Apparatus and method capable of operating for PDSCH repeated communication

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) retransmission for reliable communication. Techniques for a user equipment (UE) operable for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) retransmission are disclosed. The UE may include one or more processors configured to: decode information from a first transmission of the PDSCH and information from one or more retransmissions of the PDSCH; decode a retransmission parameter value; and determine, based on the retransmission parameter value, whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more retransmissions are different.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the patent application with the application number 201980052144.2, the application date of August 6, 2019, and the invention title of "Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) Repetition Transmission for Reliable Communication". Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication. Background Art

[0003] Wireless systems typically include multiple user equipment (UE) devices communicatively coupled to one or more base stations (BS). The one or more BSs can be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved Node B (eNB) or a New Radio (NR) Node B (gNB), a Next Generation Node B (gNB), or a New Radio Base Station (NR BS) communicatively coupled to one or more UEs by a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network.

[0004] Next-generation wireless communication systems are expected to be a unified network / system designed to meet distinct and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. New Radio Access Technologies (RATs) are expected to support a wide range of use cases, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable machine-type communication (uMTC), and similar service types operating in frequency ranges up to 100 GHz. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) capable of operating for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) repetition communication, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to: at the UE, activate a specified Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state based on Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling received at the UE; at the UE, receive a single value in Downlink Control Information (DCI), the single value being configured to indicate the use of multiple of the specified TCI states to receive PDSCH repetition; at the UE, determine to cycle through the multiple specified TCI states to receive the PDSCH repetition based on the single value in the DCI; and at the UE, receive the PDSCH repetition by cycling through the multiple specified TCI states. The apparatus further includes a memory interface configured to store the single value in a memory. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings that illustrate, by way of example, the features of the present disclosure; and in which:

[0007] Figure 1 Shows a block diagram of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) Release 15 frame structure according to an example;

[0008] Figure 2a Depicts the functionality of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) configuration according to an example;

[0009] Figure 2b Depicts the functionality of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) configuration according to an example;

[0010] Figure 3a Depicts the functionality of Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) according to an example;

[0011] Figure 3b Depicts the functionality of Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) according to an example;

[0012] Figure 4 Depicts the functionality of a User Equipment (UE) operable for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) retransmission communication;

[0013] Figure 5 Depicts the functionality of a New Radio Node B (gNB) operable for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) retransmission communication;

[0014] Figure 6 Depicts a flowchart of a machine-readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) retransmission communication;

[0015] Figure 7 Shows an exemplary architecture of a network system according to an example;

[0016] Figure 8 Shows an example of a platform or device according to an example;

[0017] Figure 9 Shows exemplary components of a baseband circuit and a Radio Front End Module (RFEM) according to an example;

[0018] Figure 10 Is a block diagram showing components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium according to an example; and

[0019] Figure 11 Shows a diagram of a wireless device (e.g., UE) according to an example.

[0020] Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments shown, and specific language will be used herein to describe these exemplary embodiments. However, it should be understood that no limitation of the scope of the technology is thereby intended. Detailed Description

[0021] Before disclosing and describing the technology of the present invention, it should be understood that the technology is not limited to the specific structures, process operations or materials disclosed herein, but extends to their equivalents as would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Additionally, it should be understood that the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific examples only and are not intended to be limiting. The same reference numerals in different figures represent the same elements. The numbers provided in the flowcharts and processes are for the purpose of clearly showing the actions and operations and do not necessarily indicate a particular order or sequence.

[0022] Exemplary Embodiments

[0023] An initial overview of the technology embodiments is provided below, and the specific technology embodiments will then be described in more detail. This initial summary is intended to help the reader understand the technology more quickly, but is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the technology, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0024] To support enhanced reliability focused on the 1 millisecond (ms) latency defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) Release 15, various technologies will be standardized. For Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) reliability, a semi-static configuration of the PCFICH duration can be developed in 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) 2 to avoid PCFICH reliability affecting the overall DL reliability. And a blind repeat / non-Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) repeat for Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH) operation for scheduling can be developed in 3GPP RAN1. Specifically, due to the traditional Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) formats (if applicable), any potential modification of Downlink Control Information (DCI) can be limited by the support of blind repeat / non-HARQ repeat.

[0025] The PDCCH may indicate the number of Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions associated with the PDCCH. After the PDCCH is successfully received, the PDSCH transmissions may be soft combined. The number of transmissions k may be the number of PDSCH transmissions associated with the PDCCH starting with the current Transmission Time Interval (TTI). If a PDSCH using blind repetition can be received in this STTI or TTI in the same serving cell, the UE may discard any PDSCH allocation for the short TTI (sTTI) or TTI in the serving cell with a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) scrambled with the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI). For PDSCH repetition, a 2-bit field may be modified to the DCI related to the PDSCH. Blind / non-HARQ PDSCH repetition may be enabled by Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration. For slot or sub-slot PDSCH repetition, the rate matching around the Short PDCCH (SPDCCH) resources for the PDSCH transmissions within the repetition window may follow the rate matching around the SPDCCH resources for the first PDSCH transmission in this repetition window. For Transmission Mode 10 (TM10) blind / non-HARQ PDSCH repetition, the UE may assume that the same PDSCH Resource Element (RE) mapping and Quasi-Co-location Indicator (PQI) are applied to all PDSCH repetitions.

[0026] PDSCH repetition associated with a single DL allocation may assume the same Resource Block (RB) allocation. For slot or sub-slot PDSCH repetition and DMRS-based PDSCH, the UE may assume that the same precoder is maintained between PDSCH repetitions. For Time Division Duplex (TDD), the UE may not assume coherent DMRS channel estimation across the uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) switching point. The UE may be configured for coherent channel estimation filtering. For sub-slot PDSCH repetition, DMRS sharing may not support blind / non-HARQ PDSCH repetition with k>1, i.e., DMRS may be present in each sub-slot. For slot or sub-slot PDSCH, in the case of k>1, the maximum transmission rank for the reception of the PDSCH may be 2. For PDSCH repetition, different Redundancy Versions (RVs) may be used in different PDSCH transmissions within the repetition window. For PDSCH repetition and an RV cycle that can be configured by higher layer signaling and selected between {0,0,0,0} or {0,2,3,1}, the RV field in the DCI scheduling the repetition sequence of k PDSCH transmissions may identify the starting RV in the cyclic sequence that can be used for the first transmission of the PDSCH within the repetition window. For HARQ for repeated PDSCH transmissions, the UE may use the timing given by the last PDSCH repetition to report HARQ feedback.

[0027] In one example, different transmission beams can be applied to different repetitions, which can provide another degree of freedom for the network to determine the repetitions between omnidirectional or beamformed transmissions. The flexibility to enable the network to select omnidirectional repetitions or precoder cycle-based repetitions based on the actual scenario can allow the network to maximize spectral and energy efficiency.

[0028] In one example, a user equipment (UE) is operable for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeated communication. The UE may include one or more processors configured to: decode information in a first transmission from the PDSCH and information in one or more repeated transmissions from the PDSCH; decode a repetition parameter value; and determine, based on the repetition parameter value, whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more repeated transmissions are different.

[0029] Figure 1 Examples of the frame structure of 3GPP NR Release 15 are provided. Specifically, Figure 1 a downlink radio frame structure is shown. In this example, a radio frame 100 for transmitting data signals can be configured to have a duration T of 10 milliseconds (ms). f . Each radio frame can be segmented or divided into ten subframes 110i, each subframe having a length of 1 millisecond. Each subframe can be further divided into one or more time slots 120a, 120i, and 120x, each time slot having a duration T of 1 / μ milliseconds, 时隙 where for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, μ = 1, for a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz, μ = 2, for a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz, μ = 4, for a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz, μ = 8, and for a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz, μ = 16. Each time slot can include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0030] According to the component carrier (CC) frequency bandwidth, each time slot of the CC used by a node and a wireless device can include a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) 130a, 130b, 130i, 130m, and 130n. A CC can have a carrier frequency that includes a bandwidth. Each time slot of a CC can include downlink control information (DCI) present in the PDCCH. The PDCCH is transmitted in a control channel resource set (CORESET), which can include one, two, or three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and a plurality of RBs.

[0031] Each resource block (physical resource block or PRB) may include 12 subcarriers (on the frequency axis) and 14 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (on the time axis) for each time slot. If a short cyclic prefix or a normal cyclic prefix is used, the RB may use 14 OFDM symbols. If an extended cyclic prefix is used, the RB may use 12 OFDM symbols. The resource block may be mapped to 168 resource elements (REs) using a short cyclic prefix or a normal cyclic prefix, or may be mapped to 144 REs (not shown) using an extended cyclic prefix. An RE may be a unit that contains one OFDM symbol 142 and one subcarrier (i.e., 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz) 146.

[0032] In the case of using quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation, each RE 140i may transmit two bits of information 150a and 150b. Other modulation types may be used, such as using 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) or 64QAM to transmit more bits in each RE, or using binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation to transmit fewer bits (one bit) in each RE. The RB may be configured for downlink transmission from the NR BS to the UE and may also be configured for uplink transmission from the UE to the NR BS.

[0033] This example of the frame structure of 3GPP NR Release 15 provides an example of the way to transmit data (i.e., transmission mode). This example is not intended to be limiting. In the 5G frame structures included in 3GPP LTE Release 15, MulteFire Release 1.1 and later, many Release 15 features will evolve and change. In such systems, due to the coexistence of different network services such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC) or massive IoT, and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or critical communication, the design constraint may lie in the coexistence of multiple 5G parameter sets in the same carrier. The carrier in a 5G system may be higher or lower than 6 GHz. In one implementation, each network service may have a different parameter set.

[0034] Configurable PDSCH Spatial Repetition Transmission

[0035] In one example, traditional PDSCH repeated transmission can support omnidirectional transmission, where each repeated transmission in the repetition window uses the same transmission direction, such that the channel estimates obtained from the demodulation reference signals (DMRS) in each repetition can be filtered to enhance the estimation performance. However, in some cases, different repetitions with different transmission directions can be transmitted to achieve spatial diversity and enhance reception reliability. When the PDCCH schedules the PDSCH repeated transmission, the UE can be notified whether the channel estimates obtained from the DMRS in different repetitions can be averaged. In one example, if omnidirectional repetition is used, the UE can be notified that the DMRS in different repetitions can share the same quasi-co-location (QCL) attributes; otherwise, it is not assumed that the DMRS in different repetitions are QCL.

[0036] Method - 1: RRC Signaling - Based Semi - Static Configuration for Spatial Repetition

[0037] In one example, the radio resource control (RRC) configuration for PDSCH repetition can include an RRC parameter (e.g., DMRS-PdschRepetitionConfig), which can signal whether the DMRS in different repetitions can be averaged. In another example, as Figure 2a shown, the DMRS-PdschRepetitionConfigValues parameter can include:

[0038] DMRS-PdschRepetionConfigValues := {

[0039] "DMRS with QCL in all repetitions",

[0040] "DMRS without QCL in repetitions"

[0041] }

[0042] In another example, the DMRS-PdschRepetitonConfigValues parameter can include the following two examples: (a) The DMRS in all PDSCH repetitions can be assumed to be QCL, such that the channel estimates in different repetitions can be averaged or filtered, or (b) The DMRS in different repetitions are not assumed to be QCL, such that the channel estimates cannot be averaged.

[0043] In another example, the parameter DMRS-PdschRepetitionConfig can be configured with one of the values defined in the parameter DMRS-PdschRepetitonConfigValues, and can signal whether the DMRS in different repetitions can be averaged.

[0044] In another example, to facilitate the UE to receive (RX) the spatial filter settings for PDSCH repetitions using different QCL assumption values, as Figure 2b shown, the parameter DMRS-PdschRepetitionConfigValues may include:

[0045]

[0046] In another example, when the DMRS in all repetitions can be assumed to be QCL, the DMRS in different repetitions can be averaged. In another example, when the DMRS in different repetitions cannot be assumed to be QCL, K QCL assumption values can be configured for the parameter DMRS-PdschRepetitionConfig, so that the precoder cycling corresponding to the configured QCL values can be performed for different repetitions, where K can be a positive integer. If the parameter DMRS-PdschRepetitionConfig is configured with a set of QCL values for precoder cycling, the QCL value signaled in the DCI can indicate the QCL assumption for the first transmission (i.e., the starting value of the QCL cycle), and the subsequent QCL values for subsequent repetitions can be obtained from the configured set of QCL value cycles.

[0047] Method - 2: DCI - Based Dynamic Signaling for Spatial Repetition

[0048] In one example, the DCI scheduling the PDSCH repetition can explicitly signal the QCL value for each PDSCH repetition, at the cost of increasing the DCI payload, to provide a flexible configuration for the spatial settings of each PDSCH repetition. In another example, when scheduling the PDSCH repetition, a DCI field can be added to signal the QCL value for each repetition, as Figure 3a shown:

[0049] DCI QCL field for repetition: ={

[0050] QCL#1,

[0051] QCL#2,

[0052] …

[0053] QCL#K

[0054] }

[0055] In another example, each repetition may include corresponding QCL values signaled by respective DCI fields to enable a hybrid spatial repetition scheme. In another example, among a total of 4 repetitions, the first two repetitions may be transmitted from the DMRS ports of one set of QCLs, and the last two repetitions may be transmitted from the DMRS ports of another set of QCLs to enable a trade-off between channel estimation enhancement from DMRS repetitions and spatial diversity from DMRS ports of different QCLs.

[0056] Method - 3: Combined DCI and Higher - Layer Signaling for Spatial Repetition

[0057] In another example, when a set of QCLs or transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states have been configured by RRC signaling for a PDSCH configuration, a subset of these configured QCLs or TCI states may be dynamically activated by medium access control (MAC) signaling. For a PDSCH without repetition, the DCI may signal the selected QCL / TCI state for spatial transmission of the scheduled PDSCH among the activated QCL / TCI states.

[0058] In another example, for PDSCH repetition signaling, the MAC control element (CE) for activating QCL / TCI states may include one or more fields defining a QCL / TCI state cycle for PDSCH repetition. In another example, if the MAC CE can activate up to 8 out of up to 64 configured QCL / TCI states and supports up to K repetitions, a new field may be added in the MAC CE to indicate the selected QCL / TCI states for K repetitions, where K may be a positive integer. The payload of the MAC CE may have the following format, as Figure 3b shown:

[0059] MAC CE for QCL / TCI state activation / deactivation := {

[0060] 64-bit bitmap for QCL / TCL activation / deactivation

[0061] K groups of 3 bits: Each group of 3 bits defines the index of the activated QCL / TCI state, assuming a maximum of 8 activated QCL / TCI states.

[0062] }

[0063] In another example, the QCL / TCI states and the set of QCL / TCI state cycles may be dynamically activated or deactivated based on the UE's channel state information (CSI) or beam management report.

[0064] In another example, when the DCI schedules PDSCH repetition, the QCL field or the TCI field may signal one of the activated QCL states or TCI states to indicate omnidirectional repetition to be applied, or signal a value corresponding to the activated QCL / TCI cycle-based repetition. In another example, if up to 8 QCL states or TCI states and up to one QCL state cycle or TCI state cycle can be activated, 9 QCL states or TCI states may be signaled in the DCI. In another example, 4 bits may be configured in the DCI for the corresponding signaling.

[0065] Another example provides a function 400 of a user equipment (UE) operable for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repetition communication, as Figure 4 shown. The UE may include one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to: at the UE, decode information in a first transmission from the PDSCH and information in one or more repeated transmissions from the PDSCH, as shown in block 410. The one or more processors may be configured to: at the UE, decode a repetition parameter value, as shown in block 420. The one or more processors may be configured to: at the UE, determine whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more repeated transmissions are different based on the repetition parameter value, as shown in block 430. Further, the UE may include a memory interface configured to store the repetition parameter value in a memory.

[0066] Another example provides a function 500 of a new radio node B (gNB) operable for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repetition communication, as Figure 5 shown. The gNB may include one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to: at the gNB, encode information about a first transmission on the PDSCH and encode information about one or more repeated transmissions on the PDSCH, as shown in block 510. The one or more processors may be configured to: at the gNB, select a repetition parameter value that indicates whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more repeated transmissions are different, as shown in block 520. The one or more processors may be configured to: at the gNB, encode the repetition parameter value, as shown in block 530. Further, the gNB may include a memory interface configured to send the repetition parameter value to a memory.

[0067] Another example provides at least one machine-readable storage medium having instructions 600 embodied thereon for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) retransmission communication, as Figure 6 shown. These instructions are executable on a machine, where the instructions are included on at least one computer-readable medium or a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium. When executed, these instructions perform: at a UE, decoding information in a first transmission from a PDSCH and information in one or more retransmissions from the PDSCH, as shown in block 610. When executed, these instructions perform: at a UE, decoding a retransmission parameter value, as shown in block 620. When executed, these instructions perform: at a UE, determining whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for one or more retransmissions are different based on the retransmission parameter value, as shown in block 630.

[0068] While examples have been provided that have specified a gNB, these examples are not intended to be limiting. An evolved Node B (eNB) may be used in place of a next generation Node B (gNB), a new radio Node B (gNB), or a new radio base station (NR BS). Thus, unless otherwise stated, any example of a gNB that has been disclosed herein may similarly disclose the use of an eNB or a new radio base station (NR BS).

[0069] Figure 7 An exemplary architecture of a system 700 of a network according to various embodiments is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 700 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and the 5G or NR system standard provided in 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this regard, and the embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G) systems), IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), and the like.

[0070] As Figure 7As shown, system 700 includes UE 701a and UE 701b (collectively referred to as "multiple UEs 701" or "UE 701"). In this example, the multiple UEs 701 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but can also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as consumer electronic devices, mobile phones, smart phones, feature phones, tablets, wearable computing devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handheld devices, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument clusters (IC), head-up display (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDT), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine electronic control units (ECU), electronic / engine electronic control modules (ECM), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or "smart" home appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, etc.

[0071] In some embodiments, any one of the multiple UEs 701 can be an IoT UE, which can include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE can use technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, ProSe, or D2D communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange can be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which can include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE can execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connection to the IoT network.

[0072] The multiple UEs 701 can be configured to be communicatively coupled to, for example, the RAN 710. In an embodiment, the RAN 710 can be an NG RAN or 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN", etc., can refer to the RAN 710 operating in an NR or 5G system 700, while the term "E-UTRAN", etc., can refer to the RAN 710 operating in an LTE or 4G system 700. The multiple UEs 701 respectively utilize connections (or channels) 703 and 704, each connection including a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0073] In this example, the connections 703 and 704 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communication coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, an NR protocol, and / or any other communication protocol discussed herein. In an embodiment, multiple UEs 701 may directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 705. The ProSe interface 705 may alternatively be referred to as the SL interface 705 and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

[0074] UE 701b is shown as being configured to access an AP 706 (also referred to as a "WLAN node 706", "WLAN 706", "WLAN terminal 706", "WT 706", etc.) via a connection 707. The connection 707 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where the AP 706 will include a wireless fidelity router. In this example, the AP 706 is shown as being connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (which will be described in further detail below). In various embodiments, the UE 701b, the RAN 710, and the AP 706 may be configured to utilize LWA operations and / or LWIP operations. LWA operations may involve a UE 701b in the RRC_CONNECTED state configured by RAN nodes 711a-b to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operations may involve the UE 701b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 707) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over the connection 707. IPsec tunnel transport may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0075] The RAN 710 may include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 711a and 711b (collectively referred to as "multiple RAN nodes 711" or "RAN nodes 711") that enable connections 703 and 704. As used herein, terms such as "access node", "access point", etc. may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, or TRP, etc., and may include a terrestrial station (e.g., a terrestrial access point) or a satellite station that provides coverage within a geographical area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, terms such as "NG RAN node" etc. may refer to an RNA node 711 (e.g., gNB) operating in an NR or 5G system 700, while terms such as "E-UTRAN node" etc. may refer to a RAN node 711 (e.g., eNB) operating in an LTE or 4G system 700. According to various embodiments, the multiple RAN nodes 711 may be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices such as macro cell base stations and / or low-power (LP) base stations for providing femto cells, pico cells, or other similar cells with a smaller coverage area, a smaller user capacity, or a higher bandwidth compared to macro cells.

[0076] In some embodiments, all or part of the multiple RAN nodes 711 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer, as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN function partitioning, such as PDCP partitioning, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by the respective RAN nodes 711; MAC / PHY partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while the PHY layer is operated by the respective RAN nodes 711; or "lower PHY" partitioning, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers, and the upper part of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while the lower part of the PHY layer is operated by the respective RAN nodes 711. This virtualization framework allows the idle processor cores of the multiple RAN nodes 711 to execute other virtualization applications. In some specific implementations, a separate RAN node 711 may represent via a separate F1 interface ( Figure 7A separate gNB-DU (not shown) connected to the gNB-CU. In these specific implementations, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio headers or RFEMs, and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server (not shown) located in the RAN 710 or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. In addition or alternatively, one or more of the plurality of RAN nodes 711 may be a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a RAN node that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations to a plurality of UEs 701 and is connected to the 5GC via the NG interface (discussed below).

[0077] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the plurality of RAN nodes 711 may be or act as an RSU. The term "road side unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where the RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", the RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", the RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the road side, which provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs 701 (vUE 701). The RSU may also include an internal data storage circuit for storing intersection map geometries, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz direct short-range communication (DSRC) band to provide the extremely low-latency communication required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communication and other cellular communication services. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communication. Some or all of the computing device and the radio frequency circuit of the RSU may be encapsulated in a weather-resistant housing suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or a backhaul network.

[0078] Any one of the plurality of RAN nodes 711 can be the termination point of the air interface protocol and can be the first contact point for a plurality of UEs 701. In some embodiments, any one of the plurality of RAN nodes 711 can perform various logical functions of the RAN 710, including but not limited to the functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0079] In an embodiment, the plurality of UEs 701 can be configured to communicate with each other or with any one of the plurality of RAN nodes 711 over a multi-carrier communication channel using OFDM communication signals according to various communication technologies, such as but not limited to OFDMA communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or SC-FDMA communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard. The OFDM signal can include a plurality of orthogonal sub-carriers.

[0080] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmission from any one of the plurality of RAN nodes 711 to the plurality of UEs 701, and uplink transmission can utilize a similar technique. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For an OFDM system, such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice, which makes wireless resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid correspond to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM sub-carrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one time slot in the radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements. In the frequency domain, this can represent the smallest amount of resources that can be currently allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0081] According to various embodiments, the plurality of UEs 701 and the plurality of RAN nodes 711 transmit data (e.g., send data and receive data) over a licensed medium (also referred to as "licensed spectrum" and / or "licensed band") and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as "unlicensed spectrum" and / or "unlicensed band"). The licensed spectrum can include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, while the unlicensed spectrum can include the 5 GHz band.

[0082] To operate in unlicensed spectrum, multiple UEs 701 and multiple RAN nodes 711 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these embodiments, multiple UEs 701 and multiple RAN nodes 711 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmission in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to the listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0083] LBT is a mechanism by which devices (e.g., multiple UEs 701, multiple RAN nodes 711, etc.) sense the medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmit when the medium is sensed as idle (or when a particular channel in the medium is sensed as unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which uses at least ED to determine whether there are other signals on the channel to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. This LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with existing systems in the unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy on the expected transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy with a predefined or configured threshold.

[0084] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs employ a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as a UE 701, an AP 706, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. Additionally, in the case where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits simultaneously, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions. The backoff mechanism may be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS, which exponentially increases in the event of a collision and is reset to the minimum value upon successful transmission. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA / CA of WLANs. In some embodiments, the LBT process for DL or UL transmission bursts (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions) may respectively have an LAA contention window of variable length between X and YECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values of the LAA's CWS. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and the MCOT (e.g., transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0085] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, or 20 MHz, and up to five CCs can be aggregated, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In an FDD system, for DL and UL, the number of aggregated carriers can be different, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, each CC can have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are usually the same for DL and UL.

[0086] CA also includes individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells can be different. For example, because the CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell or PCell can provide the PCC for both UL and DL and can handle activities related to RRC and NAS. Other serving cells are called SCell, and each SCell can provide individual SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs can be added and removed as needed, while changing the PCC may require the UE 701 to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCell can operate in the unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA SCell"), and the LAA SCell is assisted by the PCell operating in the licensed spectrum. When the UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE can receive UL authorization on the configured LAA SCell, indicating different PUSCH start positions within the same subframe.

[0087] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to multiple UEs 701. Among other information, the PDCCH carries information about the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It can also notify multiple UEs 701 about the transmission format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Generally, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 701b within the cell) can be performed at any of the multiple RAN nodes 711 based on the channel quality information fed back from any one of the multiple UEs 701. Downlink resource allocation information can be sent on the PDCCH for each of the multiple UEs 701 (e.g., allocated to).

[0088] The PDCCH uses CCEs to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruples, and then a sub-block interleaver can be used to permute them for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, called REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the DCI and the channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0089] Some embodiments can use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments can utilize the EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs can be used to transmit the EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, called EREGs. In some cases, an ECCE can have other numbers of EREGs.

[0090] Multiple RAN nodes 711 can be configured to communicate with each other via an interface 712. In an embodiment where the system 700 is an LTE system, the interface 712 can be an X2 interface 712. The X2 interface can be defined between two or more RAN nodes 711 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC 720, and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC 720. In some specific implementations, the X2 interface can include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U can provide a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted through the X2 interface and can be used to convey information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U can provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from the MeNB to the SeNB; information about the successful in-order delivery of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to the UE 701 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs not delivered to the UE 701; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting data to the UE; and so on. The X2-C can provide intra-access mobility functions within the TE, including context transfer from the source eNB to the target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.; load management functions; and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0091] In an implementation where system 700 is a 5G or NR system, interface 712 can be an Xn interface 712. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 711 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to 5GC 720, between a RAN node 711 (e.g., gNB) connected to 5GC 720 and an eNB, and / or between two eNBs connected to 5GC 720. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. Xn-U can provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and traffic control functions. Xn-C can provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; the mobility support for a UE 701 in the connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes functions for managing the UE mobility of the connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 711. This mobility support may include context transfer from an old (source) serving RAN node 711 to a new (target) serving RAN node 711; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 711 and the new (target) serving RAN node 711. The protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on the Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer for carrying user plane PDUs on top of the UDP and / or IP layer. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn application protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP can be on top of the IP layer and can provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other specific implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0092] RAN 710 is shown as communicatively coupled to a core network - in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to core network (CN) 720. CN 720 may include a plurality of network elements 722 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of a plurality of UEs 701) connected to CN 720 via RAN 710. Components of CN 720 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes, which include components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV is used to virtualize any one or all of the above network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 720 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 720 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. The NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources that include a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively implemented by proprietary hardware). In other words, an NFV system may be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0093] Generally, application server 730 may be an element that provides an application that uses IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). Application server 730 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.) for a plurality of UEs 701 via CN 720.

[0094] In an embodiment, CN 720 may be a 5GC (referred to as "5GC 720", etc.), and RAN 710 may be connected to CN 720 via NG interface 713. In an embodiment, NG interface 713 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 714 that carries traffic data between RAN node 711 and UPF; and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 715 that is a signaling interface between a plurality of RAN nodes 711 and a plurality of AMFs.

[0095] In an embodiment, CN 720 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 720" etc.), while in other embodiments, CN 720 may be an EPC. In the case where CN 720 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 720" etc.), RAN 710 may be connected to CN 720 via the S1 interface 713. In an embodiment, the S1 interface 713 may be divided into two parts: the S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 714, which carries traffic data between the RAN node 711 and the S-GW; and the S1-MME interface 715, which is a signaling interface between multiple RAN nodes 711 and the MME.

[0096] Figure 8 An example of a platform 800 (or "device 800") according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 800 may be adapted to be used as multiple UEs 701, an application server 730, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 800 may include any combination of the components shown in the example. The components of the platform 800 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a part of an IC, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted within the computer platform 800, or as components otherwise incorporated within the chassis of a larger system. Figure 8 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of the computer platform 800. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the shown components may occur in other specific implementations.

[0097] The application circuit 805 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and an LDO, an interrupt controller, a serial interface (such as SPI), I 2 C or a general-purpose programmable serial interface module, an RTC, timers (including interval timers and watchdog timers), general-purpose I / O, a memory card controller (such as an SD MMC or a similar controller), a USB interface, an MIPI interface, and a JTAG test access port, among others. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 805 may be coupled to the memory / storage element or may include the memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage element to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 800. In some embodiments, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0098] The processor of the application circuit may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, multi-threaded processors, ultra-low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to the various embodiments herein.

[0099] As an example, the processor of application circuit 805 may include a processor based on Architecture Core TM , such as Quark TM , Atom TM , i3, i5, i7, or MCU-class processors, or another such processor available from a company in Santa Clara, California . The processor of application circuit 805 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors or accelerated processing units (APUs); A5 - A9 processors from Inc., Snapdragon processors from TM Technologies, Inc., Texas Instruments, Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some specific implementations, application circuit 805 may be part of a system-on-chip (SoC), where application circuit 805 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as Edison or Galileo TM from TM Corporation's SoC board.

[0100] In addition or alternatively, the application circuitry 805 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more field programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), etc.; ASICs such as structured ASICs; programmable system on chips (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuitry 805 may include logic blocks or logic fabric, as well as other interconnect resources that may be programmed to perform various functions such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuitry 805 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up tables (LUTs) and the like.

[0101] The baseband circuitry 810 may be implemented as, for example, a solder-in substrate that includes one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to the main circuit board, or a multi-chip module that includes two or more integrated circuits. The various hardware electronic components of the baseband circuitry 810 are discussed below with reference to Figure 9 discussion.

[0102] The RFEM 815 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some embodiments, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the millimeter wave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, for example, the antenna array 911 below Figure 9 ), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative embodiments, the radio functions for both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave may be implemented in the same physical RFEM 815 that incorporates both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter wave.

[0103] Memory circuit 820 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a given amount of system memory. For example, memory circuit 820 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, which includes random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM); and non-volatile memory, which includes high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. Memory circuit 820 may be developed according to Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) low-power double data rate (LPDDR)-based designs such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. Memory circuit 820 may be implemented as one or more of the following: a soldered-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, memory circuit 820 may be on-chip memory or registers associated with application circuit 805. To provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., memory circuit 820 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may particularly include solid state disk drives (SSDDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), micro HDDs, resistive change memories, phase change memories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, etc. For example, computer platform 800 may incorporate 3D cross-point (XPOINT) memory obtained from and For persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., memory circuit 820 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may particularly include solid state disk drives (SSDDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), micro HDDs, resistive change memories, phase change memories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, etc. For example, computer platform 800 may incorporate 3D cross-point (XPOINT) memory obtained from

[0104] Removable memory circuit 823 may include devices, circuits, a housing / casing, ports, or sockets, etc., for coupling a portable data storage device to platform 800. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, micro SD cards, xD Picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical discs, external HDDs, etc.

[0105] Platform 800 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) for connecting external devices to platform 800. External devices connected to platform 800 via this interface circuitry include sensor circuit 821 and electromechanical components (EMC) 822, as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory circuit 823.

[0106] The sensor circuit 821 includes a device, module, or subsystem intended to detect an event or change in its environment and send information about the detected event (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, in particular: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a liquid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravimeter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.), a depth sensor, an ambient light sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0107] The EMC 822 includes a device, module, or subsystem intended to enable the platform 800 to change its state, position, and / or orientation or move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, the EMC 822 may be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of the platform 800 to indicate the current state of the EMC 822. The EMC 822 includes one or more power switches, relays (including an electromechanical relay (EMR) and / or a solid-state relay (SSR)), actuators (e.g., a valve actuator, etc.), an audible sound generator, a visual warning device, a motor (e.g., a DC motor, a stepper motor, etc.), a wheel, a thruster, a propeller, a claw, a clamp, a hook, and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, the platform 800 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 822 based on one or more captured events and / or instructions or control signals received from a service provider and / or various clients.

[0108] In some specific implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 800 to the positioning circuit 845. The positioning circuit 845 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcast by the positioning network of GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include GPS of the United States, GLONASS of Russia, Galileo system of the European Union, Beidou Navigation Satellite System of China, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, QZSS of Japan, DORIS of France, etc.). The positioning circuit 845 may include various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices for facilitating OTA communication such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc.) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 845 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a primary timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 845 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit and / or RFEM 815 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 845 may also provide position data and / or time data to the application circuit 805, which may use this data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio base stations) for turn-by-turn navigation applications, etc.

[0109] In some specific implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 800 to the near field communication (NFC) circuit 840. The NFC circuit 840 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, where magnetic field sensing is used to enable communication between the NFC circuit 840 and NFC-enabled devices external to the platform 800 (e.g., "NFC contact points"). The NFC circuit 840 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuit 840 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit short-range RF signals. The RF signals may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transfer stored data to the NFC circuit 840, or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuit 840 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smart phone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) near the platform 800.

[0110] The drive circuit 846 may include software elements and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled with the platform 800. The drive circuit 846 may include respective drivers to allow other components of the platform 800 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present within or connected to the platform 800. For example, the drive circuit 846 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to the touchscreen interface of the platform 800, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 821 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 821, an EMC driver for obtaining the actuator position of the EMC 822 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 822, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0111] A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 825 (also referred to as “power management circuit 825”) may manage the power supplied to various components of the platform 800. Specifically, relative to the baseband circuit 810, the PMIC 825 may control power selection, voltage regulation, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When the platform 800 is capable of being powered by a battery 830, e.g., when the device is included in the UE 701, the PMIC 825 is typically included.

[0112] In some embodiments, the PMIC 825 may control or otherwise be part of various power-saving mechanisms of the platform 800. For example, if the platform 800 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform remains connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state referred to as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 800 may power off for short intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 800 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the platform is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The platform 800 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the platform wakes up periodically to listen for the network and then powers off again. The platform 800 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power-saving modes may render the device unavailable to the network for a time period exceeding the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this period, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and may be completely powered off. Any data sent during this period will incur significant latency, and it is assumed that the latency is acceptable.

[0113] The battery 830 can power the platform 800. However, in some examples, the platform 800 can be installed and deployed at a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 830 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 830 can be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0114] In some specific implementations, the battery 830 can be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS can be included in the platform 800 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 830. The BMS can be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 830, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 830, to provide fault prediction. The BMS can transmit information about the battery 830 to the application circuit 805 or other components of the platform 800. The BMS can also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 805 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 830 or the current from the battery 830. Battery parameters can be used to determine actions that the platform 800 can perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0115] A power block or other power source coupled to the power grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 830. In some examples, the power block can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to wirelessly obtain power, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 800. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 830 and thus on the current required. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standards published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Consortium.

[0116] The user interface circuit 850 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present within or connected to the platform 800, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 800 and / or a peripheral component interface designed to implement interaction with peripheral components of the platform 800. The user interface circuit 850 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, particularly one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise communicating information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry can include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (e.g., light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as a display device or a touchscreen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the platform 800. The output device circuitry can also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printers, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor circuit 821 can be used as input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.), and one or more EMCs can be used as output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator for providing haptic feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit can be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, and the NFC circuit includes an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. The peripheral component interface can include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0117] Although not shown, the components of the platform 800 can communicate with each other using suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technologies, which can include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, Time-Triggered Protocol (TTP) systems, FlexRay systems, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus / IX, e.g., used in an SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can be included, such as 2 I2C interfaces, SPI interfaces, point-to-point interfaces, and power buses, etc.

[0118] Figure 9 Exemplary components of a baseband circuit 910 and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM) 915 are shown in accordance with various embodiments. The baseband circuit 910 correspondingly corresponds to Figure 8The baseband circuit 810. The RFEM 915 correspondingly corresponds to Figure 8 the RFEM 815. As shown, the RFEM 915 may include a radio frequency (RF) circuit 906, a front-end module (FEM) circuit 908, and an antenna array 911 coupled together at least as shown.

[0119] The baseband circuit 910 includes circuitry and / or control logic configured to perform various radio / network protocols and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 906. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuit 910 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuit 910 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments. The baseband circuit 910 is configured to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 906 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 906. The baseband circuit 910 is configured to connect to the application circuit 805 (see Figure 8 ) to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 906. The baseband circuit 910 may process various radio control functions.

[0120] The aforementioned circuits and / or control logic components of the baseband circuit 910 may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 904A, a 4G / LTE baseband processor 904B, a 5G / NR baseband processor 904C, or some other baseband processors 904D for other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., the sixth generation ("6G"), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 904A-904D may be included in a module stored in the memory 904G and executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 904E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 904A-904D may be provided as a hardware accelerator (e.g., FPGA, ASIC, etc.) loaded with an appropriate bitstream or logic block stored in a corresponding memory unit. In various embodiments, the memory 904G may store program code of a real-time OS (RTOS), which, when executed by the CPU 904E (or other baseband processor), will enable the CPU 904E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of the baseband circuit 910, schedule tasks, etc. Examples of RTOS may include: Operating System Embedded (OSE) provided TM , by Mentor Nucleus RTOS provided TM , by Mentor Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Express Provided by ThreadX TM ,Depend on FreeRTOS and REX OS provided by Open Kernel (OK) OKL4 provided, or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuit 910 includes one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 904F. The audio DSP 904F includes elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

[0121] In some embodiments, each of processors 904A-904E includes a corresponding memory interface to send data to / receive data from memory 904G. Baseband circuit 910 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to baseband circuit 910; an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to the baseband circuit; Figure 9An application circuit interface for sending data to / receiving data from the application circuit 805; for sending data to Figure 9 The RF circuit interface for sending data to / receiving data from the RF circuit 906; for sending data to one or more wireless hardware components (e.g., near field communication (NFC) components, Low-power components, Components, etc.) for sending data to / receiving data from these wireless hardware components; and a power management interface for sending power or control signals to the PMIC 825 / receiving power or control signals from the PMIC.

[0122] In an alternative embodiment (which may be combined with the above embodiments), the baseband circuit 910 includes one or more digital baseband systems that are coupled to each other via an interconnect subsystem and are coupled to the CPU subsystem, the audio subsystem, and the interface subsystem. The digital baseband subsystem may also be coupled to the digital baseband interface and the mixed-signal baseband subsystem via another interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems may include a bus system, point-to-point connectors, a network-on-chip (NOC) structure, and / or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSP circuits, buffer memories, program memories, voice processing accelerator circuits, data converter circuits such as analog-to-digital converter circuits and digital-to-analog converter circuits, analog circuits including one or more of amplifiers and filters, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the baseband circuit 910 may include protocol processing circuitry having one or more control circuit instances (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuit and / or the radio frequency circuit (e.g., the radio front-end module 915).

[0123] Although Figure 9Not shown, but in some embodiments, baseband circuit 910 includes various processing devices (e.g., a "multi-protocol baseband processor" or "protocol processing circuitry") for operating one or more wireless communication protocols and various processing devices for implementing PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry operates or implements various protocol layers / entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, when baseband circuit 910 and / or RF circuit 906 is part of a millimeter wave communication circuit or some other suitable cellular communication circuit, the protocol processing circuitry may operate LTE protocol entities and / or 5G / NR protocol entities. In the first example, the protocol processing circuitry will operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, when baseband circuit 910 and / or RF circuit 906 is part of a Wi-Fi communication system, the protocol processing circuitry may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols. In the second example, the protocol processing circuitry will operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 904G) for storing program code and data for operating the protocol functions, and one or more processing cores for executing the program code and performing various operations using the data. Baseband circuit 910 may also support radio communication for more than one wireless protocol.

[0124] The various hardware elements of baseband circuit 910 discussed herein may be implemented as, for example, a soldered-in substrate that includes one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single-packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module that includes two or more ICs. In one example, the components of baseband circuit 910 may be appropriately combined in a single chip or single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the constituent components of baseband circuit 910 and RF circuit 906 may be implemented together, such as, for example, a system-on-chip (SoC) or a system-in-package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the constituent components of baseband circuit 910 may be implemented as a separate SoC communicatively coupled to RF circuit 906 (or multiple instances of RF circuit 906). In yet another example, some or all of the constituent components of baseband circuit 910 and application circuit 805 may be implemented together as separate SoCs (e.g., a "multi-chip package") mounted to the same circuit board.

[0125] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 910 may provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 910 may support communication with E-UTRAN or other WMAN, WLAN, WPAN. Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 910 is configured to support radio communication of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0126] The RF circuitry 906 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 906 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 908 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuitry 910. The RF circuitry 906 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by the baseband circuitry 910 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to the FEM circuitry 908.

[0127] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 906 may include a mixer circuit 906a, an amplifier circuit 906b, and a filter circuit 906c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 906 may include the filter circuit 906c and the mixer circuit 906a. The RF circuitry 906 may also include a synthesizer circuit 906d for synthesizing the frequencies used by the mixer circuits 906a of the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert an RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 908 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 906d. The amplifier circuit 906b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 906c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuitry 910 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not required, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0128] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 906d to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuitry 908. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuitry 910 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 906c.

[0129] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 906a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 906a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0130] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 906 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 910 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit 906.

[0131] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuit may be provided to process signals of each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0132] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 906d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard since other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 906d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0133] The synthesizer circuit 906d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a frequency divider control input for use by the mixer circuit 906a of the RF circuit 906. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 906d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0134] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The frequency divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 910 or the application circuit 805 according to the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the frequency divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application circuit 805.

[0135] The synthesizer circuit 906d of the RF circuit 906 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide an input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal phase bins, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO period.

[0136] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 906d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used with an in-phase / quadrature (IQ) generator and a frequency divider circuit to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at that carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the local oscillator frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 906 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0137] The FEM circuit 908 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the antenna array 911, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuit 906 for further processing. The FEM circuit 908 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuit 906 for transmission by one or more antenna elements in the antenna array 911. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be accomplished only in the RF circuit 906, only in the FEM circuit 908, or in both the RF circuit 906 and the FEM circuit 908.

[0138] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 908 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operations. The FEM circuit 908 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 908 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., output to the RF circuit 906). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 908 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 906), and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 911.

[0139] The antenna array 911 includes one or more antenna elements, each antenna element being configured to convert an electrical signal into a radio wave to travel through the air and convert the received radio wave into an electrical signal. For example, a digital baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 910 is converted into an analog RF signal (e.g., a modulated waveform), which will be amplified and transmitted via an antenna element of the antenna array 911 including one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may form various arrangements as known and / or discussed herein. The antenna array 911 may include a microstrip antenna or a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array 911 may be formed as a patch of metal foil in various shapes (e.g., a patch antenna), and may be coupled to the RF circuit 906 and / or the FEM circuit 908 using metal transmission lines and the like.

[0140] The processors of the application circuit 805 and the baseband circuit 910 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 910 may be used alone or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuit 805 may utilize the data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the RRC layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the MAC layer, the RLC layer, and the PDCP layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the PHY layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0141] Figure 10 is a block diagram showing components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or a computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 10A schematic diagram of the hardware resource 1000 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1010, one or more memory / storage devices 1020, and one or more communication resources 1030, each of which can be communicatively coupled via a bus 1040. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1002 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resource 1000.

[0142] The processor 1010 can include, for example, a processor 1012 and a processor 1014. The processor 1010 can be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0143] The memory / storage device 1020 can include a main memory, a disk memory, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1020 can include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state storage devices, etc.

[0144] The communication resource 1030 can include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1004 or one or more databases 1006 via a network 1008. For example, the communication resource 1030 can include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via USB), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, (or low power) components, components, and other communication components.

[0145] Instruction 1050 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an application, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors in processor 1010 to execute any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Instruction 1050 may reside entirely or partially in at least one of the processors in processor 1010 (e.g., within the cache memory of the processor), memory / storage device 1020, or any suitable combination thereof. Additionally, any part of instruction 1050 may be transferred from any combination of peripheral device 1004 or database 1006 to hardware resource 1000. Accordingly, the memory of processor 1010, memory / storage device 1020, peripheral device 1004, and database 1006 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0146] Figure 11 An exemplary illustration of a wireless device is provided, such as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile wireless device, a mobile communication device, a tablet, a handheld terminal, or other types of wireless devices. The wireless device may include one or more antennas configured to communicate with a node, a macro node, a low-power node (LPN), or a transmission station such as a base station (BS), an evolved node B (eNB), a baseband processing unit (BBU), a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio equipment (RRE), a relay station (RS), a radio equipment (RE), or other types of wireless wide area network (WWAN) access points. The wireless device may be configured to communicate using at least one wireless communication standard, such as but not limited to 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, high-speed packet access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and WiFi. The wireless device may communicate using a separate antenna for each wireless communication standard or a shared antenna for multiple wireless communication standards. The wireless device may communicate in a wireless local area network (WAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), and / or a WWAN. The wireless device may also include a wireless modem. The wireless modem may include, for example, a wireless radio transceiver and baseband circuitry (e.g., a baseband processor). In one example, the wireless modem may modulate signals transmitted by the wireless device via one or more antennas and demodulate signals received by the wireless device via one or more antennas.

[0147] Figure 11An illustration of a microphone and one or more speakers that can be used for audio input and output from a wireless device is also provided. The display screen can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen or other types of display screens such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The display screen can be configured as a touch screen. The touch screen can use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touch screen technology. The application processor and the graphics processor can be coupled to the internal memory to provide processing and display capabilities. The non-volatile memory port can also be used to provide data input / output options to the user. The non-volatile memory port can also be used to expand the memory capabilities of the wireless device. A keyboard can be integrated with the wireless device or wirelessly connected to the wireless device to provide additional user input. A virtual keyboard can also be used using the touch screen.

[0148] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuit described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the following embodiments. As another example, the circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the embodiments shown in the embodiments section below.

[0149] Examples

[0150] The following embodiments relate to specific technical implementations and point out specific features, elements, or actions that can be used or otherwise combined when implementing such implementations.

[0151] Embodiment 1 includes an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) operable for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeat communication, the apparatus including: one or more processors configured to: at the UE, decode information in a first transmission from the PDSCH and information in one or more repeat transmissions from the PDSCH; at the UE, decode a repeat parameter value; and at the UE, determine, based on the repeat parameter value, whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more repeat transmissions are different; and a memory interface configured to store the repeat parameter value in a memory.

[0152] Embodiment 2 includes the apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the first TCI state and the one or more additional TCI states are configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0153] Embodiment 3 includes the apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the UE, identify the repetition parameter value, where the repetition parameter value indicates 1, 2, 3, or 4 different TCI states.

[0154] Embodiment 4 includes the apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the repetition parameter is a TCI code point configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0155] Embodiment 5 includes the apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the UE, activate a subset of TCI states via medium access control (MAC) signaling.

[0156] Embodiment 6 includes the apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the UE, decode the repetition parameter value from downlink control information (DCI).

[0157] Embodiment 7 includes the apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the difference between the first TCI state and the one or more additional TCI states indicates a difference between a first spatial direction associated with the first transmission and one or more additional spatial directions associated with the one or more repeated transmissions.

[0158] Embodiment 8 includes an apparatus for a new radio node B (gNB) operable for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeated communication, the apparatus including: one or more processors configured to: at the gNB, encode information about a first transmission on the PDSCH and encode the information about the one or more repeated transmissions on the PDSCH; at the gNB, select a repetition parameter value, the repetition parameter value indicating whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more repeated transmissions are different; and at the gNB, encode the repetition parameter value; and a memory interface configured to send the repetition parameter value to a memory.

[0159] Embodiment 9 includes the apparatus according to Embodiment 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the gNB, encode the first TCI state and the one or more additional TCI states via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0160] Example 10 includes the apparatus according to Example 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the gNB, select the repetition parameter value, where the repetition parameter value indicates 1, 2, 3, or 4 different TCI states.

[0161] Example 11 includes the apparatus according to Example 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the gNB, encode the repetition parameter via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, where the repetition parameter is a TCI code point.

[0162] Example 12 includes the apparatus according to Example 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the gNB, activate a subset of TCI states via medium access control (MAC) signaling.

[0163] Example 13 includes the apparatus according to Example 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: at the gNB, encode the repetition parameter value via downlink control information (DCI).

[0164] Example 14 includes the apparatus according to any one of Examples 8 to 13, wherein the difference between the first TCI state and the one or more additional TCI states indicates the difference between the first spatial direction associated with the first transmission and the one or more additional spatial directions associated with the one or more repeated transmissions.

[0165] Example 15 includes at least one machine-readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeated communication, the instructions when executed by one or more processors at a user equipment (UE) perform the following operations: at the UE, decode information in a first transmission from the PDSCH and information in one or more repeated transmissions from the PDSCH; at the UE, decode a repetition parameter value; and at the UE, determine based on the repetition parameter value whether a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for the first transmission and one or more additional TCI states for the one or more repeated transmissions are different.

[0166] Example 16 includes the at least one machine-readable storage medium according to Example 15, wherein the first TCI state and the one or more additional TCI states are configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0167] Example 17 includes at least one machine-readable storage medium according to Example 15, and further includes instructions that, when executed, perform the following operations: at the UE, identify the repetition parameter value, where the repetition parameter value indicates 1, 2, 3, or 4 different TCI states.

[0168] Example 18 includes at least one machine-readable storage medium according to Example 15, and further includes instructions that, when executed, perform the following operations: at the UE, activate a subset of TCI states via medium access control (MAC) signaling.

[0169] Example 19 includes at least one machine-readable storage medium according to Example 15, and further includes instructions that, when executed, perform the following operations: at the UE, decode the repetition parameter value from downlink control information (DCI).

[0170] Example 20 includes at least one machine-readable storage medium according to any one of Examples 15 to 19, where the difference between the first TCI state and the one or more additional TCI states indicates a difference between the first spatial direction associated with the first transmission and the one or more additional spatial directions associated with the one or more repeated transmissions.

[0171] Various techniques or certain aspects or portions thereof may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in a tangible medium such as a floppy disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage medium, where when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case of executing program code on a programmable computer, the computing device may include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements may be random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash drive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, solid state drive, or other media for storing electronic data. Nodes and wireless devices may also include a transceiver module (i.e., transceiver), a counting module (i.e., counter), a processing module (i.e., processor), and / or a clock module (i.e., clock) or a timing module (i.e., timer). In one example, selected components of the transceiver module may be located in a cloud radio access network (C-RAN). One or more programs that implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, etc. Such programs may be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, if desired, one or more programs may be implemented in assembly language or machine language. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language and combined with hardware specific implementations.

[0172] As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, be part of, or include the following: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, the circuit may include logic components that operate at least partially in hardware.

[0173] It should be understood that many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit that includes a custom very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit or gate array, off-the-shelf semiconductors (such as logic chips, transistors), or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in a programmable hardware device (such as a field programmable gate array, programmable array logic, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0174] The module can also be implemented in software to be executed by various types of processors. The identified executable code module can include, for example, one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, and the one or more physical or logical blocks can be organized as objects, procedures, or functions, for example. However, the executable files of the identified module may not be physically located together, but may include different instructions stored in different locations, which, when logically connected together, include the module and achieve the established purpose of the module.

[0175] In fact, the module of executable code can be a single instruction or many instructions, and can even be distributed over several different code segments, between different programs, and on several memory devices. Similarly, the operating data can be identified and shown within the module herein, and can be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operating data can be collected as a single data set, or can be distributed over different locations, including distributed over different storage devices, and the operating data can exist at least partially only as electronic signals on a system or network. The module can be passive or active, including an agent operable to perform the required function.

[0176] As used throughout the specification, the phrase "an example" or "exemplary" means that the particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment of the present technology. Thus, the phrase "in one example" or the word "exemplary" that appears in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.

[0177] As used herein, for convenience, multiple items, structural elements, component elements, and / or materials may be presented in a common list. However, these lists should be understood to mean that, notwithstanding this, each member of the list is separately identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, any member of such a list should not be understood to be in fact equivalent to any other member of the same list merely based on being presented in a common group without contrary indication. In addition, various embodiments and examples of the present technology may be referred to herein along with alternatives of its various components. It should be understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives should not be understood to be in fact equivalents of each other, but rather should be considered as separate and autonomous representations of the present technology.

[0178] In addition, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of layouts, distances, network examples, to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present technology. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present technology may be practiced without one or more of the specific details or in combination with other methods, components, layouts, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the present technology.

[0179] While the foregoing examples illustrate the principles of the present technology in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications may be made to the specific forms of implementation, use, and details without the exercise of creative faculty and without departing from the principles and concepts of the present technology. Accordingly, this disclosure is not intended to be limiting of the technology except as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for operating a user equipment (UE) capable of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeated communication, the apparatus comprising: One or more processors configured to: At the UE, activate a specified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, i.e., a specified TCI state, based on medium access control (MAC) signaling received at the UE; At the UE, receive a single value in downlink control information (DCI); The single value being configured to indicate receiving PDSCH repeats using multiple of the specified TCI states; At the UE, determine to cycle the multiple specified TCI states to receive the PDSCH repeats based on the single value in the DCI; And At the UE, receive the PDSCH repeats by cycling the multiple specified TCI states; And A memory interface configured to store the single value in a memory.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein, The number of the multiple specified TCI states is less than eight.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein, The number of the specified TCI states is eight.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein, Cycling the multiple specified TCI states includes a number of TCI state changes, the number of the TCI state changes being equal to the number of the PDSCH repeats.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein The single value is indicated in a TCI field of the DCI.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein, The single value is represented using four bits in the DCI.

7. An apparatus for operating a base station capable of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeated communication, the apparatus comprising: One or more processors configured to: Signal a specified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, i.e., a specified TCI state, to a user equipment (UE) via medium access control (MAC) signaling; Send a single value to the UE in downlink control information (DCI), the single value being configured to indicate to the UE to cycle multiple of the specified TCI states to receive PDSCH repeats; And Send the PDSCH repeats to the UE; And A memory interface configured to store the single value in a memory.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, The number of the multiple specified TCI states is less than eight.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein The number of the specified TCI states is eight.

10. The device according to claim 7, wherein, The number of the PDSCH repeats is equal to the number of TCI state changes of cycling the multiple specified TCI states.

11. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising receiving, from the UE, one of a beam measurement report and a channel state information (CSI) report, wherein, In response to one of the beam measurement report and the CSI report, the single value is sent in the DCI.

12. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein The single value is represented using four bits in the DCI.

13. The device according to claim 7, wherein, The single value is indicated in a TCI field of the DCI.

14. A method for operating a user equipment (UE) capable of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) repeated communication, the method comprising: At the UE, activate a specified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, i.e., a specified TCI state, based on medium access control (MAC) signaling received at the UE; At the UE, a single value is received in downlink control information DCI, and the single value is configured to indicate receiving PDSCH repetitions using multiple of the specified TCI states; At the UE, based on the single value in the DCI, determine to cycle through the multiple specified TCI states to receive the PDSCH repetitions; And At the UE, receive the PDSCH repetitions by cycling through the multiple specified TCI states.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The number of the multiple specified TCI states is less than eight.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The number of the specified TCI states is eight.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein Cycling through the multiple specified TCI states includes a certain number of changes in TCI states, and the number of the changes in TCI states is equal to the number of the PDSCH repetitions.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The single value is indicated in the TCI field of the DCI.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The single value is represented using four bits in the DCI.

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