User equipment coordinated intra-group communication via adaptive phase change devices

Abstract

Techniques and apparatus for intra-UECS communication via an adaptive phase-changing device (APD) are described. In various aspects, a base station selects (1205) an APD for use by a first user equipment coordinating set (UECS) in an intra-UECS communication path. The base station transmits (1210) APD information about the APD to a first coordinating user equipment (UE) of the first UECS. In various aspects, the base station allocates (1225) APD access to the APD for the first UECS and indicates (1230) the allocated APD access to the first coordinating UE of the first UECS.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The quality of a wireless connection between a base station and a user equipment (UE) often varies based on many factors, such as signal strength, bandwidth limitations, interfering signals, and so on. For example, a first UE operating at the edge of a cell's coverage area typically receives a weaker signal from the base station than a second UE operating closer to the center of the cell's coverage area. As a result, the quality of service sometimes degrades as the UE moves to different areas of the cell's coverage area.

[0002] Evolved wireless communication systems, such as fifth-generation (5G) and sixth-generation (6G) technologies, use various technologies to increase data capacity relative to conventional wireless networks. As an example, 5G technology uses higher frequency ranges, such as those above the 6 gigahertz (GHz) band, to transmit data. As another example, 5G technology supports multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications using multiple transmission and / or reception paths. While these technologies can increase data capacity, transmitting and recovering information using these technologies also presents challenges. To illustrate, higher frequency signals and MIMO transmissions are more susceptible to multipath fading, which results in recovery errors at the receiver. This can be further exacerbated when the UE moves to a changing location within the cell coverage area. Therefore, it is desirable to correct signal distortion in order to obtain the expected performance benefits (e.g., increased data capacity). Summary of the Invention

[0003] This document describes techniques and apparatus for intra-UECS communication via an adaptive phase-changing device (APD). In various aspects, a base station selects an APD for use by a first user equipment coordinating set (UECS) in an intra-UECS communication path. The base station transmits APD information about the APD to a first coordinating user equipment (UE) of the first UECS. In various aspects, the base station then allocates APD access to the APD for the first UECS and indicates the allocated APD access to the first coordinating UE of the first UECS.

[0004] In various aspects, a UE analyzes intra-UECS communications between user equipment (UEs) included in a UECS. Based on analyzing the intra-UECS communications, the UE identifies conditions that indicate the use of an APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths between the UEs included in the UECS. In various aspects, the UE obtains allocated APD access to the APD from a base station and selects a surface configuration for the APD based on the allocated APD access. The UE then directs the APD to configure a surface of the APD using the surface configuration and directs the UEs included in the UECS to include the APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths.

[0005] Details of one or more embodiments of intra-UECS communication via APD are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Additional features and advantages will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. This Summary is provided to introduce subject matter that is further described in the Detailed Description and drawings. Therefore, this Summary should not be construed as describing essential features, nor should it be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Details of one or more aspects of intra-UECS communication via an adaptive phase change device (APD) are described with reference to the following figures. Like numbers are used throughout the figures to refer to like features and components:

[0007] Figure 1 An example operating environment is shown in which various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD may be implemented;

[0008] Figure 2 An example device diagram illustrating entities that may implement various aspects of communication within a UECS via an APD;

[0009] Figure 3 An example device diagram illustrating an APD that may be used in accordance with one or more aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD;

[0010] Figure 4 An example environment is shown in which a base station and multiple UEs coordinate access to an APD according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD;

[0011] Figure 5 An example environment is shown for configuring an APD by a base station or UECS coordinating UEs according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD;

[0012] Figure 6 illustrates an example transaction diagram between various network entities according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD;

[0013] Figure 7 from Figure 6 continues and illustrates an example transaction diagram of surface configuration of a UECS coordinating UE control of an APD according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD;

[0014] Figure 8 from Figure 6 continues and illustrates an example transaction diagram of a base station controlling surface configuration of an APD on behalf of a UECS according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via the APD;

[0015] Figure 9illustrates an example transaction diagram between a base station and multiple UECSs according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD;

[0016] Figure 10 from Figure 9 Continuing, and illustrating an example transaction diagram of a base station allocating and assigning APD access to multiple UECSs in accordance with various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD;

[0017] Figure 11 from Figure 9 Continuing, and illustrating an example transaction diagram for coordination of multiple UECSs for UE-negotiated APD access according to various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD;

[0018] Figure 12 An example method for implementing various aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD is shown; and

[0019] Figure 13 Example methods implementing various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In wireless communication systems, various factors affect the signal quality of wireless signals exchanged between a base station and a user equipment (UE), which may affect the services provided by the base station to the UE. For example, the location or orientation of the UE may affect the received signal strength. To improve signal quality, various aspects configure and / or establish a user equipment coordination set (UECS) to perform joint processing (e.g., joint transmission, joint reception) of communications for target UEs. Alternatively or additionally, to provide high bandwidth between UEs included in the UECS, the UEs use high-frequency transmission to exchange intra-UECS communications.

[0021] Typically, a UECS includes at least two UEs that communicate via a local wireless connection and / or sidelink (e.g., direct communication between two devices without going through a base station) to share or distribute signal-related information for downlink and / or uplink UECS joint communication to a base station or other wireless network element. By forming a UECS for joint transmission and / or reception of control plane information and / or user plane data for a target UE within the UECS, the UEs in the UECS coordinate in a manner similar to a distributed antenna to improve the effective signal quality between the target UE and the base station. Downlink transmissions intended for the target UE can be sent to the UECS and received by multiple UEs in the UECS. Each UE demodulates and samples the downlink data as part of the joint reception, and then forwards the samples to a single coordinating UE in the UECS using a local wireless connection for decoding, and then forwards them to the target UE. In addition, uplink data generated by the target UE can be distributed using local wireless connections with multiple UEs in the UECS for joint transmission to the base station. Coordinating the joint transmission and reception of data intended for the target UE significantly increases the effective transmit power and / or receive power of the target UE, thereby improving the effective signal quality.

[0022] Coordinating joint transmission and / or joint reception between UEs included in a UECS may require high-bandwidth intra-UECS communication. In various aspects, UEs transmit intra-UECS communications at higher frequencies (e.g., millimeter wave ranges), such as those used by fifth-generation (5G) or sixth-generation (6G) communication systems. As an example, a 5G base station allocates higher-frequency air interface resources to the UECS for intra-UECS communication, and the coordinating UE of the UECS allocates air interface resources to UEs within the UECS for sidelink communication (e.g., intra-UECS communication). While higher frequencies provide higher data throughput for sidelink communication, channel conditions may negatively impact these technologies. As an example, mmWave signals have high throughput under line-of-sight (LoS) conditions, but reflections create multipath and frequency-selective fading, which may increase recovery errors at the receiver. Because LoS conditions may be difficult to achieve with mobile UEs, this may also reduce the number of candidate UEs available for inclusion in the UECS. To illustrate, UEs moving to different locations may introduce channel impairments, such as by moving into positions where obstacles (e.g., trees, buildings, glass, fabric) block LoS transmissions between UEs.

[0023] Adaptive phase-changing devices (APDs) include reconfigurable smart surfaces (RISs) that, when properly configured, modify propagating signals to correct or reduce errors introduced by the communication path, such as small-scale fading and fading MIMO channels. Typically, a RIS comprises a configurable surface material that shapes how an incident signal is transformed upon impacting the material's surface. For illustration, the configuration of the surface material can affect the phase, amplitude, and / or polarization of the transformed signal, as well as its reflected beam direction and reflected beamwidth.

[0024] In various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD, UEs within the UECS include the APD in a sidelink communication path to improve signal quality of sidelink communications exchanged between UEs. As an example, a base station communicating with the UECS allocates access to the APD (e.g., reflection access corresponding to a surface using the APD, control access corresponding to direct communication with the APD), such as by time partitioning and / or configurable surface element partitioning, and indicates the allocated access to a coordinating UE of the UECS. The coordinating UE then directs one or more UEs within the UECS to include the APD in the sidelink communication path based on the allocated access. Using the APD improves the signal quality of intra-UECS communications exchanged between UEs, which results in performance benefits (e.g., improved signal quality, increased data capacity) without requiring LoS between UEs.

[0025] While the features and concepts of the described systems and methods for intra-UECS communication via APD can be implemented in any number of different environments, systems, devices, and / or various configurations, various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD are described in the context of the following example devices, systems, and configurations.

[0026] Sample Environment

[0027] Figure 1An example environment 100 is shown that includes a plurality of user equipment 110 (UE 110), shown as UE 111, UE 112, and UE 113. Each UE can communicate with a base station 120 (shown as base stations 121 and 122) via one or more wireless communication links 130 (wireless links 130), shown as wireless links 131 and 132. Each UE 110 in a UECS 108 (shown as UE 111, UE 112, and UE 113) can communicate with a coordinating UE in the UECS and / or a target UE in the UECS via a side link, such as one or more local wireless connections (e.g., WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC, personal area network (PAN), WiFi Direct, IEEE 802.15.4, ZigBee, Thread, millimeter wavelength communication (mmWave), etc.), shown as wireless links 133, 134, and 135. Alternatively or additionally, each UE 110 may communicate using air interface resources allocated by the base station 120 for sidelink communication (e.g., air interface resources allocated for intra-UECS communication). For simplicity, the UE 110 is implemented as a smartphone, but may be implemented as any suitable computing or electronic device, such as a mobile communication device, a modem, a cellular phone, a gaming device, a navigation device, a media device, a laptop, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a smart appliance, a vehicle-based communication system, or an Internet of Things (IoT) device, such as a sensor, a relay, or an actuator. The base station 120 (e.g., an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network node B, an E-UTRAN node B, an evolved node B, an eNodeB, an eNB, a next generation node B, a gNodeB, a gNB, an ng-eNB, etc.) may be implemented in a macro cell, a micro cell, a small cell, a pico cell, a distributed base station, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0028] One or more base stations 120 communicate with user equipment 110 using radio links 131 and 132, which can be implemented as any suitable type of radio link. Radio links 131 and 132 include control plane information and / or user plane data, such as downlink user plane data and control plane information transmitted from base station 120 to user equipment 110, uplink other user plane data and control plane information transmitted from user equipment 110 to base station 120, or both. Radio link 130 may include one or more radio links (e.g., radio links) or bearers implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard, or combination of communication protocols or standards, such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR), 6th Generation (6G), etc. Multiple radio links 130 may be aggregated in carrier aggregation or multi-connectivity technology to provide higher data rates for UE 110. Multiple wireless links 130 from multiple base stations 120 may be configured for coordinated multi-point (CoMP) communication with UE 110 .

[0029] In various aspects, the wireless link 130 includes a wireless link 136 between at least one of the base stations 120 (e.g., base station 121) and an adaptive phase change device 180 (APD 180) to control the surface configuration of the APD 180. The base station 120 may also include a wired interface for communicating control information with the APD 180. Alternatively or additionally, the wireless link 130 includes a wireless link 137 between a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) of the UECS 108 and the APD 180 to control the surface configuration of the APD 180.

[0030] In some embodiments, intra-UECS wireless links (e.g., wireless link 133, wireless link 134, and / or wireless link 135) utilize wireless signals and an intermediate device (e.g., APD 180) that reflects or transforms (one or more) rays 190 of the wireless signal, illustrated as signal ray 191, signal ray 192, and signal ray 193. Signal ray 191 and signal ray 192 correspond to rays of the wireless signal used to implement wireless link 134. In environment 100, signal rays 191 and 192 correspond to rays of a wireless signal from a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) to another UE participating in UECS 108. The reflected ray may alternatively or additionally correspond to a wireless signal from a UE participating in UECS 108 to the coordinating UE. A first ray of the wireless signal (e.g., signal ray 191) propagates toward UE 112 in a line-of-sight (LoS) manner, and a second ray of the wireless signal (e.g., signal ray 192) propagates toward APD 180. Signal ray 192 strikes the surface of APD 180 and is transformed into signal ray 193, which propagates toward UE 112. In various aspects, signal ray 192 strikes the surface of the RIS of APD 180, which directs the reflected signal ray (e.g., signal ray 193) toward UE 112. In environment 100, foliage blocks LoS signal ray 191 from reaching UE 112, but other types of obstacles may dynamically block or attenuate rays, such as vehicles, human bodies, water vapor, walls, or other materials.

[0031] Base station 120 and / or a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) can configure the RIS of APD 180 to direct how the RIS changes the signal properties (e.g., direction, phase, amplitude, polarization) of the wireless signal. As an example, base station 121 transmits RIS surface configuration information to APD 180 using wireless link 136, which may include an adaptive phase change device slow control channel (APD slow control channel) or an adaptive phase change device fast control channel (APD fast control channel). As another example, UE 111, acting as a coordinating UE, transmits RIS surface configuration information to APD 180 using wireless link 137, which may include an APD slow control channel and / or an APD fast control channel. In some aspects, UE 111 transmits the RIS surface configuration information to base station 121, and base station 121 uses the RIS surface configuration information from UE 111 to configure the surface of the APD.

[0032] In various embodiments of intra-UECS communication via APD and handover, a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) and / or a base station (e.g., base station 121) selects surface configuration(s) for APD 180 to direct or guide reflections of wireless signals transmitted between UEs participating in the UECS (e.g., intra-UECS communication between UE 111 and UE 112, UE 112 and UE 113, and / or UE 111 and UE 113). Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE and / or base station selects the surface configuration of APD 180 based on signal quality measurements, link quality measurements, location information, historical data records, etc. In some aspects, the coordinating UE selects a second surface configuration using a first (proposed) surface configuration received from the base station, as further described.

[0033] The base stations 120 are collectively referred to as the radio access network 140 (e.g., RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN, 5G NR RAN, or NR RAN). Base stations 121 and 122 in the RAN 140 are connected to the core network 150. Base stations 121 and 122 are connected to the core network 150 at 102 and 104, respectively, via an NG2 interface for control plane signaling, and use an NG3 interface for user plane data communications when connected to a 5G core network, or use an S1 interface for control plane signaling and user plane data communications when connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) network. At 106, base stations 121 and 122 can communicate over an Xn interface using the Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) or over an X2 interface using the X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) to exchange user plane data and / or control plane information. User equipment 110 can connect to a public network (e.g., the Internet) via the core network 150 to interact with remote services (not shown).

[0034] Example device

[0035] Figure 2 An example device diagram 200 is shown of user equipment 110 and base station 120. Generally, device diagram 200 describes network entities that may implement various aspects of communications within a UECS via an APD. Figure 2 1 and 120. For visual simplicity, the UE 110 or base station 120 may include Figure 21. The UE 110 includes an antenna 202, a radio frequency front end 204 (RF front end 204), and one or more wireless transceivers 206 (e.g., RF transceivers), such as any combination of LTE transceivers, 5G NR transceivers, and / or 6G transceivers for communicating with the base stations 120 in the RAN 140 and / or other UEs included in the UECS 108. The RF front end 204 of the UE 110 can couple or connect the wireless transceiver 206 to the antenna 202 to facilitate various types of wireless communications.

[0036] The antenna 202 of the UE 110 may include an array of multiple antennas configured in a manner similar to or different from one another. The antenna 202 and the RF front end 204 may be tuned and / or tunable to one or more frequency bands defined by a communication standard (e.g., 3GPP LTE, 5G NR) and implemented by the wireless transceiver(s) 206. Additionally, the antenna 202, the RF front end 204, and / or the wireless transceiver(s) 206 may be configured to support beam scanning for transmission and reception of communications with the base station 120. By way of example and not limitation, the antenna 202 and the RF front end 204 may be implemented for operation in sub-gigahertz bands, sub-6 GHz bands, and / or above-6 GHz bands (e.g., 57-64 GHz, 28 GHz, 38 GHz, 71 GHz, 81 GHz, or 92 GHz bands) defined by the 3GPP LTE and 5G NR communication standards.

[0037] UE 110 also includes a processor 208 and a computer-readable storage medium 210 (CRM 210). Processor 208 can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor implemented using a homogeneous or heterogeneous core architecture. The computer-readable storage medium described herein does not include propagating signals. CRM 210 can include any suitable memory or storage device that can be used to store device data 212 of UE 110, such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or flash memory. Device data 212 includes any combination of user data, multimedia data, applications, and / or operating system of UE 110. In various aspects, device data 212 optionally includes one or more codebooks 214. Codebook 214 can include any suitable type or combination of codebooks, including a surface configuration codebook that stores surface configuration information for the RIS of the APD and a beam scanning codebook that stores pattern, sequence, or timing information for implementing multiple surface configurations that can be used to direct the APD to perform various reflection beamforming. In some aspects, the surface configuration codebook and the beam scanning codebook include phase vector information, angle information (e.g., calibrated to the corresponding phase vector), and / or beam configuration information. In an embodiment, the device data 212 stores processor-executable instructions that are executable by the processor(s) 208 to implement user plane communications, control plane signaling, and user interaction with the UE 110.

[0038] The CRM 210 may optionally include a user equipment adaptive phase change device manager 216 (UE APD manager 216). Alternatively or additionally, the UE APD manager 216 may be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the UE 110. In various aspects, the UE APD manager 216 of the UE 110 analyzes link quality measurements, measurement reports, and / or other values ​​and identifies conditions (e.g., link quality measurements indicating channel impairment, UE location associated with a history of channel impairment, and / or APD usage) indicating the use of an APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths between UEs participating in a UECS (e.g., UECS 108). In various aspects, the UE APD manager 216 identifies APDs in the vicinity of the UE 110 and identifies conditions (e.g., channel impairment, UE location) indicating when an APD is to be used in an intra-UECS communication path. Alternatively or additionally, the UE APD manager 216 determines to request a reconfiguration of the (RIS) surface of the current APD used in the intra-UECS communication path based on identifying the condition. UE APD manager 216 then directs UE 110 to send a request to base station 120 to use an APD, indicate a candidate APD to base station 120, indicate a surface (re)configuration to APD 180, and / or indicate a surface (re)configuration to base station 120, as further described.

[0039] The CRM 210 may optionally include a user equipment coordination set manager 218 (UECS manager 218). Alternatively or additionally, the UECS manager 218 may be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the UE 110. In various aspects, the UECS manager 218 provides UE 110 with participation in the UECS, such as by directing the UE 110 to perform joint transmission and / or joint reception. When the UE 110 is acting as a non-coordinating UE, the UECS manager 218 directs the UE 110 to forward in-phase / quadrature (I / Q) samples to a coordinating UE of the UECS via a sidelink. Alternatively or additionally, when the UE 110 is acting as a coordinating UE and forwards the processed samples to a target UE via a sidelink, the UECS manager 218 receives and processes (e.g., combines, demodulates) samples from UEs participating in the UECS.

[0040] Figure 2The device diagram of the base station 120 shown includes a single network node (e.g., a gNode B). The functionality of the base station 120 can be distributed across multiple network nodes or devices and can be distributed in any manner suitable for performing the functions described herein. The base station 120 includes an antenna 252, a radio frequency front end 254 (RF front end 254), and one or more wireless transceivers 256 (e.g., radio frequency transceivers) for communicating with the UE 110, such as an LTE transceiver, a 5G NR transceiver, and / or a 6G transceiver. The RF front end 254 of the base station 120 can couple or connect the wireless transceiver 256 to the antenna 252 to facilitate various types of wireless communications. The antenna 252 of the base station 120 can include an array of multiple antennas configured in a manner similar to or different from each other. The antenna 252 and the RF front end 254 can be tuned and / or tunable to one or more frequency bands defined by a communication standard (e.g., 3GPP LTE, 5G NR) and implemented by the wireless transceiver 256. Additionally, the antenna 252 , the RF front end 254 , and / or the wireless transceiver 256 may be configured to support beamforming, such as Massive-MIMO, for transmission and reception of communications with the UE 110 .

[0041] The base station 120 also includes a processor 258 and a computer-readable storage medium 260 (CRM 260). The processor 258 can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor constructed from a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectrics, copper, etc. The CRM 260 can include any suitable memory or storage device, such as RAM, SRAM, DRAM, NVRAM, ROM, or flash memory, that can be used to store device data 262 for the base station 120. The device data 262 includes network scheduling data, radio resource management data, applications, and / or an operating system for the base station 120, which can be executed by the processor 258 to enable communication with the UE 110. The device data 262 also includes a codebook 264. The codebook 264 can include any suitable type or combination of codebooks, including a surface configuration codebook that stores surface configuration information for the RIS of the APD and a beam scanning codebook that stores pattern, sequence, or timing information for implementing multiple surface configurations that can be used to direct the APD to perform various reflection beamforming. In some aspects, the surface configuration codebook and the beam scanning codebook include phase vector information, angle information (eg, calibrated to the corresponding phase vectors), and / or beam configuration information.

[0042] In various aspects, the CRM 260 of the base station 120 also includes a base station adaptive phase change device manager 266 (BS APD manager 266) for managing APD usage in intra-UECS communication paths with (one or more) UEs included in the UECS 108 and / or APD usage between the base station and one or more UEs included in the UECS 108. Alternatively or additionally, the BSAPD manager 266 can be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the base station 120. In various aspects, the BS APD manager 266 identifies APDs that can be used in intra-UECS communication paths in the vicinity of the UE 110. The BS APD manager 266 also selects a surface configuration (e.g., a RIS configuration) of the APD, such as an initial surface configuration and / or a surface reconfiguration, based on link quality measurements, measurement reports, and / or other values ​​as further described. In some embodiments, the BS APD manager 266 receives a request for APD access to the APD from a coordinating UE of the UECS (e.g., UE 110) and assigns a portion of the APD access to the UECS, such as allocating reflection access for using a surface of the APD and / or control access for communicating directly with the APD. This can include allocating APD access between the base station 120 and the UECS and / or allocating APD access between a first UECS and a second UECS, as further described. Generally, allocating APD access corresponds to partitioning access to the APD (e.g., partitioning reflection access, partitioning control access) and assigning the partitioned APD access to one or more entities. This can include assigning some of the partitioned access to the first entity and reserving some of the partitioned access for future use.

[0043] The CRM 260 also includes a base station manager 268 for managing various functions and communication interfaces of the base station 120. Alternatively or additionally, the base station manager 268 can be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the base station 120. In at least some aspects, the base station manager 268 configures the antenna 252, the RF front end 254, and the radio transceiver 256 for communication with the UE 110, the APD 180, and / or the core network. The base station 120 includes an inter-base station interface 270, such as an Xn and / or X2 interface, which the base station manager 268 configures to exchange user plane and control plane data between another base station 120 to manage communications between the base station 120 and the UE 110. The base station 120 also includes a core network interface (not shown) that the base station manager 268 configures to exchange user plane data and control plane information with core network functions and / or entities.

[0044] Figure 3An example device diagram 300 of the APD 180 is shown. Generally, the device diagram 300 describes example entities that may be utilized to implement various aspects of communication within the UECS via the APD, but for visual clarity, may include Figure 3 10. The adaptive phase change device (APD) 180 is an apparatus that includes a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) 322, and components for controlling the RIS 322 (e.g., by modifying the surface configuration of the RIS), as further described below. In some embodiments, the APD 180 may also include components for modifying the positioning of the APD 180 itself, which in turn modifies the positioning of the RIS 322. The APD 180 includes one or more antennas 302, a radio frequency front end 304 (RF front end 304), and one or more wireless transceivers 306 (e.g., RF transceivers) for wirelessly communicating with the base station 120 and / or the UE 110. The APD 180 may also include a positioning sensor, such as a GNSS module, that provides positioning information based on the position of the APD 180.

[0045] The antenna 302 of the APD 180 may include an array of multiple antennas configured in a manner similar to or different from one another. Additionally, the antenna 302, the RF front end 304, and the transceiver(s) 306 may be configured to support beamforming for transmission and reception of communications with the base station 120 and / or the UE 110. By way of example and not limitation, the antenna 302 and the RF front end 304 may be implemented for operation in a sub-gigahertz band, a sub-6 GHz band, and / or a band above 6 GHz. Thus, the antenna 302, the RF front end 304, and the transceiver(s) 306 provide the APD 180 with the ability to receive and / or transmit communications with the base station 120 and / or the UE 110, such as information sent using an APD control channel (e.g., an APD slow control channel or an APD fast control channel), as further described.

[0046] APD 180 includes a processor 310 and a computer-readable storage medium 312 (CRM 312). Processor 310 may be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor implemented using a homogeneous or heterogeneous core architecture. The computer-readable storage media described herein do not include propagating signals. CRM 312 may include any suitable memory or storage device, such as RAM, SRAM, DRAM, NVRAM, ROM, or flash memory, that can be used to store device data 314 for APD 180. Device data 314 includes user data, multimedia data, applications, and / or an operating system for APD 180, which can be executed by processor(s) 310 to implement dynamic configuration of APD 180 as further described. Device data 314 also includes one or more codebooks 316 of any suitable type or combination, as well as location information 318 for APD 180. Location information 318 may be obtained or configured using location sensor 308 or programmed into APD 180, such as during installation. Location information 318 indicates the location of APD 180 and may include position, geographic coordinates, orientation, altitude information, and the like. The base station 120 and / or the UE 110 can use the positioning information 318 to calculate information such as angles or distances between the base station 120 and the APD 180 and / or between the APD 180 and the UE 110 of interest, respectively, through the BS APD manager 266 and / or the UE APD manager 216. The codebook 316 may include a surface configuration codebook that stores surface configuration information for the RIS of the APD and a beam scanning codebook that stores patterns, sequences, or timing information (e.g., phase vectors and reflection identifiers) for implementing multiple surface configurations that can be used to direct the APD to perform various reflection beamforming. In some aspects, the surface configuration codebook and the beam scanning codebook include phase vector information, angle information (e.g., calibrated to corresponding phase vectors), and / or beam configuration information.

[0047] In various aspects of intra-UECS communication via the APD, the CRM 312 of the APD 180 includes an adaptive phase change device manager 320 (APD manager 320). Alternatively or additionally, the APD manager 320 can be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the APD 180. Generally, the APD manager 320 manages the surface configuration of the APD 180, such as by processing information exchanged with the base station over the wireless link 136 and / or with the UE over the wireless link 137 and using that information to configure the reconfigurable smart surface 322 (RIS 322) of the APD 180. To illustrate, the APD manager 320 receives an indication of the surface configuration over the wireless link 136 and / or 137 (APD control channel), uses that indication to extract the surface configuration from the codebook 316, and applies the surface configuration to the RIS 322. Alternatively or additionally, the APD manager 320 initiates transmission of uplink messages, such as acknowledgements / negative acknowledgements (ACK / NACKs) for various APD configuration or management commands, to the base station and / or UE over the wireless links 136 and / or 137. In some aspects, the APD manager 320 receives an indication of a beam scanning pattern (e.g., a beam scanning pattern index) over the wireless links 136 and / or 137 and applies a sequence of various surface configurations to the RIS based on the beam scanning pattern and / or according to synchronization or pattern timing indicated by or received with the indication.

[0048] The RIS 322 of the APD 180 includes one or more configurable surface elements 324, such as configurable electromagnetic elements, configurable resonator elements, or configurable reflectarray antenna elements. Generally, the configurable surface elements 324 can be selectively or programmatically configured to control how the RIS 322 reflects (e.g., directionally) and / or transforms an incident waveform. By way of example and not limitation, the configurable electromagnetic elements include scattering particles connected electronically (e.g., via PIN diodes). Embodiments, such as those based on reflection principles, use electronic connections to arrange the scattering particles to control the directionality, phase, amplitude, and / or polarization of the transformed waveform (from the incident waveform). The RIS 322 can include an array of configurable surface elements 324, wherein the array can include any number of elements of any size.

[0049] In some aspects, the position and / or orientation of the APD 180 is configurable, and the APD 180 includes a motor controller 326 that communicates with one or more motors 328 that are operably coupled to the physical chassis of the APD 180. Based on command and control information, such as received from the base station 120, the motor controller 326 can send commands to the motors 328 that change one or more kinematic behaviors of the motors 328. The motors 328 can include any suitable type of stepper motor or servo. For example, the motor controller 326 can issue command or control signals that specify shaft rotation in degrees for a stepper motor, shaft rotation rate in revolutions per minute (RPM) for a stepper motor, linear movement in millimeters (mm) for a linear motor, or linear velocity in meters per second (m / s) for a linear motor. One or more motors 328 may, in turn, be incorporated into a mechanism that mechanically positions a physical chassis or platform supporting the APD 180 (e.g., avionics for a drone, drives for a linear track system, universal joints within a base station, linear bearings within a base station). The physical positioning, location, or orientation of the APD 180 (and / or the platform supporting the APD 180) may be changed via commands and signals generated by the motor controller 326 and sent to the motors 328. In response to receiving a positioning configuration from the base station, the APD manager 320 transmits movement commands to the motor controller 326 based on the positioning configuration, such as via a software interface and / or hardware address. In various aspects of communication within the UECS via APDs, the base station 120 may reposition or reorient one or more APDs 180 to improve or enable wireless signal reflections to be directed to the UE 110.

[0050] Typically, the APD 180 may include multiple motors, each corresponding to a different rotational or linear direction of movement. Examples of motors 328 that may be used to control the orientation and position of the APD include linear servo motors that may be part of: (i) a track system for mounting the APD, (ii) motors that control the orientation and pitch, yaw, roll of a drone carrying the APD, (iii) radial servo or stepper motors that rotate an axis if the APD is in a fixed position or on a universal joint, etc. For clarity, the motor controller 326 and motors 328 are shown as part of the APD 180, but in alternative or additional embodiments, the APD 180 communicates with motor controllers and / or motors external to the APD. For illustration, the APD manager 320 communicates the positioning configuration to the motor controller, which mechanically positions the platform or chassis supporting the APD 180. In various aspects, the APD manager 320 uses a communication device such as Bluetooth TMThe positioning configuration is transmitted to the motor controller via a local wireless link such as Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, or a hardwired link. The motor controller then uses one or more motors to adjust the platform based on the positioning configuration. The platform can correspond to or be attached to any suitable mechanism that supports rotational and / or linear adjustment, such as a drone, a track propulsion system, a hydraulic lift system, etc.

[0051] like Figure 3 As shown, the positioning of the APD 180 can be defined relative to a three-dimensional coordinate system in which an X-axis 330, a Y-axis 332, and a Z-axis 334 define a spatial region and provide a framework for indicating the positioning configuration through rotational and / or linear adjustments. Although these axes are generally labeled as the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis, other frameworks can be utilized to indicate the positioning configuration. For illustration, an aerial frame references the axes as the vertical (yaw), lateral (pitch), and longitudinal (roll) axes, while other mobile frames reference the axes as the vertical, sagittal, and frontal axes. As an example, the positioning 336 generally refers to the center positioning of the APD 180 corresponding to a baseline positioning (e.g., positioning (0,0,0) using XYZ coordinates).

[0052] In various aspects, the APD manager 320 transmits a rotational adjustment (e.g., rotational adjustment 338) about the X-axis 330 to the motor controller 326, where the rotational adjustment includes the direction of rotation (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise), the amount of rotation (e.g., degrees), and / or the speed of rotation. Alternatively or additionally, the APD manager 320 transmits a linear adjustment 340 along the X-axis, where the linear adjustment includes any combination of the direction, speed, and / or distance of the adjustment. Sometimes, the APD manager 320 also transmits adjustments about other axes, such as any combination of rotational adjustment 342 about the Y-axis 332, linear adjustment 344 along the Y-axis 332, rotational adjustment 346 about the Z-axis 334, and / or linear adjustment 348 along the Z-axis 334. Thus, a positioning configuration can include a combination of rotational and / or linear adjustments in all three spatial degrees of freedom. This allows the APD manager 320 to transmit physical adjustments to the APD 180. Alternatively or additionally, the APD manager transmits a RIS surface configuration as further described.

[0053] Communication within UECS via APD

[0054] UEs within a UECS use intra-UECS communication to share or distribute signal-related information for downlink and / or uplink UECS communications exchanged with base stations or other wireless network elements. For example, UEs use local wireless connections and / or air interface resources assigned by the base station to establish side links with each other. By forming a UECS for joint transmission and / or reception of network data for a target UE within the UECS, the UEs in the UECS coordinate in a manner similar to a distributed antenna to improve the effective signal quality between the target UE and the base station. Although this coordination helps to improve the effective signal quality of wireless transmission, intra-UECS communication for coordinating UEs generally requires high bandwidth. In various aspects, UEs within the UECS use high-frequency bands to transmit intra-UECS communications, such as via mmWave transmission, to obtain high bandwidth. However, because these transmissions are more susceptible to signal distortion than lower frequency band transmissions, it is desirable to correct signal distortion in order to obtain the performance benefits (e.g., increased data capacity) provided by high frequency band transmissions.

[0055] Figure 4 An example environment 400 for implementing various aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD is shown. The environment 400 includes a base station 120, an APD 180, and a Figure 1 1 and 113 of the UECS 108. The base station 120 communicates with the UECS 108 via a wireless link 131 by sending downlink wireless signals. Alternatively or additionally, the UECS 108 communicates with the base station 120 by transmitting uplink wireless signals over the wireless link 131 or another wireless connection with the base station 120 (e.g., a low-frequency anchor connection below 6 GHz).

[0056] UEs 111, 112, and 113 transmit intra-UECS communications to each other using wireless links 133, 134, and 135 formed by local wireless connections and / or air interface resources allocated for sidelink communications by base station 120. In various aspects, a UE includes an APD 180 in at least one intra-UECS communication path.

[0057] In environment 400, UE 111 transmits wireless signal 490 to UE 112. Wireless signal 490 includes a first signal ray 491 propagating in a LoS manner toward UE 112, a second signal ray 492 propagating toward APD 180, and a third signal ray 493 propagating toward an obstacle 402 (shown as a tree leaf) that blocks signal ray 493 from reaching UE 112. Alternatively or additionally, UE 112 communicates with UE 111 over wireless link 134 by transmitting wireless signals to UE 111 and / or APD 180. In various aspects, UE 111 transmits wireless signals to APD 180 in a high frequency band at or above 6 GHz, such that signal rays 491, 492, and / or 493 may be blocked by obstacles (e.g., a temporary LoS obstacle for signal ray 491, not shown). Individual signal rays 491, 492, and 493 of wireless signal 490 may be transmitted simultaneously or at different times.

[0058] In various embodiments, APD 180 (or other APD) participates in intra-UECS communications between UEs included in the UECS by transforming (e.g., reflecting) a waveform using a surface configuration selected by base station 120 and / or a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) using the RIS of APD 180. For illustration, signal ray 492 strikes the surface of APD 180, shown as having reconfigurable smart surface 404 (RIS 404), and is transformed into signal ray 494 directed toward UE 112. As part of receiving wireless signal 490, UE 110 may receive signal ray 491 and signal ray 494 (but not signal ray 493).

[0059] In an embodiment, a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) and / or base station 120 configures RIS 404 to direct how signal ray 492 is transformed into signal ray 494 and reflected from APD 180 toward UE 112. Alternatively or additionally, RIS 404 transforms an incoming signal ray from UE 112 on a path opposite to signal ray 494 into another signal ray that follows a path opposite to the path of signal ray 492 to UE 111. For example, the coordinating UE and / or base station 120 analyze link quality measurements, measurement reports, and / or other values ​​to identify channel impairments. By way of example and not limitation, various link quality measurements that do not meet an acceptable performance level may indicate channel impairments, such as by a delay spread between a first received signal and a last received signal (e.g., a received multipath ray) exceeding an acceptable delay spread threshold or by an average time delay (of the multipath rays) exceeding an acceptable average time delay threshold. As another example, the base station may use a departure direction estimate of reflections off a surface of an APD between the base station and the UE to determine an estimated UE position. The coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) and / or base station 120 then uses the estimated UE location to access a historical data record indicating a history of channel impairments and / or a history of APD usage at the estimated UE location. In response to identifying the channel impairments, the coordinating UE and / or base station 120 selects a surface configuration for RIS 404 that transforms at least a portion of the first wireless signal (e.g., signal ray 492) into a second wireless signal (e.g., signal ray 494) to mitigate the channel impairments by improving received signal quality.

[0060] In various aspects, a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) and / or base station 120 selects a surface configuration from a surface configuration codebook. As an example, the coordinating UE analyzes the codebook to identify a surface configuration that modifies and / or transforms various signal characteristics of a wireless signal, such as modifying one or more desired phase characteristics, one or more amplitude characteristics, polarization characteristics, etc. In some embodiments, the coordinating UE and / or base station 120 selects a surface configuration using a historical data record. For example, the base station uses information indicated by link quality measurements, measurement reports, and / or other values ​​to obtain an estimated UE location, and uses the estimated UE location to access a historical data record, wherein the historical data record includes surface configurations that resulted in an acceptable performance level at the estimated UE location.

[0061] In various embodiments, a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) transmits surface configuration information to APD 180 via wireless link 137. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE transmits the surface configuration information to base station 120, and base station 120 relays the surface configuration information to APD 180 using wireless link 136. As one example, wireless link 136 and / or wireless link 137 operate as an adaptive phase-change device slow control channel (APD slow control channel), wherein the coordinating UE and / or base station sends a message indicating the surface configuration to APD 180, similar to a layer 2 or layer 3 control message that uses information elements (IEs) to convey information. Alternatively or additionally, wireless link 136 and / or wireless link 137 comprise an adaptive phase-change device fast control channel (APD fast control channel), wherein the coordinating UE and / or base station sometimes uses signaling on a slot-by-slot basis to indicate control information for fast surface configuration changes (e.g., a surface configuration that is applied on a slot-by-slot basis). For example, the coordinating UE and / or base station 120 transmits an index into the surface configuration codebook using the APD slow control channel or the APD fast control channel to indicate the phase vector as the surface configuration, such as reference Figure 6-11 Those described.

[0062] As an example, consider Figure 5 , which illustrates an example 500 of configuring a surface of an APD 180 according to one or more aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD. Example 500 includes instances of a base station 120, a UE 110, and an APD 180, which may be similar to reference Figure 1-4 The RIS implemented by APD 180 includes an array of "N" configurable surface elements, such as configurable surface element 502, configurable surface element 504, configurable surface element 506, etc., where "N" represents the number of configurable surface elements of the RIS.

[0063] In an embodiment, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 (e.g., a coordinating UE) manages the configuration of the RIS of the APD 180 by using a surface configuration codebook 508 that may be pre-configured and / or known by the base station 120, the UE 110, and / or the APD 180. In some cases, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 transmits the surface configuration codebook 508 and / or the beam sweeping codebook using the wireless link 136 and / or the wireless link 137, such as via an APD slow control channel using one or more messages. In various aspects, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 use the APD slow control channel to transmit large amounts of data, transmit data without low latency requirements, and / or transmit data without timing requirements. Sometimes, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 transmits multiple surface configuration codebooks to the APD 180, such as a first surface configuration codebook for downlink communication, a second surface configuration codebook for uplink communication, a phase vector codebook, a beam sweeping codebook, and the like. In response, the APD 180 stores the surface configuration codebook(s) 508 and / or other codebooks in the CRM, which are represented as referenced. Figure 3 316 in the depicted CRM 312. Alternatively or additionally, the APD 180 obtains the surface configuration and other codebooks through a manufacturing (e.g., programming), calibration, or installation process that stores the surface configuration codebook(s) 508 and other codebooks in the CRM 312 of the APD 180 during assembly, installation, calibration, verification, or by an operator manually adding or updating the codebook(s).

[0064] Surface configuration codebook 508 includes configuration information that specifies surface configurations for some or all of the configurable surface elements (e.g., element 324) that form the RIS of APD 180. As an example, each index of the codebook corresponds to a phase vector having configuration information for each configurable surface element of APD 180. For example, index 0 maps phase configuration 0 to configurable surface element 502, phase configuration 1 to configurable surface element 504, phase configuration 2 to configurable surface element 506, and so on. Similarly, index 1 maps phase configuration 3 to configurable surface element 502, phase configuration 4 to configurable surface element 504, phase configuration 5 to configurable surface element 506, and so on. Surface configuration codebook 508 can include any number of phase vectors that specify configurations for any number of configurable surface elements, such that a first phase vector corresponds to a first surface configuration of APD 180 (via a configuration for each configurable surface element in the RIS), a second phase vector corresponds to a second surface configuration of APD 180, and so on. Alternatively or additionally, the codebook 508 may specify phase vectors that configure a subset of the configurable surface elements. In various aspects, one or more surface configurations or phase vectors may be mapped or calibrated to specific angle information of incident and / or reflected wireless signals (e.g., reference signals), signal rays, beamformed transmissions of the base station 120, and the like.

[0065] Although Figure 5 The surface configuration codebook 508 includes phase vector information, but the codebook may instead or in addition store beam configuration information, such as a first surface configuration specifying a first beam having a first (propagation) direction, a second surface configuration specifying a second beam having a second direction, and so on. Thus, in various embodiments, the surface configuration codebook 508 corresponds to a beam codebook that can enable the APD 180 to implement beamforming of an incident wireless signal. Similarly, to configure the surface of the APD 180, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 determines a desired beam configuration for the transformed signal and identifies an entry in the beam codebook that corresponds to the desired beam configuration. In some aspects, a beam scanning codebook indicates a pattern of surface configurations and / or beam configurations, such as the surface configurations and / or beam configurations indicated by the surface configuration codebook 508 and the beam configurations specified by the beam codebook. For illustration, the beam scanning codebook indicates an order of surface configurations and optionally indicates an APD reflection identifier to cycle through to perform beam scanning in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction. Alternatively or additionally, the beam scanning codebook indicates a duration for applying each surface configuration that is effective to steer the reflected beam in a particular direction for the duration.

[0066] The surface configuration information stored in the codebook may correspond to a full configuration that specifies an exact configuration (e.g., a value to configure with) or an incremental configuration that specifies a relative configuration (e.g., a value to modify a current state by). In one or more embodiments, the phase configuration information specifies a directional increase and / or an angular adjustment between an incident signal and a transformed signal. For example, phase configuration 0 may specify an angular adjustment configuration for element 502 such that the configurable surface element 502 reflects an incident waveform at an angle or directional offset relative to "phase configuration 0." Figure 5 As shown, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 transmits an indication specifying a surface configuration to the APD 180. In this example, the indication specifies a surface configuration index 510 (SC index 510) that maps to a corresponding surface configuration of the APD 180. In response to receiving the indication, the APD manager 320 retrieves the surface configuration from the surface configuration codebook 508 using the index and applies the surface configuration to the RIS. For example, the APD manager 320 configures each configurable surface element (or each configurable surface element of a subset of configurable surface elements) to be specified by a corresponding entry in the surface configuration codebook 508.

[0067] In various embodiments, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 transmit timing information (not shown) to the APD 180, which may be included with the surface configuration or beam scanning index. For example, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 sometimes indicate to the APD 180 a start time for applying the indicated surface configuration or beam scanning pattern using the wireless link 136 or 137, respectively. In various aspects, the base station 120 and / or the UE 110 transmits a stop time indicating when to remove and / or change the surface configuration or beam scanning pattern. When changing the surface configuration, the APD 180, via the APD manager 320, may apply a default surface configuration, return to a previous surface configuration (e.g., a surface configuration used before the indicated surface configuration), and / or apply a new surface configuration to control the direction in which the APD 180 reflects wireless signals. To maintain synchronized timing, the APD 180 may receive and / or process a base station synchronization signal.

[0068] By specifying timing information, base station 120 and / or UE 110 may use time partitioning to allocate access to APD 180. Alternatively or additionally, base station 120 and / or UE 110 may use configurable surface element partitioning to allocate access to APD 180. As an example, base station 120 shares access to APD 180 with one or more UECS, such as those described in reference to FIG. Figure 6-8 As another example, as described in reference Figure 9-11As described, a first coordinating UE of a first UECS shares access to an APD 180 with a second coordinating UE of a second UECS. For illustration, the first coordinating UE configures the APD 180 for intra-UECS communications of the first UECS by specifying a start time, duration, and / or stop time for applying a first surface configuration to the RIS. Similarly, the second coordinating UE of the second UECS configures the APD 180 for intra-UECS communications of the second UECS by specifying a start time, duration, and / or stop time for applying a second surface configuration to the RIS. In various aspects, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE, and / or the second coordinating UE utilize an APD fast control channel to transmit surface configuration instructions and / or timing information, which allows the base station and / or the coordinating UE to dynamically configure the APD 180 on a slot-by-slot basis. Alternatively or additionally, the first coordinating UE and the second coordinating UE configure (and use) a subset of configurable surface elements as further described. This allows the coordinating UEs in the UECS to utilize the APD for intra-UECS communications and improves data rates, spectral efficiency, data throughput, and communication reliability in the corresponding wireless network.

[0069] Signaling and control transactions for intra-UECS communication via APD

[0070] Figure 6 、 Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 9 、 Figure 10 and Figure 11 An example signaling and control transaction diagram is shown according to one or more aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD. In various aspects, the operation of signaling and control transactions may be performed using the same method as described with reference to FIG. Figure 1-5 The aspects described in any of the figures are performed by any combination of devices, including a base station (eg, base station 120) and multiple UEs (eg, UE 111, UE 112, UE 113).

[0071] A first example of signaling and control transactions for intra-UECS communication via APD is provided by Figure 6 The signaling and control transactions of FIG600 are shown, wherein FIG600 results in (a) as shown in FIG600. Figure 7 Additional signaling and control transactions as shown, or (b) as Figure 8 Diagram 600 includes signaling and control transactions among base station 120 , coordinating UE 111 , one or more other UEs 110 (eg, non-coordinating UEs), and / or APD 180 .

[0072] As shown, at 605, UE 111 and / or (one or more) other UEs 110 optionally transmit signal quality measurements, link quality measurements, measurement reports, and / or other values ​​to base station 120. For example, as part of establishing and / or maintaining a wireless link with each of UE 111 and / or other UEs 110, base station 120 sends (a corresponding) radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message (not shown) that directs each UE to perform measurements. In response to the RRC reconfiguration message, the UE transmits corresponding signal and / or link quality measurements, such as measurement reports, values, or other feedback. Alternatively or additionally, base station 120 transmits thresholds (e.g., the same threshold or different thresholds) to each of UE 111 and / or other UEs 110 that indicate a trigger for sending the corresponding signal quality measurements, link quality measurements, and / or measurement reports. In some aspects, base station 120 generates signal and / or link quality measurements using uplink signals received from each of the UEs (e.g., UE 111 and / or other UEs 110).

[0073] At 610, the base station 120 directs at least the UE 111 and other UEs 110 to form a UECS (e.g., UECS 108). In various aspects, to form the UECS, the base station 120 selects which UEs to include in the UECS based on analyzing signal quality measurements, link quality measurements, UE capabilities, estimated UE locations, measurement reports, and / or other characteristics received at 605. For example, the base station 120 selects UEs that are within a threshold distance of each other, UEs that indicate they are UECS capable, UEs that have more battery power remaining than a first threshold, UEs that have a received signal strength above a second threshold, UEs with similar capabilities (e.g., processing power, memory size), etc.

[0074] Forming the UECS can include multiple signaling and control transactions between the base station 120 and the UEs. These signaling and control transactions, such as those corresponding to the base station 120 communicating directly with each UE, are not shown here for visual simplicity. For illustration, the base station 120 sends a request message (e.g., a configuration message) that directs the UE 111 to coordinate the joint transmission and reception of data intended for the target UE. In at least one example, the base station 120 sends a signal to each UE (e.g., UE 111, other UEs 110) that directs each UE to participate in the joint reception of downlink data for the target UE, such as by downconverting and sampling the RF signal to determine the in-phase / quadrature (I / Q) baseband signal, and then forwarding the baseband I / Q samples to the coordinating UE (UE 111) for decoding the data at the coordinating UE. In some aspects, as part of forming the UECS 108, the base station transmits APD information to the coordinating UEs, such as described by sub-diagram 645.

[0075] After UE 111 and other UEs 110 form UECS 108, at 615, base station 120 jointly sends downlink communications to the UEs in UECS 108 and / or jointly receives uplink communications from the UEs in UECS. Similarly, at 620, UE 111 and other UEs 110 communicate with each other using intra-UECS communication to perform sidelink transmissions of downlink / uplink communications (addressed to a target UE within the UECS). For illustration, at 615, UE 111 and (one or more) other UEs jointly receive downlink transmissions from base station 120, and at 620, baseband I / Q samples are locally transmitted on the sidelink to a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) using intra-UECS communication. For joint uplink transmissions, intra-UECS communication 620 uses the sidelink to distribute uplink data from the target UE to the coordinating UE, and then from the coordinating UE to other UEs within the UECS. The UEs in the UECS then modulate and jointly transmit the signals to the base station 120 at 615 .

[0076] In general, transactions 605, 610, 615, and 620 correspond to a subgraph 625 in which multiple devices (eg, base station 120, UE 111, other UEs 110) establish and use the UECS. Subgraph 625 may include alternative or additional transactions.

[0077] At 630, UE 111 (acting as a coordinating UE) optionally indicates one or more candidate APDs to base station 120. As an example, UE 111 identifies one or more APDs within operating range, such as by monitoring APD broadcast signals and / or messages transmitted from the APDs announcing the presence of the APDs to the coordinating UE. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE identifies and / or estimates the current location of one or more UEs within the UECS (e.g., UE 111, other UEs 110) and accesses APD records indicating APDs within a threshold distance of the current location. For example, UE 111 estimates its current location using Global Positioning System (GPS) and / or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location information and finds nearby APDs using a stored map or table. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE uses intra-UECS communication to query (one or more) other UEs, and each of the (one or more) other UEs responds to the query with corresponding location information that the coordinating UE can use to locate the candidate APDs using the stored mapping or table. In various aspects, when the coordinating UE and / or other UE(s) moves location, the coordinating UE updates the list of candidate APDs by removing and / or adding APDs based on the updated location information.

[0078] At 635, the base station 120 selects an APD for the UE in the UECS for intra-UECS communications. As an example, the base station 120 selects an APD currently used by the base station for communicating with one or more UEs included in the UECS. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 calculates and / or identifies a corresponding estimated UE location for each UE in the UECS (e.g., based on signal and / or link quality parameters, based on GPS and / or GNNS information), and uses the estimated UE location to analyze APD records and / or historical data records to identify candidate APDs. In some aspects, the base station 120 queries a server for APDs within a threshold distance of the estimated UE location and / or candidate APDs within a cell service area of ​​the base station 120, such as in Figure 1 The core network 150 includes a server.

[0079] In various aspects, the base station 120 analyzes the APD capabilities of each candidate APD (e.g., the number of configurable surface elements, the configuration bit resolution of the configurable surface elements, the supported surface configuration codebooks, the APD surface sharing capabilities), and selects an APD to assign to the UECS based on the APD capabilities. For illustration, the base station 120 uses a corresponding APD control channel to query each candidate APD for APD capabilities and / or accesses a server with APD records to obtain the APD capabilities, and then selects an APD that supports the desired APD capabilities. For example, as described in reference Figure 9-11As described above, a base station communicating with at least two UECSs may identify and select an APD that supports surface sharing (e.g., by querying the APD for capabilities, by analyzing historical records), and distribute the APD's surfaces between the two UECSs. As another example, the base station may select, from among the candidate APDs, an APD that includes the highest number of configurable surface elements, has the largest configurable surface area, or has a surface angle that is most suitable for reaching one or more UEs included in the UECS.

[0080] At 640, the base station 120 indicates the APD information to the coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111). This includes indicating any combination of APD identification information, APD positioning information, APD control channel information, surface configuration codebook, etc. In general, the APD information may include any information related to the APD 180 (e.g., one or more attributes or configuration settings of the APD) that can be used by UEs in the UECS to implement intra-UECS communication via the APD.

[0081] In general, transactions 630, 635, and 640 correspond to sub-diagram 645 in which base station 120 and UE 111 (acting as a coordinating UE) prepare the UECS to use an APD for intra-UECS communication. Sub-diagram 645 may include alternative or additional transactions that are not shown for visual simplicity. Sometimes, the transactions included in sub-diagram 645 are repeated iteratively, such as when the location of various UEs included in the UECS moves to a new location where another APD can better serve the UECS. Thus, the coordinating UE and / or the base station can identify new candidate APDs when the UE moves to a new location and / or select a new APD when conditions change. This allows the base station and the coordinating UE to synchronize APD information and update and prepare the UECS as to what APD to use for intra-UECS communication when conditions change (e.g., UE location or environmental conditions). In various aspects, some or all of the signaling and control transactions included in sub-diagram 645 can be performed as part of forming a UECS as described at 610.

[0082] At 650, UE 111 identifies one or more conditions that indicate use of APD for intra-UECS communications. For example, the coordinating UE analyzes one or more signals and / or link quality measurements generated from intra-UECS communications and identifies that the signal and / or link quality measurements have fallen below an acceptable performance threshold and / or level. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE identifies that link quality parameters indicate channel impairment. In various aspects, the coordinating UE identifies that one or more estimated UE locations indicate use of APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths between UEs in the UECS. For example, the coordinating UE identifies that at least one UE in the UECS has moved to a location with a history of channel impairment, such as by analyzing a historical data record indicating historical signal measurements and / or link quality parameters from the same or other UEs at the estimated UE locations.

[0083] At 655, UE 111 requests access to the APD, such as by utilizing reflective access to the surface of the APD and / or configuring controlled access to the surface of the APD. Figure 1 The UE sends a request to the base station 120 over the wireless link 131. This may include coordinating the UE to jointly send a request to the base station using the UECS in the role of the target UE to effectively improve the effective signal quality between the target UE and the base station.

[0084] Generally, transactions 650 and 655 correspond to sub-diagram 660 in which the UE is coordinated to request access to the APD from a base station that manages APD access (eg, reflective access, controlled access). Sub-diagram 660 may include alternative or additional transactions that are not shown for visual simplicity.

[0085] At this point, diagram 600 can proceed to at least two alternative paths: Option "A" (in Figure 7 described in) or option "B" (described in Figure 8 (described in ). Figure 7 A signaling and control transaction diagram 700 is depicted where the coordinating UE transmits surface configuration directly to the APD on an APD control channel. Figure 8 A signaling and control transaction diagram 800 is depicted where a base station relays a surface configuration to an APD for UE coordination.

[0086] Continue to Figure 7Option "A" in , at 705, the base station 120 allocates (e.g., divides and / or assigns) APD access to the UECS 108, alternatively referred to as UECS-allocated APD access. For illustration, the base station 120 uses time partitioning to allocate reflection access to the APD 180 and assigns a first duration to the UECS 108. Based on the time partitioned access, the UECS 108 (by coordinating UEs) agrees to use (and / or configure) the surface of the APD 180 during the first duration and avoids using (and / or configuring) the surface of the APD 180 during the second duration. In some aspects, the base station 120 uses the APD 180 during the second duration. Alternatively, a second UECS ( Figure 7 (not shown) using APD 180 during a second duration, such as reference Figure 9-11 The time partitioning determined by the base station does not have to be equal and may depend on the amount of data buffered for transmission by the base station and / or UECS, the frequency bandwidth of the carrier signal, and other factors. The base station may determine periodic (e.g., semi-persistent) time partitioning access and / or dynamic time partitioning access (e.g., used only once).

[0087] Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 allocates reflective access to the APD 180 using configurable surface element partitioning, such as by allocating subsets of configurable surface elements that form a RIS. For example, referring to Figure 5 , the base station 120 assigns the configurable surface elements 502 to the UECS 108 and the configurable surface elements 506 to the base station 120 and / or another UECS, as further described. This may include any type of configurable surface element partitioning, such as horizontal partitioning that groups elements in the same horizontal row, vertical partitioning that groups elements in the same vertical column, quadrant partitioning, etc. The configurable surface element partitioning does not have to be equal and may depend on the amount of data buffered for transmission to the base station and / or UECS, the coverage area of ​​the base station's signal to the UECS, the operating area of ​​the UECS or the location of its individual UEs, the frequency bandwidth of the carrier signal, the MIMO configuration of each device, and other factors.

[0088] As part of allocating APD access to APD 180, base station 120 sometimes allocates control access to the APD. Base station 120, for example, allocates an APD control channel (e.g., Figure 1137), such as when APD 180 supports only a single physical APD control channel instead of multiple physical APD control channels. However, a single physical APD control channel can support receiving APD control messages directly from different devices (e.g., multiple UEs, UE and base station, multiple base stations). For example, base station 120 assigns a first resource block of the APD control channel to a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) and assigns a second resource block of the APD control channel to a second coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) of the second UECS. Figure 7 ), as further described. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 assigns a first control channel element (CCE) (e.g., resource element (RE), resource element group (REG)) to the base station 120 and a second CCE to the coordinating UE of the UECS 108. As another example, the base station 120 assigns a first time slot of a shared APD control channel to the coordinating UE and / or assigns a second time slot of the APD control channel to the second coordinating UE. When the APD control channel is shared, the coordinating UE may include a device identifier in the APD control message. Alternatively, the base station 120 assigns a specific APD control channel (from a plurality of APD control channels) to the coordinating UE. However, other forms of partitioning may also be utilized, such as coding scheme partitioning, which assigns one of several coding schemes (for encoding communications on the APD control channel) to the coordinating UE and / or UECS, and frequency partitioning, which assigns different frequency (sub)bands of the APD control channel to different entities.

[0089] At 710 , the base station 121 indicates the APD access allocated by the UECS to the coordinating UE. This may include indicating any combination of allocated reflex access and / or allocated control access as described at 705 .

[0090] At 715, UE 111 optionally selects a configuration for UE-assigned APD access to APD 180. For example, assume that base station 120 (via the coordinating UE) assigns periodic time-division reflex access to the APD to UECS 108. In various aspects, the coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) further distributes the assigned time-division reflex access among UEs 110, such as by allocating a first time period of the periodic time-division reflex access to a first UE in UEs 110, allocating a second time period of the periodic time-division reflex access to a second UE in UEs 110, and so on. As another example, assume that the base station assigns the entire surface (e.g., all configurable surface elements) of APD 180 to UECS 108, and assume that APD 180 supports surface sharing. In various aspects, the coordinating UE further distributes the reflex access among UEs 110, such as by allocating a first subset of the configurable surface elements to the first UE in UEs 110, allocating a second subset of the configurable surface elements to the second UE in UEs 110, and so on.

[0091] At 720, UE 111 indicates the allocated APD access to each UE in UE 110. As one example, the coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) indicates the APD access allocated by the UE selected at 715 to each UE in UE 110. As another example, the coordinating UE indicates the APD access allocated by the UECS indicated at 710 to each UE in UE 110.

[0092] At 725, UE 111 directs one or more of UEs 110 to include APD 180 in the corresponding intra-UECS communication path. In some aspects, the coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) implicitly directs the UEs to include APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path, such as by sending an indication of the UECS and / or UE-assigned access at 720. Alternatively, the coordinating UE explicitly directs the UEs to use APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path by transmitting signaling and / or messaging (e.g., via a Boolean value, enumerated field, information element, or handover flag) that explicitly directs UE 110 to include APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path. Thus, the signaling and control transactions at 720 and 725 may be combined into a single signaling and control transaction, or may be implemented as multiple signaling and control transactions.

[0093] In general, transactions 705, 710, 715, 720, and 725 correspond to subgraph 730 in which base station 120, coordinating UEs, and other UEs 110 transmit allocated APD access to each other to avoid collisions or contention among various transmissions for intra-UECS communications. Subgraph 730 may include alternative or additional transactions not shown for visual simplicity.

[0094] At 735, the base station 120 optionally selects a surface configuration for the APD (e.g., a proposed surface configuration) that uses the surface configuration of the APD for intra-UECS communication purposes. For illustration, assume that the base station 120 utilizes the APD in a communication path with the UECS. In various aspects, the base station 120 identifies and / or calculates an estimated UE position of one or more UEs participating in the UECS based on a transmission departure direction at the APD, and uses the estimated UE position to select a surface configuration. As another example, the base station 120 identifies and / or calculates an estimated UE position based on GNSS-based positioning reported by one or more UEs, an angle of arrival of a UE uplink signal, a reference signal received power (RSRP) of a UE uplink signal, etc. In this way, the base station 120 can use various link quality parameters to obtain or calculate the estimated UE position, such as by power level, departure angle or arrival angle, and / or timing information (e.g., observed time of arrival) of uplink or downlink communications with UEs included in the UECS 108. The base station 120 then selects a surface configuration of the APD using any combination of estimated UE location, signal quality measurements, link quality measurements, etc. to provide additional information to the coordinating UE that may improve how the coordinating UE configures the surface of the APD.

[0095] At 740, and in response to selecting the surface configuration, the base station 120 indicates the surface configuration to the coordinating UE. For example, the base station 120 sends an indication of the index mapped to the entry in the codebook, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 described.

[0096] At 745, UE 111 selects a surface configuration for the APD. In some aspects, the coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) selects the proposed surface configuration indicated by the base station at 740. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE calculates signal and / or link quality measurements for communications within the UECS, or receives signal and / or link quality measurements from other UEs 110. The coordinating UE then selects the surface configuration based on the calculated and / or received measurements. Sometimes, the coordinating UE estimates the UE positions of the other UEs 110 and selects the surface configuration based at least in part on the estimated UE positions. In various aspects, the coordinating UE analyzes the proposed surface configuration indicated at 740, calculates the departure angle at the APD, and adjusts the proposed surface configuration based on the position of the coordinating UE relative to the base station 120. Thus, the coordinating UE can use any combination of information (e.g., the proposed surface configuration, the calculated measurements, the received measurements, the estimated UE position information) to select the surface configuration.

[0097] The coordinating UE sometimes selects a surface configuration based at least in part on expected transmission characteristics. As an example, the coordinating UE may select a first surface configuration that favors wide beam transmission (e.g., a surface configuration that introduces less distortion to wide beam transmission relative to other surface configurations), such as when participating UEs 110 are co-located and the coordinating UE determines to use wide beam transmission to reach multiple UEs. As another example, the coordinating UE may select a second surface configuration that favors narrow beam transmission.

[0098] In general, transactions 735, 740, and 745 correspond to sub-diagram 750 in which base station 120 and / or coordinating UE 111 select a surface configuration for configuring the surface of APD 180 for intra-UECS communication. In sub-diagram 750, base station 120 optionally provides a proposed surface configuration to coordinating UE 111, and coordinating UE 111 selects a surface configuration for configuring the surface of APD 180. However, in an alternative aspect, such as described with reference to sub-diagram 815, coordinating UE 111 provides the proposed surface configuration to base station 120. Sub-diagram 750 may include alternative or additional transactions that are not shown for visual brevity.

[0099] At 755, UE 111 directs the APD to apply the surface configuration selected at 745. For illustration, UE 111 uses the APD control channel to send an indication of an index mapped to an entry in the codebook. In various aspects, UE 111 sends the indication using an assigned access to the APD control channel, such as the assigned access selected at 705.

[0100] At 760, UE 111 and the other UEs 110 use APD 180 (e.g., using Figure 4In other words, UE 111 and other UEs 110 include the APD 180 in (one or more) intra-UECS communication paths by using the surface of the APD to reflect signals, as further described. This may include the UEs exchanging intra-UECS communications based on allocated reflection access and / or controlled access. In some aspects, the coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) iteratively reconfigures the surface of the APD for intra-UECS communications (not shown). For example, the coordinating UE configures the surface configuration of the APD at the beginning of each (periodic) time duration assigned to the UECS. As another example, the coordinating UE configures the surface of the APD with a first surface configuration for the duration of a first time slot assigned to a first UE in the UECS, configures the surface configuration of the APD with a second surface configuration for the duration of a second time slot assigned to a second UE in the UECS, and so on.

[0101] In general, transactions 755 and 760 correspond to subgraph 765 in which the coordinating UE and other UEs 110 of the UECS use APD to coordinate communications within the UECS. As further described, these transactions can be repeated iteratively. Subgraph 765 may include alternative or additional transactions not shown for visual simplicity.

[0102] Figure 8 A signaling and control transaction diagram 800 is depicted in which a base station relays a surface configuration to an APD for coordination with a UE. Figure 6 Upon completion of Figure 600, the diagram may alternatively proceed to Figure 8 Option "B" as described in . At 730, the base station 120, the UE 111 and the other UEs 110, such as by using the reference Figure 7 Similar signaling and control transactions are used to communicate allocated APD access to each other. For illustration, base station 120 indicates to a coordinating UE (e.g., UE 111) the allocated reflective access (e.g., UECS-allocated APD access) assigned to UECS 108. Alternatively or additionally, UE 111 further distributes reflective access (e.g., UE-allocated APD access) among other UEs 110. Thus, UE 111 communicates UE-allocated APD access or UECS-allocated APD access to other UEs 110.

[0103] At 745, and in a manner similar to reference Figure 7UE 111 may optionally select a surface configuration in the manner described. In some aspects, UE 111 selects a surface configuration without receiving a proposed surface configuration from base station 120. To illustrate, when allocating access at 730, base station 120 does not allocate control access to UE 111 and / or UECS 108. Instead, base station 120 determines to control APD 180 on behalf of UE 111 and / or UECS 108 by selecting a surface configuration for the APD. Thus, to conserve air interface resources, base station 120 may wait to determine and / or select a surface configuration, such as by waiting until a surface configuration is received from UE 111. Thus, in some aspects, UE 111 selects a surface configuration, such as by using signals and / or link quality measurements communicated within the UECS as described at 745, and, in response to selecting the surface configuration, indicates the surface configuration to base station 120 at 805, instead of transmitting the surface configuration to APD 180 using an APD control channel.

[0104] At 810, the base station 120 selects a surface configuration for configuring the APD for communication purposes within the UECS. In some aspects, the base station 120 relays the surface configuration received at 805 (without modification) to configure the surface of the APD 180. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 analyzes the (proposed) surface configuration received from the UE 111 at 805 and selects a second surface configuration based at least in part on the proposed surface configuration. For example, the base station 120 analyzes the proposed surface configuration to calculate the reflection angle at the surface of the APD and uses the reflection angle in combination with signal and / or link quality parameters to select the second surface configuration. In some aspects, the base station 120 selects the surface configuration by analyzing signal and / or link quality measurements based on communications with one or more UEs participating in the UECS. Thus, the base station 120 can select the surface configuration using the proposed surface configuration from the coordinating UE and / or can select the surface configuration using the signal and / or link quality measurements.

[0105] Typically, and similar to Figure 7 750, transactions 745, 805, and 810 correspond to sub-diagram 815 of surface configuration in which base station 120 and / or coordinating UE selects a surface of APD 180 configured for intra-UECS communication, where base station 120 configures the surface on behalf of coordinating UE 111. Sub-diagram 815 may include alternative or additional transactions that are not shown for visual simplicity.

[0106] At 820, base station 120 directs APD to apply the surface configuration for intra-UECS communications, such as by sending an indication of an index, as further described. At 760, coordinating UE 111 and UE 110 to exchange intra-UECS communications using APD with the surface configured by base station 120, such as by using a reference Figure 7 In some aspects, the base station 120 iteratively configures and / or reconfigures the surface of the APD for intra-UECS communications exchanged by the UECS 108 by repeating any of the subgraphs 730, 815, and / or 825. For example, the base station 120 configures the surface of the APD using a first surface configuration (e.g., using an APD fast control channel) for a first duration assigned to the UECS 108, and reconfigures the surface configuration of the APD using a second surface configuration for a second duration assigned to the base station 120 and / or a second UECS (not shown).

[0107] In general, transactions 820 and 760 correspond to a subgraph 825 in which UE 111 and other UEs 110 of the UECS use base station 120 (e.g., as a relay or selected by the base station) to coordinate intra-UECS communications to configure the APD. These transactions may be repeated iteratively as further described. Subgraph 825 may include alternative or additional transactions that are not shown for visual simplicity.

[0108] Figure 9 A second example of signaling and control transactions for intra-UECS communication via APD using signaling and control transaction diagram 900 is depicted. Diagram 900 may result in at least (c) Figure 10 Additional signaling and control transactions as shown, or (d) as Figure 11 Diagram 900 includes signaling and control transactions among base station 120, a first coordinating UE 901 and one or more other UEs 902 (e.g., non-coordinating UEs) forming a first UECS 903, a second coordinating UE 904 and other UEs 905 (e.g., non-coordinating UEs) forming a second UECS 906, and APD 180.

[0109] At 910, the base station 120, UE 901 and other UEs 902 use Figure 6Similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-figure 625 of FIG. 1 are used to establish a first UECS 903, wherein base station 120 selects UE 901 as a coordinating UE for UECS 903. In various aspects, UE 901 and other UEs 902 send signals and / or link quality measurements to base station 120, base station 120 directs the UEs to form the first UECS 903, and UECS 903 jointly sends uplink communications to base station 120 and / or jointly receives downlink communications from base station 120. In various aspects, as part of establishing UECS 903, base station 120 and coordinating UE 901 exchange APD information.

[0110] At 915, the base station 120 and the first coordinating UE 901 use Figure 6 Similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-figure 645 of UECS 903 prepare the UECS 903 to use the APD for intra-UECS communication. In various aspects, the coordinating UE 901 (optionally) indicates candidate APDs to the base station 120, the base station 120 selects an APD for the UECS to use in the intra-UECS communication path, and the base station 120 forwards APD information about the selected APD to the coordinating UE 901.

[0111] At 920, the base station, the second coordinating UE 904 and the other UEs 905 use similar signaling and control transactions to establish a second UECS 906, such as Figure 6 For illustration, the base station 120 selects the UE 904 and other UEs 905 to form a second UECS 906 based on analyzing signal quality measurements, link quality measurements, measurement reports, etc. In various aspects, as part of establishing the UECS 906, the base station 120 and the coordinating UE 904 exchange APD information.

[0112] At 925, the base station 120 and the second coordinating UE 904 use Figure 6 Similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-diagram 645 of UECS 906 prepare the UECS 906 to use the APD for intra-UECS communication. In diagram 900 , the base station 120 selects the same APD (eg, APD 180 ) for the second UECS 906 as was selected for the first UECS 903 .

[0113] At 930, the first coordinating UE 901 uses Figure 6660 of FIG. 1 . APD access to the APD 180 is requested using similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-figure 660 of FIG. 1 . For illustration, the first coordinating UE 901 analyzes link quality measurements associated with intra-UECS communications and identifies that the link quality measurements indicate channel impairment. Based on identifying the channel impairment, the first coordinating UE 901 requests APD access (e.g., reflex access and / or control access) to the APD 180.

[0114] At 935, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE 901, and the other UEs 902 perform a plurality of signaling and control transactions to incorporate the APD 180 into the intra-UECS communication path(s) used by the UECS 903. For illustration, the base station 120, the coordinating UE 901, and / or the other UEs 902 use Figure 7 The allocated APD access (e.g., to the APD 180) is transmitted using similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-figure 730 of FIG. For example, the base station 120 allocates reflective access to the APD 180 for use by the UECS 903 and indicates and / or transmits a configuration to the first coordinating UE 901, the configuration indicating the allocation of time-partitioned reflective access to the APD and / or indicating the allocation of configurable surface elements for the allocated reflective access. Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 allocates and transmits control access, such as by transmitting a configuration indicating the allocation of physical resources (e.g., time-partitioned resources, frequency-partitioned resources, coding scheme-partitioned resources) for the APD control channel.

[0115] At 935, to incorporate the APD 180 into the intra-UECS communication path, the base station 120 and the first coordinating UE 901 also select a surface configuration for configuring the APD 180 for intra-UECS communication. In some aspects, the base station 120 and the first coordinating UE 901 use a surface configuration such as that provided by Figure 7 750 to select a surface configuration, wherein the first coordinating UE 901 optionally receives a proposed surface configuration from the base station 120. Alternatively, the base station 120 and the first coordinating UE 901 use a surface configuration provided by Figure 8 Similar signaling and control transactions are described in sub-figure 815 to select a surface configuration, where the first coordinating UE 901 indicates the proposed surface configuration to the base station 120 .

[0116] At 935, to incorporate the APD 180 into the intra-UECS communication path, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE 901 and the other UEs 902 also use the APD to coordinate intra-UECS communications. This may include using Figure 7765 to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where the first coordinating UE 901 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 by communicating directly with the APD on the APD control channel. Alternatively, this may include using a Figure 8 Similar signaling and control transactions are described in sub-diagram 825 to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where the base station 120 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 on behalf of the UECS 903.

[0117] At 940, the second coordinating UE 904 of the second UECS 906 uses Figure 6 660 to request APD access to APD 180. For example, second coordinating UE 904 identifies channel impairments in intra-UECS communications and requests access to APD 180 from base station 120. At this point, diagram 900 can proceed to at least two alternative paths: Option "C" (in Figure 10 described in) or option "D" (in Figure 11 (described in ).

[0118] Figure 10 A signaling and control transaction diagram 1000 is depicted in which a base station allocates APD access between two UECSs. Figure 11 A signaling and control transaction diagram 1100 is depicted in which a base station indicates allocated APD access to two coordinating UEs of two UECSs, and the coordinating UEs negotiate with each other to further allocate the APD access (provided by the base station) between the two UECSs.

[0119] Continue to Figure 10 Option "C" in the example, at 1005, the base station 120, the second coordinating UE 904 and / or the UE 905 use Figure 7 The allocated APD access is transmitted using similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-diagram 730 of FIG. For example, the base station 120 selects a configuration for the allocated reflective access and / or controlled access to the APD 180 and assigns the allocated reflective and / or controlled access to the UECS 906.

[0120] At 1010, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE 901 and the UE 902 optionally use Figure 7The updated allocated APD access is communicated using similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-figure 730 of FIG. For example, based on the second coordinating UE requesting APD access, the base station can reconfigure and / or reallocate the APD access assigned to the first UECS, such as when the second UECS 906 is expected to exchange higher bandwidth communications relative to the first UECS 903 and / or the second UECS 906 has a higher priority to the APD 180 than the first UECS 903. Therefore, in response to reconfiguring and / or reallocating the APD access assigned to the first UECS, the base station and the UEs included in the UECS 903 communicate the updated allocated access.

[0121] At 1015, the base station 120 and the second coordinating UE 904 select a surface configuration for the surface of the APD 180 configured for intra-UECS communication exchanged by the UECS 906. This may include using Figure 7 750 to select a surface configuration, wherein the second coordinating UE 904 optionally receives the proposed surface configuration from the base station 120. Alternatively, this may include using a surface configuration provided by Figure 8 815 , where the second coordinating UE 904 indicates the proposed surface configuration to the base station 120 .

[0122] At 1020, the base station 120, the second coordinating UE 904, and the other UEs 905 coordinate intra-UECS communications using the APD 180. This may include using Figure 7 765 to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where the second coordinating UE 904 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 by communicating directly with the APD on the APD control channel (e.g., using the allocated control access). Alternatively, this may include using a Figure 8 Similar signaling and control transactions are used to coordinate intra-UECS communications, as described in sub-diagram 825 of FIG. 8 , where the base station 120 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 on behalf of the UECS 906. Thus, as part of coordinating intra-UECS communications, the base station 120 optionally communicates the surface configuration to the APD 180.

[0123] At 1025, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE 901, and the UE 902 coordinate intra-UECS communications using the APD 180 by including the APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path(s), as further described. This may include using Figure 7765 to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where the first coordinating UE 901 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 by communicating directly with the APD on the APD control channel (e.g., using the allocated control access). Alternatively, this may include using a Figure 8 Similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-diagram 825 of FIG900 are used to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where base station 120 controls the surface configuration of APD 180 on behalf of UECS 903. Therefore, as part of coordinating intra-UECS communications, base station 120 optionally transmits the surface configuration to APD 180. At times, base station 120, first coordinating UE 901, and UE 902 use the reconfigured and / or reallocated APD access, optionally determined at 1010. At other times, base station 120, first coordinating UE 901, and UE 902 use the configuration determined and / or selected at 935 of diagram 900 for the allocated access.

[0124] The signaling and control transactions described at 1020 and 1025 can be performed iteratively and / or concurrently (not shown). For example, assume that base station 120 assigns a first subset of configurable surface elements (of APD 180) to UECS 903 and a second subset of configurable surface elements to UECS 906. In various aspects, and based on the reflective access assigned by the base station, each UECS agrees to use its corresponding assigned subset of configurable surface elements and avoids using other configurable surface elements. This allows UECSs to access the APD simultaneously with each other and avoid conflicts and / or contention. As another example, assume that base station 120 (a) controls the surface configuration of APD 180 as described with reference to diagram 800, and (b) uses periodic time partitioning to allocate reflective access to APD 180. Based on the periodic time partitioning, base station 120 iteratively configures APD 180 using a first surface configuration for a first UECS 903 for a first time duration and a second surface configuration for a second UECS 906 for a second time duration.

[0125] Figure 11 A signaling and control transaction diagram 1100 is depicted in which a base station indicates allocated APD access to two coordinating UEs of two UECSs, and the coordinating UEs negotiate with each other to further allocate the APD access (provided by the base station) between the two UECSs. Figure 9 Upon completion of Figure 900, the diagram may alternatively proceed to Figure 11 Option "D" as described in Figure 7705 of , at 1105, the base station 120 allocates APD access to the APD 180, wherein the base station selects and / or determines any combination of allocated reflective access and / or controlled access to the APD 180 (e.g., a configuration for the allocated APD access). In various aspects, the base station 120 selects and / or identifies a block of reflective access and / or controlled access shared by the UECS 903 and the UECS 906. Thus, instead of selecting a first configuration and / or portion of APD access for the UECS 903 and a second configuration and / or portion of APD access for the UECS 906, the base station 120 identifies the allocation of APD access and assigns the allocation to both the UECS 903 and the UECS 906. Thus, at 1110, the base station indicates the allocated APD access to the first coordinating UE 901 and / or the coordinating UE 904 (e.g., by transmitting a configuration indicating the allocation).

[0126] At 1115, the first coordinating UE 901 and the second coordinating UE 904 negotiate APD access to the APD 180, such as by communicating with each other on a sidelink. For illustration, assume that the base station 120 allocates and assigns the entire surface of the APD 180 to both the UECS 903 and the UECS 906. When negotiating APD access, the first coordinating UE 901 and the second coordinating UE 904 agree to time-share the APD 180 by using time partitioning, wherein the coordinating UEs agree to use (and / or configure) the surface of the APD for different durations. The time partitions do not have to be equal and may depend on the amount of data buffered for transmission by each UECS, the frequency bandwidth of the carrier signal, and other factors.

[0127] Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UEs 901 and 904 allocate APD access using configurable surface element partitioning, wherein the coordinating UEs agree to use (and / or configure) different subsets of configurable surface elements that form the RIS of the APD 180. For example, referring to Figure 5 , coordinates the UE to assign configurable surface elements 502 to UECS 903 and configurable surface elements 506 to UECS 906. This may include any type of configurable surface element partitioning, such as horizontal partitioning that groups elements in the same horizontal row, vertical partitioning that groups elements in the same vertical column, quadrant partitioning, etc. The configurable surface element partitioning does not have to be equal and may depend on the amount of data buffered for transmission by each UECS, the operating area or beam area of ​​each UECS, the frequency bandwidth of the carrier signal, the MIMO configuration of each device, and other factors.

[0128] In some aspects, as part of negotiating APD access to the APD, the coordinating UEs additionally allocate physical resources for an APD control channel. For illustration, the coordinating UE 901 and the coordinating UE 904 share the physical resources of the APD control channel allocated by the base station 120 to the two UECS. In various aspects, the coordinating UEs 901 and 904 allocate (shared) physical resources for the APD control channel to avoid contention, such as by assigning a first resource block of the APD control channel to the coordinating UE 901 and a second resource block of the APD control channel to the coordinating UE 904. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UEs 901 and 904 agree to assign a first control channel element (CCE) (e.g., resource element (RE), resource element group (REG)) to the first coordinating UE 901 and a second CCE to the second coordinating UE 904. As yet another example, the coordinating UEs 901 and 904 agree to assign a first time slot of a shared APD control channel to the coordinating UE 901 and a second time slot of the APD control channel to the second coordinating UE 904. When the APD control channel is shared, the coordinating UEs may include UE and / or UECS identifiers in APD control messages on the same physical APD control channel.

[0129] At 1120, and with reference to Figure 7 , the UEs included in the UECS 906 communicate assigned APD access to the APD 180 to each other. To illustrate at 715, and in response to negotiating APD access at 1115, the coordinating UE 904 optionally allocates APD access by selecting a configuration for UE-assigned APD access, as further described. At 720, the coordinating UE 904 indicates the assigned APD access to the UE 905, which may include UECS-assigned APD access or UE-assigned APD access. At 725, the coordinating UE 904 directs the UE 905 to include the APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path. Sometimes, the coordinating UE 904 implicitly directs the UE 905 to include the APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path by indicating the assigned APD access at 720. Alternatively or additionally, the coordinating UE 904 explicitly directs the UE 905 to include the APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path, as further described.

[0130] At 1125, the base station 120 and the second coordinating UE 904 select a surface configuration for the surface of the APD 180 configured for intra-UECS communications exchanged by the UECS 906. This may include using Figure 7750 to select a surface configuration, wherein the second coordinating UE 904 optionally receives the proposed surface configuration from the base station 120. Alternatively, this may include using a surface configuration provided by Figure 8 815 , where the second coordinating UE 904 indicates the proposed surface configuration to the base station 120 .

[0131] At 1130, the base station 120, the second coordinating UE 904 and the other UEs 905 coordinate intra-UECS communications using the APD 180. This may include using Figure 7 765 to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where the second coordinating UE 904 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 by communicating directly with the APD on the APD control channel (e.g., using allocated control access). Alternatively, this may include using Figure 8 Similar signaling and control transactions as described in sub-diagram 825 of FIGURE 8 are used to coordinate intra-UECS communications, where the base station 120 controls the surface configuration of the APD 180 on behalf of the UECS 906. Therefore, as part of coordinating intra-UECS communications, the base station 120 optionally transmits the surface configuration to the APD 180.

[0132] At 1135, the first coordinating UE 901 optionally selects Figure 7 For example, the first coordinating UE 901 selects a configuration for the UE-assigned APD access using the updated APD access negotiated at 1115. At 1135, the first coordinating UE 901 may also optionally indicate the configuration of the UE-assigned APD access. Figure 7 In some instances, when negotiating APD access at 1115, the coordinating UE 901 remains in Figure 9 1135. In such an example, the first coordinating UE 901 does not need to select and / or identify an updated allocation of APD access (e.g., an updated allocation configuration) or indicate an updated allocation of APD access at 1135. In other examples, such as when the UECS 903 receives an updated APD access based on the negotiation at 1115, the first coordinating UE 901 selects the updated UE-allocated APD access and / or indicates the updated allocated APD access.

[0133] At 1140, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE 901, and the UE 902 coordinate intra-UECS communications by including the APD 180 in the intra-UECS communication path(s), as further described. At times, the base station 120, the first coordinating UE 901, and the UE 902 use the reconfigured and / or reallocated APD access negotiated at 1115. The signaling and control transactions described at 1130 and 1140 may be performed iteratively and / or concurrently (not shown), such as when each UECS (via the respective coordinating UE) agrees to use its respective assigned subset of configurable surface elements and / or use periodic time-partitioned access to the APD 180, as further described.

[0134] Example Method for Intra-UECS Communication via APD

[0135] refer to Figure 12 And example methods 1200 and 1300 are described in terms of one or more aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD. Figure 12 An example method 1200 is shown for performing various aspects of intra-UECS communication, such as allocating access to an APD for a base station for intra-UECS communication. In some embodiments, the operations of the method 1200 are performed as described with reference to Figure 1-11 The method may be performed by the base station 120 described in any one of the preceding claims.

[0136] At 1205, the base station selects an APD for use by the first UECS in the intra-UECS communication path. As an example, the base station 120 receives a list of candidate APDs from a coordinating UE of the first UECS (e.g., UE 111 of UECS 108), as in Figure 6 630, and select an APD from the list of candidate APDs, as described above. Figure 6 As described at 635. As another example, the base station 120 selects an APD from a list of APDs in the coverage area.

[0137] At 1210, the base station transmits APD information about the APD to the first coordinating UE of the first UECS. For illustration, the base station 120 indicates any combination of APD identification information, APD positioning information, APD control channel information and / or surface configuration codebook to the UE 111, as in Figure 6 This may include forming the first UECS as described at 610 and / or in response to Figure 6 The list of candidate APDs is received from the UE 111 as described at 630 to indicate the APD information.

[0138] In some aspects, method 1200 iteratively repeats at 1215, such that the base station identifies a new APD for use by the first UECS at 1205 and transmits the new APD information at 1210. As an example, when UE 111 moves to a new location and / or detects that other UEs (e.g., UE 112, UE 113) in UECS 108 have moved locations, UE 111 identifies a new list of candidate APDs and indicates the new list of candidate APDs to base station 120. Base station 120 then identifies a new APD from the new list of candidate APDs at 1205 and transmits the new APD information at 1210.

[0139] Alternatively, the method 1200 continues at 1220. At 1225, the base station assigns APD access to the first UECS. The base station 120, for example, assigns the UECS 108 reflective access and / or control access to the APD 180, as in Figure 7 705 and / or Figure 7-10 Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 allocates the block for APD access of the first UECS to be shared with the second UECS, such as Figure 11 As described in 1105.

[0140] At 1230, the base station indicates the allocated APD access to the first coordinating UE of the first UECS. For example, base station 120 indicates the allocated access to UE 111, as in Figure 7 710 and / or Figure 7-10 Alternatively or additionally, the base station 120 indicates a block for APD access shared by the first UECS and the second UECS, as in Figure 11 As described in 1110.

[0141] Figure 13 An example method 1300 is shown for performing various aspects of intra-UECS communication via an APD, such as managing an APD to coordinate UEs for use in intra-UECS communication. In some embodiments, the operations of the method 1300 are performed as described with reference to Figure 1-11 Executed by UE111, UE 901 and / or UE 904 described in any one of the above.

[0142] At 1305, the UE analyzes intra-UECS communications between user equipment UEs included in the UECS. For example, the coordination UE 111 analyzes Figure 6 The intra-UECS communication of the UECS 108 described at 650 and / or Figure 6 and Figure 9 Subgraph 660 described in .

[0143] At 1310, and based on analyzing intra-UECS communications, the UE identifies a condition indicating use of an APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths between at least two UEs included in the UECS. Figure 6 650 and / or Figure 6 and Figure 9 As described in sub-diagram 660 described in FIG, UE 111, UE 901, and / or UE 904 identify channel impairments that indicate use of APD in a communication path within the UECS (e.g., that can be mitigated by use of APD in the communication path within the UECS). As another example, UE 111 identifies that UE 901 and / or UE 904 has moved location, where historical records indicate that the new UE location has a history of channel impairments and / or has a history of APD use (e.g., other UEs at the UE location already include APD in the communication path). The at least two UEs that use APD in their communication paths within the UECS may be: a coordinating UE and a target UE; a coordinating UE and one or more non-target UEs; a target UE and one or more non-target UEs; a coordinating UE, a target UE, and one or more non-target UEs; or two or more non-target UEs.

[0144] At 1315, the UE obtains the assigned APD access to the APD from the base station. For example, UE 111, UE 901, and / or UE 904 obtains reflection access and / or control access from base station 120, as in Figure 7 710 as described and / or by Figure 7-11 As described in sub-figure 730 in FIG.

[0145] At 1320, the UE selects a surface configuration for the APD based on the assigned APD access. UE 111, UE 901, and / or UE 904, for example, selects a surface configuration for APD 180, as in Figure 7 745 and / or Figure 7-11 As described in sub-graph 750 in FIG.

[0146] At 1325, the UE directs the APD to configure the surface of the APD using the surface configuration. In some aspects, and as in Figure 7 755 of them and in Figure 7-11 As depicted in sub-diagram 765, UE 111, UE 901, and / or UE 904 directs APD 180 to configure the surface by directly indicating the surface configuration to APD 180 using the APD control channel. In other aspects, and as described in Figure 8 As described at 805 of , UE 111 indirectly directs APD 180 to configure the surface by indicating the surface configuration to base station 120.

[0147] At 1330, the UE directs at least two UEs to include the APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths. For illustration, UE 111, UE 901, and / or UE 904 directs other UE 110, other UE 902, and / or other UE 905 to incorporate the APD 180 into the intra-UECS communication path, such as Figure 7 725 of the description and as Figure 7-11 In the sub-diagram 730 shown in . In various aspects, the at least two UEs include a coordinating UE (eg, UE 111, UE 901, UE 904). In other words, the intra-UECS communication path may include a communication path between a non-coordinating UE (included in the UECS) and a coordinating UE.

[0148] The order of the method blocks describing methods 1200 and 1300 is not intended to be construed as limiting, and any number of the described method blocks may be skipped or combined in any order to implement a method or an alternative method. Generally, any of the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein may be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage memory that is local and / or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations may include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively or additionally, any function described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components such as, but not limited to, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), a system on a chip (SoC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the like.

[0149] Although various aspects of intra-UECS communication via APD have been described in language specific to features and / or methods, the subject matter of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of intra-UECS communication via APD, and other equivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the appended claims include a list of features that can be selected in "any combination thereof," and "any combination thereof" includes combining any number and any combination of the listed features. Furthermore, various different aspects have been described, and it should be understood that each described aspect can be implemented independently or in combination with one or more other described aspects.

[0150] In the following, several examples are described:

[0151] Example 1: A method performed by a base station for using an adaptive phase change device (APD) in a communication path within a UECS within a user equipment coordination set, the method comprising: selecting an APD for use by a first user equipment coordination set (UECS) in one or more communication paths within the UECS; transmitting APD information about the APD to a first coordinating user equipment (UE) of the first UECS; allocating APD access to the APD for the first UECS; and indicating the allocated APD access to the first coordinating UE of the first UECS.

[0152] Example 2: The method of Example 1, wherein allocating the APD access further comprises at least one of: selecting a first configuration of allocated reflective access to the APD; or selecting a second configuration of allocated controlled access to the APD.

[0153] Example 3: A method according to Example 2, wherein allocating the APD access further includes at least one of: allocating a first subset of physical resources of the APD control channel to the UECS as the first configuration; or allocating reflection access to the APD as the second configuration using at least one of: time partitioning; or configurable surface element partitioning.

[0154] Example 4: The method of Example 3 further comprises: allocating a second subset of physical resources of the APD control channel to a second UECS; or allocating a second subset of physical resources of the APD control channel to a base station.

[0155] Example 5: The method of Example 3 or Example 4, wherein allocating the first subset of physical resources further comprises allocating physical resources for the APD control channel using at least one of: time partitioning; frequency partitioning; or coding scheme partitioning.

[0156] Example 6: The method according to Example 5 further includes: selecting periodic time partitioning of physical resources; or selecting dynamic time partitioning of physical resources.

[0157] Example 7: The method of any one of Examples 2 to 6, wherein allocating the APD access comprises allocating reflective access to the APD using at least one of: time partitioning; or configurable surface element partitioning.

[0158] EXAMPLE 8: The method of Example 7, further comprising: identifying that the APD supports surface sharing partitioned by configurable surface elements; and assigning a subset of the configurable surface elements to the UECS based on identifying that the APD supports surface sharing.

[0159] Example 9: The method of any one of Examples 1 to 8, further comprising: selecting a surface configuration for the APD based on downlink or uplink communication with the UECS; and transmitting the surface configuration to the first coordinating UE.

[0160] Example 10: The method of Example 1 or Example 2, further comprising: transmitting the allocated APD access to a second coordinating UE of a second UECS; and directing the first coordinating UE to negotiate with the second coordinating UE to share the allocated APD access between the first UECS and the second UECS.

[0161] Example 11: The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 10 further includes: receiving a surface configuration determined by the first coordinating UE from the first coordinating UE; and directing the APD to update the surface of the APD using the surface configuration determined by the first coordinating UE.

[0162] Example 12: The method of Example 11, wherein directing the APD to update the surface of the APD further comprises directing the APD to update the surface of the APD based on the allocated APD access assigned to the first UECS.

[0163] Example 13: The method of any one of Examples 1 to 12, further comprising: calculating an estimated UE position of a first non-coordinating UE included in the first UECS; and transmitting the estimated UE position to the first coordinating UE.

[0164] Example 14: The method of any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein transmitting APD information comprises transmitting one or more of: APD identification information; APD positioning information; or one or more surface configuration codebooks.

[0165] Example 15: The method of any one of Examples 1 to 14, wherein selecting the APD for use by the first UECS further comprises receiving a request from the first coordinating UE to use the APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths.

[0166] Example 16: A method for using an adaptive phase change device (APD) in a communication path within a UECS, performed by a coordinating user equipment UE in a user equipment coordination set (UECS), the method comprising: identifying a condition indicating the use of the APD in one or more communication paths within the UECS between at least two of the UEs included in the UECS; obtaining allocated APD access to the APD from a base station; selecting a surface configuration of the APD based on the allocated APD access; directing the APD to configure a surface of the APD using the surface configuration; and directing the at least two UEs to include the APD in the one or more communication paths within the UECS.

[0167] Example 17: A method according to Example 16, wherein obtaining allocated APD access to the APD further includes: sending a request for access to the APD to a base station; and obtaining at least one of: a first configuration of allocated control access to the APD; or a second configuration of allocated reflection access to the APD.

[0168] Example 18: The method of Example 17, further comprising receiving a first assignment of allocated physical resources for an APD control channel as a first configuration.

[0169] EXAMPLE 19 The method of Example 17 or Example 18, further comprising: receiving as the second configuration a second dispatch of at least one of: reflective access to a time partition of the APD; reflective access to a configurable surface element partition of the APD.

[0170] Example 20: A method according to any one of Examples 16 to 19, wherein the UECS is a first UECS, and the method further includes: receiving an indication from the base station to negotiate with a second coordinating UE of a second UECS to share the allocated APD access between the first UECS and the second UECS; and communicating with the second coordinating UE to negotiate the use of the allocated APD access between the first UECS and the second UECS.

[0171] Example 21: A method according to any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein selecting the surface configuration further includes: receiving an estimated UE position of the non-coordinated UE participating in the UECS from the non-coordinated UE participating in the UECS; and using the estimated UE position to select the surface configuration.

[0172] Example 22: The method of any one of Examples 16 to 21, further comprising: determining to use wide beam wireless signal transmission for intra-UECS communication; and transmitting the wide beam wireless signal toward a surface of the APD.

[0173] Example 23: According to the method of any one of Examples 16 to 22, further comprising: receiving APD information about the APD from a base station, the APD information comprising at least one of the following: APD identification information; APD positioning information; or a surface configuration codebook.

[0174] Example 24: The method of Example 23, wherein selecting the surface configuration further comprises identifying an index to an entry in the surface configuration codebook that specifies the surface configuration.

[0175] Example 25: A method according to any one of Examples 16 to 24, wherein directing the APD to use the surface configuration to configure the surface of the APD includes: transmitting the surface configuration to the APD using an APD control channel; or transmitting the surface configuration to the APD through a base station.

[0176] Example 26: A method according to any one of Examples 16 to 25, wherein identifying the condition indicating the use of the APD in the one or more intra-UECS communication paths further includes at least one of the following: (i) analyzing the intra-UECS communication between the at least two UEs included in the UECS; and identifying at least one channel impairment between the UEs included in the UECS; or (ii) receiving an estimated UE position of the non-coordinated UE participating in the UECS from a non-coordinated UE participating in the UECS; and identifying that the estimated UE position is associated with APD use.

[0177] Example 27: A base station comprising: a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, in response to being executed by the processor, are used to direct the base station to perform a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 15.

[0178] Example 28: A user device comprising: a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, in response to being executed by the processor, are used to direct the user device to perform a method according to any one of Examples 16 to 26.

[0179] Example 29: A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to being executed by a processor, direct the processor to perform the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 26.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a base station, for using an adaptive phase change device (APD) in a communication path within a user equipment coordination set (UECS), the method comprising: Selecting an APD for use by a user equipment coordination set UECS in one or more intra-UECS communication paths; Transmitting APD information about the APD to a coordinating user equipment UE of the UECS; Allocating, for the UECS, APD access to the APD; as well as The allocated APD access is indicated to the coordinating UE of the UECS.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Allocating the APD access further includes at least one of the following: selecting a first configuration of allocated control access to the APD; and A second configuration of allocated reflective access to the APD is selected.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Allocating the APD access further includes at least one of the following: allocating a first subset of physical resources of an APD control channel to the UECS as the first configuration; and Allocating reflective access to the APD as the second configuration using at least one of the following: Time partitioning; as well as Configurable surface element partitioning.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: Allocating the reflective access further comprises: identifying that the APD supports surface sharing via configurable surface element partitioning; and Based on identifying that the APD supports surface sharing, a subset of configurable surface elements is assigned to the UECS.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: selecting a surface configuration for the APD based on downlink or uplink communication with the UECS; as well as The surface configuration is transmitted to the coordinating UE of the UECS.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: receiving, from the coordinating UE of the UECS, a surface configuration determined by the coordinating UE; as well as The APD is directed to update a surface of the APD using the surface configuration determined by the coordinating UE.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: Directing the APD to update the surface of the APD further comprises: The APD is directed to update the surface of the APD based on the allocated APD access.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: Selecting the APD for use by the UECS further comprises: A request is received from the coordinating UE to use the APD in a communication path within the one or more UECSs.

9. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein: The coordinating UE is a first coordinating UE, the UECS is a first UECS, and the method further includes: transmitting the allocated APD access to a second coordinating UE of a second UECS; and The first coordinating UE is directed to negotiate with the second coordinating UE to share the allocated APD access between the first UECS and the second UECS.

10. A method, performed by a coordinating user equipment (UE) in a user equipment coordination set (UECS) for using an adaptive phase change device (APD) in a communication path within the UECS, the method comprising: identifying a condition indicating use of an APD in one or more intra-UECS communication paths between at least two UEs included in the UECS; obtaining allocated APD access to the APD from a base station; selecting a surface configuration for the APD based on the allocated APD access; directing the APD to configure a surface of the APD using the surface configuration; as well as The at least two UEs are directed to include the APD in the one or more intra-UECS communication paths.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Obtaining the allocated APD access to the APD further comprises: sending a request to the base station for access to the APD; and Get at least one of the following: a first configuration of allocated control access to the APD; and A second configuration of allocated reflective access to the APD.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein Obtaining the allocated APD access to the APD comprises at least one of: receiving, as the first configuration, a first assignment of allocated physical resources for an APD control channel; as well as A second dispatch of at least one of the following is received as the second configuration: Reflective access to time partitions of the APD; and Reflective access to configurable surface element partitioning of the APD.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein: Directing the APD to configure the surface of the APD using the surface configuration includes: communicating the surface configuration to the APD using an APD control channel; or The surface configuration is transmitted to the APD via the base station.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein: Identifying the condition indicating use of the APD in the one or more intra-UECS communication paths further comprises at least one of: (i) analyzing intra-UECS communication between the at least two UEs included in the UECS; as well as identifying at least one channel impairment between the UEs included in the UECS; as well as (ii) receiving an estimated UE position of the non-coordinated UE participating in the UECS from the non-coordinated UE participating in the UECS; and Identifying that the estimated UE location is associated with APD usage.

15. An apparatus comprising: processor; as well as A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, direct the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images