Iterative transmission refinement

Abstract

An apparatus with antenna elements for a wireless communication network is described. The antenna elements include a plurality of antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements. The apparatus communicates with one or more network entities (such as a base station or another UE) of the wireless communication network. The apparatus transmits or receives a reference signal (such as a sounding reference signal, SRS, or a synchronization signal block, SSB) to or from the network entity using one or more beams that are beamformed by the apparatus with one or more input parameters. The apparatus transmits feedback to the network entity, the feedback indicating the one or more input parameters used by the apparatus to beamform the one or more beams, and / or the apparatus is configured or preconfigured with the one or more input parameters, e.g., by the network entity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication systems or networks, and more specifically, to communication between two network entities via multiple antennas. Background Technology

[0002] Figures 1(a) and 1(b) are schematic representations of an example of a terrestrial wireless network 100. As shown in Figure 1(a), the terrestrial wireless network 100 includes a core network 102 and one or more radio access networks RAN1, RAN2…RAN N Figure 1(b) shows the Radio Access Network (RAN). n An illustrative representation of the example, the radio access network RAN n One or more base stations gNB1 to gNB5 may be provided, each serving a specific area surrounding the base station, schematically represented by cells 1061 to 1065. Base stations are provided to serve users within the cells. One or more base stations may provide service to users in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency bands. The term base station BS refers to gNB in ​​5G networks, eNB in ​​UMTS / LTE / LTE-A / LTE-A Pro, or simply BS in other mobile communication standards. Users may be fixed or mobile devices. The wireless communication system may also be accessed by mobile or fixed IoT devices connected to the base station or users. Mobile devices or IoT devices may include: physical devices; ground vehicles, such as robots or cars; aircraft, such as manned or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the latter also known as drones; buildings and other items and equipment with embedded electronics, software, sensors, actuators, etc., and network connectivity enabling these devices to collect and exchange data over existing network infrastructure. Figure 1(b) shows a schematic view of five cells; however, RAN n It can include more or fewer of these cells, and RAN nIt is also possible to include only one base station. Figure 1(b) shows two users UE1 and UE2 (also referred to as user equipment, UE) in a cell 1062 and served by a base station eNB2. Another user UE3 is shown in a cell 1064 served by a base station eNB4. Arrows 1081, 1082, and 1083 schematically represent uplink / downlink connections for transmitting data from the users UE1, UE2, and UE3 to the base stations gNB2, gNB4 or for transmitting data from the base stations gNB2, gNB4 to the users UE1, UE2, UE3. This can be implemented on a licensed band or unlicensed band. Furthermore, Figure 1(b) shows two loT devices 1101 and 1102 in the cell 1064, which can be fixed devices or mobile devices. loT device 1101 accesses the wireless communications system via base station gNB4 to receive and transmit data, as schematically represented by arrow 1121. loT device 1102 accesses the wireless communications system via user UE3, as schematically represented by arrow 1123. The individual base stations gNB1 to gNB5 can be connected to a core network 102, for example, via an S1 interface, via individual backhaul links 1141 to 1145, which are schematically represented in Figure 1(b) by arrows pointing to “core”. The core network 102 can be connected to one or more external networks. An external network can be the Internet, or a private network (e.g., an intranet or any other type of campus network, e.g., a private WiFi or 4G or 5G mobile communication system). Furthermore, some or all of the individual base stations gNB1 to gNB5 can be mutually connected via S1 or X2 interfaces or XN interfaces in NR, by individual backhaul links 1161 to 1165, which are schematically represented in Figure 1(b) by arrows pointing to “gNB”. A sidelink channel allows direct communication between UEs, which is also referred to as device-to-device, D2D, communication. The sidelink interface in 3GPP is named PC5.

[0003] For data transmission, a physical resource grid can be used. The physical resource grid can comprise a set of resource elements to which various physical channels and physical signals are mapped. For example, the physical channels can include the physical downlink, uplink, and sidelink shared channels, PDSCH, PUSCH, PSSCH, also referred to as downlink, uplink, and sidelink payload data, carrying user-specific data, the physical broadcast channel, PBCH, carrying for example, a master information block, MIB, one or more system information blocks, SIBs, and one or more sidelink information blocks, SLIBs, if supported, the physical downlink, uplink, and sidelink control channels, PDCCH, PUCCH, PSSCH, etc., carrying for example, downlink control information, DCI, uplink control information, UCI, sidelink control information, SCI, and the physical sidelink feedback channel, PSFCH, carrying PC5 feedback responses. It is noted that the sidelink interface can support a 2-stage SCI. This refers to a first control region comprising some parts of the SCI, and, optionally, a second control region containing a second part of control information.

[0004] For uplink, the physical channels can further include the physical random access channel, PRACH, or RACH, which is used by the UEs to access the network when they are in synchronization and have obtained the MIB and SIB. The physical signals can include reference signals or symbols, RS, synchronization signals, etc. The resource grid can comprise a frame or radio frame, having a certain duration, e.g., 10ms, in the time domain and a certain bandwidth in the frequency domain. The frame can have a certain number of pre-defined length subframes. In 5G, for example, a subframe has the same duration as in LTE, 1ms, depending on the subcarrier spacing. A subframe includes one or several slots, depending on the subcarrier spacing. For example, a subframe includes one slot at a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, two slots at a subcarrier spacing of 30kHz, four slots at a subcarrier spacing of 60kHz, etc. Each slot can in turn include 12 or 14 OFDM symbols depending on the cyclic prefix, CP, length.

[0005] The wireless communication system can be any single-frequency or multi-carrier system using frequency-division multiplexing, like the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, OFDM, system, the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access, OFDMA, systems, or any other IFFT-based signal with or without CP, e.g., DFT-S-OFDM. Other waveforms, like non-orthogonal waveforms for multiple access, e.g., filter bank multicarrier, FBMC, generalized frequency division multiplexing, GFDM, or universal- filtered multi-carrier, UFMC, can be used. The wireless communication system can operate, for example, according to the LTE-Advanced pro standard, or according to a 5G or NR (New Radio) standard, or according to a NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) standard, or according to an IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0006] The wireless network or communication system shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b) can be a heterogeneous network with different overlapping networks, e.g., a network of macro cells, each including a macro base station (as base station gNB1 through gNB5), and a network of small cell base stations (e.g., femto or pico base stations) (not shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b)). In addition to the above-described terrestrial wireless networks, there are also non-terrestrial wireless communication networks NTN, including space-borne transceivers (e.g., satellites), and / or air-borne transceivers (e.g., unmanned aircraft systems). The non-terrestrial wireless communication network or system can operate, e.g., according to the LTE-Advanced Pro standard or the 5G or NR (New Radio) standard or the IEEE 802.11 standard, in a similar way as the terrestrial system described above with reference to Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b).

[0007] In a mobile communication network, e.g., in a network as described above with reference to Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b), e.g., an LTE or 5G / NR network, there can be UEs that communicate directly with each other over one or more sidelink, SL, channels, e.g., using a PC5 / PC3 interface or WiFi direct. The UEs that communicate directly with each other over the sidelink can include vehicles that communicate directly with other vehicles (V2V communication), vehicles that communicate with other entities of the wireless communication network (e.g., road-side units, RSUs, road-side entities, like traffic lights, traffic signs, or pedestrians) (V2X communication). Depending on the specific network configuration, the RSUs can have the functionality of a BS or a UE. Other UEs can not be UEs related to vehicles and can include any of the above-described devices. Such devices can also communicate directly with each other (D2D communication) using the SL channels.

[0008] When considering two UEs that communicate directly with each other over the sidelink, the two UEs can be served by the same base station, such that the base station can provide the UEs with a sidelink resource allocation configuration or assistance. For example, the two UEs can be within the coverage area of a base station, like one of the base stations depicted in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b). This is referred to as an “in-coverage” scenario. Another scenario is referred to as an “out-of-coverage” scenario. Note that “out-of-coverage” does not mean that the two UEs are not within one of the cells described in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b), but that the UEs

[0009] • can not be connected to a base station, e.g., they are not in an RRC connected state, such that the UEs do not receive any sidelink resource allocation configuration or assistance from the base station, and / or

[0010] • can be connected to a base station, but the base station can not provide the UEs with a sidelink resource allocation configuration or assistance for one or more reasons, and / or

[0011] • can be connected to a base station that can not support certain services (such as NR V2X services), e.g. GSM, UMTS, LTE base station.

[0012] When considering two UEs communicating directly with each other over a sidelink, e.g. using a PC5 / PC3 interface, one of the two UEs can also be connected with a BS and can relay information from the BS to the other UE via the sidelink interface and vice versa. The relaying can be performed in the same frequency band (in-band relaying) or another frequency band can be used (out-of-band relaying). In the first case, the communication on Uu and sidelink can be decoupled using different time slots than in a time division duplex, TDD, system.

[0013] Fig. 2(a) is a schematic representation of a scenario in which both UEs communicating directly with each other are connected to a base station within its coverage. The base station gNB has a coverage area, schematically represented by the circle 150, which essentially corresponds to the cell schematically represented in Fig. 1(a) and Fig. 1(b). The UEs communicating directly with each other include a first vehicle 152 and a second vehicle 154, both in the coverage area 150 of the base station gNB. The vehicles 152, 154 are both connected to the base station gNB and, in addition, they are directly connected to each other over a PC5 interface. The scheduling and / or interference management of the V2V traffic is facilitated by the gNB via control signaling over the Uu interface, which is the radio interface between the base station and the UE. In other words, the gNB provides SL resource allocation configuration or assistance to the UEs and the gNB assigns resources to be used for V2V communication over the sidelink. This configuration is also referred to as mode 1 configuration in NR V2X or mode 3 configuration in LTE V2X.

[0014] Fig. 2(b) is a schematic representation of an out-of-coverage scenario, in which the UEs communicating directly with each other are not connected to a base station (although they can be physically located within a cell of the wireless communication network), or some or all of the UEs communicating directly with each other are connected to a base station but the base station does not provide SL resource allocation configuration or assistance. Three vehicles 156, 158 and 160 are shown as communicating directly with each other over a sidelink, e.g. using a PC5 interface. The scheduling and / or interference management for V2V traffic is based on algorithms implemented between the vehicles. This configuration is also referred to as a Mode-2 configuration in NR V2X or a Mode-4 configuration in LTE V2X. As mentioned above, the scenario in Fig. 2(b) is an out-of-coverage scenario and does not necessarily mean that the respective Mode-2 UE in NR or Mode-4 UE in LTE is outside the coverage area 150 of a base station, but rather that the respective Mode-2 UE in NR or Mode-4 UE in LTE is not served by a base station, is not connected to a base station of the coverage area, or is connected to a base station but does not receive SL resource allocation configuration or assistance from the base station. Thus, there can be a case that within the coverage area 150 shown in Fig. 2(a), in addition to the NR Mode-1 or LTE Mode-3 UEs 152, 154, there are also NR Mode-2 or LTE Mode-4 UEs 156, 158, 160. Further, Fig. 2(b) schematically shows out-of-coverage UEs communicating with the network using a relay. For example, UE 160 can communicate with UE1 over a sidelink, which UE1 can in turn be connected to a gNB via a Uu interface. Thus, UE1 can relay information between the gNB and UE 160

[0015] Although Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) show vehicle UEs, it is noted that the described in-coverage and out-of-coverage scenarios also apply to non-vehicle UEs. In other words, any UE (like a handheld device) using a SL channel to directly communicate with another UE can be in-coverage and out-of-coverage.

[0016] It is noted that the information in the above sections is merely intended to provide an overview of the background of the application and therefore the information can contain no prior art that is known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0017] From the above, there can be a need to improve or enhance multi-antenna transmission between multiple network entities of a wireless communication network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Embodiments of the application are now described in more detail with reference to the drawings:

[0019] Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) are schematic representations of examples of a terrestrial wireless network, wherein Fig. 1(a) shows a core network and one or more radio access networks, and Fig. 1(b) is a schematic representation of an example of a radio access network, RAN;

[0020] Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 2(b) schematically represent in-coverage and out-of-coverage scenarios, wherein Fig. 2(a) is a schematic representation of an in-coverage scenario in which both UEs are in direct communication with each other and are connected to the base station's coverage range, and Fig. 2(b) is a schematic representation of an out-of-coverage scenario in which the UEs are in direct communication with each other;

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system comprising a transmitter (e.g. a base station) for implementing embodiments of the present application, one or more receivers (e.g. user equipment, UE);

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application providing feedback comprising input parameters of a beamformer for creating one or more beams for reference signal transmission;

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present application providing feedback comprising input parameters of a beamformer for creating one or more beams for SRS transmission;

[0024] Figure 6 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system according to yet another embodiment of the present application providing feedback comprising performance parameters of a beamformer for creating one or more beams for reference signal transmission;

[0025] Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system comprising a user equipment and two base stations and operating according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 8 shows a time slot allocation in an IAB network according to an embodiment of the present application, which can also depend on the half-duplex or full-duplex capability of the IAB node;

[0027] Figure 9 shows an embodiment of the present application for V2X communication implementation for mobile user equipment; and

[0028] Figure 10 shows an example of a computer system which can execute units or modules and method steps described according to the methods of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Embodiments of the present application will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which like or similar elements are designated by the same reference signs.

[0030] In a wireless communication system or network (as described above with reference to Figures 1(a) and 1(b) or Figures 2(a) and 2(b)), individual network entities can communicate with each other via multiple antennas. The network entities involved in such communication can include user equipment (UE), base stations such as gNB, or integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes or any network terminal node (NTN). For example, the communication can occur between a UE and a radio access network (RAN) entity (such as the base station described above) via a Uu interface, or between UEs via a side link using, for example, a PC5 interface. The communication system or network can operate within a specific frequency range (e.g., frequency range 1, FR1, also known as the sub-6 GHz range; or frequency range 2, FR2, also known as the millimeter wave range). When communication occurs within FR2, beamforming is applied to communication between network entities. To handle communication within FR2, beam management is employed to determine the optimal beam set for communication; this beam management is a set of procedures on both the UE and gNB sides. Convergence using appropriate beam sets on the transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) sides can be an iterative process, which adds to the link establishment delay. This is especially true when there is no beam correspondence between the Tx and Rx beams.

[0031] Beam correspondence is, for example, the ability of a UE to select a suitable beam for uplink transmission based on downlink measurements, with or without uplink beam scanning. For example, beam correspondence requirements can be met when both an SSB signal and a CSI-RS signal are assumed to exist and a Class D quasi-co-located QCL is maintained between the SSB and CSI-RS. Two antenna ports are called quasi-co-located if the specific channel properties of a symbol transmitted on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel properties of a symbol transmitted on the other antenna port [1].

[0032] Furthermore, regarding beam management, for example, if a selected Rx beam on the downlink is unsuitable for the UE's uplink transmission, a separate beam management procedure needs to be performed on the uplink. Additionally, there may be situations where there is little or no traffic in a particular direction. For example, when the user equipment is considered a device or sensor with reduced capability to receive any UE-specific downlink traffic or only a very small amount of UE-specific downlink traffic from a serving entity (such as a base station), a specific reference signal (such as the Channel State Information Reference Signal CSI-RS) cannot be used to perform the beam management procedure.

[0033] For communication from the user equipment to the gNB, a sounding reference signal (SRS) can be used, which enables the gNB to estimate the uplink channel from the UE to the gNB. Similar to the downlink CSI-RS, the SRS can be used as a quasi-co-located QCL reference for other physical channels, allowing them to be configured and transmitted quasi-co-located with the SRS, as described, for example, in reference [1]. According to the 5G or NR standard, the so-called NR-SRS can be specifically configured for a particular UE, as described, for example, in reference [2].

[0034] "Unlike LTE, NR SRS is specifically configured for the UE. This gives the system a high degree of flexibility. In the time domain, SRS resources span 1, 2, or 4 consecutive symbols mapped within the last 6 symbols of a time slot. Multiple SRS symbols allow for extended coverage and increased probe capacity. Intra-slot antenna switching is also supported if multiple resources are configured for the UE (when the UE's transmit chain is less than its receive chain). Both features are important, for example, in reciprocal use cases. The SRS sequence design and frequency hopping mechanism are similar to LTE SRS."

[0035] According to the 5G standard, uplink UL transmission can be non-codebook-based or codebook-based, as described in Figure 11.13 of reference [3]. In either case, the gNB informs the UE via the SRS Resource Indicator (SRI) which SRS to use. The SRI determines the antenna port and uplink transmission beam to be used for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission. The number of bits in the SRS depends on the number of SRS groups configured and whether codebook-based or non-codebook-based precoding is used, as described in reference [1].

[0036] Depending on the SRS configuration, the UE can perform antenna switching, for example, depending on the RRC parameter settings in the SRS resource set described in reference [4]. Depending on the UE's capabilities, the supported SRS-Tx port switching can be one transmit port / two receive ports, i.e., 1T2R, or 1T4R or 2T4R or T=R. In reference [5], the association between the SRS port and the UE antenna port is described as follows for different Tx / Rx configurations:

[0037] "<For 1T2R, the association between the SRS port and the UE antenna port>"

[0038] SRS port UE antenna port SRS port 0 of the first SRS resource UE antenna port 0 SRS port 0 of the second SRS resource UE antenna port 1

[0039] <For 2T4R, the relationship between the SRS port and the UE antenna port>

[0040]

[0041]

[0042] <Relationship between SRS port and UE antenna port for 1T4R>

[0043] SRS port UE antenna port SRS port 0 of the first SRS resource UE antenna port 0 SRS port 0 of the second SRS resource UE antenna port 1 SRS port 0 of the third SRS resource UE antenna port 2 SRS port 0 of the fourth SRS resource UE antenna port 3 "

[0044] The NR SRS design involved in reference [6] is as follows:

[0045] "NR SRS design should not assume a specific antenna configuration at the UE and should support dynamic port / antenna / resource selection by the gNB and UE. In the event of UE selection, it can be disabled / enabled by the gNB (if the UE selection is opaque)."

[0046] NR UL supports the transmission of precoded SRS using both the same and different UE Tx beamformers over a duration. NR supports the following Tx beamformer determination for SRS.

[0047] • The UE applies the gNB transparent Tx beamformer to the SRS; for example, the UE determines the Tx beam for each SRS port / resource.

[0048] • Based on gNB instructions, such as via SRI

[0049] NR supports SRS transmission (including at least 1, 2, and 4 SRS ports and 2 and 4 comb levels) and configurable frequency hopping.

[0050] Configurable SRS bandwidth is supported. The density of SRS can be configurable with respect to the frequency domain (e.g., comb level) and / or time domain (including multi-symbol SRS transmission). Partial and full-band sizes can be configured. The partial band is smaller than the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the UE. Within the partial band, the PRB used for SRS transmission can be continuous, at least in the frequency domain. The UE supports frequency hopping within the partial band, where frequency hopping at least at the sub-band granularity is supported. For the full-band size, the size is equal to the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the UE. The set of parameters used for SRS transmission can also be configurable for the UE.

[0051] The NR-SRS resource consists of a set of resource elements (REs) within a duration / frequency span and N antenna ports (N ≥ 1). A UE can be configured with K ≥ 1 NR-SRS resources. The maximum value of K is considered the UE's ability to avoid forced support for large values of K. Among the K ≥ 1 configured NR-SRS resources, for non-periodic transmission, the UE can be configured to transmit a subset or all of the K NR-SRS resources without precoding, with the same precoding, or with different precodings. For periodic and semi-persistent transmission, among the K ≥ 1 configured NR-SRS resources, the UE can be configured to transmit the K NR-SRS resources without precoding, with the same precoding, or with different precodings.

[0052] Consider SRS transmission with sequences that achieve low PAPR and the possible multiplexing of SRSs with different SRS bandwidths in the same symbol.

[0053] Support for non-periodic SRS transmission triggered by the network is provided. Periodic and semi-persistent NR-SRS transmissions are also supported.

[0054] Reference [7] describes that the SRI is part of the downlink control information DCI and is described as follows with reference to DCI format 0_1:

[0055] “

[0056] …

[0057] Field (item) Bit Reference SRS resource indicator Variable Determined by RRC parameter SRS-SetUse

[0058] …

[0059] <SRS Resource Indicator>

[0060]

[0061] “

[0062] Reference [8] describes the UE detection process for a specific SRS resource configuration in Section 6.2.1 as follows:

[0063] “For a UE configured with one or more SRS resource configurations and when the higher layer parameter resourceType in SRS-Resource is set to "periodic":

[0064] · If the UE is configured with a higher layer parameter spatialRelationInfo that contains an ID referring to "ssb-Index", the UE shall use the same spatial domain transmission filter used for receiving the reference SS / PBCH block to transmit the target SRS resource,

[0065] • If the higher-layer parameter `spatialRelationInfo` contains an ID referencing "csi-RS-Index", the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used for receiving referenced periodic CSI-RS or referenced semi-persistent CSI-RS to transmit the target SRS resource. If the higher-layer parameter `spatialRelationInfo` contains an ID referencing "srs", the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used for transmitting referenced periodic SRS to transmit the target SRS resource. When the SRS is configured by the higher-layer parameter `[SRS-for-positioning]`, and if the higher-layer parameter `spatialRelationInfo` contains an ID referencing "DL-PRS-ResourceId", the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used for receiving referenced DLPRS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0066] For UEs configured with one or more SRS resource configurations, and when the higher-level parameter resourceType in SRS-Resource is set to "semi-persistent":

[0067] If the UE is configured with the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo containing the ID of the reference "ssb-Index", then the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to receive the reference SS / PBCH block to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0068] • If the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo contains the ID of the reference “csi-RS-Index”, the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to receive the reference periodic CSI-RS, the reference semi-persistent CSI-RS, or the latest reference aperiodic CSI-RS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0069] • If the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo contains the ID of a reference “srs”, the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to transmit the reference periodic SRS, reference semi-persistent SRS, or reference aperiodic SRS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0070] • When the SRS is configured by the higher-layer parameter [SRS-for-positioning], and if the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo contains the ID of the reference “DL-PRS-ResourceId”, the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to receive the reference DLPRS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0071] For UEs configured with one or more SRS resource configurations, and when the higher-level parameter resourceType in SRS-Resource is set to "aperiodic":

[0072] If the UE is configured with the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo containing the ID of the reference "ssb-Index", then the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to receive the reference SS / PBCH block to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0073] • If the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo contains the ID of the reference “csi-RS-Index”, the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to receive the reference periodic CSI-RS, the reference semi-persistent CSI-RS, or the latest reference aperiodic CSI-RS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0074] • If the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo contains the ID of a reference “srs”, the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to transmit the reference periodic SRS, reference semi-persistent SRS, or reference aperiodic SRS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0075] When the SRS is configured by the higher-layer parameter [SRS-for-positioning], and if the higher-layer parameter spatialRelationInfo contains an ID of the reference “DL-PRS-ResourceId”, the UE should use the same spatial domain transmission filter used to receive the reference DLPRS to transmit the target SRS resource.

[0076] Therefore, as mentioned above, in order to allow the base station to estimate the uplink channel from the user equipment to the base station, the user equipment uses a specific beamformer or spatial filter to transmit SRS on each SRS port, and for reliable transmission, such as in FR2, it is necessary to determine an appropriate beam set for communication between the UE and the gNB. For example, the gNB can be an IAB node supporting a frequency range up to 100 GHz. The IAB node provides access to the wireless communication network and also provides wireless backhaul communication with other nodes. The IAB concept allows for flexible and dense deployment of NR cells without proportionally densifying the transmission network, and it can support both single-hop and multi-hop operations. Many aspects of IAB nodes have been studied, such as protocol stack and network architecture design, routing and optimization, multi-hop resource allocation and routing management coordination, dynamic resource allocation between backhaul links and access links, cross-link interference CLI measurement and management, etc. Considering that the IAB supports multi-hop communication, in addition to providing access to its UE via the g-NB Distributed Unit (g-NB DU) function, the IAB node also contains a subset of UE functions, referred to as the Mobile Terminal (MT). Therefore, the IAB node (i.e., its MT) also uses a specific beamformer to transmit SRS to the upstream IAB node through the corresponding SRS port, similar to the UE. Thus, for the purposes of this invention, in addition to SRS transmission, resource coordination and cross-link interference management between nodes are of interest because resource coordination is required for both TDD and FDD operations, as well as for the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) directions, under per-link half-duplex constraints across one or more backhaul links (BH), due to the multiplexing of access and backhaul links in time, frequency, or space. Related to resource coordination is cross-link interference measurement and management, and currently, the frame structure, timing alignment, and initial access or radio resource management (RRM) procedures of the IAB node focus on TDM operations, where the access or backhaul link is active in a given time / frequency resource.

[0077] The table below describes how different time slots can be configured to meet the half-duplex constraints in IAB networks (see reference [9]).

[0078]

[0079]

[0080] The meanings of the following abbreviations are as follows:

[0081] • “MT:Tx” indicates that the mobile terminal MT of the IAB node should send (if scheduled);

[0082] • “DU:Tx” indicates that the distributed unit DU of the IAB node can send;

[0083] • “MT:Rx” means that MT should be able to receive (if there is anything to receive);

[0084] • “DU:Rx” indicates that the DU can schedule uplink transmissions from child nodes or UEs;

[0085] • “MT:Tx / Rx” means that MT should send (if scheduled) and should be able to receive, but not simultaneously;

[0086] • “DU:Tx / Rx” means that the DU can send and schedule uplink transmissions from the child node and the UE, but not simultaneously;

[0087] • “IA” indicates that the DU resource is explicitly or implicitly indicated as available;

[0088] • “INA” indicates that the DU resource is explicitly or implicitly indicated as unavailable;

[0089] • “MT: NULL” means that MT does not send and does not necessarily need to be able to receive;

[0090] • “DU: NULL” means that DU does not send and does not schedule uplink transmissions from child nodes and UEs.

[0091] Each time resource type of a DU sublink can belong to one of the following two categories:

[0092] • Hard – Time resources are always available for DU sublinks

[0093] • Soft – Availability is explicitly and / or implicitly controlled by the parent node.

[0094] The time-domain resources at MT (i.e., the portion of the IAB node connected to the parent node) and the time-domain resources at DU (i.e., the portion of the IAB node connected to the sub-IAB or UE) can be used for the downlink, can be used for the uplink, or can be used flexibly. In addition, from the perspective of IAB DU, the sub-link can have a state of "no available time resources" (i.e., resources are not used for communication on the DU sub-link). In reference

[10] , enhancements to the resource reuse between the sub-links and parent links of the IAB node are discussed, including support for simultaneous operation of the sub-links and parent links of the IAB node, i.e., simultaneous transmission and / or reception, such as MT Tx / DU Tx, MT Tx / DU Rx, MT Rx / DU Tx, MT Rx / DU Rx. In addition, duplex enhancements (including CLI specification and backhaul BH link interference measurement) are described to support simultaneous operation of the sub-links and parent links of the IAB node, such as simultaneous transmission and / or reception as described above.

[0095] As described above, the UE can transmit SRS to allow the gNB to estimate the uplink channel from the UE. To transmit SRS, the UE can use a precoder, beamformer, or spatial filter to create one or more transmit beams carrying the SRS. So far, references have been made to communication between user equipment and RAN entities (such as the gNB); however, the above is not limited to communication via, for example, a Uu interface, but equally applies to sidelink communication between user equipment, for example, via a PC5 interface. Therefore, similarly, in device-to-device communication (such as V2X), a receiving UE communicating with a transmitting UE via a sidelink can transmit various reference signals to allow the transmitting UE to estimate the sidelink channel used for transmission from the receiving UE to the transmitting UE via the sidelink. Furthermore, in this scenario, the receiving UE can use a precoder, beamformer, or spatial filter to create one or more transmit beams carrying the reference signals.

[0096] Furthermore, a crucial aspect of beam management in NR on both UL and DL is beam indication. On DL, beam indication is supported through QCL relationships (specifically, Class D QCL). The UE can adjust its Rx beam using Class D QCL relationships transmitted with the signal. The QCL relationships are communicated to the UE using the Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) framework. TCI is used to indicate to the UE the QCL relationships between the PDCCH and / or PDSCH and other reference signals. In Releases 15 / 16, QCL / TCI is only used on DL. QCL enables the UE to infer other channel properties from a specific reference signal. In other words, QCL can group reference signals based on their properties regarding Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, and spatial Rx filters.

[0097] In NR, there are four such groups—QCL types A, B, C, and D (TS 38.214v16.5.0, version 16):

[0098] - "Type A": {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

[0099] - "Type B": {Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread}

[0100] - "Type C": {Doppler shift, average delay}

[0101] - "Type D": {space Rx parameter}.

[0102] TCI is used to indicate to the UE that the PDCCH and / or PDSCH use the same transmit beam as a reference signal, such as CSI-RS or SS blocks. TCI is organized by TCI states, and each TCI state provides the connection between the reference signal to be demodulated and other indicated reference signals. The TCI state also indicates the application that will use that TCI state. Each UE can be configured with up to 64 TCI states. TCI states are configured and indicated to the UE using a combination of RRC, MAC CE, and DCI. For example, PDCCH beam indication is done via RRC signaling by assigning a subset of M configured candidate states to each configured CORESET. Using MAC signaling, the network can dynamically indicate that a specific TCI state within a subset configured for each CORESET is valid. When monitoring the PDCCH within a specific CORESET, the device can assume that the PDCCH transmission uses the same spatial filter as the reference signal associated with the TCI indicated by the MAC.

[0103] The information element TCI-State is described as follows (TS 38.331v16.3.1, version 16).

[0104]

[0105]

[0106] In versions 15 / 16, spatial relationships are used to support beam indication on the UL. If the UE supports spatial relationships and beam correspondence is established, the spatial relationship can be configured to exist between the received DL reference signal and the transmitted UL signal. Alternatively, a spatial relationship can be defined or configured between two UL transmissions (e.g., SRS and PUCCH) at the UE. In this case, the UE should transmit the PUCCH using the same antenna pattern (e.g., beam) as the previously transmitted associated SRS. Therefore, the network receiver can infer the quality of the PUCCH it will receive by measuring the SRS. Furthermore, in this case, the gNB can use the same receive spatial filter / beam to receive both the PUCCH and SRS. The following is PUCCH-SpatialRelationINInfo (TS 38.331v16.3.1, version 16).

[0107]

[0108]

[0109] In the scenarios summarized above, while using precoders, beamformers, or spatial filters to create individual beams carrying reference signals is advantageous, beam management, such as within FR2, may still require the aforementioned iterative process, which adds latency during link establishment. A UE can transmit reference signals on one or more transmit beams created at its endpoints, but for beam management, the communication partner receiving the reference signal (such as a gNB in ​​SRS or a UE in sidelink communication) still needs to evaluate the received reference signal to allow adaptation to the precoder, beamformer, or spatial filter used at the base station and the UE. However, traditionally, the communication partner of the entity emitting the reference signal is unaware of the precoder, beamformer, or spatial filter used by that entity to create one or more transmit beams carrying or labeled with the reference signal. In other words, the communication partner of the UE transmitting the reference signal (such as a gNB) is unaware of how the one or more transmit beams are designed, for example, to what extent they respond to a specific transmission from the base station to the UE. For example, a UE might determine, based on transmissions received from a gNB, that it might want to limit the number of possible transmit beams to a subset, as some of these beams are determined to be unsuitable for SRS transmission. However, the base station or gNB lacks this information; therefore, an iterative process needs to be performed during beam management, including also evaluating the direction of beams from the UE that are not created at the UE, thus increasing the latency on link establishment caused by the beam management process.

[0110] The present invention addresses the aforementioned drawbacks and provides a method that reduces latency in link establishment between two network entities by providing feedback to a first entity (such as a gNB or a transmitting UE in sidelink communication) indicative of one or more input parameters and / or one or more performance parameters, wherein a second entity (such as a UE or a receiving UE in the case of sidelink communication) creates one or more transmit beams carrying reference signals based on these parameters. Compared to conventional methods that do not provide the feedback of the present invention, the method of the present invention offers several advantages. For example, according to the present invention,

[0111] • Transmission quality can be improved by refining the beam management and alignment processes through feedback provided to the base station to establish the design basis for forming the reference signal transmission beam.

[0112] In cases where beam correspondence is not met and a beam management process needs to be initiated at another stage, the method of this invention can reduce latency during link establishment because the beam management process is faster than when there is no feedback.

[0113] • Active interference management can be provided by enabling multiple Transmitter Receiving Points (TRPs) to use information from the feedback (i.e., the design basis used at the UE) to create beams that eliminate or minimize interference.

[0114] Improved resource management can be achieved through coordinated transmission between TRPs based on design principles.

[0115] • In IAB networks, Tx / Rx beam scanning and selection between IAB nodes can be improved when beam scanning is performed (which provides additional information fed into the design basis).

[0116] • Improved interference management between IAB nodes operating in half-duplex (e.g., TDM, FDM, SDM) or full-duplex mode; for example, in half-duplex TDM, the design basis can maximize the use of flexible time slots, while in full-duplex mode, the design basis can improve interference management between sub-links and parent links. Furthermore, the design basis can improve cross-link interference management with other nodes or UEs in the network.

[0117] • Individual component carriers (CCs) (e.g., CCs used for carrier aggregation (CA)) can use the same design basis (same set of input parameters) or different design basis (different sets of input parameters). When using the same design basis (same set of input parameters), each CC may only use a subset of the design basis (only a subset of the input parameters). The UE may provide feedback only on one CC (e.g., a 3 GHz carrier) but not on another CC (e.g., a 28 GHz carrier), and therefore only provide a portion of the design basis. In this case, the UE can provide the design basis for another CC or carrier.

[0118] Embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in the wireless communication system shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b), which includes a base station and users, such as mobile terminals or IoT devices. Figure 3 This is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system, including a transmitter 300 (such as a base station) and one or more receivers 302, 304 (such as user equipment UE). The transmitter 300 and receivers 302, 304 can communicate via one or more wireless communication links or channels 306a, 306b, 308 (such as radio links). The transmitter 300 may include one or more antennas ANT coupled to each other. T Alternatively, it may include an antenna array with multiple antenna elements, a signal processor 300a, and a transceiver 300b. Receivers 302 and 304 include one or more antennas (ANTs) coupled to each other. UEAlternatively, it may include an antenna array with multiple antennas, signal processors 302a and 304a, and transceivers 302b and 304b. Base station 300 and UEs 302 and 304 can communicate via corresponding first wireless communication links 306a and 306b (e.g., radio links) using the Uu interface, while UEs 302 and 304 can communicate with each other via a second wireless communication link 308 (e.g., radio link) using the PC5 / sidelink SL interface. When UEs are not served by the base station or are not connected to the base station (e.g., they are not in an RRC connection state), or more generally, when the base station does not provide SL resource allocation configuration or assistance, UEs can communicate with each other via the sidelink SL. Figure 3 Systems or networks Figure 3 One or more UEs 302, 304, and Figure 3 The base station 300 can be operated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention described herein.

[0119] UE that provides feedback on details of the input parameters related to the derived response beamformer

[0120] This invention provides an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:

[0121] An antenna unit, comprising multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements;

[0122] The device communicates with one or more network entities in a wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE.

[0123] The device transmits reference signals (such as sounding reference signals, SRS) to network entities on one or more transmit beams that are beamformed by the device using one or more input parameters.

[0124] The device sends feedback to the network entity, which instructs the device on one or more input parameters for beamforming one or more transmit beams carrying reference signals.

[0125] This invention provides an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:

[0126] An antenna unit, comprising multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements;

[0127] The device communicates with one or more network entities in a wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE.

[0128] The device receives reference signals (such as synchronization signal blocks SSB) from a network entity on one or more receive beams that are beamformed by the device using one or more input parameters.

[0129] The device sends feedback to the network entity, which instructs the device on one or more input parameters for beamforming one or more received beams carrying reference signals.

[0130] According to an embodiment, instead of sending the feedback or in addition to sending the feedback, the device is configured or pre-configured by a network entity using one or more input parameters.

[0131] According to an embodiment, in response to a request from a network entity, the device sends capability information, which at least indicates the device's ability to provide feedback. The feedback indicates one or more input parameters for the device to beamform one or more transmit beams carrying a reference signal. For example, it sends capability information indicating the device's ability to support transmit-space-feedback mode or receive-space-feedback mode.

[0132] According to an embodiment, the device:

[0133] • Receive one or more transmissions from one or more network entities, and

[0134] • In response to one or more received transmissions, beamforming is performed on one or more transmitted beams, and

[0135] The one or more input parameters include one or more parameters associated with one or more received transmissions.

[0136] According to an embodiment, the device receives one or more transmissions on one or more beams, wherein the one or more input parameters include one or more parameters associated with one or more received beams.

[0137] According to an embodiment, one or more parameters associated with one or more receiving beams or multiple inputs include one or more of the following:

[0138] One or more reference signals sent by a network entity, such as

[0139] Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), such as UE-specific CSI Type 1 feedback or UE-specific CSI Type 2 feedback.

[0140] ο Synchronization signal block SSB,

[0141] ο Positioning reference signal,

[0142] o Phase tracking reference signal, or

[0143] οDemodulation reference signal DMRS,

[0144] Define parameters for one or more receive beams, for example

[0145] ο Codebook index used to form beams at network entities

[0146] The resource block index indicates the time and frequency resources allocated to a beam at a network entity.

[0147] The time slot index indicates the time slots allocated to beams at network entities within a radio frame, such as subframes, time slots, and OFDM symbols. It comprehensively describes specific time slot allocations, such as in frequency hopping mode or semi-persistent mode.

[0148] The frequency or subcarrier allocated to the beam at the network entity, for example, in the case where the network entity BS uses cyclic delay diversity (CDD) as the transmission mode.

[0149] The frequency band index indicates the frequency range assigned to a beam at a network entity.

[0150] For example, n78 in FR1 or n257 in FR2.

[0151] According to an embodiment, the device beamshapes one or more transmit beams to point in one or more directions toward a receive beam according to one or more predefined criteria, wherein the one or more predefined criteria may include one or more of the following:

[0152] • The signal strength of one or more receiving beams exceeds a predefined threshold.

[0153] • The interference level of one or more receiving beams exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold.

[0154] • The signal strength of one or more receiving beams or the interference level to one or more receiving beams exceeds a predefined threshold within a predefined time window, or exceeds a predefined threshold a certain number of times within a predefined time window.

[0155] • The signal strength of one or more receiving beams or the interference level to one or more receiving beams is lower than a predefined threshold within a predefined time window, or is lower than a predefined threshold a certain number of times within a predefined time window.

[0156] According to an embodiment, the device beamforms one or more transmit beams based on one or more predefined performance parameters for one or more transmit beams, wherein the one or more predefined performance parameters may include one or more of the following:

[0157] • The transmission power of one or more transmit beams meets the regulatory effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limit.

[0158] • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams exceeds a predefined threshold.

[0159] • At the receiver, the received signal-to-noise ratio caused by one or more transmitted beams exceeds or remains below a predefined threshold.

[0160] • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams is maximized.

[0161] • The interference level (such as inter-cell interference or cross-link interference) to one or more transmit beams is below a predefined threshold.

[0162] One or more transmission beams have predefined directionality, such as a single main lobe, multiple main lobes, etc.

[0163] UE that provides feedback on the details of the objective function related to deriving the response beamformer

[0164] This invention provides an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:

[0165] An antenna unit, comprising multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements;

[0166] The device communicates with one or more network entities in a wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE.

[0167] The device transmits reference signals (such as sounding reference signals, SRS) to network entities on one or more transmit beams that are beamformed by the device according to one or more predefined performance parameters.

[0168] The device sends feedback to the network entity, which instructs the device to perform beamforming on one or more transmit beams using one or more predefined performance parameters.

[0169] This invention provides an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:

[0170] An antenna unit, comprising multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements;

[0171] The device communicates with one or more network entities in a wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE.

[0172] The device receives reference signals (such as synchronization signal blocks SSB) from a network entity on one or more receive beams that are beamformed by the device according to one or more predefined performance parameters.

[0173] The device sends feedback to the network entity, which instructs the device to perform beamforming on one or more received beams using one or more predefined performance parameters.

[0174] According to an embodiment, instead of sending the feedback or in addition to sending the feedback, the device may be configured or pre-configured by a network entity using one or more performance parameters.

[0175] According to an embodiment, in response to a request from a network entity, the device sends capability information, which at least indicates the device's ability to provide feedback, the feedback indicating one or more predefined performance parameters for beamforming one or more transmit beams.

[0176] According to an embodiment, one or more predefined performance parameters may include one or more of the following:

[0177] • The transmission power of one or more transmit beams meets the regulatory effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limit.

[0178] • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams exceeds a predefined threshold.

[0179] • At the receiver, the received signal-to-noise ratio caused by one or more transmitted beams exceeds or remains below a predefined threshold.

[0180] • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams is maximized.

[0181] • The interference level (such as inter-cell interference or cross-link interference) to one or more transmit beams is below a predefined threshold.

[0182] One or more transmission beams have predefined directionality, such as a single main lobe, multiple main lobes, etc.

[0183] UE of one or both of the application feedback options

[0184] According to an embodiment, in the case of a quasi-co-located QCL between an antenna port used by a reference signal and an antenna port used by another transmission of one or more network entities, the device may also use one or more transmit beams for the other transmission.

[0185] According to an embodiment, in the case of a quasi-co-located QCL between an antenna port used by a reference signal and an antenna port used by another receiver from one or more network entities, the device may also use the one or more receive beams for the other receiver.

[0186] According to an embodiment, the device indicates to one or more network entities that the antenna port used by the reference signal and the antenna port used by another transmission are quasi-co-located (QCL).

[0187] According to an embodiment, when one or more attributes (mass attributes) of the radio channel between the device and one or more network entities are within a predefined common range shared by antenna ports, the antenna port used by the reference signal is considered to be quasi-co-located (QCL) with the antenna port used by another transmission, wherein the one or more attributes of the radio channel include one or more of, for example, the following:

[0188] Doppler extension,

[0189] Doppler shift,

[0190] Average latency,

[0191] • Delayed expansion

[0192] • Average gain

[0193] • Spatial Tx or Rx parameters.

[0194] According to an embodiment, if one or more attributes (such as large-scale attributes) of the radio channel between the device and one or more network entities are within a predefined public range, the device uses one or more transmission beams used in a previous time slot or at a specific time in the past for another transmission to one or more network entities.

[0195] According to an embodiment, if one or more attributes (such as large-scale attributes) of the radio channel between the device and one or more network entities are within a predefined public range, the device uses one or more receiving beams that were used in the previous time slot before the other receiving or used at a specific time in the past for another receiving from one or more network entities.

[0196] According to one embodiment, the device uses one or more beams for another transmission or another reception at a certain time after a previous time slot or after a specific past time (e.g., within a specific time window starting or following the previous time slot or the specific past time). This specific time window may be defined by a predefined number of time slots or symbols. According to other embodiments, the one or more beams may be used for another transmission or another reception at one or more time instances after the previous time slot or the specific past time, wherein the interval between the previous time slot or the specific past time and the one or more time instances does not exceed a specific threshold, such as a predefined number of time slots or symbols following the previous time slot or the specific past time.

[0197] According to an embodiment, the device indicates a previous time slot or a specific past time to one or more network entities.

[0198] According to an embodiment, one or more properties of the radio channel include, for example, one or more of the following:

[0199] Doppler extension,

[0200] Doppler shift,

[0201] Average latency,

[0202] • Delayed expansion

[0203] • Average gain;

[0204] • Spatial Tx or Rx parameters.

[0205] According to an embodiment, another transmission includes one or more of the following:

[0206] • Transmission of payload data, such as PUSCH,

[0207] • Control data transmission, such as PUSCH or PUCCH.

[0208] • Sending access data, such as PRACH.

[0209] According to an embodiment, the device applies carrier aggregation (CA), and the feedback of the input parameters and / or performance parameters includes the identification of component carriers (CCs), for example by dividing the set of input parameters and / or performance parameters into separate subsets, each subset being associated with an index that indicates the CC associated with that subset.

[0210] According to an embodiment, the device:

[0211] • Receive transmissions from a single network entity.

[0212] • Beamforming one or more beams to reduce interference from one or more other network entities to a predefined threshold, for example, by pointing the main lobe of the transmitted beam to a single network entity and pointing the side lobes or nulls of the transmitted beam to one or more other network entities.

[0213] • Use signals to send the direction of the main lobe and side lobes or nulls of each transmitted beam to a single network entity as feedback.

[0214] According to an embodiment, the device:

[0215] • Receive transmissions from multiple network entities, including at least a first network entity and a second network entity.

[0216] • Beamforming one or more transmit beams to receive transmissions from a first network entity and a second network entity, for example, by pointing the main lobe of one or more first transmit beams at the first network entity and its side lobes or nulls at the second network entity, and by pointing the main lobe of one or more second transmit beams at the second network entity and its side lobes or nulls at the first network entity.

[0217] • Use signals to send the directions of the main lobe and side lobes or nulls of the first and second transmit beams to the first and second network entities as feedback.

[0218] According to an embodiment, a reference signal (such as a probe reference signal SRS) is distributed across one or more transmit beams, such that all one or more transmit beams are individually or jointly labeled with one or more reference signals.

[0219] According to an embodiment, the device is configured or pre-configured, for example, by the core network of the wireless communication network or by the radio access network (RAN) entity (such as a base station or UE) of the wireless communication network using control information (such as an SRS resource indicator SRI) that instructs the device to create a beam carrying one or more reference signals.

[0220] According to an embodiment,

[0221] The device is configured or pre-configured, for example, by the core network of a wireless communication network or by a radio access network (RAN) entity (such as a base station or UE) of the wireless communication network to provide feedback via, for example, RRC, MAC CE, DCI, etc., using a transmit-space-feedback mode.

[0222] The UE receives a control signal to activate or deactivate the feedback.

[0223] According to an embodiment, the device:

[0224] • Use a sidelink SL interface (such as a PC5 interface) to communicate with one or more other user equipment (UE) devices in the wireless communication network, and / or

[0225] • Communicate with one or more radio access network (RAN) entities (such as one or more base stations) of a wireless communication network using a radio interface (such as a Uu interface) or a shared access band (such as an unlicensed band).

[0226] According to an embodiment, the device and / or one or more network entities of the wireless communication network include one or more of the following:

[0227] • User equipment (UE), such as power-limited UEs, or handheld UEs (e.g., UEs used by pedestrians and referred to as Vulnerable Road User (VRU) or Pedestrian UE (P-UE), or body-worn or handheld UEs used by public safety personnel and first responders and referred to as Public Safety UEs (PS-UE), or IoT UEs (e.g., sensors, actuators, or UEs provided in a campus network for performing repetitive tasks and requiring input from a gateway node at periodic intervals), mobile or fixed terminals, or cellular IoT-UEs, or vehicle-mounted UEs, or vehicle-mounted group leader (GL) UEs, or sidelink relays, or IoT or narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices or wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, fitness trackers, or smart glasses), or ground vehicles, or aircraft, or drones, or

[0228] • Base stations, such as macro cell base stations or small cell base stations or central units of base stations or distributed units of base stations or mobile base stations or integrated access and backhaul (IAB) base stations, or roadside units (RSUs), or buildings, or

[0229] • Any item or device equipped with a network connection that enables the item / device to communicate using a wireless communication network, such as a sensor or actuator, or

[0230] • Any item or device equipped with a network connection that enables the item / device to communicate using a sidelink in a wireless communication network, such as a sensor or actuator or transceiver or any network entity with sidelink functionality.

[0231] Network entities that communicate with the device of the present invention

[0232] According to an embodiment, a network entity of a wireless communication network is provided, wherein the network entity communicates with one or more devices of the present invention.

[0233] According to an embodiment, in response to feedback from the device, the network entity:

[0234] • The requesting device sends capability information, which at least indicates the device's ability to provide feedback. This feedback indicates one or more input parameters for the device to beamform one or more transmit beams carrying a reference signal. For example, it sends a query about the device's ability to support transmit-space-feedback modes.

[0235] • Configure or pre-configure the device to provide this feedback via, for example, RRC, MAC CE, DCI, etc., such as using a transmit-space-feedback mode.

[0236] • Adapted for the transmission of this device,

[0237] For example, by reducing or removing unused reference signals, adjusting reference signals such as CSI-RS or SSB,

[0238] • Change the beam direction and amplitude of one or more beams carrying the transmission.

[0239] • Adaptively tracks one or more transmitted beams from the device.

[0240] • Directly configure spatial filters without using beam scanning.

[0241] According to an embodiment, the network entity includes one or more of the following:

[0242] • User equipment (UE), such as power-limited UEs, or handheld UEs (e.g., UEs used by pedestrians and referred to as Vulnerable Road User (VRU) or Pedestrian UE (P-UE), or body-worn or handheld UEs used by public safety personnel and first responders and referred to as Public Safety UEs (PS-UE), or IoT UEs (e.g., sensors, actuators, or UEs provided in a campus network for performing repetitive tasks and requiring input from a gateway node at periodic intervals), mobile or fixed terminals, or cellular IoT-UEs, or vehicle-mounted UEs, or vehicle-mounted group leader (GL) UEs, or sidelink relays, or IoT or narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices or wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, fitness trackers, or smart glasses), or ground vehicles, or aircraft, or drones, or

[0243] • Base stations, such as macro cell base stations or small cell base stations or central units of base stations or distributed units of base stations or mobile base stations or integrated access and backhaul (IAB) base stations, or roadside units (RSUs), or buildings, or

[0244] • Any item or device equipped with a network connection that enables the item / device to communicate using a wireless communication network, such as a sensor or actuator, or

[0245] • Any item or device equipped with a network connection that enables the item / device to communicate using a sidelink in a wireless communication network, such as a sensor or actuator or transceiver or any network entity with sidelink functionality.

[0246] System / Network

[0247] The present invention provides a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of network entities communicating with each other, wherein one or more of the plurality of network entities include the device of the present invention or the network entity of the present invention.

[0248] method

[0249] The present invention provides a method of operating an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus including an antenna element having a plurality of antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, and the apparatus communicating with one or more network entities of the wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE, the method comprising:

[0250] Transmitting reference signals (such as sounding reference signals, SRS) to network entities on one or more transmit beams beamformed by the device using one or more input parameters, and

[0251] Sending feedback to the network entity, the feedback instructing the device to perform beamforming on one or more transmit beams carrying a reference signal using one or more input parameters, and / or

[0252] The present invention provides a method of operating an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus including an antenna element having a plurality of antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, and the apparatus communicating with one or more network entities of the wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE, the method comprising:

[0253] Reference signals (such as synchronization signal blocks SSB) are received from network entities using one or more beams beamformed by the device with one or more input parameters, and

[0254] Send feedback to the network entity, which instructs the device to perform beamforming on one or more beams using one or more input parameters.

[0255] The present invention provides a method of operating an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus including an antenna element having a plurality of antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, and the apparatus communicating with one or more network entities of the wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE, the method comprising:

[0256] The reference signal (such as a sounding reference signal, SRS) is transmitted to a network entity on one or more transmit beams that are beamformed by the device according to one or more predefined performance parameters.

[0257] Send feedback to the network entity, which instructs the device to perform beamforming on one or more transmit beams using one or more predefined performance parameters.

[0258] The present invention provides a method of operating an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus including an antenna element having a plurality of antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, and the apparatus communicating with one or more network entities of the wireless communication network, such as a base station or another UE, the method comprising:

[0259] Reference signals (such as synchronization signal blocks SSB) are received from network entities using one or more beams beamformed by the device according to one or more performance parameters.

[0260] Send feedback to the network entity, which indicates one or more performance parameters for the device to beamform one or more beams.

[0261] According to an embodiment, instead of sending the feedback or in addition to sending the feedback, the method includes, for example, configuring or pre-configuring the device by a network entity using one or more input or performance parameters.

[0262] Computer program products

[0263] Embodiments of the present invention provide a computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more methods according to the present invention.

[0264] Figure 4 An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, more specifically a user equipment UE 400, which includes an antenna element 402 having multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements. The UE 400 constitutes an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The UE 400 communicates with a base station BS 404, which includes an antenna element 406, which may have multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements. The base station 404 constitutes one of the network entities of the present invention, with which the apparatus of the present invention communicates. To establish a link between the UE 400 and the base station 404, the UE 400 transmits a reference signal, such as an SRS 408. The UE 400 includes a beamformer 410 to create one or more transmit beams using the antenna element 402. To beamform the one or more transmit beams, the beamformer 410 operates based on one or more input parameters 412. UE 400 sends feedback 414 to base station 404, and the feedback 414 instructs the base station to provide one or more input parameters 412 in its beamformer 410 for beamforming one or more transmit beams carrying SRS 408.

[0265] According to an embodiment, UE 400 receives a request for transmission capability information from network entity 404, which at least indicates that UE 400 has the capability to provide feedback. For example, UE 400 may send capability information indicating that UE supports a transmit-space-feedback mode during which one or more input parameters are fed back, and UE 400 uses these one or more input parameters to beamform one or more transmit beams carrying reference signals.

[0266] Figure 4 An embodiment is shown in which UE 400 and base station 404 are connected via a Uu interface. More generally, UE 400 is connected to a RAN entity, such as gNB 404. However, the invention is not limited to this embodiment; instead, UE 400 can communicate with another UE via a sidelink communication interface using a PC5 interface. In this embodiment, Figure 4 The network entity in the example is composed of another UE. In the following description of embodiments of the invention, reference will be made primarily to the communication between UE 400 and base station 404; however, all embodiments are equally applicable to sidelink communication between two or more user equipments.

[0267] According to an embodiment, in response to feedback 414, base station 404 can adapt the transmission to be sent from base station 404 to UE 400. According to other embodiments, the base station can adjust the reference signals, such as CSI-RS or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), sent from base station 404 to UE 400 for link establishment. For example, base station 404 can reduce or remove unused reference signals, i.e., reference signals not considered at UE 400 for beamforming the transmit beam carrying SRS 408. According to yet another embodiment, base station 400 can change the direction and amplitude of one or more beams carrying the transmission from base station to UE 400. Furthermore, according to other embodiments, the base station can adaptively track one or more transmit beams created by UE 400, and / or can directly configure spatial filters based on the received feedback 414 without using beam scanning.

[0268] Figure 5 An embodiment of the method of the present invention (more specifically, for signaling and feedback in SRS transmission) is shown. Figure 5 The illustration shows a UE 400 including antenna element 402 and a base station 404 including antenna element 406. Figure 5 Further shown is a forward signal 420 from base station 404, which includes reference symbols on one or more transmit beams formed by base station 404 using its antenna element 406. Figure 5The forward signal 420 is schematically represented. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this signal is transmitted using a transmit beam created by the antenna element 406 of the base station 404. Figure 5 The diagram further illustrates a feedback signal 414 transmitted from UE 400 to base station 404. Similarly, the signaling of feedback 414 is schematically shown, and it should be understood that this signaling can be transmitted via radio communication from UE 400 to base station 404. Furthermore, Figure 5 Multiple transmission beams 4221 to 422 are shown. N The transmitted beam 422 is beamformed by the UE 400 using its beamformer 410, and... Figure 4 In one embodiment, the transmit beam carries SRS 408.

[0269] As described above, UE 400 uses its beamformer 410 to create one or more transmit beams 422, which operates based on one or more input parameters, also referred to herein as the design basis. The method of the present invention is advantageous when compared to conventional methods because it allows for easier adaptation of precoders or beamformers or spatial filters at UE 400 and base station 404 for reliable communication, particularly within FR2, because, through feedback 414, base station 404 is now able to, for example, perform the above-mentioned reference... Figure 6 One or more of the described actions are used to respond to beamforming at UE 400.

[0270] According to the present invention, UE 400 uses a pre-encoder at beamformer 410. To transmit spatially filtered SRS 408 or any other type of reference symbol, pilot, or data, where i is the index of the SRS sequence. Traditionally, base station 404 is unaware of the pre-encoder. Or, in a particular design, base station 404 is unaware of the input parameters or design basis at beamformer 410 used to obtain the pre-encoder that creates the transmit beam 422.

[0271] Therefore, the precoder can be described as follows:

[0272]

[0273] In the equation above, the input parameters or design basis for the spatial precoder used in the uplink transmission from UE 400 to base station 404 for carrying SRS 408 are (x1, x2, ..., x_i, ..., x_N). For example, signal 420 transmitted by base station 404 and received at UE 400 can be based on one or more parameters, and upon receiving signal 422, UE 400 can perform beamforming on the transmitted beam 422 in response to transmission 420. More specifically, UE 400 can use one or more parameters associated with one or more transmissions 420 as input to its beamformer 410. For example, the parameters mentioned above on which UE 400 performs beamforming 100, and which can be associated with signal 420 or the transmitted beam used to transmit signal 420, can include one or more of the following:

[0274] One or more reference signals sent by a network entity, such as

[0275] Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), such as UE-specific CSI Type 1 feedback or UE-specific CSI Type 2 feedback.

[0276] ο Synchronization signal block SSB,

[0277] ο Positioning reference signal,

[0278] o Phase tracking reference signal, or

[0279] οDemodulation reference signal DMRS,

[0280] Define parameters for one or more receive beams, for example

[0281] ο Codebook index used to form beams at network entities

[0282] The resource block index indicates the time and frequency resources allocated to a beam at a network entity.

[0283] The time slot index indicates the time slots allocated to beams at network entities within a radio frame, such as subframes, time slots, and OFDM symbols, all of which describe specific time slot allocations, such as frequency hopping modes or semi-persistent modes.

[0284] The frequency or subcarrier allocated to the beam at the network entity, for example, in the case where the network entity BS uses cyclic delay diversity (CDD) as the transmission mode.

[0285] The frequency band index indicates the frequency range assigned to a beam at a network entity.

[0286] For example, n78 in FR1 or n247 in FR2.

[0287] Therefore, according to the embodiment, the uplink beam 422 carrying SRS can be formed based on the downlink transmission 420. Some of the downlink-related parameters can be independent, while others depend on and need to be signaled together with other parameters (such as resource block index or codebook index).

[0288] Based on the above parameters (which are provided by base station 404 via signal 420 according to embodiments of the invention), these parameters can be reported and used by UE 400 to form a response or transmit beam 422 in the uplink, which carries a reference signal or is marked with a reference signal (such as SRS).

[0289] UE 400 can provide input parameters or design basis 414 on any suitable channel between UE 400 and base station 404 (e.g., on PUSCH, PUCCH, or PRACH). In the case of UE 400 communicating with another UE via a sidelink, the channel through which feedback 414 is sent can be the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) or the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSSCH).

[0290] According to embodiments of the method of the present invention, UE 400 may apply carrier aggregation (CA), and the input parameters or design basis may be extended to the CA case to include reference signals from different component carriers (CCs), and the associated report or feedback of the design basis or input parameters may include the identifiers of the component carrier CCs. For example, feedback 414 may include multiple sets of input parameters used at the UE, and these sets of parameters may be divided into different and separate subsets associated with an index indicating the CCs associated with that subset.

[0291] According to other embodiments, UE 400 may also create one or more transmit beams 422, such that the transmit beams 422 are pointed in the direction of receiving a beam that meets one or more criteria. In other words, the receive beam at which UE 400 can receive signal 420 needs to meet specific criteria. For example, the UE may only consider the direction of the transmit beam 422, based on which the signal strength received from base station 404 exceeds a specific threshold. Furthermore, according to other embodiments, UE 400 may consider forming a transmit beam pointing in the direction from which a specific receive beam is received only if the interference level on the receive beam exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold. According to other embodiments, UE 400 may consider forming a transmit beam pointing in the direction from which a specific receive beam is received in the following situations:

[0292] • The signal strength or interference level exceeds the threshold within a predefined time window, or exceeds the threshold multiple times within a predefined time window, or

[0293] • The above signal strength or interference level is below the threshold within a predefined time window, or is below the threshold multiple times within a predefined time window.

[0294] According to other embodiments, UE 400 may beamform transmit beam 422 according to a specific objective function of transmit beam 422. For example, transmit beam 422 may be created at UE 400 only if the signal strength of transmit beam exceeds a predefined threshold. According to other embodiments, UE may decide to perform beamforming such that transmit beam 422 is created with an interference level (e.g., cross-link interference level) below a predefined threshold. According to other embodiments, UE 200 may decide to create transmit beams such that they have predefined directivity. The performance parameters mentioned above may be included in feedback 414 sent from UE to base station 404 such that base station 400, in response to the performance parameters received via feedback 414, may determine its beamformer for beamforming at base station 404 based on maximum power or gain or maximum directivity (e.g., single main lobe, multiple main lobes, etc.) or minimum interference level. According to other embodiments, one or more predefined performance parameters may include one or more of the following:

[0295] • The transmission power of one or more transmit beams will meet the regulatory effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limit.

[0296] • At the receiver, the received signal-to-noise ratio caused by one or more transmitted beams exceeds or remains below a predefined threshold.

[0297] • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams is maximized.

[0298] According to other embodiments, the UE may send only performance parameters, that is, send performance parameters instead of input parameters. In other words, feedback 414 only includes the performance parameters discussed above. Figure 6 An embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein the feedback from UE 400 to base station 404 includes the aforementioned performance parameters. Figure 4 Basically corresponds to Figure 7 In addition to the following: Beamformer 410 receives performance parameters 430, and UE 400 creates one or more transmit beams based on these performance parameters 430, such as a specific signal strength, a specific interference level, or a specific directivity. Based on the desired performance, using UE antenna 402, UE creates one or more transmit beams marked with or carrying SRS 408. Feedback 414 indicates to base station 404 one or more performance parameters at UE 400 for creating one or more transmit beams carrying SRS 408.

[0299] According to an embodiment, UE 400 receives a request for transmission capability information from network entity 404, which at least indicates that UE 400 has the capability to provide feedback. For example, UE 400 may send capability information indicating that UE supports a feedback mode during which one or more performance parameters are fed back, and UE 400 uses these one or more performance parameters to beamform one or more transmit beams carrying reference signals.

[0300] According to other embodiments of the present invention, UE 400 can apply the same input parameters or design basis for different uplink channels; that is, the currently used design basis can be a previous instance of an existing design basis that is reused to create an SRS for the uplink channel. In other words, UE 400 can also use the transmit beam created according to the above embodiments for another transmission to the base station. According to embodiments, in the case of quasi-co-located QCL of the antenna port used by the reference signal (such as SRS) and the antenna port used by another transmission, UE 400 can use or reuse an existing design basis (such as the input parameters and / or performance parameters described above) for another transmission. Therefore, similar to the QCL assumption in the downlink, UE 400 can provide the design basis of an earlier or previous transmission on a specific channel (such as PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH, PSSCH, or PSCCH described above), such as input parameter 412 and / or performance parameter 430. UE 400 can apply the same design basis for different uplink channels, and QCL can be considered when the antenna port used by the reference signal and the antenna port used by another transmission exhibit specific properties (such as large-scale properties) within a predefined common range. Such properties may include one or more of Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, delay spread, or average gain.

[0301] The design basis can be reused to create one or more transmit beams from antenna elements of antenna element 402 of the UE, which are different from those antenna elements used for beamforming in previous instances of the design basis for antenna 402 of the UE. For example, when reapplying previous instances of the design basis, different antenna panels or antenna arrays defined by antenna element 402 can be used at the UE, or more generally, different transmit / receive points (TRPs). The design basis can also depend on a selected transmit port or a selected transmit panel used by the UE 400.

[0302] According to further embodiments of the invention, the design basis for creating a transmit beam at UE 400 to transmit SRS 408 (i.e., input parameter 412 and / or performance parameter 430) may take into account transmissions from other network entities (such as other base stations or other UEs near UE 400). Figure 7An embodiment is shown, schematically illustrating a UE 400 and two base stations or transmit / receive points TRP1 and TRP2, each including respective antenna elements 4061 and 4062, thereby allowing the formation of one or more transmit beams. Figure 7 In the example shown, TRP1 creates transmit beam 434, as depicted in transmit beams 4341 and 4342, while TRP2 creates transmit beam 436, as depicted in transmit beams 4361 and 4362. Transmit beams 434 and 436 are directed to the location of UE 400. According to embodiments, design bases (such as input / performance parameters input to beamformer 410) can be selected such that transmissions from other network entities are suppressed or utilized. According to embodiments, it may be necessary to consider the same beam mesh but with different source points, such as... Figure 7 The different TRPs described, and the design basis, can refer to the same or different tilt angles, elevation angles, and / or the same or different azimuth directions. This can also be used to manage interference between base stations by providing information about sidelobes or nulls, for example by limiting a given antenna array to a larger or smaller subset of antennas.

[0303] When considering Figure 7 In cases where UE 400 is served by only a single TRP (such as TRP1), UE 400 can create a transmit beam 422 for sending SRS to the serving base station TRP1, such that only transmit beams a and b are formed in the direction of receiving transmit beams 4341 and 4342 from it, while transmit beam c can be created such that only sidelobes or even nulls are pointed in the direction of receiving transmit beams 4361 and 4362 from it that interfere with TRP2, thereby avoiding, minimizing or coordinating interference between base stations.

[0304] According to other embodiments, Figure 8The UE 400 shown can be served by both TRP1 and TRP2, meaning joint reception, such as coordinated multipoint CoMP transmission, is possible. In this scenario, the UE 400 can beamform the SRS-carrying beam 422 as follows: beams a and b are created such that their main lobes point in the direction from which they receive the transmit beams 4341 and 4342 from TRP1, and except where TRP2 is interfering with the TRP, transmit beam c is formed such that its main lobe points in the direction of the received beams 4361 and 4362. In this scenario, unlike the first scenario where feedback is only provided to TRP1 (as indicated illustratively at 4141), the feedback is provided to both TRP1 and TRP2, as indicated at 4141 and 4142. By providing feedback 4141, 4142 to one or more serving base stations TRP1 and TRP2, the method of the present invention allows for improved transmission configuration and resource selection for uplink and downlink transmissions between UE 400 and TRP1 and TRP2.

[0305] According to an embodiment, the method of the present invention can preferably be used in an IAB network, which, as described above, requires strict control over the beam used to establish communication between the UE and the network entity (i.e., the IAB node). Figure 8 The time slot allocation in the IAB network is shown, which can also depend on the half-duplex or full-duplex capability of the IAB nodes. Figure 8 The diagram shows two branches of the IAB network, where cross-link interference could be a problem. Figure 8 The diagram shows a first IAB node, IAB1, and a second IAB node, IAB2, which can be either fixed or mobile nodes. Figure 8 In this context, it is assumed that nodes IAB1 and IAB2 are mobile nodes connected to a co-located DU / CU (such as a gNB) via a wireless connection (see dashed line), which in turn is connected to the core network CN via a wired connection (see solid line). Figure 8 Two UEs, UE1 and UE2, are further illustrated. For example, UE1 can request other entities located nearby (i.e., IAB1, IAB2, and UE2) to perform a wide-coverage beam scan, as schematically indicated by the respective transmit beams shown at 434, 436, and 422'. Based on the beam scans performed by the respective entities, UE1 can determine, for example, the potential direction in which communication is expected to interfere between UE1 and IAB1. This direction can also be referred to as the victim direction when an uplink beam 422 carrying a reference signal to IAB1 is created, and can be included in the design basis, i.e., it can be an input parameter of the beamformer at UE1.

[0306] According to an embodiment, this scanning can be achieved by using, for example, beam scanning for SSB in response to a request from UE1, or at regular intervals, or through coordination among all entities in the network. Therefore, according to an embodiment, uplink and downlink beam selection are based on a design basis that also includes information from… Figure 8 Other branches of the network beams, which may be subject to or cause interference, such as Figure 7 The diagram illustrates cross-link interference CLIs, such as potential cross-link interference CLI 1 from IAB1 to UE2 or CLI 2 from IAB2 to UE1. This embodiment provides a mechanism that allows initiating a beam scan that feeds additional information about potential interfering beams into the design basis, thereby expanding the design basis and enabling an increase in the number of flexible time slots.

[0307] According to other embodiments of the present invention, UE 400 can apply the same input parameters or design basis for different uplink channels; that is, the currently used design basis can be a previous instance of an existing design basis that is reused to create an SRS for the uplink channel. In other words, UE 400 can also use the transmit beam created according to the above embodiments for another transmission to the base station. According to embodiments, in the case of quasi-co-located QCL of the antenna port used by the reference signal (such as SRS) and the antenna port used by another transmission, UE 400 can use or reuse an existing design basis (such as the input parameters and / or performance parameters described above) for another transmission. Therefore, similar to the QCL assumption in the downlink, UE 400 can provide the design basis of an earlier or previous transmission on a specific channel (such as PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH, PSSCH, or PSCCH described above), such as input parameter 412 and / or performance parameter 430. UE 400 can apply the same design basis for different uplink channels, and QCL can be considered when the antenna port used by the reference signal and the antenna port used by another transmission exhibit specific properties (such as large-scale properties) within a predefined common range. Such properties may include one or more of Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, delay spread, or average gain.

[0308] The design basis can be reused to create one or more transmit beams from antenna elements of antenna element 402 of the UE, which are different from those antenna elements used for beamforming in previous instances of the design basis for antenna 402 of the UE. For example, when reapplying previous instances of the design basis, different antenna panels or antenna arrays defined by antenna element 402 can be used at the UE, or more generally, different transmit / receive points (TRPs). The design basis can also depend on a selected transmit port or a selected transmit panel used by the UE 400.

[0309] According to other embodiments, the design basis previously used to create one or more transmit beams can be used in the same channel used for the current transmission. In other words, UE 400 can also use an earlier transmit beam created for a reference signal for other uplink transmissions in the same channel, provided that the channel does not have many opportunities. For example, if one or more attributes (such as mass attributes) of the radio channel between UE 400 and BS 404 are within a predefined common range, UE 400 can use one or more transmit beams used in a previous timeslot or a specific past time for the current transmission to base station 404. UE 400 can signal or indicate to BS 404 information about the previous timeslot or a specific past time so that BS 404 can obtain information about the design basis used at that time without additional feedback. The current transmission includes, for example, the transmission of payload data (such as PUSCH), or the transmission of control data (such as PUSCH or PUCCH), or the transmission of access data (such as PRACH).

[0310] One or more properties of a radio channel include, for example, one or more of the following:

[0311] Doppler extension,

[0312] Doppler shift,

[0313] Average latency,

[0314] • Delayed expansion

[0315] • Average gain.

[0316] According to an embodiment, UE 400 may be configured or pre-configured, for example, by the core network of the wireless communication network or by the radio access network (RAN) entity of the wireless communication network (such as base station 404 or UE), using control information (such as SRS resource indicator SRI) that instructs the device to create a beam carrying one or more reference signals.

[0317] According to other embodiments, UE 400 may be configured or pre-configured to provide feedback, for example, by the core network of the wireless communication network or by a radio access network (RAN) entity (such as a base station or UE) of the wireless communication network. For example, UE 400 may use a transmit-space-feedback mode and may be configured / pre-configured via RRC, MAC CE, DCI, etc. When configured / pre-configured to provide feedback, UE 400 may receive control signals to activate or deactivate the feedback.

[0318] According to further embodiments of the invention, the design basis for creating a transmit beam at UE 400 to transmit SRS 408 (i.e., input parameter 412 and / or performance parameter 430) may take into account transmissions from other network entities (such as other base stations or other UEs near UE 400). Figure 7 An embodiment is shown, schematically illustrating a UE 400 and two base stations or transmit / receive points TRP1 and TRP2, each including respective antenna elements 4061 and 4062, thereby allowing the formation of one or more transmit beams. Figure 7 In the example shown, TRP1 creates transmit beam 434, as depicted in transmit beams 4341 and 4342, while TRP2 creates transmit beam 436, as depicted in transmit beams 4361 and 4362. Transmit beams 434 and 436 are directed to the location of UE 400. According to embodiments, design bases (such as input / performance parameters input to beamformer 410) can be selected such that transmissions from other network entities are suppressed or utilized. According to embodiments, it may be necessary to consider the same beam mesh but with different source points, such as... Figure 7 The different TRPs described, and the design basis, can refer to the same or different tilt angles, elevation angles, and / or the same or different azimuth directions. This can also be used to manage interference between base stations by providing information about sidelobes or nulls, for example by limiting a given antenna array to a larger or smaller subset of antennas.

[0319] When considering Figure 7 In cases where UE 400 is served by only a single TRP (such as TRP1), UE 400 can create a transmit beam 422 for sending SRS to the serving base station TRP1, such that only transmit beams a and b are formed in the direction of receiving transmit beams 4341 and 4342 from it, while transmit beam c can be created such that only sidelobes or even nulls are pointed in the direction of receiving transmit beams 4361 and 4362 from it that interfere with TRP2, thereby avoiding, minimizing or coordinating interference between base stations.

[0320] According to other embodiments, Figure 8The UE 400 shown can be served by both TRP1 and TRP2, meaning joint reception, such as coordinated multipoint CoMP transmission, is possible. In this scenario, the UE 400 can beamform the SRS-carrying beam 422 as follows: beams a and b are created such that their main lobes point in the direction of the received transmit beams 4341 and 4342 from TRP1, and transmit beam c is formed such that its main lobe points in the direction of the received beams 4361 and 4362, except when TRP2 is interfering with TRP2. In this scenario, unlike the first scenario where feedback is only provided to TRP1 (as indicated illustratively at 4141), the feedback is provided to both TRP1 and TRP2, as indicated at 4141 and 4142. By providing feedback 4141, 4142 to one or more serving base stations TRP1 and TRP2, the method of the present invention allows for improved transmission configuration and resource selection for uplink and downlink transmissions between UE 400 and TRP1 and TRP2.

[0321] According to an embodiment, the method of the present invention can preferably be used in an IAB network, which, as described above, requires strict control over the beam used to establish communication between the UE and the network entity (i.e., the IAB node). Figure 8 The time slot allocation in the IAB network is shown, which can also depend on the half-duplex or full-duplex capability of the IAB nodes. Figure 8 The diagram shows two branches of the IAB network, where cross-link interference could be a problem. Figure 8 The diagram shows a first IAB node, IAB1, and a second IAB node, IAB2, which can be either fixed or mobile nodes. Figure 8 In this context, it is assumed that nodes IAB1 and IAB2 are mobile nodes connected to the core network CN via their respective backhaul communication links BH1 and BH2. Figure 8 Two UEs, UE1 and UE2, are further illustrated. For example, UE1 can request other entities located nearby (i.e., IAB1, IAB2, and UE2) to perform a wide-coverage beam scan, as schematically indicated by the respective transmit beams shown at 434, 436, and 422'. Based on the beam scans performed by the respective entities, UE1 can determine, for example, the potential direction in which communication is expected to interfere between UE1 and IAB1. This direction can also be referred to as the victim direction when an uplink beam 422 carrying a reference signal to IAB1 is created, and can be included in the design basis, i.e., it can be an input parameter of the beamformer at UE1.

[0322] According to an embodiment, this scanning can be achieved by using, for example, beam scanning for SSB in response to a request from UE1, or at regular intervals, or through coordination among all entities in the network. Therefore, according to an embodiment, uplink and downlink beam selection are based on a design basis that also includes information from… Figure 8 Other branches of the network beams, which may be subject to or cause interference, such as Figure 9 The diagram illustrates cross-link interference CLIs, such as potential cross-link interference CLI 1 from IAB1 to UE2 or CLI 2 from IAB2 to UE1. This embodiment provides a mechanism that allows initiating a beam scan that feeds additional information about potential interfering beams into the design basis, thereby expanding the design basis and enabling an increase in the number of flexible time slots.

[0323] The embodiments described so far have referenced communication between a UE and a RAN entity (such as a base station); however, as previously stated, the method of the invention is not limited to this scenario. Conversely, D2D communication or UE-UE links can also utilize the inventive concept, such as V2X communication. In the case of a UE-UE link, informing the transmitting UE about the design basis upon which the reference signal beam is formed may be more important than in the embodiments described so far, because in this use case, faster convergence of the symmetric beam set selection may be expected. Figure 4 An embodiment of V2X communication for a first mobile user equipment (e.g., vehicle V1) is illustrated. Communication from V1 may be via a Uu interface to a base station TRP including antenna element 406, and / or it may be communication with another UE (e.g., vehicle V2) via a sidelink interface. Vehicles V1 and V2 may include the UEs described in the above embodiments. Vehicle V1 may use its beamforming design basis to create so-called sidelink beams a and b for sidelink communication to vehicle V2, while beam c is used for communication to the TRP via the Uu interface. According to an embodiment, an iterative mode may be enabled for sidelink modes without cellular coverage (e.g., mode 2 NR transmission or mode 4 LTE transmission). For example, after transmitting a spatially filtered reference signal or pilot, vehicle V1 also transmits its design basis to vehicle V2. Vehicle V2 then transmits the pilot along with its design basis to vehicle V1. In a next step, vehicle V1 may modify the design basis of vehicle V2 such that, in this mode, the design basis scheme can be used for iterative beam alignment.

[0324] According to other embodiments, when within coverage area (e.g., in Mode 1 Nr or Mode 3 LTE transmission), signaling between the TRP and vehicle V1 can be explicitly performed, for example, by sending the design basis from vehicle V1 to the TRP. This signaling can also be implicit, for example, by pointing to a codebook or other resource index. This signaling can use MIB, SIB, RRC, DCI, PDSCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, or PDCCH.

[0325] As described above, according to the present invention, a UE (such as vehicle V1 or vehicle V2) can send information about how to design the uplink spatial filter. Additional feedback information (i.e., design basis, such as input parameter 412 or performance parameter 430) allows the uplink spatial filter used by vehicle V1 to be signaled, for example, by an index pointing to the measured downlink reference signal (such as CSI-RS or SSB or other parameters as described above). Based on the received feedback, the base station or other UE knows the design basis for creating one or more transmit beams carrying the SRS signal, and, for example, the base station can perform adjustments to the CSI-RS or SSB. For example, CSI-RS or SSBs not considered at the UE can be reduced or removed, resulting in an improvement in overall spectral efficiency. For example, implicit knowledge of preferred CSI-RS or SSB directions or indices can be provided to the base station through feedback.

[0326] If the SNR or SINR becomes better or worse, refinement at the base station can be combined with a one-bit feedback that causes a change in beam direction or amplitude and causes the base station to wait.

[0327] Furthermore, adaptive tracking of the uplink beamset can be performed at the base station or at both ends of the communication. This feedback allows for directional configuration of the spatial filters at both ends of the communication without using beam scanning technology, thereby reducing link establishment latency.

[0328] Base stations can improve or track the CSI-RS or SSB basis of beam correspondence methods. This is the UE's ability to select the appropriate beam for uplink transmission based on downlink measurements, with or without relying on uplink beam scanning. For example, beam correspondence requirements can be met when assuming the presence of both SSB and CSI-RS signals and maintaining a Class D QCL between the SSB and CSI-RS. When considering multi-stream beam correspondence, such as when using a level greater than 1, mutual design basis switching can allow for easier tracking, precoding, or decoding of combined channels.

[0329] The beam management process according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below.

[0330] Initially, in step (a), UE 400 (as described in the above embodiments) estimates a precoded downlink signal that can form the input to the design basis for beamforming the SRS transmit beam.

[0331] In step (b), based on the received precoded downlink signal, UE 400 derives a suitable precoder or spatial filter for uplink transmission.

[0332] In step (c), the UE may use a signal to send to the base station 404 its ability to inform the base station 404 about its design basis.

[0333] In step (d), the network can define an operating mode for the design basis feedback and send this information to the UE, multiple UEs, or a group of UEs via signaling through the MIB, SIB, RRC signaling, or DCI. For example, if the base station requests a specific reference signal (such as a specific SRS), the operating mode may include an aperiodic mode, according to which the design basis feedback is performed only on demand. The operating mode may also include a periodic mode for a specific SRS, as requested by the base station, or it may include a periodic mode for all SRSs.

[0334] In step (e), UE 409 transmits the design basis of the precoder or beamformer to base station 404 via feedback 440 using signals. For example, the design basis may be exchanged separately or as a complete set via feedback signaling 414y, depending on the UE's signaling capabilities.

[0335] In step (f), base station 404 may instruct UE 400 or a group of UEs to adapt or refine the design basis or specify the design basis according to a specific configuration or by excluding some entries from the design basis.

[0336] In step (g), UE 400 may calculate a new SRS spatial filter based on the constraints received from the base station in step (f) and / or by using a new design basis. In other words, according to embodiments, the method of the present invention may use signaling similar to that used for a known downlink QCL. In this context, UE 400 may be instructed to use the same design basis (Class D QCL = spatial Rx parameters, which are equal to the transmit beams from the gNB as input parameters). For example, UE 400 may use the same TX spatial parameters, which are selected as a response to a received SSB. When responding to CSI-RS, UE 400 may use the same Tx spatial parameters. Furthermore, UE 400 may report which design basis it has selected in a similar manner. Similar signaling (codes) are used on the downlink. Descriptions of different QCL types and how they are applied to the DL reference signal can be found in reference

[11] .

[0337] In the embodiments described so far, feedback on design fundamentals (such as input parameters and / or performance parameters of the transmit beam) has been primarily referenced. According to these embodiments, similar to TCI on the DL, the UE can use UL TCI (uTCI) to transmit its PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS reference to the gNB. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. The above embodiments are equally applicable to feedback on design fundamentals (such as input parameters and / or performance parameters of the receive beam used by the UE to receive transmissions from network entities (such as base stations).

[0338] For example, when considering again Figure 6In some embodiments, to establish a link between UE 400 and base station 404, BS 404 transmits a reference signal, such as a synchronization signal block (SSB). UE 400 includes a beamformer 410 to create one or more receive beams using antenna element 402. To beamform the one or more receive beams, beamformer 410 operates based on one or more input parameters 412. UE 400 sends feedback 414 to base station 404, and this feedback 414 instructs the base station on one or more input parameters 412 used by UE 400 in its beamformer 410 for beamforming the one or more receive beams of the receive SSB. According to embodiments, in response to feedback 414, base station 404 may adapt the transmission to be transmitted from base station 404 to UE 400. According to other embodiments, the base station may adjust the reference signal, such as CSI-RS or synchronization signal block (SSB), transmitted from base station 404 to UE 400 for link establishment. For example, base station 404 may reduce or remove unused reference signals, i.e., reference signals not considered at UE 400 for beamforming the received beam. According to yet another embodiment, base station 400 may change the direction and amplitude of one or more beams carrying transmissions from the base station to UE 400.

[0339] According to other embodiments, when considering again Figure 8 At that time, beamformer 410 receives performance parameters 430, and UE 400 creates one or more receive beams based on these performance parameters 430, such as a specific signal strength, a specific interference level, or a specific directivity. Based on the desired performance, using UE antenna 402, UE creates one or more receive beams, and feedback 414 indicates to base station 404 the one or more performance parameters used at UE 400 to create the one or more receive beams.

[0340] Therefore, according to an embodiment, when creating transmit and / or receive beamforming, the device can send the corresponding design basis to the gNB using signals. This design basis combines different input or performance parameters used for transmit and / or receive beamforming. The design basis can also indicate relationships or connections between different signals (e.g., SRS and DMRS on PUCCH and PUSCH, or SSB, CSI-RS, etc.). The concept of a design basis provides flexibility in the number and combination of parameters and relationships that can be indicated by the UE to the network. Therefore, as part of transmit-space-feedback mode capability signaling, the UE can also indicate to the network which design basis it supports. The same applies to receive-space-feedback mode.

[0341] In the embodiments described so far, feedback has been primarily directed to design fundamentals, such as input parameters and / or performance parameters of the transmit beam. According to these embodiments, similar to TCI on the DL, the UE can use UL TCI (uTCI) to signal its PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS reference to the gNB. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. The above embodiments are equally applicable to feedback to design fundamentals, such as input parameters and / or performance parameters of the receive beam used by the UE to receive transmissions from network entities (such as base stations).

[0342] The embodiments described so far involve feedback on the design basis so that the device (UE or base station) instructs the transmitter (such as the UE or base station) on input or performance parameters for creating transmit / receive beams. However, the invention is not limited to this embodiment; rather, according to other embodiments, the device may not send feedback, but instead apply one or more configured or pre-configured design bases (sets of input parameters) or configured or pre-configured performance parameters for creating transmit / receive beams. In other words, while the previous embodiments involved a device for providing feedback (also known as post-action feedback) on the design basis applied to a receive beamformer or transmit beamformer, the device may also be pre-configured / pre-configured to use a specific design basis in the current or future time slot or frame.

[0343] For example, the device can be configured with one or more design bases at specific events, such as one or more of the following:

[0344] -When initially connected to the network

[0345] - In response to, for example, the network determining that a specific parameter (such as interference or cross-link interference) has changed,

[0346] - During beam or cell handover

[0347] - In case of beam failure

[0348] - When adding additional component carriers.

[0349] According to an embodiment, for example, when the device is configured / pre-configured with more than one design basis or performance parameter, the above embodiments can be combined so that the design basis or performance parameter actually used by the device in the beamforming process is included in the feedback to the transmitter.

[0350] According to embodiments, the method of the present invention can be used to solve cross-link interference CLI (e.g., as... SUMMARY (The CLI or other CLI scenarios are illustrated in the diagram). For example, a CLI may occur between base stations, such as a first base station receiving a CLI from a second base station. According to an embodiment, the base station operates as follows:

[0351] - The first base station is selecting the beamformer it receives based on the (design basis) SRS from the UE and the SSB / CSI-RS from the second base station (which will cause interference).

[0352] The second base station is selecting its transmit beamformer based on (design basis) CSI feedback from its UE and CLI information from the first base station.

[0353] The base station can exchange information suitable for selecting an appropriate design basis, including CLI feedback.

[0354] The above example can also be applied between UEs that are subjected to CLI. Here, CLI information can be exchanged directly between UEs (e.g., via a side link) or via a base station.

[0355] Figure 10

[0356] Although various aspects and embodiments of the method of the present invention have been described separately, it should be noted that each aspect / embodiment can be implemented independently of each other, or some or all aspects / embodiments can be combined. Furthermore, the embodiments described subsequently can be used for each aspect / embodiment described so far.

[0357] While some of the above embodiments are described with reference to sidelink pools, it should be noted that the invention is not limited to such embodiments. Instead, the method of the invention can be implemented in a system or network that provides a set of resources to be used for specific communication between entities in a network, and this resource set can be pre-configured such that entities in the network are aware of the resource set provided by the network, or entities can be configured by the network with the resource set. The resource set provided by the network can be defined as one or more of the following:

[0358] • Sidelink resource pool, to be used by UE for sidelink communication, such as direct UE-to-UE communication via PC5.

[0359] • The configuration authorization includes either the resources that the UE wants to use for NR-U communication or the resources that the UE wants to use for NR-U communication.

[0360] • The configuration authorization includes either the resources to be used by the UE with reduced capabilities or the resources to be used by the UE with reduced capabilities.

[0361] According to embodiments, a wireless communication system may include a terrestrial network, a non-terrestrial network, or a network or network segment that uses an airborne or spaceborne aircraft or a combination thereof as a receiver.

[0362] According to embodiments of the present invention, the UE and / or other UEs include one or more of the following: a power-limited UE, or a handheld UE (such as a UE used by pedestrians and referred to as a Vulnerable Road User (VRU) or Pedestrian UE (P-UE), or a body-worn or handheld UE used by public safety personnel and first responders and referred to as a Public Safety UE (PS-UE), or an IoT UE (e.g., a sensor, actuator, or UE provided in a campus network for performing repetitive tasks and requiring input from a gateway node at periodic intervals), mobile or fixed terminal, or cellular IoT-UE, or vehicle-mounted UE, or vehicle group leader (GL) UE, or sidelink relay, or IoT or narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device or wearable device (such as a smartwatch, fitness tracker, or smart glasses), or ground vehicle, or aircraft, or drone, or base station such as gNB, or mobile base station, or roadside unit (RSU), or building, or any other item or device equipped with a network connection that enables the item / device to communicate using a wireless communication network (e.g., a sensor, actuator, or transceiver), or any other item or device equipped with a network connection that enables the item / device to communicate using a sidelink in a wireless communication network (e.g., a sensor, actuator, or transceiver), or any network entity that supports sidelink functionality.

[0363] According to embodiments of the present invention, a network entity includes one or more of the following: a macro cell base station, or a small cell base station, or a central unit of a base station, or a distributed unit of a base station, or a roadside unit (RSU), or a UE, or a group leader (GL), or a relay, or a remote radio head, or an AMF, or an SMF, or a core network entity, or a mobile edge computing (MEC) entity, or a network slice in an NR or 5G core environment, or any transmit / receive point (TRP) that enables an item or device to communicate using a wireless communication network, the item or device being provided with network connectivity for communicating using a wireless communication network.

[0364] Although some aspects of the described concept have been described in the context of the apparatus, these aspects also clearly represent a description of the corresponding method, where a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method step also represent a description of a feature of a corresponding block or item or a corresponding apparatus.

[0365] The various elements and features of this invention can be implemented in hardware or software using analog and / or digital circuitry, by executing instructions via one or more general-purpose or special-purpose processors, or as a combination of hardware and software. For example, embodiments of this invention can be implemented in a computer system or another processing system environment. REFERENCES:An example of a computer system 600 is shown. These units or modules, and the steps of the methods performed by these units, can be executed on one or more computer systems 600. The computer system 600 includes one or more processors 602, such as dedicated or general-purpose digital signal processors. The processors 602 are connected to a communication infrastructure 604, such as a bus or network. The computer system 600 includes: main memory 606, such as random access memory (RAM); and secondary memory 608, such as a hard disk drive and / or a removable storage drive. The secondary memory 608 may allow computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system 600. The computer system 600 may also include a communication interface 610 to allow software and data to be transferred between the computer system 600 and external devices. Communication may be in the form of electrical, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals that can be processed by the communication interface. Communication may use wires or cables, optical fibers, telephone lines, cellular telephone links, RF links, and other communication channels 612.

[0366] The terms "computer program medium" and "computer-readable medium" are generally used to refer to tangible storage media, such as removable storage units or hard disks installed in hard disk drives. These computer program products are means for providing software to computer system 600. The computer program (also referred to as computer control logic) is stored in main memory 606 and / or auxiliary memory 608. The computer program may also be received via communication interface 610. When executed, the computer program enables computer system 600 to implement the present invention. In particular, when executed, the computer program enables processor 602 to implement the processes of the present invention, such as any of the methods described herein. Thus, such a computer program can represent a controller of computer system 600. When the present disclosure is implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system 600 using a removable storage drive or an interface (such as communication interface 610).

[0367] Digital storage media, such as cloud storage, floppy disks, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, CDs, ROMs, PROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, or FLASH memories, can be used to execute hardware or software implementations. These media store electronically readable control signals that cooperate with or are capable of cooperating with a programmable computer system to execute corresponding methods. Therefore, digital storage media can be computer-readable.

[0368] Some embodiments of the invention include a data carrier having electronically readable control signals, capable of cooperating with a programmable computer system to perform one of the methods described herein.

[0369] Typically, embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as a computer program product having program code operable to perform one of these methods when the computer program product is run on a computer. The program code may, for example, be stored on a machine-readable medium.

[0370] Other embodiments include a computer program stored on a machine-readable medium for performing one of the methods described herein. In other words, embodiments of the methods of the invention are therefore computer programs having program code for performing one of the methods described herein when the computer program is run on a computer.

[0371] Therefore, other embodiments of the methods of the present invention are data carriers, digital storage media, or computer-readable media on which a computer program is recorded, the computer program being used to perform one of the methods described herein. Therefore, other embodiments of the methods of the present invention are data streams or signal sequences representing computer programs used to perform one of the methods described herein. The data streams or signal sequences may, for example, be configured to be transmitted via a data communication connection (e.g., via the Internet). Another embodiment includes a processing device, such as a computer or programmable logic device, configured or adapted to perform one of the methods described herein. Another embodiment includes a computer on which a computer program is installed, the computer program being used to perform one of the methods described herein.

[0372] In some embodiments, a programmable logic device (e.g., a field-programmable gate array) may be used to perform some or all of the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the field-programmable gate array may cooperate with a microprocessor to perform one of the methods described herein. Generally, these methods are preferably performed by any hardware device.

[0373] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. It should be understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and details described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and not by the specific details given by way of the description and illustration of the embodiments herein.

[0374] ​

[0375] [1]Ahmadi, Sassan. 5G NR: Architecture, Technology, Implementation, and Operation of 3gpp New Radio Standards., 2019. Print.

[0376] [2]X.Lin,J.Li,R.Baldemair,T.Cheng,S.Parkvall,D.Larsson,H.Koorapaty,M.Frenne,S.Falahati,A. and others,"5G new radio:Unveiling theessentials of the next generation wireless access technology",arXiv preprintarXiv:1806.06898,2018

[0377] [3]Erik Dahlman,Stefan Parkvall,and Johan Skold.2018.5G NR:The NextGeneration Wireless Access Technology(1st.ed.).Academic Press,Inc.,USA.,figure 11.13

[0378] [4]3GPP,5G;NR;Physical layer procedures for data,TS 38.214version16.2.0,Release 16,Section 6.2.1.2

[0379] [5]Huawei,HiSil icon,Tdoc R1-1800090-Summary of remaining detai ls ofSRS design,RAN1#92,2018

[0380] [6]3GPP,5G;Study on New Radio(NR)access technology,TR 38.912version14.0.0Release 14,Section 8.3.1.6.3.1

[0381] [7]https: / / www.sharetechnote.com / html / 5G / 5G_DCI.html

[0382] [8]3GPP,5G;NR;Physical layer procedures for data,TS 38.214,versionV16.0.0,Release 16

[0383] [9]3GPP,5G;NR;Study on Integrated Access and Backhaul;Release 16,Section 7.3

[0384]

[10] 3GPP,WID Enhancements to Integrated Access and Backhaul for NR,RP-193251,Dec.2019

[0385]

[11] https: / / www.sharetechnote.com / html / 5G / 5G_QCL.html。

Claims

1. An apparatus for a wireless communication network, comprising: An antenna unit, comprising multiple antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having multiple antenna elements; The device communicates with one or more network entities of the wireless communication network. The device uses one or more beams, beamformed by the device with one or more input parameters, to send or receive reference signals to the network entity. The device is configured or pre-configured using the one or more input parameters, and in response to a request from the network entity, the device sends capability information, which at least indicates the device's ability to provide feedback, the feedback indicating the one or more input parameters for the device to beamform the one or more beams.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device: • Receive one or more transmissions from the one or more network entities, and • In response to one or more received transmissions, beamforming is performed on one or more transmitted beams, and The one or more input parameters include one or more parameters associated with one or more received transmissions.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device receives one or more transmissions on one or more beams, wherein the one or more input parameters include one or more parameters associated with one or more receiving beams.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, One or more parameters associated with one or more receiving beams include one or more of the following: • One or more reference signals sent by the network entity, including one or more of the following: Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) Synchronization signal block SSB, Positioning reference signal, Phase tracking reference signal, or Demodulation reference signal DMRS, • Define parameters for the one or more receive beams, including one or more of the following: Codebook index for codebooks used to form beams at the network entities. Resource block index, which indicates the time and frequency resources allocated to the beam at the network entity. A time slot index, which indicates the time slot in a radio frame allocated to a beam at the network entity. The frequency or subcarrier assigned to the beam at the network entity A frequency band index indicating a frequency range.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The device beamforms the one or more beams to point them in one or more directions according to one or more predefined criteria for receiving the beams, wherein the one or more predefined criteria may include one or more of the following: • The signal strength of one or more receiving beams exceeds a predefined threshold. • The interference level to one or more receiving beams exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold. • The signal strength of one or more receiving beams or the interference level to one or more receiving beams exceeds a predefined threshold within a predefined time window, or exceeds a predefined threshold a certain number of times within a predefined time window. • The signal strength of one or more receiving beams or the interference level to one or more receiving beams is lower than a predefined threshold within a predefined time window, or is lower than a predefined threshold a certain number of times within a predefined time window.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device beamforms the one or more beams according to one or more predefined performance parameters for the one or more beams, wherein the one or more predefined performance parameters may include one or more of the following: • The transmission power of one or more transmit beams meets the regulatory effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limit. • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams exceeds a predefined threshold. • The received signal-to-noise ratio obtained from one or more transmitted beams at the receiver exceeds or remains below a predefined threshold. • The signal strength of one or more transmitted beams is maximized. • The interference level to one or more transmitted beams is below a predefined threshold. • One or more transmit beams have predefined directionality.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, In the case of a quasi-co-located QCL between the antenna port used by the reference signal and the antenna port used by another transmitter to or from the one or more network entities, the device will also use the one or more beams for the other transmitter or the other receiver. Wherein, the device indicates to the one or more network entities that the antenna port used by the reference signal and the antenna port used by the other transmitter or the other receiver are quasi-co-located (QCL), or When one or more attributes of the radio channel between the device and the one or more network entities fall within a predefined common range shared by the antenna ports, the antenna port used by the reference signal is considered to have a quasi-co-located QCL with the antenna port used by the other transmitter or the other receiver, wherein the one or more attributes of the radio channel include one or more of the following: • Doppler extension, • Doppler shift, • Average delay, • Delayed spread, • Average gain • Spatial Tx or Rx parameters, or The other transmission / the other reception includes one or more of the following: • Transmission / reception of payload data • Control the sending / receiving of data, • Access data sending / receiving.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, If one or more attributes of the radio channel between the device and the one or more network entities are within a predefined public range, the device uses one or more beams that were used in a previous time slot or at a specific time in the past before the other transmission or reception, for another transmission to or from the one or more network entities.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, The device uses one or more beams at a certain time after the previous time slot or the specific past time, or uses one or more time instances after the previous time slot or the specific past time, wherein the interval between the previous time slot or the specific past time and the one or more time instances does not exceed a specific threshold, or The device indicates the previous time slot or the specific past time to the one or more network entities, or The radio channel's one or more attributes include one or more of the following: • Doppler extension, • Doppler shift, • Average delay, • Delayed spread, • Average gain • Spatial Tx or Rx parameter.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device employs carrier aggregation (CA), and the feedback of input parameters and / or performance parameters includes the identification of component carriers (CC).

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device: • Sending to or receiving from a single network entity, • Beamforming is performed on the one or more beams to reduce interference from one or more other network entities to a predefined threshold. • The direction of the main lobe and side lobes or nulls of each beam in the beam is sent to the individual network entity as feedback via a signal.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device: • Sending to or receiving from multiple network entities, wherein the multiple network entities include at least a first network entity and a second network entity. • Beamforming is performed on the one or more beams by pointing the main lobe of one or more first beams to the first network entity and its side lobes or nulls to the second network entity, and by pointing the main lobe of one or more second beams to the second network entity and its side lobes or nulls to the first network entity, so that transmissions are received from the first network entity and the second network entity. • The direction of the main lobe and side lobe or null of the first beam and the second beam is sent to the first network entity and the second network entity as the feedback.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The reference signal SRS is distributed across the one or more beams such that all of the one or more beams are individually or jointly labeled with one or more reference signals.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device is configured or pre-configured with control information that instructs the device to create a beam carrying the one or more reference signals, or the device is configured or pre-configured to provide the feedback and receive a control signal to activate or deactivate the feedback.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The device: • Use the sidelink SL interface to communicate with one or more other user equipment (UE) devices in the wireless communication network, and / or • Communicate with one or more Radio Access Network (RAN) entities of the wireless communication network using a radio interface or a shared access band.

16. A network entity of a wireless communication network, wherein, The network entity communicates with one or more devices according to claim 1.

17. The network entity according to claim 16, wherein, In response to feedback from the device, the network entity performs one or more of the following: • Request the device to send capability information, which at least indicates the device's ability to provide feedback, the feedback indicating one or more input parameters for beamforming. • Configure or pre-configure the device to provide the feedback. • Adapts to transmissions to or from the device. • Adjust the reference signal, • Change the beam direction and amplitude of one or more beams. • Adaptively track the one or more beams from the device. • Directly configure spatial filters without using beam scanning.

18. A wireless communication network comprising a plurality of network entities communicating with each other, wherein, One or more of the plurality of network entities include the apparatus according to claim 1 or the network entity according to claim 16.

19. A method of operating an apparatus for a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising an antenna element having a plurality of antennas or one or more antenna arrays, each antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements, and the apparatus communicating with one or more network entities of the wireless communication network, the method comprising: Using one or more beams beamformed by the device with one or more input parameters, reference signals are transmitted to or received from the network entity. The device can be configured or pre-configured using the one or more input parameters. In response to a request from the network entity, the device sends capability information, which at least indicates the device's ability to provide feedback, the feedback indicating the one or more input parameters for the device to beamform the one or more beams.

20. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed on a computer, perform the method of claim 19.

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