Method for beam group reporting in mobile communications and user equipment thereof

Abstract

A method of beam group reporting is presented. A network node can transmit a reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE). The UE can determine at least one resource group based on the reporting configuration, and can report a report including one or more resource groups to the network node. The report can include an indicator indicating that a first resource index in the report is associated with a first resource set or a second resource set. The network node can know which resource set the first resource index of the report is associated with according to the indicator in the report. The invention realizes the beneficial effects of more efficient beam group reporting.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The disclosed embodiments relate generally to wireless network communications, and more specifically to beam group reporting in mobile communications. BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless communication networks have grown exponentially for many years. Long-term evolution (LTE) systems provide high peak data rates due to simplified network architecture, low latency, improved system capacity, and low operating costs. LTE systems, also known as 4G systems, also provide seamless integration with older wireless networks, such as GSM, CDMA, and universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). In LTE systems, an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) includes multiple evolved Node Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs) that communicate with multiple mobile stations known as user equipment (UE). The 3rd generation partner project (3GPP) networks typically include a mix of 2G / 3G / 4G systems. The next generation mobile network (NGMN) board has decided to focus future NGMN activities on defining end-to-end requirements for the 5G new radio (NR) system.

[0003] In conventional mobile communications, for beam group reporting, when the network receives a reporting instance from a UE, the network cannot know which resource set each reported resource index in the reporting instance is associated with. SUMMARY

[0004] A beam group reporting method is presented. A network node can send a reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE). The UE can determine at least one resource group based on the reporting configuration, and can report a report including one or more resource groups to the network node. The report can include an indicator indicating that a first resource index in the report is associated with a first resource set or a second resource set. The network node can know which resource set the first resource index of the report is associated with according to the indicator in the report.

[0005] In one embodiment, a UE receives a reporting configuration from a network node, where the reporting configuration is associated with a first resource set and a second resource set. The UE determines at least one resource group, where each resource group includes two reference-signal (RS) resources corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively. The UE transmits a report including the at least one resource group to the network node, where the report includes an indicator indicating that a first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set or the second resource set.

[0006] In another embodiment, a UE includes a receiver configured to receive a reporting configuration from a network node, where the reporting configuration is associated with a first resource set and a second resource set. The UE also includes a processor configured to determine at least one resource group, where each resource group includes two reference-signal resources corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively. The UE further includes a transmitter configured to transmit a report including the at least one resource group to the network node, where the report further includes an indicator indicating that a first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set or the second resource set.

[0007] The present disclosure proposes a method for beam group reporting and a user equipment thereof, which achieves the beneficial effect of more efficient beam group reporting.

[0008] Other embodiments and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the application. The present description is not intended to define the application, but only to describe the various embodiments of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present application, wherein the same numbers refer to the same components throughout.

[0010] Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a network node and user equipment that perform embodiments of the present application.

[0011] Figure 2 shows an example of a report.

[0012] Figure 3 shows another example of a report.

[0013] Figure 4 shows another example of a report.

[0014] Figure 5 is a flowchart of beam group reporting according to one novel aspect. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0016] Figure 1is a simplified block diagram of a network node and a UE that perform certain embodiments of the present application. The network node 101 can be a base station (BS) or a gNB, but the present application should not be limited thereto. The UE 102 can be a smartphone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, and a tablet, etc. Alternatively, the UE 102 can be a Notebook (NB) or a Personal Computer (PC) into which a data card (including a modem and a radio frequency transceiver to provide a wireless communication function) is inserted or installed.

[0017] The network node 101 includes an antenna array 111 having a plurality of antenna elements that transmit and receive radio signals, and one or more RF transceiver modules 112 coupled to the antenna array 111 that receive RF signals from the antenna array 111, convert the RF signals into baseband signals, and send the baseband signals to a processor 113. The RF transceiver module 112 also converts baseband signals received from the processor 113, converts the baseband signals into RF signals, and sends them to the antenna array 111. The processor 113 processes the received baseband signals and invokes different functional modules and circuits 120 to perform functional features in the network node 101. The memory 114 stores program instructions and data 115 to control the operation of the network node 101. The network node 101 also includes a plurality of functional modules that perform different tasks according to embodiments of the present application.

[0018] Similarly, the UE 102 has an antenna array 131 that transmits and receives radio signals. An RF transceiver module 132 (including a transmitter and a receiver) coupled to the antenna array 131 receives RF signals from the antenna array 131, converts the RF signals into baseband signals and sends them to a processor 133. The RF transceiver module 132 also converts baseband signals received from the processor 133 into RF signals and sends them to the antenna array 131. The processor 133 processes the received baseband signals and invokes different functional modules and circuits 140 to perform functional features in the UE 102. The memory 134 stores program instructions and data 135 to control the operation of the UE 102. The UE 102 also includes a plurality of functional modules and circuits that perform different tasks according to embodiments of the present application.

[0019] The functional modules and circuits 120 and 140 can be implemented and configured by hardware, firmware, software, and any combination thereof. The functional modules and circuits 120 and 140, when executed by the processors 113 and 133 (e.g., by executing program codes 115 and 135), allow the network node 101 and the UE 102 to perform embodiments of the present application.

[0020] In Figure 1In an example, the network node 101 can comprise a resource configuration circuit 121 and a reporting circuit 122. The resource configuration circuit 121 can allocate a reporting configuration to the UE 102. The reporting circuit 122 can report the allocated reporting configuration to the UE 102.

[0021] In an example, the UE 102 can comprise a measurement circuit 141, a determination circuit 142, and a reporting circuit 143. The measurement circuit 141 can measure a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) value of a reference signal resource in the reporting configuration from the network node 101. The determination circuit 142 can determine at least one resource group based on the reporting configuration from the network node 101 and the measurement result of the measurement circuit 141. The reporting circuit 143 can report a report (e.g., a reporting instance) comprising one or more resource groups to the network node 101. Figure 1

[0022] According to one novel aspect, the network node 101 can send a reporting configuration to the UE 102 through higher layer signaling. In an example, the network node 101 can send the reporting configuration to the UE 102 through radio resource control (RRC) configuration.

[0023] According to one novel aspect, the reporting configuration is associated with a first resource set and a second resource set. In an example, a periodic or semi-persistent resource configuration is associated with the reporting configuration, and at least one resource set list in the periodic or semi-persistent resource configuration can indicate a first resource set ID and a second resource set ID corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively. In another example, the reporting configuration is associated with a reporting trigger state configuration, and the reporting trigger state configuration can indicate a first index and a second index corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively.

[0024] The first resource set and the second resource set can comprise a plurality of RS resources, respectively. The RS resource can be a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resource or a channel-state-information RS (CSI-RS) resource. Each RS resource can have its resource index, such as a SSB resource index (SSBRI) or a CSI-RS resource index (CRI).​

[0025] In an example, the first resource set and the second resource set can correspond to different transmission and reception points (TRPs) or the same TRP.

[0026] According to one novel aspect, the determining circuitry 142 can determine the at least one resource group based on the reported configuration of RS resources from the network node 101 and the measurement results of the measuring circuitry 141. Each resource group can comprise two RS resources respectively corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set. Specifically, for each resource group, the determining circuitry 142 can select one RS resource from the first resource set and another RS resource from the second resource set. The UE 102 can receive the two RS resources in each resource group simultaneously, i.e. the UE 102 can receive the RS resources in the same resource group simultaneously. In other words, the UE 102 is capable of receiving the RS resources in each resource group simultaneously.

[0027] According to one novel aspect, the reporting circuitry 143 can transmit, to the network node 101, a report (e.g. a reporting instance) comprising the at least one resource group.

[0028] Figures 2-4 The reporting order / mapping order of CSI fields in a CSI report in group-based CRI’s RSRP or SSBRI’s RSRP reporting is shown. Wherein the resource set indicator is used to indicate which resource set the first resource index reported first is associated with. In different embodiments, the remaining resource groups are reported in different orders.

[0029] According to one novel aspect, the report can comprise an indicator and a resource index associated with each resource group. The indicator can indicate that the first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set or the second resource set. In an example, if the indicator corresponds to a first value, the first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set, and if the indicator corresponds to a second value, the first resource index in the report is associated with the second resource set. Wherein the first resource index in the report is considered as the first reported resource index in the report. In an example, the first resource index in the report is considered as the first reported resource index in the report. Figure 2 And Figure 3 For example, if the indicator value is 0, the first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set, and if the indicator value is 1, the first resource index in the report is associated with the second resource set. The network node 101 can know which resource set the first resource index in the report is associated with based on the indicator in the report.

[0030] Furthermore, the report may include the RSRP or SINR value of the first resource index, and the difference values ​​for the other resource indices. The first resource index in the report may correspond to the largest RSRP or SINR value. The other resource indices in the report may each correspond to a specific difference value. The difference values ​​corresponding to the other resource indices in the report are calculated based on the largest RSRP or SINR value corresponding to the first resource index in the report.

[0031] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, determining circuit 142 can determine two resource groups, resource group #0 and resource group #1. Resource group #0 may include RS resources from a first resource set with RS index #04 and RS resources from a second resource set with RS index #33. Resource group #1 may include RS resources from the first resource set with RS index #16 and RS resources from the second resource set with RS index #27. The L1-RSRP value of RS resource with RS index #04 is -92dBm, the L1-RSRP value of RS resource with RS index #33 is -98dBm, the L1-RSRP value of RS resource with RS index #16 is -104dBm, and the L1-RSRP value of RS resource with RS index #27 is -113dBm. Because RS resource with RS index #04 has the largest L1-RSRP value, RS index #04 will be the first resource index in the report reported to network node 101. The resource group associated with RS index #04 will be the first resource group in the report. Additionally, since RS index #04 is associated with the first resource set, its indicator value is set to 0. RS index #33, associated with the same resource group as RS index #04, will be reported in the report after RS ​​index #04. The RSRP value associated with RS index #04 is reported in the report. The difference values ​​associated with RS index #33, RS index #16, and RS index #27 are reported in the report. The difference values ​​associated with RS index #33, RS index #16, and RS index #27 are calculated based on the RSRP value associated with RS index #04, i.e., -98 - (-92) = -6, -104 - (-92) = -12, and -113 - (-92) = -21.

[0032] According to a novel aspect, in the report, the reporting order associated with a resource group other than the resource group that includes the first resource set is as follows: first, the resource index associated with the first resource set is reported, and then the resource index associated with the second resource set is reported. Figure 3For example, for the second resource group reported, the resource index associated with the first resource set (RS index #10) is reported first, and then the resource index associated with the second resource set (RS index #14) is reported. The network node 101 can know which resource set each resource index of the second resource group reported is associated with according to the reporting order in the report.

[0033] According to a novel aspect, in the report, the reporting order for a resource group other than the resource group comprising the first resource index is that the resource index associated with the smaller resource set ID is reported first, and then the resource index associated with the larger resource set ID is reported. In other words, Figure 3 For example, for the second resource group reported, the resource index associated with the smaller resource set ID (RS index #10) can be reported first, and then the resource index associated with the larger resource set ID (RS index #14) is reported. The network node 101 can know which resource set each resource index of the second resource group reported is associated with according to the reporting order in the report.

[0034] According to a novel aspect, in the report, the reporting order for a resource group other than the resource group comprising the first resource index follows the reporting order associated with the resource group comprising the first resource index. In other words, Figure 4 For example, the reporting order of the second resource group reported can follow the first resource group comprising the first resource index (RS index #21). Thus, the resource index associated with the second resource set (RS index #14) is reported first, and then the resource index associated with the first resource set (RS index #10) is reported. The network node 101 can know which resource set each resource index of the second resource group reported is associated with according to the reporting order in the report.

[0035] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a beam group reporting method according to a novel aspect. In step 501, the UE 102 receives a reporting configuration from a network node, wherein the reporting configuration is associated with a first resource set and a second resource set.

[0036] In step 502, the UE 102 determines at least one resource group, wherein each resource group comprises two reference signal (RS) resources respectively corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set.

[0037] In step 503, the UE 102 sends a report comprising the at least one resource group to the network node, wherein the report comprises an indicator indicating that the first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set or the second resource set.

[0038] According to one novel aspect, in a beam reporting method, in a case where an indicator corresponds to a first value, a first resource index in a report is associated with a first resource set, and in another case where the indicator corresponds to a second value, the first resource index in the report is associated with a second resource set.

[0039] While the application has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications, adaptations and combinations. Accordingly, various applications of the application will now be made within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A beamgroup reporting method, comprising: The user equipment receives a report configuration from a network node, wherein the report configuration is associated with a first resource set and a second resource set; The user equipment defines at least one resource group, wherein each resource group includes two reference signal resources corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively; The user equipment sends a report to the network node including the at least one resource group, first reporting a first resource index in the resource group, and then reporting another resource index in the resource group associated with another resource set. The report further includes an indicator indicating that the first resource index reported in the report is associated with either the first resource set or the second resource set. The reporting order associated with a resource group other than the resource group that includes the first resource index is the same as the reporting order associated with that resource group that includes the first resource index.

2. The beamgroup reporting method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the indicator corresponds to a first value, the first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set; and when the indicator corresponds to a second value, the first resource index in the report is associated with the second resource set.

3. The beamgroup reporting method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first resource index in this report corresponds to the largest reference signal received power value or the largest signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio value in this report.

4. The beam group reporting method according to claim 3, characterized in that, In this report, resource indices other than the first resource index correspond to the differential values ​​based on the maximum reference signal received power value or the signal interference plus noise ratio.

5. The beamgroup reporting method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the case where a periodic or semi-permanent resource configuration is associated with the reporting configuration, at least one resource set list in the periodic or semi-permanent resource configuration indicates a first resource set ID and a second resource set ID corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively.

6. The beamgroup reporting method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The report configuration is associated with the report trigger state configuration, and the report trigger state configuration indicates that it corresponds to the first index and the second index of the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively.

7. The beamgroup reporting method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The user equipment is capable of receiving two reference signal resources in each resource group simultaneously.

8. A user equipment for beamgroup reporting, comprising: A receiver is configured to receive a report configuration from a network node, wherein the report configuration is associated with a first resource set and a second resource set. A processor is configured to determine at least one resource group, wherein each resource group includes two reference signal resources corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively; A transmitter is configured to send a report to the network node including the at least one resource group, first reporting a first resource index in the resource group, and then reporting another resource index in the resource group associated with another resource set, wherein the report further includes an indicator indicating that the first resource index reported in the report is associated with the first resource set or the second resource set. The reporting order associated with a resource group other than the resource group that includes the first resource index is the same as the reporting order associated with that resource group that includes the first resource index.

9. The user equipment for beamgroup reporting according to claim 8, characterized in that, When the indicator corresponds to a first value, the first resource index in the report is associated with the first resource set; and when the indicator corresponds to a second value, the first resource index in the report is associated with the second resource set.

10. The user equipment for beamgroup reporting according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first resource index in this report corresponds to the largest reference signal received power value or the largest signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio value in this report.

11. The user equipment for beamgroup reporting according to claim 10, characterized in that, In this report, resource indices other than the first resource index correspond to the differential values ​​based on the maximum reference signal received power value or the maximum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio value.

12. The user equipment for beamgroup reporting according to claim 8, characterized in that, In the case where a periodic or semi-permanent resource configuration is associated with the reporting configuration, at least one resource set list in the periodic or semi-permanent resource configuration indicates a first resource set ID and a second resource set ID corresponding to the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively.

13. The user equipment for beamgroup reporting according to claim 8, characterized in that, The report configuration is associated with the report trigger state configuration, and the report trigger state configuration indicates that it corresponds to the first index and the second index of the first resource set and the second resource set, respectively.

14. The user equipment for beamgroup reporting according to claim 8, characterized in that, The receiver is capable of receiving two reference signal resources in each resource group simultaneously.

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