Method and apparatus for beam changing feedback

Abstract

The UE may be configured to receive a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel from a base station; transmit a first ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data; and transmit a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback. The base station may be configured to transmit a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel to the UE; receive a first ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the data; and receive a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 029,294, filed on May 22, 2020, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BEAM CHANGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FEEDBACK,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 224,893, filed on April 7, 2021, entitled “FEEDBACK FOR BEAM CHANGES,” the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems and, more particularly, to feedback in the context of a portion of an exchange of information related to changes in beams used for communications. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is a part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)) and other requirements. 5GNR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards. There is a need for further improvements to 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the invention

[0006] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0007] In various aspects of the present disclosure, a base station may communicate with a user equipment (UE) using beamformed communications, such as in a millimeter wave (mmW) or near mmW system. The base station may control the beams over which the base station and the UE communicate, such as by informing the UE of the base station beams that the base station will use to communicate with the UE. In response to being configured with information indicating the base station beam to be used, the UE may select or activate or move to a complementary beam identified as a beamforming pair with the base station during beam training.

[0008] However, communication over a wireless channel carries a certain level of inherent risk, as the random nature of the wireless channel may result in some signal failures from the transmitter to the receiver. In the case where these signals carry information configuring the beam pairs to be used by the base station, a failure of the UE to receive these signals may result in a radio link failure or loss of timing synchronization, as the UE may not be aware of the configuration change and may therefore continue to use an outdated beam. Thus, there is a need to improve the reliability of the acknowledgement of beam change indications.

[0009] The present disclosure provides various techniques and solutions for improving the reliability of acknowledging a beam change indication, for example, by transmitting a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). For example, a base station may include a beam change indication in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) carried on the PDSCH. The beam change indication on the downlink data channel may be a repetition of another beam change indication carried on a downlink control channel, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The UE may receive the beam change indication on the downlink data channel and, in response, may transmit a separate acknowledgment (ACK) feedback to the base station. Thus, the reliability of acknowledging the beam change indication may be improved, for example, because the UE may have at least two opportunities to transmit ACK feedback in response to the beam change indication.

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a UE or a component thereof, the UE or a component thereof being configured to receive a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel from a base station. The apparatus may be further configured to transmit a first ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data. The apparatus may be further configured to transmit a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication, wherein the second ACK feedback is separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0011] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The other apparatus may be a base station or a component thereof, the base station or a component thereof being configured to transmit a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel to a UE. The other apparatus may be further configured to receive a first ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the data. The other apparatus may be further configured to receive a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0012] To achieve the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of several of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0014] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of downlink channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of uplink channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0019] Figure 4is a diagram illustrating example communications between a base station and a UE in an access network.

[0020] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method at a UE.

[0021] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method at a base station.

[0022] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example device.

[0023] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating another example of a hardware implementation for another example device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] 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.

[0025] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0026] As an example, an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include: microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, computer executable codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, 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 languages, or other terms.

[0027] Accordingly, in one or more example implementations, the described functions can be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function can be stored or encoded on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or computer executable code. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the above types, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-accessible instructions or data structure forms of computer executable code.

[0028] In an example radio access network (RAN), in various aspects of the present disclosure, a base station may communicate with a user equipment (UE) using beamformed communications, such as in a millimeter wave (mmW) or near mmW system. Beamforming may involve some degree of beam training, in which the base station and UE find the best beam to communicate. Even though some beams identified via beam training may not be in active use at a given time, at least one of the UE and / or the base station may maintain a list of candidate beams, for example, so that the UE and the base station can quickly respond to blocked beam paths or other interference.

[0029] The base station may control the beam over which the base station and the UE communicate, such as by informing the UE of the base station beam that the base station will use to communicate with the UE. In response to being configured with information indicating the base station beam to be used, the UE may select or activate or move to a complementary beam identified as forming a pair with the base station beam during beam training.

[0030] The UE and the base station can then communicate using the complementary beam pair. However, channel conditions are inherently random and time-varying, and therefore, the channel quality of the beam pair over which the base station and the UE communicate may change over time, such as when an obstruction enters or leaves the beam path, when the orientation of the UE changes, and so on.

[0031] Because such changes have the potential to cause channel conditions to drop below an acceptable threshold level, the base station can configure the UE with a new base station beam paired with a new UE beam to form a complementary beam pair that sees acceptable channel quality, thereby determining a new optimal beam for continued communication with the UE.

[0032] Such configuration of the UE by the base station may involve the transmission of some information indicating the beam change. When the UE receives the beam change configuration information, the UE may activate or switch to a UE-side beam that is complementary to the base station-side beam, and the base station and the UE may communicate on the channel, for example, until the base station reconfigures the active beam pair.

[0033] However, communication over a wireless channel carries a certain level of inherent risk, as the random nature of the wireless channel may result in some signal failures from the transmitter to the receiver. In the case where these signals carry information configuring the beam pairs to be used by the base station, a failure of the UE to receive these signals may result in a radio link failure or loss of timing synchronization, as the UE may not be aware of the configuration change and may therefore continue to use an outdated beam.

[0034] As described herein, one solution to improve the results in these cases is to have the UE acknowledge receipt of the beam configuration information. Thus, the UE may be configured to transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) feedback to the base station in response to receiving information indicating a beam change. The base station side beam switching may be conditional on the UE's acknowledgement of the switch. However, the same problem arises in this direction: there is a potential for failure in the wireless communication of the acknowledgement feedback to the base station. Thus, there is a need to improve the reliability of the acknowledgement of the beam change indication.

[0035] The present disclosure provides various techniques and solutions for improving the reliability of acknowledging a beam change indication, for example, by transmitting a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). For example, a base station may include a beam change indication in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) carried on the PDSCH. The beam change indication on the downlink data channel may be a repetition of another beam change indication carried on a downlink control channel, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The UE may receive the beam change indication on the downlink data channel and, in response, may transmit a separate ACK feedback to the base station. Thus, the reliability of acknowledging the beam change indication may be improved, for example, because the UE may have at least two opportunities to transmit ACK feedback in response to the beam change indication.

[0036] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)). The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) and / or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). A macro cell includes a base station. A small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0037] The base station 102 configured for 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), can interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR, which can be collectively referred to as the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN), can interface with the core network 190 via a second backhaul link 184. The base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: delivery of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages, among other functions.

[0038] In some aspects, the base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC 160 or the core network 190) on a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless. At least some of the base stations 102 may be configured for integrated access and backhaul (IAB). Therefore, such base stations may communicate wirelessly with other such base stations. For example, at least some of the base stations 102 configured for IAB may have a split architecture, including at least one of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a remote radio head (RRH), and / or a remote unit, some or all of which may be co-located or distributed and / or may communicate with each other. In some configurations of such a split architecture, the CU may implement some or all of the functionality of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, and the DU may implement some or all of the functionality of the radio link control (RLC) layer.

[0039] Illustratively, some base stations 102 configured for IAB may communicate with a DU of an IAB donor node or other parent IAB node (e.g., a base station) through a corresponding CU, and further, may communicate with child IAB nodes (e.g., other base stations) and / or one or more UEs 104 through a corresponding DU. One or more base stations 102 configured for IAB may be an IAB donor connected to at least one of the EPC 160 and / or the core network 190 through a CU. By doing so, a base station 102 operating as an IAB donor may provide a link to one of the EPC 160 and / or the core network 190 for other IAB nodes (which may be direct or indirect (e.g., separated from the IAB donor by more than one hop)) and / or one or more UEs 104 (both of which may communicate with the DU of the IAB donor). In some additional aspects, one or more base stations 102 may be configured with connectivity in an open RAN (ORAN) and / or a virtualized RAN (VRAN), which may be achieved through at least one corresponding CU, DU, RU, RRH, and / or remote unit.

[0040] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). A communication link 120 between a base station 102 and a UE 104 may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. These communication links may be over one or more carriers. Base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum of up to Y megahertz (MHz) (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth for each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation for a total of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink). The component carrier may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0041] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use a downlink / uplink WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0042] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154, such as in a 5 gigahertz (GHz) unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine whether the channel is available prior to communication.

[0043] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0044] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are typically referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise with respect to FR2, which is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" (or "mmWave" or simply "mmW") band in various documents and articles, although unlike the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0045] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "sub-6 GHz" and the like can broadly represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, or can be within the EHF band.

[0046] Whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, a gB node (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave frequencies, and / or near millimeter wave frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in millimeter wave frequencies or near millimeter wave frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. Millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to compensate for path loss and short range. Base station 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays to facilitate beamforming.

[0047] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction of base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmit direction and receive direction of UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

[0048] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, an MBMS gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a packet switched (PS) streaming (PSS) service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a specific service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

[0049] The core network 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a session management function (SMF) 194, and a user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may be in communication with a unified data management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and the core network 190. In general, AMF 192 provides quality of service (QoS) flows and session management. All user IP packets are delivered through UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 is connected to IP services 197. IP services 197 may include the Internet, intranet, IMS, PS streaming services, and / or other IP services.

[0050] A base station may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an eNB, an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmission reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or the core network 190 for the UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet device, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a health care device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similar functional device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, 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, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0051] Refer again Figure 1 In certain aspects, the UE 104 may be configured to receive a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel from the base station 102 / 180. The UE 104 may transmit a first ACK feedback 198 to the base station 102 / 180 in response to receiving the data. Further, the UE 104 may transmit a second ACK feedback 199 to the base station 102 / 180 in response to receiving the beam switching indication, and the second ACK feedback 199 may be separate from the first ACK feedback 198.

[0052] Various other aspects and concepts are described herein in the context of improving reliability of beam switching between a UE and a base station.

[0053] Although the present disclosure may focus on 5G NR, the concepts and aspects described herein may be applicable to other similar areas such as LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), or other wireless / radio access technologies.

[0054] Accordingly, the base station 102 / 180 may be configured to transmit a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel to the UE 104. The base station 102 / 180 may then receive a first ACK feedback 198 from the UE 104 in response to transmitting the data. The base station 102 / 180 may further receive a second ACK feedback 199 from the UE 104 in response to transmitting the beam switching indication. Likewise, the second ACK feedback may be separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0055] Figure 2A 200 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of downlink channels within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C 250 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D 280 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink channel within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure can be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within the subcarrier set are dedicated to either the downlink or the uplink; or can be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), the subframes within the subcarrier set are dedicated to both the downlink and the uplink. Figure 2A , 2C In the example provided, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly downlink) and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly uplink), where D is downlink, U is uplink, and F is for flexible use between downlink / uplink. Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are full downlink and full uplink, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of downlink, uplink, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured by DCI, or semi-statically / statically configured by RRC signaling) through the received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G NR frame structure for TDD.

[0056] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (e.g., a 10 millisecond (ms) frame) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a mini-time slot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the downlink may be cyclic prefix (CP) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the uplink may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and parameter design. For slot configuration 0, different parameter designs μ of 0 to 4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter designs 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter design μ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2 per subframe. μ time slots. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration vary depending on parameter design. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2 μ *15 kilohertz (kHz), where μ is parameter design 0 to 4. Thus, parameter design μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, while parameter design μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A-2D An example of a slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and a parameter design μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe is provided. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 microseconds (μs). Within a frame set, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) that are frequency division multiplexed (see Figure 2B ). Each BWP may have a specific parameter design.

[0057] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a number of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0058] like Figure 2A As illustrated in FIG. 1 , some REs carry at least one pilot and / or reference signal (RS) for the UE. In some configurations, the RS may include at least one demodulation RS (DM-RS) (indicated as R for a particular configuration) for channel estimation at the UE.x , where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and / or at least one channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS). In some other configurations, the RS may additionally or alternatively include at least one beam measurement (or management) RS (BRS), at least one beam refinement RS (BRRS) and / or at least one phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0059] Figure 2B Examples of various downlink channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PDCCH carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including 9 RE groups (REGs), each REG including 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The PDCCH within a BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). Additional BWPs may be located at higher and / or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also referred to as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The PDSCH carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH (such as the system information block (SIB)), and paging messages.

[0060] As in Figure 2C As explained in , some REs carry DM-RSs for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one specific configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit DM-RSs for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RSs for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first or first two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and on the specific PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of the subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the comb teeth. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the uplink.

[0061] Figure 2D Examples of various uplink channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PUCCH may be located at a location as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as a scheduling request (SR), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK / negative acknowledgement (NACK) feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0062] Figure 3 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 and a UE 350 in communication in an access network. In the downlink, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements layer 2 (L2) and layer 3 (L3) functionality. The L3 includes the RRC layer, and the L2 includes the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the RLC layer, and the MAC layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration of UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, cipher decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0063] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The L1 including the physical (PHY) layer may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0064] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement L1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 350. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 350, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions can be based on the channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator 358. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 310. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359 that implements L3 and L2 functionality.

[0065] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the uplink, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher interpretation, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0066] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0067] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by a TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0068] The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

[0069] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the uplink, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0070] In some aspects, at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 Aspects of the combination of at least one of data feedback 198 and / or beam switching feedback 199.

[0071] In some other aspects, at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 Aspects of the combination of at least one of the data feedback 198 or the beam switching feedback 199.

[0072] Now refer to Figure 4 , the diagram illustrates example operations in an access network 400. In the access network 400, a base station 402 may be configured to communicate with a UE 404 using beamforming in a mmW or near-mmW system, such as FR2 of a 5G NR RAN. Accordingly, the base station 402 may generate or activate a beam set 412, which may be a TX beam for transmitting signaling to the UE 404. For example, the base station 402 may apply a spatial transmit filter. Similarly, the UE 404 may generate a beam set 414, which may be an RX beam for receiving signaling from the base station 402. For example, the UE 404 may apply a spatial receive filter.

[0073] In some aspects, the base station 402 may configure a set of available beams for the UE 404. For example, the base station 402 may transmit a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states to the UE 404, and each TCI state may correspond to a TX beam 412 that the base station 402 may use to transmit downlink signals to the UE 404. The UE 404 may pair at least one of the RX beams 414 with each of the available beams indicated by the base station 402, for example, based on a reference signal and / or SSB transmitted using one of the TX beams 412 and received using one of the RX beams 414, respectively.

[0074] The base station 402 may select one of the TX beams 412 as the “best” beam for communicating with the UE 404. For example, the base station 402 may determine that the first TX beam 412 a is the best beam for transmitting to the UE 404, e.g., based on a CSI report and / or other feedback received from the UE 404 indicating channel quality. The UE 404 may use the corresponding first RX beam 414 a to receive signaling transmitted by the base station 402 using the first TX beam 412 a—that is, the UE 404 may pair the first RX beam 414 a with the first TX beam 412 a.

[0075] Because conditions may change over time, the first TX beam 412a may no longer be the best beam for communicating with the UE 404 at some point in the future. For example, the base station 402 may receive a CSI report and / or other channel quality feedback indicating that channel conditions (e.g., RSRP, SINR, etc.) associated with the first TX beam 412a are deteriorating. However, the base station 402 may additionally receive a CSI report and / or other channel quality feedback indicating that channel conditions associated with the second TX beam 412b are improving. Thus, the base station 402 may determine that downlink communications with the UE 404 should be switched to the second TX beam 412b, for example, because the second TX beam 412b has become or is becoming the best beam.

[0076] In order to switch between the TX beams 412 used by the base station 402, the base station 402 should inform the UE 404 of the beam change to the second TX beam 412b. Further, the UE 404 should confirm the beam change to the base station 402 so that the base station 402 knows that the UE 404 will be able to receive downlink transmissions after the beam switch. Thus, the base station 402 can be configured to transmit an indication of the beam change to the UE 404, and accordingly, the UE 404 can be configured to transmit an ACK feedback confirming the beam change.

[0077] In some aspects, the base station 402 may transmit a beam changing indication 416 (such as in a reserved bit of a DCI) on a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH) to the UE 404. The UE 404 may receive the beam changing indication 416, or potentially, may fail to receive the beam changing indication 416 on the downlink control channel. When the UE 404 does receive the beam changing indication 416 on the downlink control channel, the UE 404 may transmit an ACK feedback 418 to the base station 402 in response to the beam changing indication 416. For example, the UE 404 may transmit the ACK feedback 418 on an uplink control channel (such as PUCCH).

[0078] However, the base station 402 may fail to receive an ACK feedback 418 in response to the beam change indication 416 on the downlink control channel, e.g., due to poor channel conditions, obstructions in the beam path, the UE 404 being almost out of coverage, etc. Thus, the base station 402 may also be configured to transmit the beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as the PDSCH. In some aspects, the beam change indication on the downlink data channel may be the same as the beam change indication 416 on the downlink control channel—i.e., both beam change indications may indicate the same beam that the base station 402 intends to switch to.

[0079] In some aspects, the UE 404 may not always expect to receive a beam changing indication on a downlink data channel. Therefore, the UE 404 may be configured with a set of parameters and / or beam changing on a downlink data channel may be activated at the UE 404. For example, the UE 404 may determine a set of parameters associated with a beam changing indication on a downlink data channel and / or associated with acknowledging a beam changing indication on a downlink data channel.

[0080] In some aspects, the UE 404 may determine the parameter set based on information preconfigured at the UE 404. For example, the parameter set may be stored in a memory of the UE 404 according to one or more standards and / or specifications set by one or more standards organizations (e.g., 3GPP). In some other aspects, the UE 404 may determine the parameter set based on information received from the base station 402. That is, the base station 402 may transmit information indicating the parameter set to the UE 404, which may configure the UE 404 to receive and / or acknowledge a beam change indication on a downlink data channel.

[0081] As an example, a parameter set may indicate a configuration associated with repeated transmission of ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as the number of times the UE 404 is to transmit ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In another example, a parameter set may indicate a set of resources on an uplink channel (e.g., PUCCH) on which the UE 404 is to transmit ACK feedback in response to the beam change indication carried on the downlink data channel. In a further example, a parameter set may indicate a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) in which the UE 404 is to transmit ACK feedback in response to the beam change indication carried on the downlink data channel.

[0082] In addition, the UE 404 may determine that the beam changing indication carried on the downlink data channel is active, and based on this, the UE 404 may identify the beam changing indication and respond accordingly. In some aspects, the base station 402 may transmit information activating the beam changing indication to the UE 404 on the downlink data channel. Thus, when the UE 404 receives such information from the base station 402, the UE 404 may be configured to identify the beam changing indication and respond accordingly.

[0083] In the example access network 400, a beam change indication on a downlink data channel may be activated for the UE 404. Thus, when the base station 402 determines that the TX beam used for communicating with the UE 404 should be switched from the first TX beam 412a to the second TX beam 412b, the base station 402 may generate a beam change indication 422, which may indicate the switch to the second TX beam 412b. For example, the beam change indication 422 may include information identifying the second TX beam 412b, such as a TCI state corresponding to the second TX beam 412b.

[0084] According to various aspects, the base station 402 can include a beam change indication 422 in a MAC control element (CE). The base station 402 can transmit a downlink transmission 420 to the UE 404 on a downlink data channel using the first TX beam 412a, and the downlink transmission 420 can include data and a MAC CE including the beam change indication 422.

[0085] The UE 404 may receive a downlink transmission 420 on a downlink data channel using a first RX beam 414a. Thus, the UE 404 may decode the data in the downlink transmission 420, and further may decode the beam change indication 422 included on the downlink data channel (in a MAC CE). The UE 404 may then generate a first ACK feedback 424a in response to the data, and may generate a second ACK feedback 424b in response to the beam change indication 422. For example, when the UE 404 successfully decodes the data and the beam change indication 422, the UE 404 may generate information indicating a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK, or when the UE 404 fails to successfully decode the data and the beam change indication 422, the UE 404 may generate a corresponding HARQ negative ACK (NACK). Thus, in some aspects, each of the first and second ACK feedbacks 424a-b may indicate an ACK or a NACK, depending on whether the data and the beam change indication 422 are respectively successfully decoded.

[0086] The UE 404 may then transmit a first ACK feedback 424a to the base station 402 in response to receiving data in the downlink transmission 420 on the downlink data channel. Further, the UE 404 may transmit a second ACK feedback 424b to the base station 402 in response to receiving the beam change indication 422 in the downlink transmission 420 on the downlink data channel. According to various aspects, the second ACK feedback 424b may be separate from the first ACK feedback 424a.

[0087] In one example, the second ACK feedback 424b may be separate from the first ACK feedback 424a, and thus the second ACK feedback 424b may be transmitted on a second set of resources, which is different from the first set of resources on which the first ACK feedback 424a was transmitted. In another example, the second ACK feedback 424b may be separate from the first ACK feedback 424a, and thus the second ACK feedback 424b may be transmitted in a second format (e.g., a PUCCH format), which is different from the first format on which the first ACK feedback 424a was transmitted.

[0088] In a further example, the second ACK feedback 424b may be separate from the first ACK feedback 424a, and thus the second ACK feedback 424b may be transmitted as a second type that is different from the first type used to transmit the first ACK feedback 424a. Illustratively, the types that may be used to transmit the first and / or second ACK feedback 424a-b may include a sequence set and / or mapping that may be associated with an uplink control channel (e.g., associated with a PUCCH and / or a format of the PUCCH) on which the first and / or second ACK feedback 424a-b may be transmitted.

[0089] In yet another example, the second ACK feedback 424b may be separate from the first ACK feedback 424a, so the second ACK feedback 424b may be transmitted using a second transmission method that is different from the first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback 424a. Illustratively, a transmission method may refer to transmission of the first ACK feedback 424a and / or the second ACK feedback 424b with or without repetitions. In some aspects, a transmission method may refer to applying beam diversity (e.g., by using different beams) to the transmission of the first ACK feedback 424a and / or the second ACK feedback 424b, such as applying beam diversity to different repetitions of the second ACK feedback 424b. In some other aspects, a transmission method may refer to applying frequency diversity to the transmission of the first ACK feedback 424a and / or the second ACK feedback 424b, such as by using frequency hopping on the repetitions of the transmission of the first ACK feedback 424a and / or the second ACK feedback 424b.

[0090] In response to receiving the beam change indication 422 (and / or the beam change indication 416 on the downlink control channel), the UE 404 may be configured to switch (428) to another beam 414 corresponding to the beam indicated by the beam change indication 422. For example, the UE 404 may identify one beam 414 that corresponds to (e.g., is paired with) one base station beam 412 indicated by the beam change indication 422, such as by determining an index of one beam 414 that corresponds to the TCI state of one base station beam 412 indicated by the beam change indication 422. Illustratively, the UE 404 may determine that the second RX beam 414b corresponds to the second TX beam 412b identified in the beam change indication 422. The UE 404 may then switch to the second RX beam 414b to begin receiving downlink transmissions from the base station 402 using the second TX beam 412b.

[0091] In some aspects, the UE 404 may transmit multiple repetitions of the second ACK feedback 424b. Potentially, the UE 404 may transmit one or more repetitions of the second ACK feedback 424b by applying one of beam diversity (e.g., using different TX beams of the UE 404 to transmit different repetitions) and / or frequency diversity (e.g., frequency hopping between repetitions of the second ACK feedback 424b). The UE 404 may determine the number of repetitions (and other information, such as beam diversity and / or frequency diversity) for transmission of the second ACK feedback 424b based on the determined set of parameters.

[0092] In some aspects, the UE 404 may delay transmission of at least the second ACK feedback 424b, e.g., by a delay period 440. In doing so, a sufficient duration may be allocated to the UE 404 to switch (428) to the second RX beam 414b. In some aspects, the base station 402 may transmit information indicating the delay period 440 to the UE 404. In some other aspects, the delay period 440 may be preconfigured at the UE 404—e.g., the delay period 440 may be stored in a memory of the UE 404 according to one or more standards and / or specifications set by one or more standards organizations (e.g., 3GPP). The UE 404 may initiate a timer for the delay period 440 at the end of the downlink transmission 420 (e.g., when there are no more resources on the downlink data channel to carry data for the UE 404), and the UE 404 may subsequently transmit at least the second ACK feedback 424b after the timer reaches the delay period 440 or the timer set to the delay period 440 elapses.

[0093] Accordingly, the base station 402 may receive a first ACK feedback 424a in response to data of the downlink transmission 420 on the downlink data channel and a second ACK feedback 424b in response to a beam change indication 422 (included in the MAC CE) of the downlink transmission 420 on the downlink data channel. The base station 402 may switch (426) to the second TX beam 412b in response to receiving the second ACK feedback 424b. Since the UE 404 may delay transmission of the second ACK feedback 424b by the delay period 440, the base station 402 may be configured to refrain from switching to the second TX beam 412b until after the second ACK feedback 424b is received after the delay period 440.

[0094] After the base station 402 switches (426) to the second TX beam 412b, and the UE 404 switches (428) to the second RX beam 414b, the base station 402 may use the second TX beam 412b as a "current" beam and / or a "control" beam. For example, the base station 402 may transmit another downlink transmission 430 to the UE 404 using the second TX beam 412b, and the UE 404 may receive another downlink transmission 430 using the second RX beam 414b.

[0095] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method 500. The method 500 may be performed by a UE (e.g., at least one of UEs 104, 350, 404) and / or another device (e.g., device 702). According to different aspects, one or more operations of the method 500 may be transposed, omitted, and / or performed concurrently.

[0096] At 502, the UE may determine a set of parameters associated with a beam change indication on a downlink data channel. Figure 4 , the UE 404 may determine a set of parameters associated with the second ACK feedback 424b in response to the beam change indication 422 on the downlink data channel.

[0097] In some aspects, the UE may determine the parameter set based on information preconfigured at the UE. For example, the parameter set may be stored in a memory of the UE according to one or more standards and / or specifications set by one or more standards organizations (e.g., 3GPP). The UE may determine the parameter set by determining whether the UE is configured to report ACK feedback for beam configuration or beam change information separately from ACK feedback. If the UE is configured for such separate ACK feedback reporting, the UE may access a data structure set stored in the UE's memory and may load a data structure for communicating with the base station.

[0098] In some other aspects, the UE may determine the parameter set based on information received from the base station. That is, the UE may receive information indicating the parameter set from the base station, which may configure the UE to receive and / or acknowledge a beam change indication on a downlink data channel. The UE may receive the information indicating the parameter set from the base station via RRC signaling or via a beam change indication received on a downlink data channel.

[0099] As an example, a parameter set may indicate a configuration associated with repeated transmission of ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as the number of times the UE is to transmit ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In another example, a parameter set may indicate a set of resources on an uplink channel (e.g., PUCCH) on which the UE is to transmit ACK feedback in response to the beam change indication carried on the downlink data channel. In a further example, a parameter set may indicate a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) in which the UE is to transmit ACK feedback in response to the beam change indication carried on the downlink data channel.

[0100] At 504, the UE may receive information from the base station to activate a beam changing indication on a downlink data channel. Thus, when the UE receives such information from the base station, the UE may be configured to identify the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel and respond accordingly. The UE may receive the information to activate the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel in a DCI, which may be specific to the UE or common to a group of UEs. For example, referring to Figure 4 , UE 404 can receive information of a beam change indication activated on a downlink data channel to UE 404 from base station 402.

[0101] At 506, the UE receives a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel from the base station. For example, the downlink data channel may be a PDSCH, and the beam switching indication may be included in a MAC CE on the PDSCH. In some aspects, the UE may receive the beam switching indication in the downlink transmission based on information received from the base station to activate the beam change indication on the downlink data channel. For example, referring to Figure 4 , the UE 404 may receive a downlink transmission 420 on a downlink data channel from the base station 402 using the first RX beam 414a, and the downlink transmission 420 may include data and a MAC CE including a beam change indication 422.

[0102] At 508, the UE may transmit a first ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data on the downlink data channel. Figure 4, the UE 404 may transmit a first ACK feedback 424a to the base station 402 in response to receiving data of the downlink transmission 420 on the downlink data channel.

[0103] At 510, the UE may transmit a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication. The second ACK feedback may be separate from the first ACK feedback. For example, the second ACK feedback may be included in a message different from the first ACK feedback. According to various aspects, the second ACK feedback may be transmitted on a second resource set, which is different from the first resource set for transmitting the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be transmitted in a second format (e.g., a PUCCH format), which is different from the first format for transmitting the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be transmitted as a second type, which is different from the first type for transmitting the first ACK feedback; and / or the second ACK feedback may be transmitted using a second transmission method, which is different from the first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0104] According to various other aspects, the UE may transmit the second ACK feedback based on the determined parameter set. For example, the UE may transmit the second ACK feedback more than once based on the number of repetitions indicated in the second ACK feedback, the UE may transmit the second ACK feedback on a resource set (e.g., PUCCH resources) indicated by the parameter set, and / or the UE may transmit the second ACK feedback using a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) indicated by the parameter set.

[0105] According to some further aspects, the UE may transmit a second ACK feedback to the base station after a first time period after the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel.The first time period may be received from the base station or the first time period may be preconfigured at the UE.

[0106] For example, refer to Figure 4 , the UE 404 may transmit a second ACK feedback 424b to the base station 402 in response to receiving the beam change indication 422 on the downlink data channel.

[0107] Figure 6 6 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method 600. The method 600 may be performed by a base station (e.g., at least one of base stations 102 / 180, 310, 402) and / or another device (e.g., device 802). According to different aspects, one or more operations of the method 600 may be transposed, omitted, and / or performed concurrently.

[0108] At 602, the base station may transmit a set of parameters associated with a beam change indication on a downlink data channel to the UE. According to different aspects, the base station may transmit the set of parameters to the UE via one of RRC signaling or a beam change indication on a downlink data channel. For example, referring to Figure 4 , the base station 402 may transmit to the UE 404 a set of parameters associated with a second ACK feedback 424b in response to the beam change indication 422 on the downlink data channel.

[0109] As an example, a parameter set may indicate a configuration associated with repeated transmission of ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as the number of times the UE is to transmit ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In another example, a parameter set may indicate a set of resources on an uplink channel (e.g., PUCCH) on which the UE is to transmit ACK feedback in response to a beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In a further example, a parameter set may indicate a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) in which the UE transmits ACK feedback in response to a beam change indication on the downlink data channel.

[0110] At 604, the base station may transmit information to the UE to activate the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel. Thus, when the UE receives such information from the base station, the UE may be configured to identify the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel and respond accordingly. The base station may transmit the information to the UE in a DCI to activate the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel, which may be specific to the UE or common to a group of UEs. For example, referring to Figure 4 , the base station 402 can transmit information indicating the beam change activation on the downlink data channel to the UE 404 to the UE 404.

[0111] At 606, the base station may transmit a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel to the UE. For example, the downlink data channel may be a PDSCH, and the beam switching indication may be included in a MAC CE on the PDSCH. In some aspects, the base station may transmit the beam change indication in the downlink transmission based on information activating the beam change indication on the downlink data channel, which may have been transmitted to the UE earlier. For example, referring to Figure 4 , the base station 402 may transmit a downlink transmission 420 to the UE 404 on a downlink data channel using the first TX beam 412a, and the downlink transmission 420 may include data and a MAC CE including a beam change indication 422.

[0112] At 608, the base station may receive a first ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting data on the downlink data channel. Figure 4 , the base station 402 may receive a first ACK feedback 424a from the UE 404 in response to transmitting data of the downlink transmission 420 on the downlink data channel.

[0113] At 610, the base station may receive a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication. The second ACK feedback may be separate from the first ACK feedback. For example, the second ACK feedback may be included in a message different from the first ACK feedback. According to various aspects, the second ACK feedback may be received on a second resource set that is different from the first resource set for receiving the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be received in a second format (e.g., a PUCCH format) that is different from the first format for receiving the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be received as a second type that is different from the first type for receiving the first ACK feedback; and / or the second ACK feedback may be received using a second transmission method that is different from the first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0114] According to various other aspects, the base station may receive a second ACK feedback from the UE based on the parameter set. For example, the base station may receive the second ACK feedback more than once based on the number of repetitions indicated in the second ACK feedback, the base station may receive the second ACK feedback on a resource set (e.g., PUCCH resources) indicated by the parameter set, and / or the base station may receive the second ACK feedback according to a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) indicated by the parameter set.

[0115] According to some further aspects, the base station may receive a second ACK feedback from the UE after a first time period following the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel.The first time period may be transmitted by the base station to the UE, or the first time period may be preconfigured at the UE.

[0116] For example, refer to Figure 4 , the base station 402 may receive a second ACK feedback 424b from the UE 404 in response to transmitting the beam change indication 422 on the downlink data channel.

[0117] Figure 7700 is an example of a hardware implementation of an illustrative device 702. The device 702 is a UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 704 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 722 and one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards 720, an application processor 706 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 708 and a screen 710, a Bluetooth module 712, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module 714, a global positioning system (GPS) module 716, and a power supply 718. The cellular baseband processor 704 communicates with the UE 104 and / or the base station 102 / 180 through the cellular RF transceiver 722. The cellular baseband processor 704 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transient. The cellular baseband processor 704 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 704, causes the cellular baseband processor 704 to perform the various functions described above. The computer readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 704 when executing software. The cellular baseband processor 704 further includes a receiving component 730, a communication manager 732, and a transmission component 734. The communication manager 732 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 732 may be stored in a computer readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor 704.

[0118] exist Figure 3 In the context of , the cellular baseband processor 704 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and / or at least one of the following: the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359. In one configuration, the device 702 may be a modem chip and include only the baseband processor 704, and in another configuration, the device 702 may be the entire UE (e.g., Figure 3 UE 350) and includes the aforementioned additional modules of device 702. In one configuration, the cellular RF transceiver 722 may be implemented as at least one of the transmitter 354TX and / or the receiver 354RX.

[0119] The device 702 may be configured to communicate signaling with the base station 102 / 180. To this end, the device 702 may include a receiving component 730, via which the device 702 may receive signals over the air, for example, on a wireless channel with the base station 102 / 180. The receiving component 730 may provide data and / or control information from such received signals to a communication manager 732, which may be configured with a set of components that operate as further described below.

[0120] In addition, the set of components configured by the communication manager 732 can generate some data and / or control information, as further described below. The communication manager 732 is operable to provide some or all of the data and / or control information to the transmission component 734, for example, for transmission over the air to the base station 102 / 180. Specifically, the communication manager 732 can further include a parameterization component 740, an activation component 742, and an acknowledgment component 744.

[0121] The parameterization component 740 can be configured to determine a set of parameters associated with a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 5 502. For example, the parameterization component 740 can determine the parameter set based on information preconfigured at the device 702. The parameterization component 740 can access a parameter set stored in a memory of the device 702 according to one or more standards and / or specifications set by one or more standards organizations (e.g., 3GPP). The parameterization component 740 can determine the parameter set by determining whether a separate report is configured for ACK feedback for beam configuration or beam change information separately from the ACK feedback. If configured for such separate ACK feedback reports, the parameterization component 740 can access a data structure set stored in the memory of the device 702, and can load the data structure for communication with the base station 102 / 180, such as by providing some or all of the determined parameters to the confirmation component 744.

[0122] In some other aspects, parameterization component 740 can determine the parameter set based on information received from base station 102 / 180. That is, parameterization component 740 can receive information indicating the parameter set from base station 102 / 180 via receiving component 730, which parameterization component 740 can use to configure device 702 to receive and / or acknowledge a beam change indication on a downlink data channel. Parameterization component 740 can receive the information indicating the parameter set from base station 102 / 180 via RRC signaling or via a beam change indication received on a downlink data channel.

[0123] As an example, a parameter set may indicate a configuration associated with repeated transmission of ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as the number of times the ACK feedback is to be transmitted by the confirmation component 744 in response to receiving the beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In another example, the parameter set may indicate a set of resources on an uplink channel (e.g., PUCCH) on which the ACK feedback is to be transmitted by the confirmation component 744 (e.g., via the transmission component 734) in response to the beam change indication carried on the downlink data channel. In a further example, the parameter set may indicate a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) in which the ACK feedback is to be transmitted by the confirmation component 744 (e.g., via the transmission component 734) in response to the beam change indication carried on the downlink data channel.

[0124] The activation component 742 can be configured to receive information for activating a beam change indication on a downlink data channel from the base station 102 / 180 via the receiving component 730, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 5 504. Thus, when the confirmation component 744 (e.g., via the receiving component 730) receives such information from the base station 102 / 180, the confirmation component 744 can be configured to identify the beam change indication on the downlink data channel and respond accordingly. The confirmation component 744 can receive information activating the beam change indication on the downlink data channel in a DCI, which can be specific to the device 702 or common to a group of devices.

[0125] Acknowledgment component 744 may be configured to receive (e.g., via receiving component 730) a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel including data and a beam switching indication from base station 102 / 180, e.g., as in conjunction with Figure 5 As described in 506. For example, the downlink data channel can be a PDSCH, and the beam switching indication can be included in a MAC CE on the PDSCH. In some aspects, the confirmation component 744 can receive the beam switching indication in the downlink transmission based on the information received from the base station 102 / 180 to activate the beam change indication on the downlink data channel.

[0126] Acknowledgment component 744 may be further configured to transmit (eg, using transmission component 734) a first ACK feedback to base station 102 / 180 in response to receiving data on the downlink data channel, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 5 As described in 508.

[0127] Acknowledgment component 744 may be further configured to transmit (eg, using transmission component 734) a second ACK feedback to base station 102 / 180 in response to receiving the beam switching indication, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 5 510 described. The second ACK feedback may be separate from the first ACK feedback. For example, the second ACK feedback may be included in a message different from the first ACK feedback. According to various aspects, the second ACK feedback may be transmitted on a second resource set, which is different from the first resource set for transmitting the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be transmitted in a second format (e.g., a PUCCH format), which is different from the first format for transmitting the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be transmitted as a second type, which is different from the first type for transmitting the first ACK feedback; and / or the second ACK feedback may be transmitted using a second transmission method, which is different from the first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0128] According to various other aspects, confirmation component 744 can transmit (e.g., using transmission component 734) a second ACK feedback based on the determined set of parameters. For example, confirmation component 744 can transmit the second ACK feedback more than once based on a number of repetitions indicated in the second ACK feedback, confirmation component 744 can transmit the second ACK feedback on a set of resources (e.g., PUCCH resources) indicated by the set of parameters, and / or confirmation component 744 can transmit the second ACK feedback using a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) indicated by the set of parameters.

[0129] According to some further aspects, acknowledging component 744 can transmit a second ACK feedback to base station 102 / 180 after a first time period following a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel. The first time period can be received from base station 102 / 180 or the first time period can be preconfigured at device 702.

[0130] Device 702 may include executing Figure 5 All or some of the additional components of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. of the algorithms in the aforementioned flowcharts. Thus, Figure 5 All or some of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. in the aforementioned flow charts may be performed by a component and the device 702 may include one or more of those components. These components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0131] In one configuration, the device 702, and in particular the cellular baseband processor 704, includes: a device for receiving a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel from a base station; a device for transmitting a first ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data; and a device for transmitting a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0132] In one configuration, the downlink transmission includes a MAC CE including the beam switching indication.

[0133] In one configuration, the means for transmitting a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication is configured to transmit the second ACK feedback to the base station after a first time period after a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel in response to receiving the beam switching indication.

[0134] In one configuration, the first time period is one of a first time period received from a base station or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

[0135] In one configuration, the second ACK feedback is at least one of: transmitted on a second set of resources different from the first set of resources used to transmit the first ACK feedback; transmitted in a second format different from the first format used to transmit the first ACK feedback; transmitted as a second type different from the first type used to transmit the first ACK feedback; or transmitted using a second transmission device different from the first transmission device used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0136] In one configuration, the second ACK feedback is transmitted based on a parameter set including at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a set of resources on an uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or a format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

[0137] In one configuration, the set of parameters is preconfigured at the device 702 .

[0138] In one configuration, the apparatus 702, and in particular the cellular baseband processor 704, includes means for receiving information indicative of the set of parameters from a base station.

[0139] In one configuration, the information indicating the parameter set is received via one of RRC signaling or a beam change indication.

[0140] In one configuration, the apparatus 702, and in particular the cellular baseband processor 704, includes means for receiving information from a base station to activate a beam changing indication on a downlink data channel.

[0141] In one configuration, the information to activate the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel is received via a DCI, which is one of a UE-specific DCI or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

[0142] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components in the device 702 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described above, the device 702 may include the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0143] Figure 8 800 is an example of a hardware implementation of an illustrated device 802. The device 802 may be a base station including a baseband unit 804. The baseband unit 804 may communicate with the UE 104 via a cellular RF transceiver. The baseband unit 804 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The baseband unit 804 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit 804, causes the baseband unit 804 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the baseband unit 804 when executing the software. The baseband unit 804 further includes a receiving component 830, a communication manager 832, and a transmission component 834. The communication manager 832 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 832 may be stored in a computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the baseband unit 804. The baseband unit 804 may be a component of the base station 310 and may include the memory 376 and / or at least one of the TX processor 316 , the RX processor 370 , and the controller / processor 375 .

[0144] The device 802 may be configured to communicate signaling with the UE 104. To this end, the device 802 may include a receiving component 830 via which the device 802 may receive signals, e.g., over the air on a wireless channel with the UE 104. The receiving component 830 may provide data and / or control information from such received signals to a communication manager 832, which may be configured with a set of components that operate as further described below.

[0145] In addition, the set of components configured by the communication manager 832 can generate some data and / or control information, as further described below. The communication manager 832 is operable to provide some or all of the data and / or control information to the transmission component 834, for example, for transmission over the air to the UE 104. Specifically, the communication manager 832 can further include a configuration component 840, a switching component 842, and a feedback component 844.

[0146] Configuration component 840 can be configured to transmit (e.g., via transmission component 834) to UE 104 a set of parameters associated with a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, e.g., as described in conjunction with Figure 6 According to various aspects, the configuration component 840 can transmit the parameter set to the UE 104 via one of RRC signaling or a beam change indication on a downlink data channel.

[0147] As an example, a parameter set may indicate a configuration associated with repeated transmission of ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on a downlink data channel, such as the number of times the UE 104 is to transmit ACK feedback in response to receiving a beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In another example, a parameter set may indicate a set of resources on an uplink channel (e.g., PUCCH) on which the UE 104 is to transmit ACK feedback in response to a beam change indication on the downlink data channel. In a further example, a parameter set may indicate a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) in which the UE 104 is to transmit ACK feedback in response to a beam change indication on the downlink data channel.

[0148] Configuration component 840 can be configured to transmit (e.g., via transmission component 834) information to activate a beam change indication on a downlink data channel to UE 104, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 6 604. Thus, when UE 104 receives such information from device 802, UE 104 can be configured to identify the beam change indication on the downlink data channel and respond accordingly. Configuration component 840 can transmit information to the UE in a DCI to activate the beam change indication on the downlink data channel, which DCI can be specific to UE 104 or common to a group of UEs 104.

[0149] The switching component 842 can be configured to transmit (e.g., via the transmitting component 834) a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel including data and a beam switching indication to the UE 104, e.g., as combined with Figure 6606. For example, the downlink data channel can be a PDSCH, and the beam switching indication can be included in a MAC CE on the PDSCH. In some aspects, the switching component 842 can transmit the beam change indication in the downlink transmission based on information activating the beam change indication on the downlink data channel, which may have been transmitted to the UE 104 earlier.

[0150] Feedback component 844 can be configured to receive (eg, via receiving component 830) a first ACK feedback from UE 104 in response to transmitting data on a downlink data channel, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 6 As described in 608.

[0151] Feedback component 844 can be configured to receive (eg, via receiving component 830) a second ACK feedback from UE 104 in response to the transmit beam switching indication, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 6 610 described. The second ACK feedback may be separate from the first ACK feedback. For example, the second ACK feedback may be included in a message different from the first ACK feedback. According to various aspects, the second ACK feedback may be received on a second resource set, which is different from the first resource set for receiving the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be received in a second format (e.g., a PUCCH format), which is different from the first format for receiving the first ACK feedback; the second ACK feedback may be received as a second type, which is different from the first type for receiving the first ACK feedback; and / or the second ACK feedback may be received using a second transmission method, which is different from the first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0152] According to various other aspects, feedback component 844 can receive second ACK feedback from UE 104 based on the set of parameters. For example, feedback component 844 can receive the second ACK feedback more than once based on a number of repetitions indicated in the second ACK feedback, feedback component 844 can receive the second ACK feedback on a set of resources (e.g., PUCCH resources) indicated by the set of parameters, and / or feedback component 844 can receive the second ACK feedback according to a format of an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH) indicated by the set of parameters.

[0153] According to some further aspects, feedback component 844 can receive second ACK feedback from UE 104 after a first time period following a downlink transmission on the downlink data channel. The first time period can be communicated to UE 104 by configuration component 840 or can be preconfigured at UE 104.

[0154] Device 802 may include executing Figure 6All or some of the additional components of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. of the algorithms in the aforementioned flowcharts. Thus, Figure 6 All or some of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. in the aforementioned flow charts may be performed by a component and the device 802 may include one or more of those components. These components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0155] In one configuration, the device 802 and in particular the baseband unit 804 includes: a device for transmitting a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel to a UE; a device for receiving a first ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the data; and a device for receiving a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0156] The downlink transmission includes a MAC CE including the beam switching indication.

[0157] In one configuration, the apparatus for receiving a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication is configured to receive a second ACK feedback from the UE after a first time period after the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to transmitting the beam switching indication.

[0158] In one configuration, the first time period is one of a first time period transmitted to the UE or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

[0159] In one configuration, the second ACK feedback is at least one of: received on a second set of resources different from the first set of resources used to receive the first ACK feedback; received in a second format different from the first format used to receive the first ACK feedback; received as a second type different from the first type used to receive the first ACK feedback; or received according to a second transmission device different from the first transmission device used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0160] In one configuration, the second ACK feedback is received based on a parameter set including at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a set of resources on an uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or a format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

[0161] In one configuration, the apparatus 802, and in particular the baseband unit 804, includes means for transmitting information indicating the set of parameters to the UE.

[0162] In one configuration, the information indicating the parameter set is transmitted via one of RRC signaling or a beam change indication.

[0163] In one configuration, the apparatus 802, and in particular the baseband unit 804, includes means for transmitting information to activate a beam changing indication on a downlink data channel to the UE.

[0164] In one configuration, the information to activate the beam changing indication on the downlink data channel is transmitted via a DCI, which is one of a UE-specific DCI or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

[0165] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components in the device 802 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described above, the device 802 may include the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375. Thus, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0166] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an example approach. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in these process / flowcharts can be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some boxes can be combined or omitted. The attached method claims present the elements of various boxes in an exemplary order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0167] The following examples are merely illustrative and may be combined with other embodiments or aspects of the teachings described herein without limitation.

[0168] Example 1 may be a device at a UE, which is configured to: receive a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel from a base station; transmit a first ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data; and transmit a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0169] Example 2 may include the apparatus of Example 1, and the downlink transmission includes a MAC CE including the beam switching indication.

[0170] Example 3 may include the apparatus of Example 1, and transmitting a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving a beam switching indication includes: transmitting a second ACK feedback to the base station after a first time period after the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to receiving the beam switching indication.

[0171] Example 4 may include the apparatus of Example 3, and the first time period is one of a first time period received from the base station or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

[0172] Example 5 may include the apparatus of Example 1, and the second ACK feedback is at least one of: transmitted on a second set of resources different from the first set of resources used to transmit the first ACK feedback; transmitted in a second format different from the first format used to transmit the first ACK feedback; transmitted as a second type different from the first type used to transmit the first ACK feedback; or transmitted using a second transmission device different from the first transmission device used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0173] Example 6 may include the apparatus of Example 1, and the second ACK feedback is transmitted based on a parameter set, the parameter set including at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a set of resources on an uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or a format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

[0174] Example 7 may include the apparatus of Example 6, and the parameter set is preconfigured at the UE.

[0175] Example 8 may include the apparatus of Example 6, and is further configured to receive information indicating the parameter set from the base station.

[0176] Example 9 may include the apparatus of Example 8, and the information indicating the parameter set is received via one of RRC signaling or the beam switching indication.

[0177] Example 10 may include the apparatus of Example 1, and is further configured to receive information from the base station to activate a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel.

[0178] Example 11 may include the apparatus of Example 10, and the information indicating activation of a beam switching on a downlink data channel is received via a DCI, which is one of a DCI specific to the UE or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

[0179] Example 12 may be a device at a base station, configured to: transmit a downlink transmission including data and a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel to a UE; receive a first ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the data; and receive a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

[0180] Example 13 may include the apparatus of Example 12, and the downlink transmission includes a MAC CE including the beam switching indication.

[0181] Example 14 may include the apparatus of Example 12, and receiving a second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication includes: receiving a second ACK feedback from the UE after a first time period after the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to transmitting the beam switching indication.

[0182] Example 15 may include the apparatus of Example 14, and the first time period is one of a first time period transmitted to the UE or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

[0183] Example 16 may include the apparatus of Example 12, and the second ACK feedback is at least one of: received on a second set of resources different from the first set of resources used to receive the first ACK feedback; received in a second format different from the first format used to receive the first ACK feedback; received as a second type different from the first type used to receive the first ACK feedback; or received according to a second transmission device different from the first transmission device used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

[0184] Example 17 may include the apparatus of Example 12, and the second ACK feedback is received based on a parameter set comprising at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a set of resources on an uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or a format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

[0185] Example 18 may include the apparatus of Example 17, and is further configured to transmit information indicating the parameter set to the UE.

[0186] Example 19 may include the apparatus of Example 18, and the information indicating the parameter set is transmitted via one of RRC signaling or the beam switching indication.

[0187] Example 20 may include the apparatus of Example 12, and is further configured to transmit information to the UE to activate a beam switching indication on a downlink data channel.

[0188] Example 21 may include the apparatus of Example 20, and the information indicating activation of a beam switching on a downlink data channel is transmitted via a DCI, which is one of a DCI specific to the UE or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

[0189] 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 easily understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined in this article can be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown in this article, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the claims in language, wherein the singular reference of the elements is not intended to represent "there is and only one", but "one or more", unless otherwise stated. Terms such as "if", "when..." and "when..." should be interpreted as meaning "under the condition", rather than implying a direct time relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases (e.g., "when...") do not imply an immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but only imply that an action will occur when the condition is met, and no specific or immediate time constraints are required for the action to occur. The wording "exemplary" is used in this article to represent "used as an example, instance, or explanation". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein need not be interpreted as being superior to or superior to other aspects. Unless otherwise stated, the term "some / certain" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B, or multiple C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout the present disclosure that are currently or hereafter known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. The terms “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” etc. may not be substitutes for the term “means.” Thus, no claim element should be construed as means-plus-function unless the element is explicitly recited using the phrase “means for….”

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving from a base station a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel including data and a beam switching indication, the beam switching indication being a repetition of another beam switching indication carried on a downlink control channel; transmitting a first acknowledgement (ACK) feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data; as well as In response to receiving the beam switching indication, a second ACK feedback is transmitted to the base station, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink transmission comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including the beam switching indication.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting a second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication comprises: A second ACK feedback is transmitted to the base station after a first time period following the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to receiving the beam switching indication. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first time period is one of a first time period received from the base station or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second ACK feedback is at least one of: transmitted on a second set of resources different from a first set of resources for transmitting the first ACK feedback; transmitted in a second format different from a first format in which the first ACK feedback is transmitted; transmitted as a second type different from the first type of transmission of the first ACK feedback; or The ACK feedback is transmitted using a second transmission method different from a first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second ACK feedback is transmitted based on a parameter set, the parameter set comprising at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a resource set on the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or The format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback. The method of claim 6 , wherein the set of parameters is preconfigured at the UE.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Information indicative of the set of parameters is received from the base station.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the information indicating the parameter set is received via one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling or the beam switching indication.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Information is received from the base station to activate the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the information to activate the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel is received via downlink control information (DCI), the DCI being one of a DCI specific to the UE or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

12. A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: transmitting to a user equipment (UE) a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel including data and a beam switching indication that is a repetition of another beam switching indication carried on a downlink control channel; receiving a first acknowledgement (ACK) feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the data; as well as A second ACK feedback is received from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the downlink transmission comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including the beam switching indication.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication comprises: A second ACK feedback is received from the UE after a first time period following the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to transmitting the beam switching indication.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first time period is one of a first time period transmitted to the UE or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the second ACK feedback is at least one of: received on a second set of resources different from a first set of resources for receiving the first ACK feedback; received in a second format different from a first format in which the first ACK feedback is received; received as a second type different from the first type of receiving the first ACK feedback; or The ACK feedback is received according to a second transmission method different from the first transmission method used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the second ACK feedback is received based on a set of parameters, the set of parameters comprising at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a resource set on the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or The format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: Information indicating the set of parameters is transmitted to the UE.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information indicating the parameter set is transmitted via one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling or the beam switching indication.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising: Transmitting information to the UE to activate the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information for activating the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel is transmitted via downlink control information (DCI), the DCI being one of a DCI specific to the UE or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

22. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: receiving from a base station a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel including data and a beam switching indication, the beam switching indication being a repetition of another beam switching indication carried on a downlink control channel; transmitting a first acknowledgement (ACK) feedback to the base station in response to receiving the data; as well as In response to receiving the beam switching indication, a second ACK feedback is transmitted to the base station, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the downlink transmission comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including the beam switching indication.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein to transmit the second ACK feedback to the base station in response to receiving the beam switching indication, the at least one processor is configured to: A second ACK feedback is transmitted to the base station after a first time period following the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to receiving the beam switching indication.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the first time period is one of a first time period received from the base station or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the second ACK feedback is at least one of: transmitted on a second set of resources different from a first set of resources for transmitting the first ACK feedback; transmitted in a second format different from a first format in which the first ACK feedback is transmitted; transmitted as a second type different from the first type of transmission of the first ACK feedback; or The ACK feedback is transmitted using a second transmission means that is different from a first transmission means that is used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the second ACK feedback is transmitted based on a set of parameters, the set of parameters comprising at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a resource set on the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or The format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the set of parameters is preconfigured at the UE.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Information indicative of the set of parameters is received from the base station.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the information indicating the parameter set is received via one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling or the beam switching indication.

31. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Information is received from the base station to activate the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel.

32. An apparatus as claimed in claim 31, wherein the information to activate the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel is received via downlink control information (DCI), and the DCI is one of a DCI specific to the UE or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

33. An apparatus for wireless communication by a base station, comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: transmitting to a user equipment (UE) a downlink transmission on a downlink data channel including data and a beam switching indication that is a repetition of another beam switching indication carried on a downlink control channel; receiving a first acknowledgement (ACK) feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the data; as well as A second ACK feedback is received from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the second ACK feedback being separate from the first ACK feedback.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the downlink transmission comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) including the beam switching indication.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein to receive the second ACK feedback from the UE in response to transmitting the beam switching indication, the at least one processor is configured to: A second ACK feedback is received from the UE after a first time period following the downlink transmission on the downlink data channel in response to transmitting the beam switching indication.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the first time period is one of a first time period transmitted to the UE or a first time period preconfigured at the UE.

37. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second ACK feedback is at least one of: received on a second set of resources different from a first set of resources for receiving the first ACK feedback; received in a second format different from a first format in which the first ACK feedback is received; received as a second type different from the first type of receiving the first ACK feedback; or The ACK feedback is received according to a second transmission means different from the first transmission means used to transmit the first ACK feedback.

38. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second ACK feedback is received based on a set of parameters, the set of parameters comprising at least one of: a configuration associated with repeated transmission of the second ACK feedback, a resource set on the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback, or The format of the uplink control channel carrying the second ACK feedback.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Information indicating the set of parameters is transmitted to the UE.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the information indicating the parameter set is transmitted via one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling or the beam switching indication.

41. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Transmitting information to the UE to activate the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel.

42. An apparatus as claimed in claim 41, wherein the information for activating the beam switching indication on the downlink data channel is transmitted via downlink control information (DCI), and the DCI is one of a DCI specific to the UE or a DCI common to a group of UEs.

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