Port grouping for channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources

Abstract

This disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for: associating first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states at a scheduling entity according to rules, mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of an antenna array according to rules, and transmitting CSI-RS to a scheduled entity; receiving CSI-RS at the scheduled entity, associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states at the scheduled entity according to rules, determining a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states, and transmitting the PMI corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states to the scheduling entity. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] In general, the techniques discussed below relate to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, the techniques discussed below relate to the association between Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports and multiple Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states to facilitate port grouping for CSI-RS resources. Background Technology

[0002] Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources can be configured by a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) with a predetermined number of CSI-RS ports. The scheduling entity can send CSI-RS resources to a scheduled entity (e.g., a User Equipment (UE)). The scheduled entity can determine channel quality by measuring the received CSI-RS resources, and, taking channel quality measurements into account, can return a Channel State Information (CSI) report to the scheduled entity, including, for example, a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), and / or a Rank Indicator (RI). Each CSI-RS resource can be associated with a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. However, for example, the scheduled entity can be configured to receive signals from multiple Transmit-Receive Points (multiple TRPs), where each of the multiple TRPs can have a different TCI state.

[0003] As the demand for wireless communication increases, research and development continue to advance the field of communication technology. For example, techniques related to CSI-RS port grouping (to allow multiple TCI states to be associated with multiple CSI-RS resources) can be useful, especially for the operation of multi-TRP wireless communication networks. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of this disclosure, an overview of those aspects is given below. This overview is not a comprehensive summary of all anticipated features of this disclosure and is not intended to identify key or essential elements of all aspects of this disclosure, nor to depict the scope of any or all aspects of this disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of this disclosure in one form as a prelude to the more detailed description given later.

[0005] In one example, a method for wireless communication of a scheduling entity in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The method includes: associating a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of an antenna array according to rules; transmitting a corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array to the scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; and receiving from the scheduled entity a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states.

[0006] According to another example, a wireless communication device in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The wireless communication device includes a wireless transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and the memory. According to one aspect, the processor and memory are configured to: associate a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; map the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of an antenna array according to rules; transmit a corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array to a scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; and receive from the scheduled entity a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states.

[0007] In another example, a wireless communication device configured for use in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The wireless communication device includes: units for associating a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; units for mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports from an antenna array to a scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; units for transmitting a corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array to the scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; and units for receiving from the scheduled entity a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states.

[0008] In yet another example, an article of manufacture for use by a wireless communication device in a wireless communication network is disclosed. According to one aspect, the article of manufacture includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein that are executable by one or more processors of the wireless communication device. The instructions include instructions for performing the following operations: associating a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of an antenna array according to rules; transmitting a corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array to a scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; and receiving from the scheduled entity a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively.

[0009] In another example, a method for wireless communication of a scheduled entity in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The method includes: receiving a corresponding CSI-RS from a scheduling entity at each of a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports; associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; determining a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states; and sending the third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states to the scheduling entity.

[0010] According to another example, a wireless communication device in a wireless communication network is disclosed. According to one aspect, the wireless communication device includes a wireless transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and the memory. According to one aspect, the processor and memory are configured to: receive a corresponding CSI-RS from a scheduling entity at each of a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports; associate the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; determine a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively; and transmit the third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively to the scheduling entity.

[0011] In yet another example, a wireless communication device configured for use in a wireless communication network is disclosed. According to one aspect, the wireless communication device includes: a unit for receiving a corresponding CSI-RS from a scheduling entity on each of a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports; a unit for associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; a unit for determining a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) respectively corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states; and a unit for transmitting the third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) respectively corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states to the scheduling entity.

[0012] In another example, an article of manufacture for use by a wireless communication device in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The article of manufacture includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein that are executable by one or more processors of the wireless communication device. The instructions include instructions for performing the following operations: receiving a corresponding CSI-RS from a scheduling entity at each of a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports; associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; determining a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively; and sending the third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively to the scheduling entity.

[0013] These and other aspects of the invention will become more fully understood after reviewing the following detailed description. Other aspects, features, and embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. While features may be discussed below with respect to certain embodiments and drawings, all embodiments may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more such features may also be used according to the various embodiments discussed herein. Similarly, while exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as embodiments of devices, systems, or methods, it should be understood that these exemplary embodiments may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system based on some aspects of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a radio access network (RAN) based on some aspects of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the organization of radio resources in an air interface utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in accordance with some aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system supporting beamforming and / or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the physical layer mapping from logical antenna ports to physical antenna elements according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 This illustrates some aspects of the content of this disclosure. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a portion of the multiple antenna elements of an antenna array and the scheduled entity.

[0020] Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C This is a schematic diagram of the organization of resource elements in an air interface utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in accordance with some aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationships between resource element organization, CSI-RS ports, CDM groups, TCI status, and reporting modes, based on some aspects described herein.

[0022] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a scheduling entity of a processing system according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transport Configuration Indicators (TCIs) at a scheduling entity, according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a scheduled entity employing a processing system according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of wireless communication of a scheduled device (e.g., a scheduled entity) in a wireless communication network according to some aspects of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The detailed description below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and not as representing only the configurations in which the concepts described herein can be implemented. To provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts, the detailed description includes specific details. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be implemented without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0027] While aspects and embodiments have been described herein by way of example, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases may arise in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and package arrangements. For example, embodiments and / or uses may arise via integrated chip embodiments and other devices based on non-modular components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc.). While some examples may or may not be specific to a particular use case or application, a wide variety of applicability to the described innovations can exist. Implementations can range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed, or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings, devices incorporating the described aspects and features may also include additional components and features for the implementation and embodiment of the claimed and described embodiments. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily involve several components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.). The innovations described herein are intended to be implemented in a variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user equipment, etc., with different sizes, shapes, and constructions.

[0028] Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources can be configured by a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) with a predetermined number of CSI-RS ports. According to some examples, there can be up to 32 CSI-RS ports. Ports (sometimes referred to as antenna ports) are logical ports. Logical CSI-RS ports can be mapped to physical antenna elements of an antenna array. According to some examples, CSI-RS ports can be grouped into one or more Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) groups.

[0029] The scheduling entity may send CSI-RS resources to the scheduled entity (e.g., user equipment (UE)). Depending on some aspects, a CSI-RS resource may be associated with a Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. However, associating a CSI-RS resource with two (or more) TCI states may be useful.

[0030] According to some aspects of this disclosure, the scheduled entity can be configured to receive a corresponding CSI-RS from the scheduling entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports, and can associate the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states. This association can be performed according to rules, which can be stored, for example, in the memory of the scheduled entity and / or the scheduling entity, or can be sent to the scheduled entity via, for example, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. The scheduled entity can then determine a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states and send the third plurality of PMIs corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states to the scheduling entity.

[0031] Associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules can improve channel quality estimation and the determination of PMI and / or Rank Indicator (RI), for example, in use cases involving a scheduled entity receiving signals from multiple Transmitter-Receiver Points (multiple TRPs). For example, a first PMI associated with a first TCI state may be associated with a transmission from a first transmitter in the multiple TRPs, and a second PMI associated with a second TCI state may be associated with a transmission from a second transmitter in the multiple TRPs. As used herein, each TRP may be a collection of antennas.

[0032] The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure can be implemented in a wide variety of telecommunications systems, network architectures, and communication standards. Reference is now made to... Figure 1 Various aspects of this disclosure are shown with reference to a wireless communication system 100, by way of illustrative example and not limitation. The wireless communication system 100 includes three interaction domains: a core network 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. With the aid of the wireless communication system 100, the UE 106 can be implemented to perform data communication with an external data network 110 (such as, but not limited to, the Internet).

[0033] RAN 104 can implement any one or more suitable wireless communication technologies to provide radio access to UE 106. As one example, RAN 104 can operate according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specification (often referred to as 5G). As another example, RAN 104 can operate according to a hybrid of 5G NR and the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standard (often referred to as LTE). 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as Next Generation RAN or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples can be utilized within the scope of this disclosure.

[0034] As shown in the figure, RAN 104 includes multiple base stations 108. Broadly speaking, a base station is a network element in a radio access network responsible for radio transmission and reception to or from UE 106 in one or more cells. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, those skilled in the art may refer to a base station as a base transceiver unit (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver functional unit, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), access point (AP), Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), or some other suitable term.

[0035] RAN 104 is also shown to support wireless communication for multiple mobile devices. In 3GPP standards, a mobile device may be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a Mobile Station (MS), User Station, Mobile Unit, User Unit, Radio Unit, Remote Unit, Mobile Device, Radio Device, Wireless Communication Device, Remote Device, Mobile Subscriber Station, Access Terminal (AT), Mobile Terminal, Radio Terminal, Remote Terminal, Handset, Terminal, User Agent, Mobile Client, Client, or any other suitable term. A UE may be a device (e.g., a mobile device) that provides access to network services to a user.

[0036] In this document, a “mobile” device does not necessarily need to be mobile and can be stationary. The term mobile device or mobile equipment broadly refers to a wide variety of devices and technologies. A UE may include several hardware structural components whose size, shape, and arrangement are configured to facilitate communication; such components may include antennas, antenna arrays, antenna array modules, RF chains, amplifiers, one or more processors, etc., electrically coupled to each other. For example, some non-limiting examples of mobile devices include mobile stations, cellular phones, smartphones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptop computers, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks, tablet devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and a wide variety of embedded systems (e.g., corresponding to the “Internet of Things” (IoT)). Additionally, mobile devices can be automobiles or other vehicles, remote sensors or actuators, robots or robotic devices, satellite radio equipment, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, object tracking devices, drones, multi-rotor helicopters, quadcopter helicopters, remote control devices, consumer devices and / or wearable devices such as glasses, wearable cameras, virtual reality devices, smartwatches, health or fitness trackers, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, etc. Furthermore, mobile devices can be digital home or smart home devices, such as home audio, video and / or multimedia equipment, home appliances, vending machines, smart lighting, home security systems, smart meters, etc. Additionally, mobile devices can be smart energy devices, security devices, solar panels or solar arrays, municipal infrastructure equipment controlling electricity (e.g., smart grids), lighting, water, etc.; industrial automation and enterprise equipment; logistics controllers; agricultural equipment; military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weapons, etc. Finally, mobile devices can provide connected medical or telemedicine support (e.g., telehealth). Telemedicine devices may include telemedicine monitoring devices and telemedicine management devices, whose communications may be given priority processing or access compared to other types of information, for example, priority access for the transmission of critical service data, and / or QoS related to the transmission of critical service data.

[0037] Wireless communication between RAN 104 and UE 106 can be described as utilizing an air interface. Transmissions over the air interface from a base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE 106) can be referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. According to certain aspects of this disclosure, the term downlink can refer to point-to-multipoint transmissions originating from a scheduling entity (further described below; e.g., base station 108). Another way to describe this scheme is to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station (e.g., base station 108) can be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. According to another aspect of this disclosure, the term uplink can refer to point-to-point transmissions originating from a scheduled entity (further described below; e.g., UE 106).

[0038] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled, where a scheduling entity (e.g., base station 108) allocates resources for communication among some or all devices and apparatuses within its service area or cell. In this disclosure, as further discussed below, the scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities. That is, for scheduled communication, UE 106 (which may be a scheduled entity) can use the resources allocated by scheduling entity 108. UE 106, which may operate as a non-scheduled entity and / or a scheduled entity, may be referred to herein as scheduled entity 106.

[0039] A base station (represented by scheduling entity 108 in both singular and plural forms) is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity, which schedules resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., one or more other UEs).

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, scheduling entity 108 can broadcast downlink service 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. Broadly speaking, scheduling entity 108 is a node or device responsible for scheduling services (including downlink service 112, and in some examples, uplink service 116 from one or more scheduled entities 106 to scheduling entity 108) in a wireless communication network. On the other hand, scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlink control information 114 (DCI) (including but not limited to scheduling information (e.g., permission), synchronization or timing information, or other control information) from another entity in the wireless communication network (e.g., scheduling entity 108).

[0041] Additionally, uplink and / or downlink control information and / or service information can be time-divided into frames, subframes, time slots, and / or symbols. As used herein, a symbol can refer to a time unit carrying one resource element (RE) per subcarrier in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) waveform. A time slot can carry 7 or 14 OFDM symbols. A subframe can refer to a duration of 1 ms. Multiple subframes or time slots can be combined to form a single frame or radio frame. Of course, these definitions are not mandatory, and any suitable scheme for organizing the waveform can be used, and the various time divisions of the waveform can have any suitable duration.

[0042] Typically, a scheduling entity (such as scheduling entity 108 graphically represented in singular and plural) may include a backhaul interface for communicating with the backhaul section 120 of the wireless communication system 100. The backhaul section 120 can provide a link between scheduling entity 108 and the core network 102. Furthermore, in some examples, the backhaul network can provide interconnection between corresponding base stations (each similar to scheduling entity 108). Various types of backhaul interfaces can be used, such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, or backhaul interfaces using any suitable transport network.

[0043] Core network 102 may be part of wireless communication system 100 and may be independent of the radio access technology used in RAN 104. In some examples, core network 102 may be configured according to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, core network 102 may be configured according to 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or any other suitable standard or configuration.

[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an example of a radio access network (RAN) 200 according to some aspects of this disclosure. RAN 200 can implement any one or more suitable wireless communication technologies to provide radio access to UEs (such as UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236). As one example, RAN 200 can operate according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specification (often referred to as 5G). As another example, RAN 200 can operate according to a hybrid of 5G NR and the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standard (often referred to as LTE). 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as Next Generation RAN or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples can be utilized within the scope of this disclosure.

[0045] In some examples, RAN 200 can be used with the above-described and Figure 1The same as RAN 104 shown. The geographical area covered by RAN 200 can be divided into multiple cellular areas (cells), and user equipment (UE) can uniquely identify these cellular areas (cells) based on an identifier broadcast from an access point or base station. Figure 2 Macro cells 202, 204, and 206, and small cell 208 are shown. Each of these cells may include one or more sectors (not shown). A sector is a sub-area of ​​a cell. All sectors within a cell are served by the same base station. Radio links within a sector can be identified by a single logical identifier belonging to that sector. In a cell divided into multiple sectors, the multiple sectors within the cell can be formed by multiple sets of antennas, where each antenna is responsible for communicating with UEs in a portion of the cell.

[0046] Various base stations can be used for deployment. For example, in Figure 2 In the illustration, two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204; and a third base station 214 is shown as a remote radio head (RRH) 216 in control cell 206. That is, the base stations can have integrated antennas, or they can be connected to an antenna or RRH 216 via a feeder cable. In the illustrated example, cells 202, 204, and 206 can be referred to as macro cells because base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells with large sizes. Furthermore, a base station 218 is shown in small cell 208 (e.g., microcell, picocell, femtocell, home base station, home node B, home eNodeB, etc.), which may overlap with one or more macro cells. In this example, cell 208 can be referred to as a small cell because base station 218 supports cells with relatively small sizes. Cell size settings can be made according to system design and component constraints.

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

[0048] Figure 2 It also includes a quadcopter or drone 220, which can be configured to act as a base station. That is, in some examples, the cell may not be stationary, and the geographical area of ​​the cell may move depending on the location of the mobile base station (e.g., the quadcopter or drone 220).

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

[0050] In some examples, a mobile network node (e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) such as a quadcopter or drone 220) can be configured to act as a UE. For example, the quadcopter or drone 220 can operate within cell 202 by communicating with base station 210.

[0051] In another aspect of RAN 200, sidelink signals can be used between UEs without relying on scheduling or control information from a base station. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and 228) can communicate with each other using peer-to-peer (P2P) or sidelink signal 227 without relaying the communication through a base station (e.g., base station 212). In some examples, sidelink signal 227 includes sidelink traffic and sidelink control. In another example, UE 238 is shown communicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, UE 238 can act as a scheduling entity or a primary / transmitting sidelink device, and UEs 240 and 242 can act as scheduled entities or non-primary (e.g., secondary / receiving) sidelink devices. For example, UEs can act as scheduling entities or scheduled entities in device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, and / or in mesh networks. In the mesh network example, UEs 240 and 242 can optionally communicate directly with each other, in addition to communicating with scheduling entity 238. Therefore, in a wireless communication system with scheduled access to time and frequency resources and with cellular, P2P / D2D, or mesh configurations, the scheduling entity and one or more scheduled entities can utilize the scheduled resources for communication.

[0052] In RAN 200, the ability of a UE to communicate while moving (independent of its location) is referred to as mobility. Various physical channels between the UE and RAN 200 are typically established, maintained, and released under the control of the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The AMF may include the Security Context Management Function (SCMF), which manages the security context for both control plane and user plane functionality, and the Security Anchor Function (SEAF), which performs authentication.

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

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

[0055] While the synchronization signals transmitted by base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 can be uniform, these signals may not identify a specific cell, but rather an area of ​​multiple cells operating on the same frequency and / or using the same timing. The use of this area in 5G networks or other next-generation communication networks enables an uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network because the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network can be reduced.

[0056] Reference Figure 3 The OFDM waveforms illustrated herein are used to describe various aspects of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of this disclosure can be applied to DFT-s-OFDMA or SC-FDMA waveforms in substantially the same manner as described below. That is, while some examples of this disclosure may focus on OFDM links for clarity, it should be understood that the same principles can also be applied to DFT-s-OFDMA or SC-FDMA waveforms.

[0057] Within this disclosure, a frame refers to a 10ms duration used for wireless transmission, where each frame comprises 10 subframes, each lasting 1ms. A transmission burst may include multiple frames. On a given carrier, there may be one set of frames in the UL and another set of frames in the DL. Now refer to Figure 3 An expanded view of exemplary subframe 302 is shown, illustrating the OFDM resource grid. However, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the PHY transmission structure for any particular application can differ from the example described herein, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in the horizontal direction and in OFDM symbols; while frequency is in the vertical direction and in subcarriers or tones.

[0058] Resource grid 304 can be used to schematically represent time-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) implementation with multiple available antenna ports, the corresponding multiple resource grids 304 can be available for communication. Resource grid 304 is divided into multiple resource elements (REs) 306. An RE (which is 1 carrier × 1 symbol) is the smallest discrete part of the time-frequency grid and contains a single complex value representing data from a physical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation used in a particular implementation, each RF can represent one or more bits of information. In some examples, a block of REs may be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB) or more simply as a resource block (RB) 308, which contains any appropriate number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In one example, an RB may include 12 subcarriers, the number of which is independent of the digital scheme used. In some examples, depending on the digital scheme, an RB may include any appropriate number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain. Within this disclosure, it is assumed that a single RB (e.g., RB 308) corresponds entirely to a single communication direction (either the transmit direction or the receive direction for a given device).

[0059] A set of contiguous or non-contiguous resource blocks is referred to herein as a resource block group (RBG), subband, or bandwidth portion (BWP). A subband or BWP set can span the entire bandwidth. Scheduling a UE (the scheduled entity) for downlink or uplink transmission typically involves scheduling one or more resource elements 306 within one or more subbands or bandwidth portions (BWPs). Therefore, the UE typically utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 304. An RB can be the smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE. Therefore, the more RBs scheduled for the UE, and the higher the modulation scheme selected for the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE.

[0060] In this illustration, RB 308 is shown occupying less than the entire bandwidth of subframe 302, with some subcarriers shown above and below RB 308. In a given implementation, subframe 302 can have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RB 308s. Furthermore, although RB 308 is shown occupying less than the entire duration of subframe 302 in this illustration, this is only one possible example.

[0061] Each subframe 302 (e.g., a 1ms subframe) may include one or more adjacent time slots. Figure 3 In the illustrative example shown, a subframe 302 includes four time slots 310. In some examples, time slots may be defined based on a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, a time slot may include 7 or 14 OFDM symbols with a nominal CP. Other examples may include micro-time slots (sometimes referred to as shortened transmission time intervals (TTIs)) with shorter durations (e.g., one to three OFDM symbols). In some cases, these micro-time slots or shortened TTIs may be transmitted by preempting resources scheduled for ongoing time slot transmissions for the same or different UEs. Any number of resource blocks can be utilized within a subframe or time slot.

[0062] An expanded view of time slot 310 shows time slot 310 as including a control area 312 and a data area 314. In a first example of time slot 310, control area 312 may carry a control channel (e.g., a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)), and data area 314 may carry a data channel (e.g., a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)). It should be understood that the relative positions of control area 312 and data area 314 can be reversed. Of course, a time slot may contain all DLs, all ULs, or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. Figure 3 The structure shown is merely exemplary in nature, and different time slot structures can be utilized, and different time slot structures can include one or more regions in each of the control region and data region.

[0063] Despite Figure 3Although not shown, the various REs 306 within RB 308 can be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels (including control channels, shared channels, data channels, etc.). Other REs 306 within RB 308 can also carry pilot or reference signals (including, but not limited to, demodulation reference signals (DMRS), control reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RS), and / or sounding reference signals (SRS)). These pilot or reference signals can provide the receiving device with channel estimation for the corresponding channel, which enables coherent demodulation / detection of the control and / or data channels within RB 308.

[0064] In some examples, time slot 310 can be used for broadcast or unicast communication. For example, broadcast, multicast, or multicast communication can refer to point-to-multipoint transmission from one device (e.g., a base station, UE, or other similar device) to other devices. As used herein, broadcast communication is delivered to all devices, while multicast communication is delivered to multiple intended recipient devices. Unicast communication can refer to point-to-point transmission from one device to a single other device.

[0065] In DL transmission, a transmitting device (e.g., base station / scheduling entity 108) may allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., DL REs within control area 312) to one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UE / scheduled entity 106) to carry DL control information (DCI), which includes one or more DL control channels 114 that may carry information, such as physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), etc. The physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) can provide information to assist the receiving device in receiving and decoding the PDCCH and / or physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH). The PHICH carries HARQ feedback transmissions, such as acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQ is a technique well known to those skilled in the art, in which the integrity of packet transmissions can be verified at the receiving side for accuracy (e.g., using any appropriate integrity verification mechanism, such as checksum or cyclic redundancy check (CRC)). If the integrity of the transmission is confirmed, an ACK can be sent; otherwise, a NACK can be sent. In response to a NACK, the transmitting device can send a HARQ retransmission, which can implement append merging, incremental redundancy, etc. The PDCCH can carry downlink control 114 (including downlink control information (DCI) for one or more UEs in the cell). This can include, but is not limited to, power control commands, scheduling information, permission and / or RE assignment for DL ​​and UL transmissions.

[0066] The base station can also allocate one or more RE 306s to carry other DL signals, such as demodulation reference signals (DMRS); phase tracking reference signals (PT-RS); positioning reference signals (PRS); channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RS); primary synchronization signals (PSS); and secondary synchronization signals (SSS). These DL signals (which may also be referred to as downlink physical signals) can correspond to the set of resource elements used by the physical layer, but they typically do not carry information originating from higher layers. The UE can use PSS and SSS to synchronize radio frames, subframes, time slots, and symbols in the time domain, identify the center of the channel (system) bandwidth in the frequency domain, and identify the physical cell identity (PCI) of the cell. Synchronization signals PSS and SSS can be transmitted in the synchronization signal block (SSB), as well as PBCH and PBCH DMRS in some examples. PBCH can also include the main information block (MIB) (containing various system information) and parameters for decoding the system information block (SIB). For example, the SIB can be, for example, SystemInformationType 1 (SIB1) which may include various additional system information. Examples of system information transmitted in the MIB may include, but are not limited to, subcarrier spacing, system frame number, configuration of the PDCCH control resource set (CORESET) (e.g., PDCCHCORESET0), and the search space for SIB1. Examples of additional system information transmitted in SIB1 may include, but are not limited to, random access search space, downlink configuration information, and uplink configuration data. Together, the MIB and SIB1 provide the minimum system information (SI) for initial access.

[0067] Synchronization signals PSS and SSS (collectively referred to as SS), and in some examples PBCH, may be transmitted in an SS block comprising four consecutive OFDM symbols, numbered in ascending order from 0 to 3 via time indexing. In the frequency domain, the SS block may extend to more than 240 consecutive subcarriers, where the subcarriers are numbered in ascending order from 0 to 239 via frequency indexing. Of course, this disclosure is not limited to this particular SS block configuration. Other non-limiting examples may utilize more than two synchronization signals; may include one or more supplementary channels in addition to PBCH; may omit PBCH; and / or may utilize non-consecutive symbols for the SS block within the scope of this disclosure.

[0068] In UL transmissions, for example, a transmitting device (e.g., a UE / scheduled entity 106) may utilize one or more REs 306, which include one or more UL control channels 118, which may carry uplink control information (UCI) destined for the base station / scheduling entity 108. UCIs may include a variety of packet types and categories (including pilots, reference signals, and information configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions). In some examples, the uplink control information may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., a request for a scheduling entity to schedule uplink transmissions. Here, in response to an SR sent from the scheduled entity 106 on the uplink control channel 118, the scheduling entity 108 may send downlink control information (DCI), which may schedule resources for uplink packet transmissions. UCIs may also include HARQ feedback, such as acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK), channel state information (CSI), channel state feedback (CSF), or any other suitable UL control information (UCI). UCI can originate from a higher layer via one or more UL control channels (such as Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), etc.). In addition, UL RE 306 can carry UL physical signals that do not normally carry information originating from higher layers, such as demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS), sounding reference signal (SRS), etc.

[0069] In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., within data area 314) may also be allocated for user data services. Such services can be carried on one or more service channels (e.g., Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) for DL ​​transmissions; or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for UL transmissions). In some examples, one or more REs 306 within data area 314 may be configured to carry an SIB (e.g., SIB1) that carries information that may enable access to a given cell.

[0070] The physical channels described above are typically multiplexed and mapped to transport channels for processing at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The transport channels carry blocks of information called transport blocks (TBs). The transport block size (TBS) (which can correspond to the number of bits of information) can be a controlled parameter based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of redundancies (RBs) in a given transmission.

[0071] The description in this article and Figure 1-8The channels or carriers shown may not be all channels or carriers that can be used between the base station / scheduling entity 108 and the UE / scheduled entity 106, and those skilled in the art will recognize that other channels or carriers, such as other service, control and feedback channels, may be used in addition to the channels or carriers shown.

[0072] In some aspects of this disclosure, the scheduling entity and / or the scheduled entity can be configured for beamforming and / or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques. Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system 400 supporting beamforming and / or MIMO communication according to some aspects of this disclosure. In the MIMO system, transmitter 402 includes a plurality of transmit antennas 404 (e.g., N transmit antennas), and receiver 406 includes a plurality of receive antennas 408 (e.g., M receive antennas). Therefore, there are N x M signal paths 410 from the transmit antennas 404 to the receive antennas 408. The plurality of transmit antennas 404 and the plurality of receive antennas 408 can each be configured in a single-panel or multi-panel antenna array. Each of transmitter 402 and receiver 406 can, for example, be configured in a single-panel or multi-panel antenna array. Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 The base station / scheduling entity 108 shown is as follows: Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 Implemented within the UE / scheduled entity 106 shown, or any other suitable wireless communication device.

[0073] The use of this multi-antenna technology enables the wireless communication system 400 to utilize the spatial domain to support spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and transmit diversity. Spatial multiplexing can be used to simultaneously transmit different data streams (also known as layers) on the same time-frequency resources. Data streams can be sent to a single UE to increase the data rate, or data streams can be sent to multiple UEs to increase the overall system capacity; the latter is known as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). This is achieved by spatially precoding each data stream (i.e., multiplying the data stream by different weights and phase shifts) and then transmitting each spatially precoded stream via multiple transmit antennas on the downlink. The spatially precoded data streams arrive at UEs with different spatial signatures, allowing each UE to recover one or more data streams destined for that UE. On the uplink, each UE transmits a spatially precoded data stream, enabling the base station to identify the source of each spatially precoded data stream.

[0074] The number of data streams or layers corresponds to the transmission rank. Typically, the rank of a MIMO system (e.g., a MIMO-enabled wireless communication system 400) is limited by the number of transmit antennas 404 or receive antennas 408 (whichever is lower). Additionally, channel conditions at the UE and other considerations (e.g., available resources at the base station) can also affect the transmission rank. For example, the rank assigned to a particular UE on the downlink (and therefore, the number of data streams) can be determined based on a rank indicator (RI) sent from the UE to the base station. The RI can be determined based on antenna configuration (e.g., the number of transmit and receive antennas) and the measured signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) on each of the receive antennas. The RI can indicate, for example, the number of layers that can be supported under the current channel conditions. The base station can use the RI, along with resource information (e.g., available resources and the amount of data to be scheduled for the UE), to assign a transmission rank to the UE.

[0075] In Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, UL and DL are reciprocal because they each use different time slots with the same frequency bandwidth. Therefore, in a TDD system, the base station can assign a rank to DL MIMO transmissions based on UL SINR measurements (e.g., based on sounding reference signals (SRS) or other pilot signals transmitted from the UE). Then, based on the assigned rank, the base station can transmit CSI-RS for each layer using a separate Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) sequence to provide multi-layer channel estimation. According to the CSI-RS, the UE can measure channel quality across layers and resource blocks and feed back CQI, PMI, and / or RI values ​​to the base station for updating the rank and assigning REs for future downlink transmissions.

[0076] In one example, such as in Figure 4 As shown, rank-2 spatial multiplexing transmission on a 2x2 MIMO antenna configuration sends a data stream from each of the transmit antennas 404. Each data stream arrives at each of the receive antennas 408 along a different signal path 410 in the signal path 410. The receiver 406 can then reconstruct the data stream using the signals received from each of the receive antennas 408.

[0077] Beamforming is a signal processing technique that can be used at transmitter 402 or receiver 406 to form or control an antenna beam (e.g., transmit / receive beam) along a spatial path between transmitter 402 and receiver 406. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antennas 404 or 408 (e.g., antenna elements of an antenna array) such that some signals experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. To produce the desired constructive / destructive interference, transmitter 402 or receiver 406 can apply amplitude and / or phase shifts to the signals transmitted or received from or received by each of the antennas 404 or 408 associated with transmitter 402 or receiver 406.

[0078] In some examples, to select one or more serving beams for communication with the UE, the base station can transmit reference signals, such as synchronization signal blocks (SSBs or SS blocks), tracking reference signals (TRSs), or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), in a beam-scanning manner on each of multiple beams. The UE can measure the reference signal received power (RSRP) on each of the beams and send a beam measurement report to the base station, indicating the layer 1 (L-1 RSRP) of each of the measured beams. The base station can then select the serving beam for communication with the UE based on the beam measurement report. In other examples, when the channel is reciprocal, the base station can derive a specific beam for communication with the UE based on uplink measurements of one or more uplink reference signals, such as sounding reference signals (SRSs).

[0079] In 5G New Radio (NR) systems, particularly for systems above 6 GHz or millimeter-wave (mmWave), beamformed signals can be used for downlink channels (including the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)). Additionally, for UEs equipped with beamformed antenna array modules, beamformed signals can also be used for uplink channels (including the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)). However, it should be understood that beamformed signals can also be used by, for example, Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) gNBs for sub-6 GHz systems.

[0080] Beamforming can be used in both half-duplex and full-duplex wireless communication networks. In a full-duplex network, downlink and uplink transmissions can occur simultaneously. In some examples, full-duplex networks can utilize subband FDD in unpaired spectrum, where transmissions in different directions are carried in different subbands or BWPs of the carrier bandwidth.

[0081] Figure 5This is a schematic diagram illustrating the physical layer (e.g., L1) mapping from logical antenna ports to physical antenna elements according to some aspects of this disclosure. The antenna array, graphically represented by antenna array 500, can be formed from multiple antenna elements 502.

[0082] Antenna array 500 can be configured as a single-panel or multi-panel antenna array. Each panel includes a portion of multiple antenna elements 502. The term "antenna element" can refer to a pair of cross-polarized antenna elements 504. Each antenna element 504 is a physical structure. The term "antenna port" is a logical port associated with the physical layer (L1). Antenna port 506 is... Figure 5 The multiple antenna port numbers are depicted graphically. Antenna port 504 can be mapped to antenna element 502 to generate an antenna beam. According to an example, with... Figure 5 Antenna arrays similar to the 500 may include 128 pairs of cross-polarized antenna elements (e.g., 256 antenna elements in total in a 16x8 array), which can be mapped to 32 antenna ports via an 8x1 combiner.

[0083] In the example of scheduling entity 508, antenna ports 506 defined for the uplink may include, for example, antenna ports starting with port number 0 for DMRS for PUSCH, antenna ports starting with port number 1000 for SRS for PUSCH, antenna ports starting with port number 2000 for PUCCH, and antenna ports starting with port number 4000 for PRACH. Antenna ports 506 defined for the downlink may include, for example, antenna ports starting with port number 1000 for PDSCH, antenna ports starting with port number 2000 for PDCCH, antenna ports starting with port number 3000 for CSI-RS, antenna ports starting with port number 4000 for SS block / PBCH transmission, and antenna ports starting with port number 5000 for Position Reference Signal (PRS).

[0084] For MIMO transmissions, each layer (or data stream) can be mapped to one of the logical antenna ports, which can be extended across one or more physical antenna elements for their transmission or reception. In one example, as mentioned above, an antenna array 500 comprising one or more antenna panels may include 128 pairs of cross-polarized antenna elements mapped to 32 antenna ports via an 8x1 combiner. Antenna elements 504 may be divided into multiple panels (not shown). There may or may not be a physical separation or obvious gap between two adjacent antenna panels.

[0085] The scheduling entity 508, partially represented by various circuits, modules, and / or functions 512 and antenna array 500, can maintain the codebook of precoding matrix 514 and map different transport layers to the antenna port set 506 of scheduling entity 506 using the selected precoding matrix. The precoding matrix provides appropriate weights to be applied to each layer to generate the corresponding beam for each layer. The precoding matrix can be selected based on PMIs received (e.g., feedback) from the scheduled entity (not shown) in, for example, a Channel State Information (CSI) report destined for scheduling entity 508. For example, using the PMI, the scheduling entity can select a specific precoding matrix from the codebook of precoding matrix 514 used for MIMO transmissions.

[0086] Logic antenna ports 506 numbered P0-P5999 can be collectively referred to as antenna ports 506. Antenna ports 506 can be applied to resource mapper 516. Resource mapper 516 can obtain precoding from the codebook of precoding matrix 514. Resource mapper 516 can be implemented in hardware and / or software and can be described as a circuit, module, and / or function. The codebook of precoding matrix 514 can be stored in the memory of scheduling entity 508 (e.g., similar to...). Figure 9 The antenna port 506 is located in the memory 905. After the resource mapper 516 maps the antenna port 506 to a resource, the resource-mapped antenna port 504 can be applied to the beamformer 518. The beamformer 518 can be implemented in hardware and / or software and can be described as a circuit, module, and / or function. The beamformer 518 can match the resource-mapped antenna port 506 to multiple physical antenna elements 502 of the antenna array 500.

[0087] Each physical antenna element 504 of the plurality of physical antenna elements 502 may include a pair of cross-polarized physical antenna elements (graphically represented by a cross ellipsoid). The antenna array 500 may form one or more antenna beams, such as a first antenna beam 520, a second antenna beam 522, and a third antenna beam 524, based on the output of the beamformer 518.

[0088] Antenna beamforming can be formed from various mappings from logical antenna port 506 to multiple physical antenna elements 502. The mapping from antenna port 506 to physical antenna element 502 can be one-to-one and / or one-to-many. Antenna ports can be defined such that the channel on which a symbol is transmitted on an antenna port can be inferred from the channel on which another symbol is transmitted on the same antenna port. If two transmitted signals are transmitted from the same one or more antenna ports, the scheduled entity can assume they have traversed the same radio channel. Individual downlink transmissions can be performed from specific one or more antenna ports, the identification of which is known to the scheduled entity. For example, scheduling entity 508 can perform downlink transmissions from the first plurality of CSI-RS antenna ports (identified as...) Figure 5 The corresponding CSI-RS is sent to the scheduled entity on any of the CSI-RS antenna ports of CSI-RS port 526 (identified by port numbers P3000-P3999).

[0089] Figure 6 This illustrates some aspects of the content of this disclosure. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a portion of multiple physical antenna elements 502 of an antenna array 500 and a scheduled entity 602. The scheduled entity 602 can receive a first CSI-RS 604 transmitted on a first CSI-RS resource corresponding to a first CSI-RS port 608 (represented by CSI-RS port number 3000) and a second CSI-RS 606 transmitted on a second CSI-RS resource corresponding to a second CSI-RS port 610 (represented by CSI-RS port number 3001). Of course, the CSI-RS resources used for each CSI-RS 604 and 606 may include multiple CSI-RS ports; however, in Figure 6 In the example, for simplicity, each CSI-RS resource includes a corresponding CSI-RS port.

[0090] exist Figure 6 In the example, the first CSI-RS port 608 and the second CSI_RS port 610 are mapped to the first physical antenna element 612 and the second physical antenna element 614. This one-to-many mapping provides beamforming. The scheduled entity 602 can receive the first CSI-RS 604 and the second CSI-RS 606, respectively, corresponding to the first CSI-RS port 608 and the second CSI_RS port 610.

[0091] The scheduled entity 602 can use the received first CSI-RS 604 and second CSI-RS 606 to estimate channel quality and determine, for example, PMI and / or RI or joint PMI and / or joint RI on a per-CSI-RS port basis and / or per-code division multiplexing (CDM) group basis. For example, the scheduled entity 602 can measure the SINR of each received CSI-RS and generate a CSI report for each channel. Each CSI report may include a corresponding set of CSI report values. For example, each CSI report may include a corresponding channel quality indicator (CQI), rank indicator (RI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), and / or layer indicator (LI). Here, LI indicates which column of the precoding matrix of the reported PMI corresponds to the strongest layer codeword corresponding to the widest reported wideband CQI. In some examples, each CSI report may also include the L1-RSRP of each measured transmit (DL) beam in the measured transmit (DL) beams. The scheduling entity can use CSI reports to update the rank associated with the scheduled entity, select the service DL beam for communication with the scheduled entity, and (e.g., based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS)) assign resources for future transmissions to the scheduled entity 602.

[0092] Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C This is a schematic diagram illustrating the organization of resource elements 700 (in a time-frequency resource grid) in an air interface utilizing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) according to some aspects of this disclosure. Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C In the diagram, frequency is shown vertically in units of subcarriers and / or resource elements (REs), and time is shown horizontally in units of OFDM symbols. Each resource block (RB) can have 12 subcarriers, as shown in... Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C As shown in the exemplary schematic diagram.

[0093] RE 702 can be grouped by antenna port (e.g., by antenna port number). Antenna port groups can be grouped into code division multiplexing (CDM) groups 704-718. One or more CDM groups 704-718 can exist, and each CDM group can include one or more antenna ports. Each of the CDM groups 704-718 can include consecutive RE 702 in frequency and time.

[0094] For example, there can exist a first CDM group 704 with two REs in frequency and one RE in time (OFDM symbol), such as Figure 7AAs shown. That is, two antenna ports can exist in adjacent frequency REs. Two antenna ports in adjacent frequency REs can be code-division multiplexed (CDM) together, thus forming... Figure 7A The first CDM group 704.

[0095] For example, there might be a second CDM group 706 with a total of four REs. CDM groups 708-712 are additional examples of CDM groups, each with a total of four REs. Figure 7B The REs between adjacent CDM groups are included for illustrative purposes. As shown in the figure, each CDM group may include two REs in frequency and two REs in time (OFDM symbols), such as... Figure 7B As shown. That is, four antenna ports can exist in adjacent REs in both frequency and time (e.g., antenna ports 3000-3003 in the second CDM group 706). These four antenna ports can be code-division multiplexed (CDM) together to form... Figure 7B Each of the second CDM group 706 and the other three CDM groups 708-712.

[0096] For example, there might be a third CDM group 714 with a total of eight REs. A fourth CDM group 716 is an additional example of a CDM group, each with a total of eight REs. Figure 7B The REs between adjacent CDM groups are included for illustrative purposes. As shown in the figure, each CDM group may include two REs in frequency and four REs in time (OFDM symbols), such as... Figure 7C As shown. That is, eight antenna ports can exist in adjacent REs in both frequency and time (e.g., antenna ports 3000-3007 in the third CDM group 714). These eight antenna ports can be code-division multiplexed (CDM) together to form... Figure 7C The third CDM group 714 and the fourth CDM group 716. Typically, for a number of P ports, PMI can correspond to, for example, CSI-RS antenna ports numbered from 3000 to 3000+P-1 on a per CSI-RS port basis or on a per CDM group basis.

[0097] All antenna ports within a CSI-RS resource can be considered quasi-co-located (QCL). Two antenna ports are said to be QCL if the characteristics of a channel that can transmit symbols on one antenna port can be inferred from the characteristics of a channel that transmits symbols on another antenna port. As described above, for example, the scheduled entity can receive each CSI-RS resource from the scheduling entity in the downlink, such as... Figure 6 As shown. The scheduled entity can report a Precoded Matrix Indicator (PMI) back to the scheduling entity in response to receiving CSI-RS resources.

[0098] Various aspects of this disclosure can provide a way to configure a scheduling entity to allow scheduled entities to send precoded matrix indicators (PMIs) to the scheduling entity that can correspond to multiple TCI states. This can be useful, for example, in multiple transmit-receive-point (multiple TRP) transmissions. For example, the scheduling entity can configure multiple (e.g., two) TCI states to be associated with multiple CSI-RS ports in the same CSI-RS resource. Using multiples of two as an exemplary and non-limiting number, the scheduling entity (or scheduled entity) can divide the total number of CSI-RS ports in the CSI-RS resource into two groups of CSI-RS ports, based on fixed rules stored at the scheduling entity and / or the scheduled entity, or in a configuration sent from the scheduled entity to the scheduling entity (e.g., via RRC signaling). The CSI-RS ports in the first group of CSI-RS ports may have a first TCI state (e.g., corresponding to a first TRP). The CSI-RS ports in the second group of CSI-RS ports may have a second TCI state (e.g., corresponding to a second TRP). The size of each group may be equal or unequal. In the example described in this article, the association between CSI-RS ports and TCI states can be on a per-CSI-RS port basis or on a per-CMD group basis.

[0099] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationships between the organization of resource element 800, CSI-RS ports, CDM groups, TCI status, and reporting modes, according to some aspects described herein. Figure 8 In this context, frequency is shown vertically in units of subcarriers and / or resource elements (REs), and time is shown horizontally in units of OFDM symbols. Similar to... Figure 7B For example, there can be four CDM groups (each with four CSI-RS ports): CDM group 0806 (with CSI-RS ports 3000-3003); CDM group 1808 (with CSI-RS ports 3004-3007); CDM group 2820 (with CSI-RS ports 3008-3022); and CDM group 3812 (with CSI-RS ports 3012-3015). Figure 8In the example, the CSI-RS resource includes all 16 CSI-RS ports (3000-3015). The CSI resource can be configured with two TCI states: TCI state 1802, which can constitute a first port group; and TCI state 2804, which can constitute a second port group. On a per-CSI-RS port basis, CSI-RS ports 3000-3003 and 3008-3011 are associated with TCI state 1802, while CSI-RS ports 3004-3007 and 3012-3015 are associated with TCI state 2804. On a per-CDM group basis, CDM group 0806 and CDM group 2810 are associated with TCI state 1802, while CDM group 1808 and CDM group 3812 are associated with TCI state 2804.

[0100] PMIs and / or RIs can be determined and reported, for example, in two modes. The first mode (which may be referred to as modes 1814, 816) can be an incoherent joint transmission mode, where the scheduled entity can determine and report two PMIs corresponding to CSI-RS ports in a first port group and a second port group, respectively. Each port group corresponds to a corresponding TCI state. For example, in mode 1, the first PMI 814 associated with TCI state 1802 can be determined and reported based on CSI-RS ports in the first port group (CSI-RS ports 3000-3003 and 3008-3011), while the second PMI 816 associated with TCI state 2804 can be determined and reported based on CSI-RS ports in the second port group (CSI-RS ports 3004-3007 and 3012-3015). The scheduled entity can also determine and report two separate RIs corresponding to the two PMIs.

[0101] The second mode (which may be referred to as Mode 2) can be coherent joint transmission, in which the scheduled entity can determine and report a joint PMI corresponding to all CSI-RS ports jointly included in the first port group and the second port group (which are associated with the two TCI states). For example, in Mode 2, a joint PMI 818 associated with the two TCI states 802, 804 can be determined and reported based on all CSI-RS ports in the two port groups (CSI-RS ports 3000-3015). The scheduled entity can also determine and report a joint RI corresponding to a joint PMI.

[0102] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating an example hardware implementation of a scheduling entity 900 (e.g., a base station) employing a processing system 914, according to some aspects of this disclosure. The scheduling entity 900 can be, for example, as shown in... Figure 1 , Figure 2, Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 Any one or more of the base stations, eNBs, gNBs, or network access nodes shown in the diagram.

[0103] According to various aspects of this disclosure, a processing system 914 including one or more processors (such as processor 904) can be used to implement elements or any portion of elements or any combination of elements. Examples of processor 904 include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuitry, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. In various examples, scheduling entity 900 can be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, processor 904, as used in scheduling entity 900, can be used to implement, for example, in Figure 10 and / or Figure 12 Any one or more methods or processes described and illustrated in the document.

[0104] In this example, the processing system 914 can be implemented using a bus architecture, typically represented by bus 902. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 914, bus 902 can include any number of interconnect buses and bridges. Bus 902 communicatively couples together various circuits including one or more processors (typically represented by processor 904), memory 905, and computer-readable media (typically represented by computer-readable media 906). Bus 902 can also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further.

[0105] Bus interface 908 provides an interface between bus 902 and transceiver 910 (e.g., a wireless transceiver). Transceiver 910 provides units for communicating with various other devices via a transmission medium (e.g., an air interface). Transceiver 910 may also be coupled to one or more antennas / antenna arrays / antenna modules (hereinafter referred to as antenna array 920). Bus interface 908 also provides an interface between bus 902 and user interface 912 (e.g., a keyboard, display, touchscreen, speaker, microphone, control features, etc.). Of course, such user interface 912 is optional and may be omitted in some examples. In addition, bus interface 908 provides interfaces between bus 902 and power supply 928 and between bus 902 and application processor 930, which may be decoupled from the modem (not shown) of scheduling entity 900 or processing system 914.

[0106] One or more processors (such as processor 904) may be responsible for managing bus 902 and general processing (including executing software stored on computer-readable medium 906). Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms, software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc. The software may reside on computer-readable medium 906. When executed by processor 904, the software causes processing system 914 to perform the various processes and functions described below for any particular device.

[0107] Computer-readable medium 906 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be referred to as a computer-readable storage medium or a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-readable medium may store computer-executable code (e.g., processor-executable code). Computer-executable code may include code for causing a computer (e.g., a processor) to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer-readable medium 906 may reside in processing system 914, be outside of processing system 914, or be distributed among multiple entities including processing system 914. Computer-readable medium 906 may be embodied in a computer program product or article of manufacture. For example, a computer program product or article of manufacture may include a computer-readable medium having encapsulation material. In some examples, computer-readable medium 906 may be part of memory 905. According to some aspects of this disclosure, memory 905 may store one or more codebooks, such as CSI-RS to TCI state association rules 907 and / or precoding matrices 909. Those skilled in the art will recognize how the functionality described throughout this disclosure is best implemented, depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Computer-readable medium 906 and / or memory 905 may also be used to store data manipulated by processor 904 during software execution.

[0108] In some aspects of this disclosure, processor 904 may include communication and processing circuitry 941 configured for various functions, including, for example, communicating with a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE, a wireless communication device), a network core (e.g., a 5G core network), other scheduling entities, or any other entity (such as, for example, local infrastructure or an entity communicating with scheduling entity 900 via the Internet, such as a network provider). In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 941 may include one or more hardware components that provide the physical structure for performing processes related to wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission) and signal processing (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). Additionally, communication and processing circuitry 941 may be configured to receive and process uplink traffic and uplink control messages (e.g., similar to antenna array 920 and transceiver 910) via antenna array 920 and transceiver 910. Figure 1 The communication and processing circuitry 941 can process and transmit downlink service and downlink control messages (e.g., similar to downlink service 112 and downlink control 114) and uplink service and downlink control messages. Additionally, the communication and processing circuitry 941 can be configured to transmit a corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array 920 to the scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports, and in response, receive from the scheduled entity a third plurality of precoded matrix indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states (with or without a sixth plurality of RIs corresponding to the third plurality of PMIs) and / or a joint PMI jointly corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states (with or without a joint RI corresponding to the joint PMI). The communication and processing circuitry 941 can also be configured to execute communication and processing software 951 stored on a computer-readable medium 906 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0109] In some aspects of this disclosure, processor 904 may include Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) to Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State (CSI-RS to TCI State) association and mapping circuitry 942, configured for various functions, including, for example, associating first plurality of CSI-RS ports with second plurality of TCI states according to rules, and mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of antenna array 920 according to rules. In some examples, CSI-RS association and mapping circuitry 942 may include one or more hardware components providing a physical structure that performs the processes associated with associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with second plurality of TCI states according to rules and mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of antenna array 920 according to rules. These rules may be association and mapping rules 911 that can be stored, for example, in memory 905. The CSI-RS to TCI state association and mapping circuitry 942 can also be configured to execute the CSI-RS to TCI state association and mapping software 952 stored on the computer-readable medium 906 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0110] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1000 (e.g., method) for associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of TCI states at a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station, network access node) according to some aspects of this disclosure. As described below, some or all of the features shown may be omitted in specific implementations within the scope of this disclosure, and some of the shown features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 1000 may be performed by... Figure 9 The scheduling entity 900 shown is responsible for execution. In some examples, process 1000 may be executed by any suitable means or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described herein.

[0111] At box 1002, the scheduling entity can associate a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states. This association can be performed according to a rule. This rule can be stored in the scheduling entity's memory (e.g., 905) or can be otherwise obtained by the scheduling entity. The rule can be a fixed rule or a configurable rule. In some examples, the association of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states can be performed on a per-CSI-RS port basis. In other examples, the association of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states can be performed on a per-Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) group basis.

[0112] At box 1004, the scheduling entity can map the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of the antenna array according to rules.

[0113] At box 1006, the scheduling entity may send the corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array to the scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

[0114] At box 1008, the scheduling entity can receive from the scheduled entity a third precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to the second TCI state.

[0115] For example, when the rule is a fixed rule, associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of TCI states may include associating each set of CSI-RS ports in a fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports with a corresponding TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states. In some examples, each set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports may include a series of consecutive CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. In some examples, each set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports may include any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. The first set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports may begin with the lowest-numbered CSI-RS port, and the last set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports may end with the highest-numbered CSI-RS port, where both the lowest-numbered and highest-numbered CSI-RS ports are CSI-RS ports in the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

[0116] For example, when the rule is a configured rule, the scheduling entity can also associate a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with corresponding TCI states in a second plurality of TCI states. In another example, the scheduling entity can associate a greater number of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with one TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states, relative to any other TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states. When the rule is a configured rule, the scheduling entity can set the configured rule in the scheduled entity via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0117] In some examples, when associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of TCI states is performed on a per code division multiplexing (CDM) group basis, the first plurality of CSI-RS ports can be divided into a fifth plurality of CDM groups. Depending on some aspects, all CSI-RS ports associated with a given CDM group within the fifth plurality of CDM groups can be associated with one of the TCI states in the second plurality of TCI states.

[0118] In some examples, when associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of TCI states is performed on a per-code-division multiplexing (CDM) group basis, and the rule is a fixed rule, the scheduling entity may associate each of the fifth plurality of CDM groups with the corresponding TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states. In some examples, each of the fifth plurality of CDM groups may include a consecutive set of CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. In other examples, each of the fifth plurality of CDM groups may include any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. According to some aspects, the first CDM group in the fifth plurality of CDM groups may begin with the lowest-numbered CSI-RS port, and the last CDM group in the fifth plurality of CDM groups may end with the highest-numbered CSI-RS port, both of which are CSI-RS ports in the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

[0119] In other examples, when the rule is a configured rule, the scheduling entity can associate a fifth or more CDM groups with corresponding TCI states in a second or more TCI states. The scheduling entity can set the configured rule in the scheduled entity via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. In other examples, when the rule is a configured rule, the scheduling entity can associate a greater number of CDM groups from the fifth or more CDM groups with one TCI state in the second or more TCI states than any other TCI state in the second or more TCI states. In these other examples, the scheduling entity can also set the configured rule in the scheduled entity via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0120] According to some aspects, the first plurality of CSI-RS ports can be numbered according to CDM group numbers. In such an aspect, two or more CDM groups in the fifth plurality of CDM groups can be associated with the first TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states, and the scheduling entity can use a first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers to number the CSI-RS ports of the two or more CDM groups in the fifth plurality of CDM groups associated with the first TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states, and can use a second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers to number the CSI-RS ports associated with the second TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states, wherein the second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers may be different from the first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers. According to one aspect, the first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers and the second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers can be integers, and the integer of the first consecutive series may precede the integer of the second consecutive series.

[0121] According to some aspects, when the scheduling entity is configured to perform association between a first plurality of CSI-RS ports and a second plurality of TCI states on a per-CSI-RS port basis or on a per-CDM group basis, it may also receive from the scheduled entity a sixth plurality of rank indicators (RIs) corresponding to a third plurality of PMIs, respectively. In some examples, the scheduling entity may additionally configure the scheduled entity, based on instructions received from the scheduled entity, to send to the scheduling entity any of the following: a third plurality of PMIs and a sixth plurality of RIs, or a joint PMI jointly corresponding to a second plurality of TCI states and a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI. This instruction may be sent via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0122] In some examples, and in other aspects, when configured to perform association between a first plurality of CSI-RS ports and a second plurality of TCI states on a per-CSI-RS port or per-CDM group basis, the scheduling entity may also receive, in addition to or as an alternative to a third plurality of PMIs, a joint PMI corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states from the scheduled entity. According to such an aspect, the scheduling entity may also receive from the scheduled entity a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI.

[0123] In one configuration, the scheduling entity 900 for wireless communication includes: a unit for associating a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; a unit for mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports from an antenna array to a scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; a unit for transmitting a corresponding CSI-RS from the antenna array to the scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; and a unit for receiving from the scheduled entity a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states. In one aspect, the above-mentioned units may be... Figure 9 The processor 904 shown is configured to perform the functions described in the aforementioned unit. Alternatively, the aforementioned unit may be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions described in the aforementioned unit.

[0124] Of course, in the above example, the circuitry included in processor 904 is provided merely as an example, and within various aspects of this disclosure, other units for performing the described functions may be included, including but not limited to instructions stored in computer-readable medium 906, or... Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 9 and / or Figure 11 Any figure described and utilizing, for example, the information in this article... Figure 10 Any other suitable device or unit for the described process and / or algorithm.

[0125] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a scheduled entity 1100 employing a processing system 1114 according to some aspects of this disclosure. For example, the scheduled entity 1100 may be as shown in... Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 Any one or more of the user equipment (UE) or wireless communication devices shown in the figures.

[0126] Processing system 1114 can be with Figure 9 The processing system 914 shown is essentially the same, including a bus interface 1108, a bus 1102, a memory 1105, a processor 1104, and a computer-readable medium 1106. Figure 11In the example, according to some aspects of this disclosure, memory 1105 may store one or more codebooks, such as CSI-RS to TCI state association rules 1107 and / or precoding matrices 1109. According to various aspects of this disclosure, a processing system 1114 including one or more processors (such as processor 1104) may be used to implement elements or any part of elements or any combination of elements. Furthermore, the scheduled entity 1100 may include components related to... Figure 9 The user interface 1112, transceiver 1110 (e.g., wireless transceiver), antenna / antenna array / antenna module 1120, application processor 1130, and power supply 1128 described herein are substantially similar. That is, the processor 1104 used in the scheduled entity 1100 can be used to implement, for example, the [example described herein]. Figure 12 Any one or more processes described and shown in the document.

[0127] In some aspects of this disclosure, processor 1104 may include communication and processing circuitry 1141 configured for various functions, including, for example, communicating with the network core (5G core network), other scheduled entities, or any other entity (such as, for example, local infrastructure or an entity communicating with scheduled entity 1100 via the Internet, such as a network provider). In some examples, communication and processing circuitry 1141 may include one or more hardware components that provide the physical structure for performing processes related to wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission) and signal processing (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). Additionally, communication and processing circuitry 1141 may be configured to receive and process downlink traffic and downlink control (e.g., similar to...). Figure 1 The communication and processing circuitry 1141 can process and transmit uplink services and uplink control (e.g., similar to uplink service 116 and uplink control 118). Additionally, the communication and processing circuitry 1141 can be configured to receive a corresponding CSI-RS from the scheduling entity on each of the first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports, and to transmit a third plurality of precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) corresponding to a second plurality of TCI states to the scheduling entity. The communication and processing circuitry 1141 can also be configured to execute communication and processing software 1151 stored on computer-readable medium 906 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0128] In some aspects of this disclosure, processor 1104 may include CSI-RS to TCI state association and mapping circuitry 1142, configured for various functions, including, for example, associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules. These rules may be association and mapping rules 1111 that can be stored, for example, in memory 1105. In some examples, CSI-RS to TCI state association and mapping circuitry 1142 may include one or more hardware components providing a physical structure that performs processes related to associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules. CSI-RS to TCI state association and mapping circuitry 1142 may also be configured to execute CSI-RS to TCI state association and mapping software 1152 stored on computer-readable medium 1106 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0129] In some aspects of this disclosure, processor 1104 may include precoding matrix determination circuitry 1143 configured for various functions, including, for example, determining third precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) corresponding to a second plurality of TCI states. In some examples, precoding matrix determination circuitry 1143 may include one or more hardware components providing a physical structure that performs processes related to determining the third plurality of PMIs corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states. Precoding matrix determination circuitry 1143 may also be configured to execute precoding matrix determination software 1153 stored on computer-readable medium 1106 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0130] In some aspects of this disclosure, processor 1104 may include precoding matrix determination circuitry 1144 configured for various functions, including, for example, determining third precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) corresponding to second plurality of TCI states. In some examples, precoding matrix determination circuitry 1144 may include one or more hardware components providing a physical structure that performs processes related to determining the third plurality of precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states. Precoding matrix determination circuitry 1144 may determine or otherwise obtain a precoding matrix from a codebook of precoding matrix 1109 that may be stored in memory 1105 of scheduled entity 1100. Precoding matrix determination circuitry 1144 may also be configured to execute precoding matrix determination software 1154 stored on computer-readable medium 1106 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0131] Figure 12This illustrates, according to some aspects of this disclosure, a scheduled device (e.g., a scheduled entity, such as...) in a wireless communication network. Figure 11 A flowchart of an exemplary process 1200 (e.g., a method) for wireless communication of the scheduled entity 1100. As described below, some or all of the features shown may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of this disclosure, and some of the features shown may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 1200 may be performed by... Figure 11 The scheduled entity 1100 shown is responsible for execution. In some examples, process 1200 may be executed by any suitable means or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described herein.

[0132] At box 1202, the scheduled entity may receive a corresponding CSI-RS from the scheduling entity on each of the first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports. In some examples, the first plurality of CSI-RS ports may be associated with a second plurality of TCI states on a per CSI-RS port basis. In other examples, the first plurality of CSI-RS ports may be associated with a second plurality of TCI states on a per Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) group basis.

[0133] At box 1204, the scheduled entity may associate a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules. Depending on some aspects, these rules may be fixed rules, and associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCIs may further include associating each set of CSI-RS ports in a fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports with a corresponding TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states. In some examples, each set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports may include a series of consecutive CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. In other examples, each set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth plurality of CSI-RS ports may include any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. In other examples, the first set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth set of multiple CSI-RS ports may begin with the lowest-numbered CSI-RS port, and the last set of CSI-RS ports in the fourth set of multiple CSI-RS ports may end with the highest-numbered CSI-RS port. Both the lowest-numbered and the highest-numbered CSI-RS ports are CSI-RS ports in the first set of multiple CSI-RS ports.

[0134] In other aspects, the rule can be a configured rule, and associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states can also include associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the corresponding TCI states in the second plurality of TCI states. In one example, the configured rule can be received via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0135] In some aspects, when associating a first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of TCI states on a per code division multiplexing (CDM) group basis, the scheduled entity may also divide the CSI-RS ports into a fifth plurality of CDM groups. In some examples, all CSI-RS ports associated with a given CDM group in the fifth plurality of CDM groups may be associated with a TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states. In other examples, when the rule is a fixed rule, associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states may also include associating each CDM group in the fifth plurality of CDM groups with a corresponding TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states.

[0136] In some examples, each of the fifth plurality of CDM groups may include a series of consecutive CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. Each of the fifth plurality of CDM groups may include any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports. In some aspects, the first CDM group in the fifth plurality of CDM groups may begin with the lowest-numbered CSI-RS port, and the last CDM group in the fifth plurality of CDM groups may end with the highest-numbered CSI-RS port, both of which are CSI-RS ports in the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

[0137] In some aspects, when the rule is a configured rule, associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states may also include associating the fifth plurality of CDM groups with the corresponding TCI states in the second plurality of TCI states. For example, the configured rule can be received via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0138] In some examples, when two or more CDM groups in a fifth plurality of CDM groups are associated with a first TCI state in a second plurality of TCI states, the scheduling entity may also use a first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers to number the CSI-RS ports of the two or more CDM groups in the fifth plurality of CDM groups that are associated with the first TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states, and use a second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers to number the CSI-RS ports associated with the second TCI state in the second plurality of TCI states. The second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers may be different from the first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers. In some examples, the first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers and the second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers may be integers, and the integer of the first consecutive series may precede the integer of the second consecutive series.

[0139] At box 1206, the scheduled entity can determine the third precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to the second TCI state.

[0140] At box 1208, the scheduled entity may send to the scheduling entity a third precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to a second plurality of TCI states. In some examples, the scheduled entity may send to the scheduling entity a sixth rank indicator (RI) corresponding to a third plurality of PMIs. Furthermore, the scheduled entity may establish a configuration to send to the scheduling entity any of the following based on instructions received from the scheduled entity: a third plurality of PMIs and a sixth plurality of RIs, or a joint PMI corresponding to both the second plurality of TCI states and a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI. This instruction may be received via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0141] In other respects, the scheduled entity may send at least the following to the scheduling entity: a third or more PMIs, or a joint PMI that corresponds to a second or more TCI state. In other examples, the scheduled entity may also send a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI to the scheduling entity.

[0142] In one configuration, the scheduled entity 1100 (e.g., a base station) for wireless communication includes: a unit for receiving a corresponding CSI-RS from a scheduling entity on each of a first plurality of Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ports; a unit for associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states according to rules; a unit for determining a third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively; and a unit for sending the third plurality of Precoding Matrix Indicators (PMIs) corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states respectively to the scheduling entity. In one aspect, the above-mentioned unit may be... Figure 11 The processor 1104 shown is configured to perform the functions described in the aforementioned unit. Alternatively, the aforementioned unit may be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions described in the aforementioned unit.

[0143] Of course, in the example above, the circuitry included in processor 1104 is provided merely as an example, and within various aspects of this disclosure, other units for performing the described functions may be included, including but not limited to instructions stored in computer-readable medium 1106, or... Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 9 and / or Figure 11 Any figure described and utilizing, for example, the information in this article... Figure 12 Any other suitable device or unit for the described process and / or algorithm.

[0144] Several aspects of wireless communication networks have been described with reference to exemplary implementations. As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the various aspects described throughout this disclosure can be extended to other telecommunications systems, network architectures, and communication standards.

[0145] For example, these aspects can be implemented within other systems defined by 3GPP, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and / or Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). These aspects can also be extended to systems defined by 3GPP2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and / or Evolved Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples can be implemented within systems employing IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and / or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunications standards, network architecture, and / or communication standards employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0146] Within this disclosure, the term "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation or aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as superior or advantageous to other aspects of this disclosure. Similarly, the term "aspect" does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed. The term "coupling" is used herein to refer to direct or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically contacts object B, and object B contacts object C, objects A and C can still be considered coupled to each other, even if they are not in direct physical contact. For example, a first object can be coupled to a second object, even if the first object never physically contacts the second object. The terms "circuit" and "electronic circuit" are used broadly and are intended to include both hardware implementations of electronic devices and conductors (which, when connected and configured, perform the functions described in this disclosure, without limitation on the type of electronic circuit) and software implementations of information and instructions (which, when executed by a processor, perform the functions described in this disclosure).

[0147] Can be used in Figure 1-12 One or more of the components, steps, features, and / or functions shown herein may be rearranged and / or combined into a single component, step, feature, or function, or embodied in several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and / or functions may be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. Figure 1-12 The apparatuses, devices, and / or components shown can be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein can also be efficiently implemented in software and / or embedded in hardware.

[0148] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods is an illustration of an exemplary process. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in these methods may be rearranged based on design preferences. The appended method claims give the elements of each step in a sample order and are not intended to limit one to the given specific order or hierarchy unless expressly stated herein.

[0149] The preceding description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects disclosed herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be consistent with the full scope of the claims, wherein references to elements in the singular form are not intended to mean “one and only one”, but rather “one or more”, unless expressly stated otherwise. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the term “some” means one or more. The phrase “at least one” referring to a list of items means any combination of those items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of the following: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b, and c. Additionally, the term “a and / or b” is intended to cover: a; b; and a and b. All structural and functional equivalents of elements throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure that are known or to be known to a person skilled in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be included by the claims. Furthermore, nothing in this document is intended to be offered to the public, whether or not such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication of a scheduling entity in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: associating a first plurality of channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) ports with a second plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states according to a rule, wherein each TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states respectively corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs); mapping the first plurality of CSI-RS ports to antenna elements of an antenna array according to the rule; transmitting a respective CSI-RS from the antenna array to a scheduled entity on each of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports; and when in a first mode, receiving a third plurality of precoding matrix indicator (PMI) from the scheduled entity respectively corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states; when in a second mode, receiving a joint PMI corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states collectively and a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI from the scheduled entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: performing the associating on a per-CSI-RS-port basis.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, the rule is a fixed rule, and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: associating each of a fourth plurality of sets of CSI-RS ports with a respective TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, each of the fourth plurality of sets of CSI-RS ports comprises a contiguous series of CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, each of the fourth plurality of sets of CSI-RS ports comprises any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein, a first set of CSI-RS ports of the fourth plurality of sets of CSI-RS ports begins with a lowest-numbered CSI-RS port and a last set of CSI-RS ports of the fourth plurality of sets of CSI-RS ports ends with a highest-numbered CSI-RS port, both of which are CSI-RS ports of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein, the rule is a configured rule, and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with respective TCI states of the second plurality of TCI states.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: setting the configured rule in the scheduled entity through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states is performed on a per-code division multiplexing (CDM) group basis.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, the first plurality of CSI-RS ports is divided into a fifth plurality of CDM groups.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, all CSI-RS ports associated with a given CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups are associated with one of the second plurality of TCI states.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein, the rule is a fixed rule, and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: each CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups is associated with a respective TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, each CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups includes a contiguous set of two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, each CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups includes a contiguous set of two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

15. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein, a first CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups starts with a lowest-numbered CSI-RS port and a last CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups ends with a highest-numbered CSI-RS port, both of which are CSI-RS ports of the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

16. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein, the rule is a configured rule, and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: the fifth plurality of CDM groups is associated with respective TCI states of the second plurality of TCI states.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: setting the configured rule in the scheduled entity through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

18. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein, two or more CDM groups of the fifth plurality of CDM groups are associated with a first TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states, the method further comprising: numbering CSI-RS ports of the two or more CDM groups of the fifth plurality of CDM groups that are associated with the first TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states with a first contiguous series of CSI-RS port numbers; and numbering CSI-RS ports associated with a second TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states with a second contiguous series of CSI-RS port numbers, wherein the second contiguous series of CSI-RS port numbers is different from the first contiguous series of CSI-RS port numbers.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, the first contiguous series of CSI-RS port numbers and the second contiguous series of CSI-RS port numbers are integers, and the first contiguous series of integers precede the second contiguous series of integers.

20. The method of claim 1, 2, or 9, further comprising: In the first mode, a sixth plurality of rank indicators (RIs) corresponding respectively to the third plurality of PMIs is received from the scheduled entity.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: configuring the scheduled entity to transmit to the scheduling entity, according to instructions received from the scheduled entity, any of: for the first mode, the third plurality of PMIs and the sixth plurality of RIs, or for the second mode, a joint PMI corresponding collectively to the second plurality of TCI states and a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: transmitting the instructions through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

23. A wireless communication device in a wireless communication network, comprising: a wireless transceiver; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-22.

24. A wireless communication device configured for use in a wireless communication network, comprising: means for performing the method of any of claims 1-22.

25. An article of manufacture for use by a wireless communication device in a wireless communication network, the article comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the wireless communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-22.

26. A method of wireless communication of a scheduled entity in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: receiving, from a scheduling entity, a respective channel state information- reference signal (CSI-RS) on each of a first plurality of CSI-RS ports; associating, according to a rule, the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with a second plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, wherein each of the second plurality of TCI states respectively corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs); determining a third plurality of precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) respectively corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states; and when in a first mode, transmitting to the scheduling entity the third plurality of precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) respectively corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states; when in a second mode, transmitting to the scheduling entity a joint PMI corresponding collectively to the second plurality of TCI states and a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI. the first plurality of CSI-RS ports are associated with the second plurality of TCI states on a per-CSI-RS-port basis.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein, the rule is a fixed rule, and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises:

28. The method of claim 27, wherein, associating each of a fourth plurality of sets of CSI-RS ports with a respective one of the second plurality of TCI states. ​ 29. The method of claim 28, wherein, Each of the fourth plurality of CSI-RS port sets includes a contiguous set of CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein, Each of the fourth plurality of CSI-RS port sets includes any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

31. The method of claim 29 or 30, wherein, A first CSI-RS port set of the fourth plurality of CSI-RS port sets begins with a lowest numbered CSI-RS port and a last CSI-RS port set of the fourth plurality of CSI-RS port sets ends with a highest numbered CSI-RS port, both of which are CSI-RS ports in the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein, The rule is a configured rule and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with respective TCI states of the second plurality of TCI states.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising: receiving the configured rule through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein, The associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states is performed on a per code division multiplexing (CDM) group basis.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein, The first plurality of CSI-RS ports is partitioned into a fifth plurality of CDM groups.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein, All CSI-RS ports associated with a given CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups are associated with one TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states.

37. The method of claim 35 or 36, wherein, The rule is a fixed rule and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: associating each CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups with a respective TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein, Each CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups includes a contiguous set of CSI-RS port sets selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein, Each CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups includes any two or more CSI-RS ports selected from the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

40. The method of claim 35 or 36, wherein, A first CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups begins with a lowest numbered CSI-RS port and a last CDM group of the fifth plurality of CDM groups ends with a highest numbered CSI-RS port, both of which are CSI-RS ports in the first plurality of CSI-RS ports.

41. The method of claim 35 or 36, wherein, The rule is a configured rule and the associating the first plurality of CSI-RS ports with the second plurality of TCI states further comprises: associating the fifth plurality of CDM groups with respective TCI states of the second plurality of TCI states.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising: receiving the configured rules through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

43. The method of claim 35 or 36, wherein, two or more of the fifth plurality of CDM groups are associated with a first TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states, the method further comprising: numbering CSI-RS ports of the two or more of the fifth plurality of CDM groups associated with the first TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states with a first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers; and numbering CSI-RS ports associated with a second TCI state of the second plurality of TCI states with a second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers, wherein the second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers is different from the first consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein, the first and second consecutive series of CSI-RS port numbers are integers, and the integers of the first consecutive series precede the integers of the second consecutive series.

45. The method of claim 26, 27, or 34, further comprising: in the first mode, transmitting to the scheduling entity a sixth plurality of rank indicators (RIs) respectively corresponding to the third plurality of PMIs.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising: establishing a configuration to transmit to the scheduling entity, according to instructions received from the scheduled entity, either: for the first mode, the third plurality of PMIs and the sixth plurality of RIs, or for the second mode, a joint PMI corresponding to the second plurality of TCI states and a joint rank indicator (RI) corresponding to the joint PMI.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising: receiving the instructions through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

48. A wireless communication device in a wireless communication network, comprising: a wireless transceiver; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform the method of any of claims 26-47.

49. A wireless communication device configured for use in a wireless communication network, comprising: means for performing the method of any of claims 26-47.

50. An article of manufacture for use by a wireless communication device in a wireless communication network, the article comprising: a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of the wireless communication device to perform the method of any of claims 26-47. ​

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