frequency band but separated by gaps; and 3) inter-band carrier aggregation (applied to heterogeneous networks), where the component carriers are located in different frequency bands.

[0094] The channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) in 5G NR is used for downlink channel state information (CSI) estimation. CSI-RS further supports reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement for mobility and beam management (including analog beamforming), time / frequency tracking for demodulation, and reciprocity-based uplink pre-decoding. CSI-RS is UE-specific; however, multiple users can share the same CSI-RS resource. 5G NR defines zero-power CSI-RS (ZP-CSI-RS) and non-zero-power CSI-RS (NZP-CSI-RS). When zero-power CSI-RS is configured, no information is transmitted in the resource elements (REs) designated for CSI-RS. In addition, the REs (designated for CSI-RS) are not used for PDSCH transmission. In this case, zero-power CSI-RS is used to mask certain REs to make them unavailable for PDSCH mapping / transmission.

[0095] Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to improving system efficiency by reducing the number of CSI-RS transmitted on a component carrier. In one aspect, a scheme is provided for predicting channel state information of a component carrier so that transmission / reception of CSI-RS on the component carrier is no longer required and thus reducing CSI-RS overhead in the component carrier.

[0096] Previous developments have involved using information associated with one component carrier to predict information associated with another component carrier. For example, measured information corresponding to a first component carrier (e.g., a frequency band in the frequency range FR1 (450 to 6000 MHz)) can be used to predict information corresponding to a second (cross-component) carrier (e.g., a frequency band in the frequency range FR2 (24250 to 52600 MHz)). The cross-component carrier and / or information corresponding to the cross-component carrier can be predicted using a prediction algorithm based on the measured information corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0097] In one aspect, the use of this prediction algorithm can be extended to reduce the number of CSI-RS transmitted to the UE. For example, based on the prediction algorithm, the measured channel state information corresponding to the CSI-RS transmitted on the first component carrier (the measured CC) can be used to predict the channel state information of the second component carrier / cross-component carrier (the predicted CC). Thus, the CSI-RS can be transmitted only to the measured CC instead of sending the CSI-RS to all component carriers (e.g., the measured CC and the predicted CC), thereby reducing the CSI-RS overhead on the predicted CC.

[0098] Figure 7An example of CSI-RS scheduling on one or more component carriers is illustrated. CSI-RS is scheduled per bandwidth part (BWP) (or component carrier). CSI-RS related signaling may occupy time-frequency resources in both the downlink (DL) direction and the uplink (UL) direction. For example, CSI-RS sent from a gNB is transmitted on DL resources and CSI reports sent from a UE are transmitted on UL resources.

[0099] Referring to the first example of CSI-RS scheduling 700, the gNB may transmit a CSI-RS to the UE on time-frequency resources 702 corresponding to the first component carrier (CC1). Thus, the UE may measure the channel quality on the first component carrier based on the CSI-RS and generate a CSI report. The UE may transmit the CSI report to the gNB on time-frequency resources 704 corresponding to the first component carrier (CC1). The UE may repeat the process for subsequent CSI-RS received on the first component carrier (CC1). As shown, upon receiving the CSI-RS on time-frequency resources 706, the UE may measure the channel quality based on the received CSI-RS and send a CSI report on time-frequency resources 708. In addition, upon receiving the CSI-RS on time-frequency resources 710, the UE may measure the channel quality based on the received CSI-RS and send a CSI report on time-frequency resources 712.

[0100] Still referring to the first example of CSI-RS scheduling 700, the gNB may also transmit a CSI-RS to the UE on a time-frequency resource 714 corresponding to a second component carrier (CC2). Thus, the UE may measure the channel quality on the second component carrier based on the CSI-RS and generate a CSI report. The UE may transmit the CSI report to the gNB on a time-frequency resource 716 corresponding to the second component carrier (CC2). The UE may repeat the process for subsequent CSI-RS received on the second component carrier (CC2). As shown, upon receiving the CSI-RS on the time-frequency resource 718, the UE may measure the channel quality based on the received CSI-RS and send a CSI report to the gNB on the time-frequency resource 720. As shown, upon receiving the CSI-RS on the time-frequency resource 722, the UE may measure the channel quality based on the received CSI-RS and send a CSI report to the gNB on the time-frequency resource 724.

[0101] In an aspect, cross-component carrier channel prediction facilitates predicting channel state information (CSI) of one or more component carriers (predicted CCs) based on measured channel state information corresponding to CSI-RS transmitted on one or more other component carriers / cross-component carriers (measured CCs).

[0102] Referring to the second example of CSI-RS scheduling 750, the gNB may transmit a CSI-RS to the UE on a time-frequency resource 752 corresponding to a first component carrier (CC1). Thus, the UE may measure channel quality / channel state information about CC1 based on the CSI-RS and generate a CSI report corresponding to CC1. The UE may transmit a CSI report corresponding to CC1 to the gNB on a time-frequency resource 754 corresponding to CC1. In an aspect, the UE may also use the measured channel state information about CC1 (i.e., the channel state information measured based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the time-frequency resource 752) to predict channel quality / channel state information about a time-frequency resource 764 corresponding to a second component carrier (CC2). The UE may predict the channel state information about CC2 using a prediction algorithm (e.g., a machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithm) based on the measured channel state information about CC1. Thereafter, the UE may generate a predicted CSI report (also referred to as a "shadow CSI report") corresponding to CC2 based on the predicted channel state information about the time-frequency resource 764. Finally, the UE may transmit the predicted CSI report to the gNB on the time-frequency resource 754 corresponding to CC1, the time-frequency resource 766 corresponding to CC2, or both. Thus, the CSI-RS overhead on CC2 may be reduced because the channel state information about the time-frequency resource 764 may be determined without the UE having to receive the CSI-RS on the time-frequency resource 764.

[0103] The UE may repeat the process for subsequent CSI-RS received on CC1. As shown, upon receiving the CSI-RS on time-frequency resource 756, the UE may measure channel quality / channel state information about CC1 based on the received CSI-RS and send a CSI report corresponding to CC1 to the gNB on time-frequency resource 758. The UE may further use the measured channel state information about CC1 (i.e., the channel state information measured based on the CSI-RS transmitted on time-frequency resource 756) to predict (using a prediction algorithm) channel quality / channel state information about time-frequency resource 768 corresponding to CC2. Thereafter, the UE may generate a predicted CSI report corresponding to CC2 based on the predicted channel state information about time-frequency resource 768 and transmit the predicted CSI report to the gNB on time-frequency resource 758 corresponding to CC1, time-frequency resource 770 corresponding to CC2, or both. Thus, CSI-RS overhead on CC2 may be reduced because channel state information regarding time-frequency resources 768 may be determined without the UE having to receive CSI-RS on time-frequency resources 768 .

[0104] In addition, upon receiving the CSI-RS on the time-frequency resource 760, the UE may measure the channel quality / channel state information about CC1 based on the received CSI-RS and send a CSI report corresponding to CC1 to the gNB on the time-frequency resource 762. The UE may further use the measured channel state information about CC1 (i.e., the channel state information measured based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the time-frequency resource 760) to predict (using a prediction algorithm) the channel quality / channel state information about the time-frequency resource 772 corresponding to CC2. Thereafter, the UE may generate a predicted CSI report corresponding to CC2 based on the predicted channel state information about the time-frequency resource 772 and transmit the predicted CSI report to the gNB on the time-frequency resource 762 corresponding to CC1, the time-frequency resource 774 corresponding to CC2, or both. Therefore, the CSI-RS overhead on CC2 may be reduced because the channel state information about the time-frequency resource 772 may be determined without the UE having to receive the CSI-RS on the time-frequency resource 772.

[0105] In an aspect, the predicted (shadow) CSI reports may be transmitted on a periodic, semi-persistent and / or aperiodic basis. The periodic, semi-persistent and aperiodic basis for transmission may be enabled via a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message.

[0106] In one aspect, the CSI report transmitted by the UE is based on a CSI report configuration including a CSI-RS resource configuration. Thus, if the UE receives a CSI-RS signal in a component carrier, the UE may generate and send a CSI report for the component carrier based on the resource configuration for the received CSI-RS signal. In another aspect, a CSI report may be configured / generated for a component carrier in which an NZP-CSI-RS is not sent (e.g., when channel state information is predicted for the component carrier). In another aspect, the UE may be informed whether the UE is to predict channel state information for a particular component carrier and how the prediction scheme will operate.

[0107] In order for the UE to predict the channel state information about a specific component carrier, both the UE and the gNB must agree on: 1) what component carrier's channel state information will be measured based on the CSI-RS (the measured CC); and 2) what component carrier's channel state information will be predicted (the predicted CC). In addition, the mapping between the measured CC and the predicted CC must be known to the UE and the gNB. The mapping between the NZP-CSI-RS (for the measured CC) and the shadow NZP-CSI-RS (for the predicted CC) can be determined using a prediction algorithm (e.g., a machine learning (ML) / artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm). The prediction algorithm can be owned by the UE itself or provided to the UE by the gNB.

[0108] If the prediction algorithm is UE owned, the algorithm is local to the UE and the gNB may not be aware of the mapping between the measured CC and the predicted CC until the UE reports its capabilities and the mapping to the gNB. For example, the UE may report its capabilities and mapping via a signal in the CSI-related fields of an RRC message or via a prediction model report from the UE to the gNB. Once the gNB knows the mapping, the gNB may perform an RRC reconfiguration to reconfigure the CSI-RS resource configuration by removing the NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration of the predicted CC and adding a shadow NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration. The gNB may also perform an RRC reconfiguration to reconfigure the CSI-RS resource configuration by removing the shadow NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration of the measured CC and adding the NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0109] If the prediction algorithm is owned by the gNB, the gNB already knows the mapping between the measured CC and the predicted CC and the gNB can initially configure the CSI-RS resource configuration based on the mapping. Therefore, the gNB does not need to perform a reconfiguration operation. The gNB may further transmit the prediction algorithm to the UE (e.g., via PDSCH or PDCCH) for implementation at the UE. It is worth noting that the gNB does not need to transmit the mapping to the UE. If the UE is aware of the prediction algorithm, the UE can determine the mapping itself.

[0110] Zero power CSI-RS (ZP-CSI-RS) and non-zero power CSI-RS (NZP-CSI-RS) are defined in 5G NR (TS38.211). For non-zero power CSI-RS configured by NZP-CSI-RS resource information element (IE), the reference signal sequence shall be generated according to TS 38.211 clause 7.4.1.5.2 and mapped to resource elements according to TS 38.211 clause 7.4.1.5.3. For zero power CSI-RS configured by ZP-CSI-RS resource information element (IE), the UE shall assume that the resource elements defined in TS38.211 clause 7.4.1.5.3 are not used for PDSCH transmission. The UE performs the same measurement / reception on channels / signals other than PDSCH, regardless of whether they conflict with ZP-CSI-RS.

[0111] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to defining another type of CSI-RS—shadow NZP-CSI-RS. For a shadow non-zero power CSI-RS configured by a shadow NZP-CSI-RS resource information element (IE), a reference signal sequence will not be generated and mapped to a resource element. Therefore, the configured shadow NZP-CSI-RS is similar to a zero power CSI-RS (ZP-CSI-RS) because the shadow NZP-CSI-RS is used as a placeholder to indicate to the UE that channel state information will be predicted for the resource element corresponding to the shadow NZP-CSI-RS. The shadow NZP-CSI-RS may have the same priority as the NZP-CSI-RS. In addition, the shadow NZP-CSI-RS will not conflict with any previously configured ZP-CSI-RS. No reference signal (CSI-RS) is actually transmitted on the resource element. The resource element may be used for other purposes instead (e.g., data transmission on the PDSCH or for transmitting other control information).

[0112] On the one hand, the shadow NZP-CSI-RS IE can be used to define a logical chain. In 5G NR, the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList (CSI aperiodic trigger state list) is based on the CSI report configuration (CSI-ReportConfig). The CSI-ReportConfig is based on the CSI resource configuration (CSI-ResourceConfig). The CSI-ResourceConfig contains a list of NZP-CSI-RS resource set elements (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetList). Thus, for the predicted CC, if no CSI-RS resource configuration is available, the UE cannot generate a CSI report. Therefore, a shadow NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetList information element may be provided for the CSI-ResourceConfig to be based on. Moreover, a shadow NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceConfigID (NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration ID) may be provided for the CSI-ResourceConfig to be based on.

[0113] In one aspect, a "shadow" information element is provided to define a resource set for a shadow NZP-CSI-RS. Based on the resource set, a shadow NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceConfig may be defined. Subsequently, a CSI-ReportConfig for the shadow NZP-CSI-RS may be defined. Thus, a CSI report may be defined for a predicted CC when no reference signal (CSI-RS) is transmitted on the predicted CC.

[0114] In one aspect, the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList is included in the RRC configuration message (and / or pre-configured at the UE). The reporting mechanism is pre-configured. Once configured, various approaches may be used to activate or deactivate the reporting mechanism (e.g., via downlink control information (DCI)). Reporting on a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic basis may also be pre-configured (e.g., via additional information elements in RRC messages).

[0115] In one aspect, a mirror component carrier (CC) is provided. For example, two component carriers (e.g., CC1 and CC2) are mirrored when the resource configuration between CC1 and CC2 is mostly the same. As described above with reference to the shadow NZP-CSI-RS, the predicted CC can be at any position relative to the measured CC in the time-frequency domain. However, in the case of a mirror CC, the CC for which the UE predicts channel state information is specifically defined as a mirror CC relative to the measured CC. The mirror CC is at the same position as the measured CC or has the same resource configuration. That is, although the predicted CC and the measured CC are different CCs, the time-frequency resource elements occupied by these CCs are mostly the same.

[0116] In one aspect, the configuration may be modified by adding fields / information elements to the existing CSI-RS resource configuration (CSI-ResourceConfig), rather than defining a new CSI-RS resource configuration for generating / sending CSI reports for mirrored CCs. Currently, the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a bandwidth part identifier (BWP-ID) for the measured CC (BWP). Therefore, a new information element (IE) may be added to the CSI-RS resource configuration for the mirrored CC (BWP). For example, a mirror_BWP_ID (mirror BWP_ID) IE may be added. The new IE may further include mirror configuration adjustments. In one aspect, new information elements may also be added to the CSI report configuration (CSI-ReportConfig). For example, a BWP selector information element (indicating CC1, CC2, or CC1 and CC2) may be added. In addition, an uplink (UL) resource allocation information element (in CC1, CC2, or CC1 and CC2) may be added to the CSI report configuration.

[0117] On the other hand, the CSI resource configuration / CSI report configuration may further include an information element indicating resources used to send CSI reports to the gNB on a periodic basis, a semi-persistent basis, or an aperiodic basis. In the case of a semi-persistent basis or an aperiodic basis, if the CSI report is triggered by a DCI in a CC, the UE may send the CSI report in the same CC.

[0118] Figure 8 814 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary UE 800 employing a processing system 814. For example, UE 800 may be as described in Figure 1 , 2 and / or a user equipment (UE) described in any one or more of 7.

[0119] The UE 800 may be implemented with a processing system 814 including one or more processors 804. Examples of the processor 804 include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, a gated logic, a discrete hardware circuit, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. In various examples, the UE 800 may be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, the processor 804 as utilized in the UE 800 may be used to implement the following description and in Fig. 9 Any one or more of the processes and procedures explained in.

[0120] In this example, the processing system 814 can be implemented with a bus architecture generally represented by bus 802. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 814, the bus 802 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus 802 communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by processor 804), memory 805, and computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable media 806). The bus 802 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be further described. The bus interface 808 provides an interface between the bus 802 and the transceiver 810. The transceiver 810 provides a communication interface or device for communicating with various other equipment on a transmission medium. Depending on the characteristics of the equipment, a user interface 812 (e.g., a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. Of course, such a user interface 812 is optional and may be omitted in some examples (such as a base station).

[0121] In some aspects of the present disclosure, processor 804 may include resource mapping / configuration circuitry 840 configured for various functions, including, for example, determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier using a prediction algorithm, sending the mapping to a base station, receiving a CSI-RS resource configuration from the base station, and receiving the prediction algorithm from the base station. For example, resource mapping / configuration circuitry 840 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig. 9The one or more functions described herein include, for example, block 902. The processor 804 may also include a CSI-RS processing circuit 842 configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier. For example, the CSI-RS processing circuit 842 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig. 9 The processor 804 may further include a CSI determination circuit 844 configured for various functions, including, for example, measuring a first channel state information (CSI) about a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, and predicting a second CSI about a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier using a prediction algorithm based on the measured first CSI. For example, the CSI determination circuit 844 may be configured to implement the following about Fig. 9 The processor 804 may further include a CSI report generation circuit 846 configured to perform various functions, including, for example, generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI and sending the CSI report to the base station. For example, the CSI report generation circuit 846 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig. 9 One or more functions described, including, for example, blocks 910 and 912.

[0122] The processor 804 is responsible for managing the bus 802 and general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium 806. The software, when executed by the processor 804, causes the processing system 814 to perform the various functions described below for any particular device. The computer-readable medium 806 and memory 805 may also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 804 when executing the software.

[0123] One or more processors 804 in the 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, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether it is described in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms. The software can reside on a computer-readable medium 806. The computer-readable medium 806 can be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. As examples, non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, or key-type drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer-readable medium 806 may reside in processing system 814, external to processing system 814, or distributed across multiple entities including processing system 814. Computer-readable medium 806 may be implemented in a computer program product. As an example, a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0124] In one or more examples, the computer-readable storage medium 806 may include resource mapping / configuration instructions 850 configured for various functions, including, for example, determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier using a prediction algorithm, sending the mapping to a base station, receiving a CSI-RS resource configuration from the base station, and receiving the prediction algorithm from the base station. For example, the resource mapping / configuration instructions 850 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig. 9 The computer readable storage medium 806 may further include CSI-RS processing instructions 852 configured to perform various functions, including, for example, receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier. For example, the CSI-RS processing instructions 852 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig. 9The computer-readable storage medium 806 may further include CSI determination instructions 854 configured for various functions, including, for example, measuring first channel state information (CSI) about a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, and predicting a second CSI about a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier using a prediction algorithm based on the measured first CSI. For example, the CSI determination instructions 854 may be configured to implement the following about Fig. 9 The computer-readable storage medium 806 may further include CSI report generation instructions 856 configured to perform various functions, including, for example, generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI and sending the CSI report to the base station. For example, the CSI report generation instructions 856 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig. 9 One or more functions described, including, for example, blocks 910 and 912.

[0125] Fig. 9 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary process 900 for determining channel state information about a component carrier at a device (e.g., a UE). As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required to implement all aspects. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by Figure 8 In some examples, process 900 may be performed by any suitable equipment or device for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0126] At block 902, the device uses a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between first time-frequency resources corresponding to a first component carrier (eg, CC1) and second time-frequency resources corresponding to a second component carrier (eg, CC2).

[0127] At block 904, the device receives a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier.

[0128] At block 906, the device measures first channel state information (CSI) on first time-frequency resources corresponding to a first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS.

[0129] At block 908, the device uses a prediction algorithm to predict a second CSI for a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier based on the measured first CSI. In one aspect, no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier. In another aspect, the second CSI is further predicted based on the mapping.

[0130] At block 910, the device generates a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI. At block 912, the device sends the CSI report to a base station. In one aspect, block 902 may include receiving a CSI-RS resource configuration from a base station. Thus, the CSI report may be generated and sent based on the CSI-RS resource configuration. In one aspect, the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration (e.g., a shadow NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration) for a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier. In another aspect, the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a resource configuration for a mirror bandwidth part (BWP) (e.g., a mirror_BWP_ID IE) associated with a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier.

[0131] In one aspect, the CSI report is generated and sent to the base station on a periodic basis, on a semi-persistent basis, and / or on an aperiodic basis. In another aspect, the CSI report is sent on a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, or both the third time-frequency resource and the fourth time-frequency resource.

[0132] In an aspect, the prediction algorithm is known to the device.Thus, block 902 may further include sending the mapping to the base station, wherein the received CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

[0133] In an aspect, the prediction algorithm is known to the base station.Thus, block 902 may further include receiving a prediction algorithm from the base station, wherein the mapping is determined based on the received prediction algorithm, and wherein the received CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0134] In one configuration, the UE 800 includes means for determining, using a prediction algorithm, a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier (e.g., resource mapping / configuration circuitry 840, memory 805, and / or transceiver 810), means for receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier (e.g., CSI-RS processing circuitry 842 and / or transceiver 810), means for measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS (e.g., CSI determination circuitry 844 and / or transceiver 810), means for determining, based on the measured first CSI, a first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier using the prediction algorithm, and means for determining, based on the measured first CSI, a first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier using the prediction algorithm. The apparatus may include a device for predicting a second CSI about a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier using a prediction algorithm (e.g., CSI determination circuit 844 and / or transceiver 810), a device for generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI, a device for sending the CSI report to a base station (e.g., CSI report generation circuit 846 and / or transceiver 810), a device for receiving a CSI-RS resource configuration from a base station (e.g., resource mapping / configuration circuit 840 and / or transceiver 810), a device for sending the mapping to a base station (e.g., resource mapping / configuration circuit 840 and / or transceiver 810), and a device for receiving a prediction algorithm from a base station (e.g., resource mapping / configuration circuit 840 and / or transceiver 810). In one aspect, the aforementioned device may be Figure 8 The processor 804 shown in is configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. On the other hand, the aforementioned means may be a circuit or any equipment configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0135] Of course, in the above examples, the circuits included in the processor 804 are provided only as examples, and other devices for performing the functions may be included in various aspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to those stored in the computer-readable storage medium 806 or in the computer-readable storage medium 806. Figure 1 , 2 and / or any other suitable equipment or device described in any of 7 and using, for example, the present invention Fig. 9 Instructions for the described processes and / or algorithms.

[0136] Fig.10 1004. 1004 may be a base station 1000 that may be implemented using a processor 1014. Figure 1 , 2and / or a base station (e.g., gNB) described in any one or more of 7.

[0137] The processing system 1014 may be connected to Figure 8 The processing system 814 illustrated in FIG. 1 is substantially the same as that in FIG. 1 , including a bus interface 1008, a bus 1002, a memory 1005, a processor 1004, and a computer readable medium 1006. In addition, the base station 1000 may include the same as that in FIG. Figure 8 That is, the processor 1004 as utilized in the base station 1000 may be used to implement the following description and in Fig.11 Any one or more of the processes described in .

[0138] In some aspects of the present disclosure, processor 1004 may include resource mapping circuitry 1040 configured for various functions, including, for example, determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, receiving the mapping from a device, and transmitting a prediction algorithm to the device. For example, resource mapping circuitry 1040 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.11 The one or more functions described herein include, for example, block 1102. The processor 1004 may also include a resource configuration circuit 1042 configured to perform various functions, including, for example, transmitting the CSI-RS resource configuration to the device. For example, the resource configuration circuit 1042 may be configured to implement the following Fig.11 The one or more functions described herein include, for example, block 1104. The processor 1004 may also include a CSI-RS transmitting circuit 1044 configured for various functions, including, for example, transmitting a CSI-RS to the device on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier. For example, the CSI-RS transmitting circuit 1044 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.11 The processor 1004 may further include a CSI report processing circuit 1046 configured to perform various functions, including, for example, receiving from the device a CSI report including predicted channel state information (CSI) for a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on a CSI-RS transmitted on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier. For example, the CSI report processing circuit 1046 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.11 One or more functions described, including, for example, block 1108 .

[0139] In one or more examples, the computer-readable storage medium 1006 may include resource mapping instructions 1050 configured for various functions, including, for example, determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, receiving the mapping from a device, and transmitting a prediction algorithm to the device. For example, the resource mapping instructions 1050 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.11 The computer readable storage medium 1006 may further include resource configuration instructions 1052 configured to perform various functions, including, for example, transmitting a CSI-RS resource configuration to a device. For example, the resource configuration instructions 1052 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.11 The computer readable storage medium 1006 may further include CSI-RS transmission instructions 1054 configured to be used for various functions, including, for example, transmitting a CSI-RS to the device on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier. For example, the CSI-RS transmission instructions 1054 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.11 The computer readable storage medium 1006 may further include CSI report processing instructions 1056 configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from the device a CSI report including predicted channel state information (CSI) about a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on a CSI-RS transmitted on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier. For example, the CSI report processing instructions 1056 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.11 One or more functions described, including, for example, block 1108 .

[0140] Fig.11 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1100 for receiving channel state information of a component carrier at a base station. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required to implement all aspects. In some examples, process 1100 may be performed by Fig.10 In some examples, process 1100 may be performed by any suitable equipment or device for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0141] At block 1102 , the base station determines a mapping between first time-frequency resources corresponding to a first component carrier (eg, CC1 ) and second time-frequency resources corresponding to a second component carrier (eg, CC2 ).

[0142] At block 1104, the base station transmits a CSI-RS resource configuration to the device. In one aspect, the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration (e.g., a shadow NZP-CSI-RS resource configuration) for a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier. In another aspect, the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a resource configuration for a mirror bandwidth part (BWP) (e.g., a mirror_BWP_ID IE) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0143] At block 1106, the base station transmits a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to the device on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0144] At block 1108, the base station receives from the device a CSI report including predicted channel state information (CSI) about a second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier. The predicted CSI is based on a CSI-RS transmitted on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier. No CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier. In one aspect, the CSI report is received based on a CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0145] In an aspect, block 1102 includes receiving a mapping from the device. Thus, the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

[0146] In an aspect, the mapping is determined based on a prediction algorithm known to the base station.Thus, block 1102 may further include transmitting the prediction algorithm to the device, wherein the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0147] In one aspect, the CSI report is received from the device on a periodic basis, on a semi-persistent basis, and / or on an aperiodic basis. In another aspect, the CSI report is received on a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, or both the third time-frequency resource and the fourth time-frequency resource.

[0148] In one configuration, the base station 1000 includes: a device for determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier (e.g., a resource mapping circuit 1040, a memory 1005 and / or a transceiver 1010), a device for transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to a device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier (e.g., a CSI-RS transmitting circuit 1042 and / or the transceiver 1010), and a device for receiving from the device a channel state information including predicted channel state information about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier. The device includes a device for reporting a CSI report (e.g., CSI report processing circuit 1046 and / or transceiver 1010) of a CSI-RS, the predicted CSI being based on a CSI-RS transmitted on a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier, a device for transmitting a CSI-RS resource configuration to the device (e.g., resource configuration circuit 1042 and / or transceiver 1010), a device for receiving the mapping from the device (e.g., resource mapping circuit 1040 and / or transceiver 1010), and a device for transmitting a prediction algorithm to the device (e.g., resource mapping circuit 1040 and / or transceiver 1010). In one aspect, the aforementioned device may be Fig.10 The processor 1004 shown in is configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. On the other hand, the aforementioned means may be a circuit or any equipment configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0149] Of course, in the above examples, the circuits included in the processor 1004 are provided only as examples, and other devices for performing the functions may be included in various aspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to those stored in the computer-readable storage medium 1006 or in the computer-readable storage medium 1006. Figure 1 , 2 and / or any other suitable equipment or device described in any of 7 and using, for example, the present invention Fig.11 Instructions for the described processes and / or algorithms.

[0150] Several aspects of wireless communication networks have been presented with reference to exemplary implementations. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards.

[0151] As an example, various aspects may be implemented within other systems defined by 3GPP, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and / or Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects may also be extended to systems defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and / or Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and / or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and / or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0152] Within the present disclosure, the wording "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any implementation or aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as superior or superior to other aspects of the present disclosure. Likewise, the term "aspect" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed. The term "coupled" is used herein to refer to a direct or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically contacts object B, and object B contacts object C, objects A and C may still be considered to be coupled to each other - even if they are not in direct physical contact with each other. For example, a first object may be coupled to a second object, even if the first object never directly contacts the second object physically. The terms "circuit" and "circuitry" are used broadly and are intended to include both hardware implementations of electronic devices and conductors and software implementations of information and instructions, which, when connected and configured, enable the functions described in the present disclosure to be performed without limitation on the type of electronic circuits, which, when executed by a processor, enable the functions described in the present disclosure to be performed.

[0153] Figure 1-11 One or more of the components, steps, features, and / or functions described herein may be rearranged and / or combined into a single component, step, feature, or function, or implemented in several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and / or functions may also be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. Figure 1-11 The apparatus, devices and / or components illustrated in the can be configured to perform one or more methods, features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein can also be efficiently implemented in software and / or embedded in hardware.

[0154] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods is an illustration of an exemplary process. Based on design preferences, it should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in these methods can be rearranged. The attached method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically stated herein.

[0155] The following provides an overview of various aspects of the disclosure:

[0156] Aspect 1: A method for determining channel state information about a component carrier at a device, comprising: using a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier; receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from a base station on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS; using the prediction algorithm to predict second CSI about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier based on the measured first CSI; generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI; and sending the CSI report to the base station.

[0157] Aspect 2: The method as described in aspect 1, wherein no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0158] Aspect 3: The method as described in Aspect 1 or 2 further includes: receiving a CSI-RS resource configuration from the base station, wherein the CSI report is generated and sent based on the CSI-RS resource configuration, and wherein the second CSI is further predicted based on the mapping.

[0159] Aspect 4: A method as described in any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the prediction algorithm is known to the device, and determining the mapping includes: sending the mapping to the base station, wherein the received CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

[0160] Aspect 5: A method as described in any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the prediction algorithm is known to the base station, and determining the mapping includes: receiving the prediction algorithm from the base station, wherein the mapping is determined based on the received prediction algorithm, and wherein the received CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0161] Aspect 6: The method as described in any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0162] Aspect 7: The method as described in any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration includes resource configuration for a mirror bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0163] Aspect 8: The method as described in any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the CSI report is generated and sent to the base station on at least one of the following: a periodic basis; a semi-persistent basis; or an aperiodic basis.

[0164] Aspect 9: A method as described in any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein the CSI report is sent via: a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; or both the third time-frequency resource and the fourth time-frequency resource.

[0165] Aspect 10: A device comprising at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor and the memory being configured to execute the method as described in any one of aspects 1 to 9.

[0166] Aspect 11: An apparatus comprising at least one means for executing the method as described in any one of aspects 1 to 9.

[0167] Aspect 12: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code at a device, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method as described in any one of aspects 1 to 9.

[0168] Aspect 13: A method for receiving channel state information of a component carrier at a base station, comprising: determining a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier; transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to a device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; and receiving a CSI report from the device including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier.

[0169] Aspect 14: The method of aspect 13, wherein no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0170] Aspect 15: The method as described in aspect 13 or 14 further comprises: transmitting a CSI-RS resource configuration to the device, wherein the CSI report is received based on the CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0171] Aspect 16: The method as described in any one of aspects 13 to 15, wherein determining the mapping includes: receiving the mapping from the device, wherein the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

[0172] Aspect 17: A method as described in any one of Aspects 13 to 15, wherein determining the mapping comprises: determining the mapping based on a prediction algorithm known to the base station; and transmitting the prediction algorithm to the device, wherein the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0173] Aspect 18: The method as described in any one of aspects 13 to 17, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration includes a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0174] Aspect 19: The method as described in any one of aspects 13 to 17, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration includes resource configuration for a mirror bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

[0175] Aspect 20: The method of any one of aspects 13 to 19, wherein the CSI report is received from the device on at least one of: a periodic basis; a semi-persistent basis; or an aperiodic basis.

[0176] Aspect 21: A method as described in any of Aspects 13 to 20, wherein the CSI report is received via: a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; or both the third time-frequency resource and the fourth time-frequency resource.

[0177] Aspect 22: A base station comprising at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor and the memory being configured to execute the method as described in any one of aspects 13 to 21.

[0178] Aspect 23: A base station comprising at least one device for performing the method as described in any one of aspects 13 to 21.

[0179] Aspect 24: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code at a base station, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any one of aspects 13 to 21.

[0180] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein the singular reference to the element is not intended to mean "there is and only one" - unless specifically stated, but intended to mean "one or more". Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some / some" refers to one or more. The phrase quoting "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of these items, including a single member. As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. The elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure are all structurally and functionally equivalent schemes currently or hereafter known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and are expressly incorporated herein by reference, and are intended to be covered by the claims.

Claims

1. A method of determining, at a device, channel state information about a component carrier, include: receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reporting configuration from a network node; Determine, using a prediction algorithm, a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from the network node on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS; predicting, based on the measured first CSI using the prediction algorithm and further based on the mapping, second CSI regarding the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI; as well as sending the CSI report to the network node, The CSI report is generated and sent based on the CSI-RS report configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the CSI-RS reporting configuration comprises receiving a CSI-RS resource configuration.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the prediction algorithm is known to the device and determines the mapping include: sending the mapping to the network node, The received CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the prediction algorithm is known to the network node and determines the mapping include: receiving the prediction algorithm from the network node, wherein the mapping is determined based on the received prediction algorithm, and The received CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration comprises a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration comprises a resource configuration for a mirror bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CSI report is generated and sent to the network node on at least one of: Periodic basis; Semi-permanent foundation; or Non-periodic basis.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CSI report is sent via: a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; or Both the third time-frequency resources and the fourth time-frequency resources.

10. An apparatus for determining channel state information about a component carrier, include: at least one processor; a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; as well as a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Using a prediction algorithm to determine a mapping between a first time-frequency resource corresponding to a first component carrier and a second time-frequency resource corresponding to a second component carrier, receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reporting configuration from a network node; receiving a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from the network node on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, measuring first channel state information (CSI) about the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier based on the received CSI-RS, predicting, based on the measured first CSI using the prediction algorithm and further based on the mapping, a second CSI for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, generating a CSI report based on the predicted second CSI, and sending the CSI report to the network node, The CSI report is generated and sent based on the CSI-RS report configuration.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor configured to receive the CSI-RS reporting configuration is further configured to receive a CSI-RS resource configuration.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the prediction algorithm is known to the device, and the at least one processor is further configured to: sending the mapping to the network node, The received CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the prediction algorithm is known to the network node, and the at least one processor is further configured to: receiving the prediction algorithm from the network node, wherein the mapping is determined based on the received prediction algorithm, and The received CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration include: a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; or Resource configuration for a mirrored bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

15. The device according to claim 10, in: The CSI report is generated and sent to the network node on at least one of a periodic basis, a semi-persistent basis, or an aperiodic basis; and The CSI report is sent via: a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, or Both the third time-frequency resources and the fourth time-frequency resources.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

17. A method of receiving channel state information of a component carrier at a network node, include: determining a mapping between first time-frequency resources corresponding to the first component carrier and second time-frequency resources corresponding to the second component carrier, wherein determining the mapping comprises receiving the mapping from a device; transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reporting configuration to the device; transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to the device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; and receiving from the device a CSI report including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, wherein the CSI report is received based on the CSI-RS reporting configuration.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the CSI-RS reporting configuration comprises transmitting a CSI-RS resource configuration.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein determining the mapping include: determining the mapping based on a prediction algorithm known to the network node; as well as transmitting the prediction algorithm to the device, If the mapping is determined based on the prediction algorithm, the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration comprises a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration comprises a resource configuration for a mirror bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein the CSI report is received from the device on at least one of: Periodic basis; Semi-permanent foundation; or Non-periodic basis.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the CSI report is received via: a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier; a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; or Both the third time-frequency resources and the fourth time-frequency resources.

26. A network node for receiving channel state information of a component carrier, include: at least one processor; a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; as well as a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determining a mapping between first time-frequency resources corresponding to a first component carrier and second time-frequency resources corresponding to a second component carrier, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the mapping from a device, transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reporting configuration to the device; transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to the device on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, and receiving from the device a CSI report including predicted channel state information (CSI) about the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, the predicted CSI being based on the CSI-RS transmitted on the first time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, wherein the CSI report is received based on the CSI-RS reporting configuration.

27. The network node of claim 26, wherein the at least one processor configured to transmit the CSI-RS reporting configuration is further configured to transmit a CSI-RS resource configuration.

28. The network node of claim 27, wherein the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is a CSI-RS resource configuration reconfigured based on the mapping.

29. The network node of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining the mapping based on a prediction algorithm known to the network node; and transmitting the prediction algorithm to the device, If the mapping is determined based on the prediction algorithm, the transmitted CSI-RS resource configuration is an initial CSI-RS resource configuration.

30. The network node of claim 27, wherein the CSI-RS resource configuration include: a shadow CSI-RS resource configuration for the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier; or Resource configuration for a mirrored bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the second time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier.

31. The network node according to claim 26, in: The CSI reports are received from the device on at least one of a periodic basis, a semi-persistent basis, or an aperiodic basis; and The CSI reports are received via: a third time-frequency resource corresponding to the first component carrier, a fourth time-frequency resource corresponding to the second component carrier, or Both the third time-frequency resources and the fourth time-frequency resources.

32. The network node of claim 26, wherein no CSI-RS is transmitted on the second time-frequency resources corresponding to the second component carrier.

Images